The Most Rev. Julito Cortes, bishop of the Diocese of Dumaguete, has exhorted the priests to be filled with joy and gladness as they continue serving the people amid their trials and struggles.
Bishop Cortes issued his call in his homily during the ordination of three new priests of the diocese on Tuesday.
Cortes, who delivered what many people described as a powerful and moving homily, at one point faltered in his speech, with his voice cracking as he held back tears.
Many priests turn lukewarm in their vocation over the years due to varied reasons and they become “salapoton”, a Cebuano term for irritable, Bishop Cortes pointed out as he addressed an overflowing crowd at the St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral in this capital city.
The Dumaguete prelate admitted he was also prone to such situation. “Mea culpa”, he said, as he briefly stopped in his homily to stifle a sob.
Bishop Cortes also asked the priests to call on the Holy Spirit for guidance in their daily tasks of tending to their flock.
To the newly-ordained young priests, the prelate asked them to offer their first three masses in honor of the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the poor souls of Purgatory.
The three new priests of the Diocese of Dumaguete are Fr. Primo Taoc of San Juan, Siquijor, Fr. Carem Olam of Amio, Sta. Catalina in Negros Oriental, and Fr. Lad Bryan Lawrence Ligutom of Lazi, Siquijor.
Fr. Taoc and Fr. Olam finished their theological studies at the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos in Cebu while Fr. Ligutom completed his at the St. Augustine Major Seminary in Tagaytay City.
Meanwhile, Bishop Cortes reiterated the need for more priests for the Diocese of Dumaguete.
He expressed hopes that majority if not all of the 58 seminarians now enrolled at the St. Joseph Seminary College in Sibulan, Negros Oriental will seriously consider the priesthood.
Bishop Cortes also asked the lay faithful to pray unceasingly for their priests and for him as well. (PNA)
