Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)

Homily delivered by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila during the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning.

Good morning to you all. And I welcome you to this celebration. We really have to thank the Lord that we are able to have this opportunity of celebrating the ordinations of our seven brothers – six for the diaconate and one for the priesthood.

I’d like to congratulate all the formators for having brought up these young men up to this point. I’d like to congratulate the communities that have accompanied them throughout these years. Most especially, I’d like to congratulate the parents and the relatives of those to be ordained. Bahagi po kayo ng kanilang bokasyon. Nagsimula po sa inyo ang kanilang pagtugon sa Diyos. Salamat po sa inyong pagkalinga sa kanila hindi lang sa kanilang pangangatawan ngunit sa kanila ding pananampalataya.

Every ordination is special. It is a once in a lifetime experience for those to be ordained. The grace you received here is only given once but it stays with you all through your life. But this ordination is also special in other ways. It is done during the world pandemic, the first time that all have experienced it. Your preparation for this ordination has been greatly affected by the pandemic. I hope that instead of having weakened your conviction, it has strengthened your will to serve God’s people and has drawn you closer to Jesus.

Another unexpected event marks your ordination – it is within the year of St. Joseph. In fact, it takes place in the very solemnity of this great saint. It was unexpected that the Holy Father would declare a year of Saint Joseph. And this is the only year of Saint Joseph that we have in the church so far.

Let me relate our ministry as ordained deacons, priests, bishops to St. Joseph. One hundred fifty years ago, St. Joseph was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX as patron of the universal church. We invoke him as our protector, guardian and guide. Although the role of St. Joseph is low key in the Bible compared to other biblical personages, yet, he was indispensable in the life of Jesus and Mary. Without him, the incarnate word would not have any identity in society. Without him, Mary’s pregnancy would be a curse rather than a blessing. A fatherless pregnancy was not only frowned upon in ancient Jewish society. It could even be criminal.

Joseph named the son of Mary making him his own in front of their society. He gave to the boy his status in society including his being son of David thus, fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan to David, pronounced a thousand years before him, that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever. Joseph was the one who guided and protected the two most important human beings for God. And they were then very vulnerable – a baby and a young woman.

We all know that God does not give a person a mission without equipping him or her for that mission. God, the father must have equipped Joseph extraordinarily for his irreplaceable role in the work of salvation. It does not mean that because no recorded word of his is found in scriptures but because he did no miracles, and that so little has been said about him that he played a minor role in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He was the head of their family. God guided the Holy Family through him.

In the gospel of Matthew, the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph four times in dreams through which he was told what to do. What is noteworthy is that, after its dream, Joseph acted promptly.  He was guided by God in his sleep. And he did the will of God in his waking hours. We are told that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was obedient to His parents. Jesus, the son of God was obedient to Moses and surely, Mary too because she did what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands.” Joseph must have been a very worthy father to Jesus and a loving and caring husband to Mary.

What can we learn from Joseph? – We who are ordained.

First, to have an important role to play in the church does not mean that we should have the limelight or the titles or the positions in the structures of the organization of the church and of society. St. Joseph was so ordinary, and in the ordinariness is his greatness. He is the greatest of all the saints after the Blessed Virgin Mary.  My dear deacons to be and priest to be, your ordinary service as priest and as deacons will sustain you and nourish the life of the church.

We, bishops can make plans and pronouncements. But ultimately, it is the work of ordinary priests and deacons that keeps the church going. Like in the military, the generals do the commanding. But the battle is won not by commands and orders but the fighting and the blood of the foot soldiers – they are the real heroes. You are the real heroes of the church.

Second, Joseph dreamt of God in his sleep. Psychiatrists tell us that our dreams are the concerns of our psyche that lie hidden within us during our waking us. The deep concern of St. Joseph is the will of God – how to keep Mary and Jesus safe, how to provide for them. These came out even in his sleep.

What are our deep concerns as pastors? What do we dream about? Do we dream about what is good for our people? About their situations? Our dreams can show us what is deep within our core.

Thirdly, St. Joseph did not only dream, he acted on the guidance given to him and he acted with promptness and creativity. He did not dilly dolly nor he did think twice. If he did, Jesus would have been one of those killed by the murderous soldiers of Herod. We are told in the gospel of today, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary into his home. Here, we see Joseph as a man of deep faith. He believed and acted on his belief.

My dear friends, our life as ordained is a life of faith. Without faith, our priestly promises are pointless. Celibacy, obedience, holiness, sacrifice – all of these are foolishness to people of the world. But we are children of Abraham as St. Paul tells us in our second reading. We act because we believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and not on the law. We do not just act because we are commanded but because we believe. And as ordained, we promised obedience.

One religious once said, of the three vows, obedience is the easiest. You do it only once every six years when you are given the assignment or once in a while. How many times does our superior or bishop tells us to do something? Very rarely. But the way we do our task on our assignment every day is a sign of our obedience which is creative obedience in faith.

When Joseph was told by the angel to bring the child and his mother to Egypt, the angel did not tell him where to go, what to do, how to earn his living. He had to creatively do this and in faith, because he was not provided with food or money from heaven.

So, also when we are given an assignment, we creatively do our work in faith. You know as priests, we can do a lot or we can also do nothing. No one will question you how many hours you stay in front of the TV or how much time you spent playing video games or going around with friends. But at the same time, if our concern is to serve the needs of the people, we can access a lot of human and material resources for the sake of the mission. There are many people there who are just waiting and are eager to work and if they are just allowed to and guided by the pastors.

And fourth and lastly, Joseph was the protector, guide and provider of the Holy Family. And now of the universal church. We as pastors or as pastoral workers, serve as protectors, guides and providers of our flock. Have this concern for the people of God. We provide them with material needs especially in this time of pandemic. The church set up the order of deacons for this. Serving the material needs was an important concern of the early church. The apostles set the table for orphans and widows. St. Paul went out of his way to get collections and bring collections to the believers in Judea who are suffering from famine. Concern for the poor was the common agreement between Peter and Paul as they divided the work among them between the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The diaconate to which will be ordained, those to be ordained as deacons is a transitional diaconate. That is, it is meant to the step to the presbyterate. That this does not mean that the charitable works you do as deacons will no longer be your concern as priests. Works of charity are an indispensable weakness of our service to the faith. Then, also, you have the service of the word and the service of the altar. Please take care that what you offer to the people is the Word of God and not your words or your ideas. The concern is not what you want to say but what God wants to say to His people.

As ordained, we carry the Word of God, not our own words. Our service to the altar is not just to say the Mass, we pray the Mass. Do we give a witness that we pray the mass, that we are aware of the mystery we are celebrating? It is all the more important in this time of online Masses because every gesture that we make is put on record even our own grimaces and our smiles. People can even zoom on them. Of course, we do not have to put on a show because we are online. If we are convinced of what we are doing, our natural devotion will manifest itself.

St. Joseph is the father of Jesus on earth. As priests, we are called fathers. Let us ask St. Joseph the grace to exercise this fatherhood in the way he did it in the ordinariness of his duties. In our deep concern for those entrusted to us that we can literally dream about them. In the creative obedience in faith, as we promised in our ordination in being protectors, guides and providers of our people, providing them with God’s word and the example of devotion in front of the Lord Jesus.

St. Joseph, Pray for us. (Archdiocese of Manila – Office of Communications/RCAM-AOC)

IN PHOTO | Most. Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of Manila presides the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration and Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests and Deacons at the Manila Cathedral on March 19, 2021 (Feast of St. Joseph), at 9 in the morning. (Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC)