Farewell, Fr. Perseus

Si Bp. Afable ang nagsaulog sa Requiem Mass alang kang Fr. Perseus. (Kuha ni Fr. Banny Pardillo)

We often remember and celebrate birthdays, wedding anniversaries but we often do not bother to know the dates of our baptism and confirmation!

Bishop Guillermo Afable, DD, Bishop of the Diocese of Digos emphasized as he started his homily during the Requiem Mass for Fr. Perseus with the dates and places where the late priest was born, baptized, and confirmed.

For us Catholics it is important to remember the dates when we become officially members of the Catholic Church. Bp. Afable noted that in his baptismal and confirmation certificate the name of Fr. Perseus is Jose Perseus Gonzales. So it wasn’t a coincidence that they scheduled his burial date on the Feast Day of St. Joseph, March 20, since March 19 is a Sunday of Lent.

Like St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary, everyone who had known him will agree, Fr. Perseus was a good man, a good priest. He spent 21 years of his life serving the Church thru the Seminary, the Davao Association of Catholic Schools (DACS), the Ignatian Institute of Religious Education Foundation (IIREF) and the Parishes where he was assigned, the last one being San Isidro Labrador Parish, Hagonoy, Davao del Sur. He died after he just gave a sharing to his fellow priests in his vicariate. Indeed he died doing the work God wanted him to do, what he ought to do, just like St Joseph.