Second National Congress of the Clergy

Second National Congress of the Clergy http://clergycongress2.org Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of the Priesthood Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:58:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of the Priesthood no Homily of His Eminence Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal http://clergycongress2.org/?p=320 http://clergycongress2.org/?p=320#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:21:00 +0000 Web Administrator http://clergycongress2.org/?p=320 http://clergycongress2.org/?feed=rss2&p=320 5 2nd National Congress of the Clergy January 28, 2010 World Trade Center, Pasay City Your Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales Your Excellencies, my brother archbishops and bishops of the Philippines <div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 288px"><a href="http://rcam.org/2nd_NCC/photogallery/jan28/gallery01/images/pic07_JPG.jpg" rel="lightbox[320]"><img class=" " title="Cardinal Vidal" src="http://rcam.org/2nd_NCC/photogallery/jan28/gallery01/images/pic07_JPG.jpg" alt="" width="278" height="185" /></a>His Eminence Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal</div> It is not easy to address a gathering of priests. They are the toughest audience to please. Not only are they critical with your diction and grammar, they also look for new things and new insights. What more can you actually say to a group of people who have heard it all, and have said it all? If you come to think of it, priests are probably over-educated. They spend four years studying philosophy, four years studying theology, and then one year in Spiritual-Pastoral formation gives them a crash course on psychology. So newly-ordained priests are philosophers, theologians and psychologists, all rolled into one. No wonder that when a seminarian does not proceed to the priesthood, the most logical career he takes is to become another “over-educated professional: he becomes a lawyer. This sense of knowing too much can be a bane to the life and ministry of priests. When sent to a far-flung parish, the young priest can easily be the most educated person in the community. This status may help him in his ministry, but it can also be a hindrance. The local mayor consults him on every project, and the priest begins to think he knows everything about politics. He knows a thing or two about food supplements, and he thinks he knows better than the local doctor. The women-folk confess the sins of their husbands to him, and this gives him the presumption that he knows everything about everybody in the community. This is how a priest can think he is powerful. He knows too many things, sometimes too much for his own good. Because everybody listens to him, he forgets to listen to everybody else. He is the teacher, and he presumes everybody to be his student. When a priest makes this presumption, he loses his vocation to serve. When he thinks he knows everything, he learns nothing from anybody. And it is not possible to serve someone from whom one has nothing to learn. Our Lord reminds us today: “Avoid being called teachers. Only one is your teacher, the Messiah.” The priest is first of all, a disciple, and he must learn from the Master. There are three ways for priests to learn from Jesus. First, he must learn from Jesus crucified. Much of what we learn about the Lord in Theology does not come close to the knowledge we gain from Jesus teaching from the cross. There is no other way to learn from the cross except by carrying it ourselves. We have been told that priestly life is all about carrying one’s cross, yet, in our initial experience of priestly life, there is actually very little cross to bear. At the initial years, there is only wild adulation, abundant gifts, unmitigated affirmation. But the cross that we have to bear is not the opposite of these, but the exercise of restraint in the face of adulation, gifts and affirmation. The first lesson of Jesus crucified is thus to “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” The intellect is not the quickest to learn among the faculties of man. It is rather the heart. But unlike the intellect which compounds its knowledge by adding [...] 2nd National Congress of the Clergy January 28, 2010 World Trade Center, Pasay City Your Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales Your Excellencies, my brother archbishops and bishops of the Philippines It is not easy to address a gathering of priests. [...] Notes on the Third Conference of Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap http://clergycongress2.org/?p=300 http://clergycongress2.org/?p=300#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:00:06 +0000 Web Administrator http://clergycongress2.org/?p=300 http://clergycongress2.org/?feed=rss2&p=300 1 <div id="attachment_318" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 211px"><a href="http://www.clergycongress2.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/DSC_3796.jpg" rel="lightbox[300]"><img class="size-medium wp-image-318" title="Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap" src="http://www.clergycongress2.