WELCOME BISHOP BRODERICK

(Homily delivered by His Eminence Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales during the Solemn Liturgical Reception for His Excellency Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo, as Auxiliary Bishop of Manila on September 12, 2006 at the Manila Cathedral.)

We welcome a bishop in our midst; one who will not just work with us; not just who will take tasks in the Local Church; but someone who will, and I say this not only for myself but for all of us, religious brothers and sisters and laypeople, one who will accompany us.

Auxiliary not in the sense of help or someone who is lower but auxiliary in many instances that the bishop will co-travel the same pilgrimage, aspire for the same as bishop a direction; love and live the faith values with you and me. This is the one Bishop Broderick is going to do with us.

What then must a bishop be?

Of the images used to describe Jesus as teaching the people, Jesus as leading the people goodness, motivating them to be compassionate and serve them the (triple manus) triple task of prophet, priest and king, the icon favored by the Bible was always the icon or the image of the shepherd. The shepherd best described the leader in the Bible. Not starting in the Old Testament where Yahweh in the prophecy of Ezekiel got rid of bad leaders and he said “the time will come when I, Yahweh, will shepherd the people.” “I will lead the people, shepherding.” That was the Old Testament. And came Jesus in the dispensation of grace he picked up the same trust that was lost by wicked shepherds. In John 10, Jesus said… The icon that best described the leader, the same thing written in the Psalms. something about shepherding, it is Old Testament. And shepherds failed. Oh, the horrible descriptions of Ezekiel. Horrible. Scandalous. Try to read Ezekiel (chapter) 34 and try to see the kind of shepherds. No wonder, Yahweh said, “They can no longer be leaders. I, Yahweh, will shepherd the People.” The king in the psalms sang them. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall want for nothing more. He leads me to green pastures and leads me to clear water and I fear no evil even if I pass through the valleys of darkness, I fear no evil. Your crook and your staff they comfort me. Painting that icon of the Good Shepherd and Jesus continued and made a public declaration, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know mine and mine know me. And I lay down my life for my flock and my sheep.” That was the image of Jesus.

The uniqueness of shepherding a flock was made even more evident by Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, when before giving the stewardship of a flock he demanded of the would-be leader, a commitment, surprisingly not to the flock, not the people, not to the young. He called Peter one day after the Resurrection and asked, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (Jn. 21:15). “Lord, you know I love you.” (Jn 21:15) “Feed my sheep.” (Jn 21:16).

How come the Lord extracted the commitment to love not a love for the flock. Sana sa mga tupa. Sana sa mga tao. Sana para sa bansa. Sana para sa simbahan. Bakit ang tanong ni Hesus, “Mahal mo ba ako?” Hindi nyo ba namamalas ang kakaibahan ng papasukan natin? Di ba’t kung manunumpa o mangangako ang mag-asawa ay sa isa’t isa. Bakit ang Diyos? Ang tanong, “Mahal mo ba ang arkidiyosesis?” Hindi yan ang tinanong! Kakaiba yata itong napasukan natin at papasukan ninyo. Ang tanong ng Diyos ay “Mahal mo ba ako?”

This is all about shepherding. And Simon was asked three times. “Feed my lamb. Feed my sheep.” Ok. O kaya ang sinabi ay “Oo mahal ko po ang tupa.” Hindi siya magiging pastol! Mag-aalaga ka lang sa tupa pero ang mamahalin mo ay ang Diyos. Ang mamahalin mo ay Diyos. Pag mahal mo ang Diyos sigurado na, mabait ka sa tao. Pagmahal mo ang Diyos sigurado na, hindi ka mandadaya sa tao. Pagmahal mo ang Diyos hindi mo a-agrabiyaduhin ang tao. Magaling talaga ang Diyos! And this is how we start shepherding.

In the prophetic office of the Bishop, his primary task is “to teach, to preach the Gospel of God to all men.” It is the Bishop’s task, together with his priest, “to preserve God’s people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error.” (LG, 12; CCC, 888, 890). Magtuturo ang pari. Magtuturo ang Pastol. Magtuturo ng tama. Magtuturo ng matuwid. Isasamulat ang mga tao sa kabutihan, magandang asal. Tungkulin ng pastol iyan. Tungkulin ng pari. Tungkulin ng mga Obispo. At mga Kapatid kay Kristo Hesus, kung kayo ay kasama sa Simbahang iyang pinaglilingkuran ng mga pari at Obispo, pati kayo ay may kinalaman sa pagtuturo. Don’t say that prophesy belongs only to the priests and the bishops. Tungkuling isamulat ang mga tao ng mga pari. Kung totoo iyan huli na ang lahat! Kung hinintay lamang ng aking Ina ang pagtuturo sa pagdasal at hahayaan ko na, iyang si Guadencio pag lumaki iyan tuturuan siya ng simbahan ng dasal. Hindi. Nakisalo ang aking Inay sa pagtuturo ng mabuting asal at sinimulaan na ni Nanay ang pagtuturo sa akin, maliit pa ako. Siya ang unang nagpakilala sa akin ng Diyos at dahan dahan akong hinuhubog. Ang pagtuturo, yang prophesy na iyan, pinagsasaluhan ng lahat. Oo nga at pinangungunahan ng mga pari at Obispo, pero kasali kayo dito. What they do in schools only continue the noble work begun by the parents, a share in the priesthood is everyone’s.

The Bishop does this out of love for God. What is truth is what the Bishop teaches; what is good is what he shares.

