Loving the Eucharist

Excerpt of the Homily of Most Rev. Romulo Valles, D.D., Archbishop of Davao, during the investiture and installation of St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary last July 13, 2019.

There was one priest who was sent to a popular seminar in Rome. He can’t get over why he was chosen by the bishop. And so, he asked the bishop.

He said, “Archbishop, why will you send me in this seminar?”

The bishop answered, “Had there been other choices, I shouldn’t have sent you.”

That’s just a joke.

But we will never know the circumstances and what God has seen within us.

It is only in heaven that we will fully understand and appreciate this gift of our calling. Our vocations are not of ours but of God.

In one of the readings, one warning or caution it gives is that those who go through the way of becoming Christ-like will be tested.

It will be the second nature of life that you will always be tested.

Expect crisis. Be ready for the storm.

No one will stone a mango tree without fruit.

So, when you do things of God, expect the devil to be there. Do not be shocked. Be ready for it.

And, believe that the one responsible for our calling is the Lord. And he alone can help us always. He will hold us, inspire us, defend us.

The Gospel says, “Prepare for my Supper.”

We know that the Supper is the Eucharist.

This is one of the most wonderful act of a certain priest, the celebration of the remembrance of our salvation which is the Supper of the Lord.

In that celebration, we remember and we proclaim the Good News of God.

And in that celebration, the bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Christ.

The lector isn’t just an ordinary reader but they must read with love and appreciation to the Word of God.

Hence, in the seminary, those who are accepted as lectors are the ones nearing completion in their priesthood.

Someone who has observable appreciation and love for the Word of God, and a very observable appreciation and love of the Holy Eucharist.

Service to those who are in the periphery, service to those who are poor, to work for justice and faith, and the teaching of the Church, must be results, and consequence, in our clarity and love of the word of God and our devotion of the sacrifice of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.