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/DSC_3796-201x300.jpg" alt="Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap" width="201" height="300" /></a>Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap</div> THE third talk of Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap, at the ongoing National Congress of the Clergy revolved around the Eucharist, dividing the Mass into Word, Consecration and Communion and expounding on each topic to enjoin the priests towards a more alive celebration of the Sacrament. Opening the talk was the singing of Veni Creator, led by the speaker, with the whole congregation joining. Fr. Cantalamessa began his conference by asking the audience, “Why do people find our Mass so boring?” He said that if priests realized what a tremendous thing it is to be able to evoke the sacramental presence of Jesus in the Mass, they would make a greater effort to celebrate the Eucharist in such a way that it will be more alive and attractive. When a priest pronounces the words at Mass, he is not simply mouthing a formula; he is bringing the presence of Christ in the celebration. There is a need for priests to more deeply understand the Eucharist, he said, to feel what they do and say during the Mass. When they read the Word, it should come alive, because they are not just reading a story that happened in the past, but something truly alive and acting in the present. In that sense, priests should be “actors”, he added, enabling those stories to be acted in the present. When, for example, they read the healing episodes, they should drive the point across to the people that many of us need healing, not just healing of our bodies, but spiritual healing. He then proceeded to speak about the wonder of Consecration, when the priest says, “This is my Body”. To emphasize his point, Fr. Cantalamessa led the priests in singing a verse “in the song in English that I like best”—Here I am, Lord. He said that more than just recalling the words that our Lord uttered in the last supper, the priest ought to be able to say, from the depths of his being that the Eucharist is his body, too. It is Jesus Christ using his voice, his hands, his movements. “You must be Eucharist!” he exclaimed. The priest offers his body during the Consecration, and the body, in the Bible, is not simply “this body” made up of different body parts, but the whole of the person, his time, his gifts, his will, etc. When he says “This is my body”, he offers his whole being to be “given up” just as Jesus’ body was. The priest, with all reverence, should let the words sink into himself so that he may realize he is not simply repeating what Jesus Christ said—he is not merely “celebrating Mass”, he is offering himself. Similarly, when he says “This is my blood”, he is offering his life as well. In the Bible, Fr. Cantalamessa explained, “blood” is not simply an organ or a part of the body; blood is life itself. “When you shed blood, you offer your life,” he continued. When the priest offers the body and blood of Christ he offers his own body and blood, his whole being, his own life. Elaborating on the body, Fr. Cantalamessa asked what the body means among young people. What are young people told about their body? For such things as advertisements, he said, the body is a merchandise. [...] THE third talk of Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap, at the ongoing National Congress of the Clergy revolved around the Eucharist, dividing the Mass into Word, Consecration and Communion and expounding on each topic to enjoin the priests towards a [...] Penitential Rite – Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap http://clergycongress2.org/?p=384 http://clergycongress2.org/?p=384#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:30:18 +0000 Web Administrator http://clergycongress2.org/?p=384 http://clergycongress2.org/?feed=rss2&p=384 0 14:30 – Penitential Rite Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap January 27, 2010 – Wednesday <a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fclergycongress2.org%2F%3Fp%3D384&linkname=Penitential%20Rite%20%26%238211%3B%20Fr.%20Raniero%20Cantalamessa%2C%20OFMCap"><img src="http://www.clergycongress2.org/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" alt="Share/Bookmark"/></a> 14:30 – Penitential Rite Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap January 27, 2010 – Wednesday Homily of Most Rev. Patricio Buzon, SDB (Bishop of Kabankalan) http://clergycongress2.org/?p=346 http://clergycongress2.org/?p=346#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:16 +0000 Web Administrator http://clergycongress2.org/?p=346 http://clergycongress2.org/?feed=rss2&p=346 0 <div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 182px"><a href="http://rcam.org/2nd_NCC/photogallery/jan27/images/pic16_JPG.jpg" rel="lightbox[346]"><img class=" " title="Most Rev. Patricio Buzon, SDB " src="http://rcam.org/2nd_NCC/photogallery/jan27/images/pic16_JPG.jpg" alt="" width="172" height="114" /></a>Most Rev. Patricio Buzon, SDB (Bishop of Kabankalan)</div> IN our work of vocation promotion, the question we usually ask our young applicants is, “Why do you wish to enter seminary?” To which their usual reply is, “To become a priest.” We would then press them with a follow-up question, “Why do you want to become a priest?” And their answer would be something like, “To offer my life to God…to serve Him…to serve the Church…” or some other expressions to the same effect. I used to smile at the naive of such answers. Often, I couldn’t help but wonder if these young applicants really knew the full implication of what they aspire for. But for all their simplicity and innocence, I knew that many of them were sincere. When I was tasked to give the homily of this Mass, the organizers of the Congress asked me to focus our reflection on the theme of the day, which is OBLATION, “our personal offering of self, as well as of the corporate body of priest to God, the Father, in accordance with his holy will.” The scenario I mentioned earlier could be our own story. We too gave similar answers when we applied for the seminary. We were then young and idealistic, ready to give our life in total service to God. Indeed, that was one shining moment in our life—a moment of pure and generous oblation. What happened since then? How come that through the years, we gradually took back the gift of self we had liberally offered in the beginning? How did our young and generous heart turn into a hesitant and calculating compromiser? Could it be that we really did not understand what we