The Bishop is also the steward of grace (siya ang tagapamahala ng grasya); the steward of grace of the supreme priesthood; above all, he is the steward of the Eucharist. Pinapangasiwaan niya ang mga banal na bagay, higit sa lahat sa Eukaristiya. Lahat ng maghahatid sa tao sa kabanalan. Magandang asal, magandang ugali, priestly iyan. Lahat ng maghahantong sa kawang-gawa, habag sa kapwa, priestly yan. Nangangasiwa diyan ang Obispo. And again bishops and priests sanctify the Church by their prayer, by work, by the ministry of the word and the other Sacraments. (LG 26; CCC 893). They also sanctify and motivate the people of God to goodness and holiness by the example they show of their personal lives. Like Francis of Assisi, he preaches best when he testifies to what is revealed by the fidelity and godliness of his life.

Oo nga nasasaksihan niyo ang pari o Obispo sa misa tulad nito. Mas higit nakatatawag ng pansin at nakakabighani sa kabaitan ang ugali ng pari at Obispo. Oo nga’t nadidinig niyo ako, nagsasalita, nangungusap, nakikiusap sa kabaitan pero kung ang aking buhay ay walang kabaitan, wag niyo kong paniniwalaan. Ito ang ibig sabihin nito. Huwag maniniwala sapagkat salungat ito sa pangaral na kanyang binibitawan. Sabi nga kay San Francisco, “Kailan ka mangangaral? Kailan ka magse-sermon?” Ang sagot niya, “Pag ako ay wala ng maipakitang magandang gawa, saka ako magsisimulang mangaral.”

Third, the kingly charge of the Bishops is that one of service. Leadership is for guiding and service. Positions of leadership are completely underserved if such a position is not oriented towards helping the poor and those in need. Sa simbahan ang pangaral ay walang silbi kung ito ay di mai-u-ugnay sa mga dukha, at mga nangangailangan. The leadership of the Lord was rightly directed when he said, “I have come not to be served, but to serve.” (Mk 10:41). Hindi sa salita kundi sa gawang talagang nakatuon sa mga dukha. It is often observed that authority is treated like it has to be recognized and thus given honor. On the contrary Jesus revealed that the master washes His disciples’ feet. And quoting from the rites of Episcopal Ordination. bishops are reminded in Pastores Gregis, “The title of Bishop is one of service, not of honor, and therefore a bishop should strive to benefit others rather than to lord it over them.” (Pastores Gregis, 43).

Paglilingkod sa mga nangangailangan. Paglilingkod sa mga nagugutom, sa mga nauuhaw. Iyan daw ang dahilan kung bakit hindi mawawala ito. Sana wala nang dukha. Sana walang naghihirap. Nakapagtataka ay hinayaan ng Panginoong Diyos na dumami ang dukha. Minsan hindi ko maisip. Bakit ganoon? Saan naduon ang sala? At kapag ganyang hinahanap ang sala hindi tayo matatapos. If we continue looking for faults we will never end. What we are looking for are the solutions? Bakit ganuon? Why is there so much poverty, so much suffering, so much sickness in this world of ours? In this world that is now punctuated by terrifying expressions of violence and terrorism. Para bang hindi tayo makaliligtas. Para bang ang kinabukasan kung inyong nararamdaman ang pumapaligid sa daigdig, para bang tayo ay inihahatid sa dilim. We have entered the brink. What we only see here in our nation is a part of a terrifying reality. Please God, may it not unfold in our lifetime. Please God. Pray to God that we will not see; it looks like we are going to the edge. Why is there so much poverty? Worse, you combine poverty with ignorance. Worse, if you combine poverty with the unknown. The poor have less to eat. They hardly have anything to cover their heads. But the person who knows less is not even aware that he has rights. This is what compounds the reality. Wala ng makain; wala ng matirahan, hindi pa alam na sila ay may karapatan.

To the unknowing there is hardly a distinction between privilege, gift and what he can claim as his own, simply as a human person. And right there is the tragedy that continuously threatens a society where the poor far outnumber the few who know. The weaker ones who know little can be manipulated; they can be bought and taken advantage of.

Yes, why is the world like this? Why are our cities like this? Let the bishops be positive this time. I just came from Mindanao a few days ago. I was there for four days. I went around and traveled more than 300 kilometers just going around the barrios where I lived nearly 25 years ago. Changes are in the cities and towns and in the highways. You go into the hinterlands, it is the same. Am I surprised? Are you surprised because of their poverty? If we are familiar with Jesus, he said, “The poor you will always have with you.” Anong klaseng Diyos ito? Nasinisigurado niya na ang pobre ay palaging kasama-sama niyo. Bakit naman ganun? And I talked with a woman and I pass to you a reflection which I now make my own. Poverty, suffering must be with us in order to inspire us to charity, compassion and goodness. Bakit may naghihirap? Bakit may dukha? Para bigyan tayo ng inspirasyon, bigyan ng dahilan na lalong maging mabait, madamayin, mapagmahal, at maging banal. Na hindi kaya ng basta edukasyon. Hindi kaya ng edukasyon iyan. Tignan niyo ang ginawa sa pagtuturo ni Hesus. Pinupukaw. Giniginising tayo. Gusto ba nating magising sa katotohan? Well, ito ang dahilan kung bakit may Obispo. This is the reason why we have shepherds who will lead. Tignan natin kung ano ang inihihiyaw, isinisigaw ng katotohang pumapalo sa ating bansa. May mga panimula na ng paggigising sa tao. There are already beginnings. Let us join them.

Bishop Broderick Pabillo we welcome you to this reality that will call not only for work and challenge—we know that we cannot change this in a lifetime, our Lord was not able, but he gave us reasons and hope to begin. Welcome to this work of hope and love. Accompany us, inspire us; That we may continue to travel with those in need. The assurance is ours. This is the journey that leads to real end where we will reach our true home with our true and eternal Father; all the rest are distractions. Welcome. God bless you.

+GAUDENCIO B. CARDINAL ROSALES, D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
September 12, 2006