were entering into when we joined the seminary? That we did not know the full implication of our vocation response? In the Philippine society, the figure of the priest is both important and active. He is seen as one who represents the people in front of God. He stands above the people and a little below God. Thus people readily lavish him with respect and favor. Moreover, in our culture, the priest’s ascendancy over the people is more pervasive and goes beyond his religious function. Rightly or wrongly, he represents his people not only in front of God but also in front of men. Thus the priesthood is a position of privilege and power. In public gatherings, the priest stands side by side with the mayor and the local officials (as we can also find the bishop side by side with the national officials, or even with the President). This is the side of our priesthood that we are familiar with, and feel comfortable with. There is however another dimension of our priesthood which we often forget. Christ, the Priest, is also Christ, the Victim. Our call to configure to Christ is a call to identify with the whole Christ—Priest and Victim. “But when Christ came as a High Priest of good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once and for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal salvation.” (Hb 9:11-12) Thus, Christ not only perfected the priesthood of the Old Testament, but also rendered all other types of priesthood ineffective. Being God and man, he is the perfect priest who alone can worthily represent man before the Father [...] IN our work of vocation promotion, the question we usually ask our young applicants is, “Why do you wish to enter seminary?” To which their usual reply is, “To become a priest.” We would then press them with a follow-up question, “Why do [...] Notes on the Second Conference of Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap http://clergycongress2.org/?p=298 http://clergycongress2.org/?p=298#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:57:36 +0000 Web Administrator http://clergycongress2.org/?p=298 http://clergycongress2.org/?feed=rss2&p=298 0 <div id="attachment_315" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 211px"><a href="http://www.clergycongress2.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/DSC_3964.jpg" rel="lightbox[298]"><img class="size-medium wp-image-315" title="Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap" src="http://www.clergycongress2.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/DSC_3964-201x300.jpg" alt="Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap" width="201" height="300" /></a>Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap</div> FATHER Cantalamessa’s second talk, delivered in the afternoon on January 26, 2010, was preceded by a group singing of Veni Creator. He explained that in the second verse of Veni Creator, the action of the Holy Spirit is expressed through some titles, each of which contains a whole revelation on the Holy Spirit: Paraclete, Gift of God, which is almost synonymous with sanctifying grace… Living Water, fire, love and spiritual anointing. “I’m convinced that the anointing of the spirit is almost everything. The anointing we receive at ordination can become active,” he said. Limiting himself to the title “Paraclete”, which is not neutral and which alludes to the personality of the Holy Spirit, Fr. Cantalamessa said, “Paraclete is a person, a consoler, defender, someone who can speak, testify, even suffer.” In the New Testament, it is a title that means a personal relationship, he explained—it is “not a title to simply study or understand, but a title we must imitate and realize. We priests, pastors, bishops—we must be paracletes. Priests are consolers, encouragers and defenders. It is what God is asking from us all the time in the Bible without us realizing it. “God says to the prophets, ‘Console, my people.’ In order that we might be able to console those who are in any kind of tribulation, we should console them in the same consolation we receive from God, not mere human consolation. The Holy Spirit needs our hands and our hearts. Priests receive this title as a mission, as a task,” he said. Fr. Cantalamessa read from scripture about the Paraclete, and the reaction of men to gifts. “Anytime there is a great manifestation of God, the reaction is marvel, perplexity. It is the same as the reaction of Moses when he saw God on Mt. Sinai”, he said. The day of Pentectost is a marvelous moment in the Bible, he said; despite the many languages spoken at Pentecost, they could understand. Apostles proclaimed the great deeds of God. “The Holy Spirit has achieved a radical conversion in the hearts of the people. That is the most important change in the life of the priest. Before Pentecost, the apostles were concerned about making a name for themselves. When Jesus was away they discussed who would be greatest among them. After Pentecost they forgot about themselves, completely fascinated about the glory of God.” Fr. Cantalamessa continued that the radical change consists in that they pass from being self-centered to being Christ centered. Are we living for our self or living for God, he asked the audience, then pleaded, “In this moment while we are speaking, please, in your heart, decide. Or if you have already decided, renew your decision to build the city of God.” Fr. Cantalamessa then enjoined the priests: “Repeat after me: I DO NOT SEEK MY OWN GLORY. I WANT TO SEEK THE GLORY OF CHRIST. AMEN.” He said that the first apostolic preaching is the model of every apostolic teaching. The first and most important action of the Spirit is to make Jesus alive; gospel should lead us to Jesus. Fr. [...] FATHER Cantalamessa’s second talk, delivered in the afternoon on January 26, 2010, was preceded by a group singing of Veni Creator. He explained that in the second verse of Veni Creator, the action of the Holy Spirit is expressed through some [...] Homily of Apostolic Nuncio on the Opening Eucharistic Celebration http://clergycongress2.org/?p=268 http://clergycongress2.org/?p=268#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:29:30 +0000 Web Administrator http://clergycongress2.org/?p=268 http://clergycongress2.org/?feed=rss2&p=268 0 Your Eminence, Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal, Your Eminence, Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, Your Excellencies, my brother Archbishops and Bishops, Reverend Monsignori, Reverend Fathers, Reverend Brothers, and Reverend Sisters, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, <div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 210px"><a href="http://rcam.org/2nd_NCC/photogallery/jan25/images/pic19_JPG.jpg" rel="lightbox[268]"><img class=" " title="Apostolic Nuncio" src="http://rcam.org/2nd_NCC/photogallery/jan25/images/pic19_JPG.jpg" alt="Apostolic Nuncio Bishop Adams" width="200" height="133" /></a>Apostolic Nuncio Bishop Adams</div> Good morning: on behalf of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, I greet with affection the priests gathered here for the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist as we begin this Second National Congress for the Clergy, the most important event in the calendar of this Year of the Priest. “Ananias, go and seek Saul; I have chosen him to announce my name to all peoples.” In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us; and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever” (Ps 117 [116]: 1-2). With these words from the Psalmist, we already hear of God’s plan for all the nations. The prophet gives us a glimpse of the mysterious work of God, who acts to draw all humanity to Himself in a saving embrace. This picture of a God who wants to save us is echoed in today’s Gospel, which presents us with the mandate Jesus gave his Apostles before his Ascension into heaven: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole of creation” (Mk 16:15). With powerful words Christ confirms HisFather’s universal will to save and entrusts the sacred mission to His apostles, the first priests of the Church. Yes, it is in this God that we put our hope, the God who loves all of us human beings and who, mysteriously, calls us to Himself and asks us to work with Him in His saving mission to humanity. This morning we will reflect on all of this. We do so as, in this Year for Priests, we observe the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul and open this Second National Congress of the Clergy. It was on the road to Damascus that Christ chose Paul and called him to Himself. Until that moment, the Pharisee Saul had fought against the followers of Jesus with every possible means. From Jerusalem, he had traveled to Damascus to oppose and to imprison those who had been spreading the teaching of Jesus. Saul wanted to prevent Jews from abandoning the ancient traditions of their fathers for this “new way,” of the Nazorean and His followers. And then, near Damascus, it happened. Saul is bathed in a light from heaven. He falls to the ground, and Christ makes him aware of his error. At the gates of Damascus, when he meets the Risen Christ, Saul learns the truth. The reality of Christ and his death and resurrection, upon which the work of the world’s Redemption was accomplished, become present before Saul, takes possession of him. Saul, now Paul, learns that the God of his fathers is the God of all, even the gentiles, and that the love of that God is not only for the Jews but for everyone without exemption. Jesus reveals himself fully to Paul, and Paul is changed, transformed. St. Paul was not transformed by a thought but by an event, by the irresistible presence of the Risen [...] Your Eminence, Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal, Your Eminence, Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, Your Excellencies, my brother Archbishops and Bishops, Reverend Monsignori, Reverend Fathers, Reverend Brothers, and Reverend Sisters, Brothers and Sisters in [...] Church launches 2nd National Congress of the Clergy website http://clergycongress2.org/?p=76 http://clergycongress2.org/?p=76#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:30:22 +0000 Web Administrator http://clergycongress2.org/?p=76 http://clergycongress2.org/?feed=rss2&p=76 2 <div id="attachment_96" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 219px"><a href="http://clergycongress2.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ncc2-website-screenshot1.jpg" rel="lightbox[76]"><img class="size-medium wp-image-96" title="ncc2-website-screenshot" src="http://clergycongress2.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ncc2-website-screenshot1-300x209.jpg" alt="http://clergycongress2.org" width="209" height="145" /></a>http://clergycongress2.org</div> As the preparations of the 2nd National Congress of the Clergy gets under way, the Catholic Church has launched a website dedicated to providing clerics and the faithful information about the event. Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, Media Coordinator of the Congress’ Central Committee, explained that the site is intended to help priests and lay people alike who wish to be involved in the Congress. <a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fclergycongress2.org%2F%3Fp%3D76&linkname=Church%20launches%202nd%20National%20Congress%20of%20the%20Clergy%20website"><img src="http://www.clergycongress2.org/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" alt="Share/Bookmark"/></a> As the preparations of the 2nd National Congress of the Clergy gets under way, the Catholic Church has launched a website dedicated to providing clerics and the faithful information about the event. Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, Media Coordinator of the [...]