Priests, seminarians warned on trap of sense of entitlement

The Bishop of Mati has warned fellow priests and seminarians to avoid falling into the trap of the sense of entitlement.

Bishop Abel Apigo of Mati said that in their pastoral engagements with the faithful, priests and seminarians are prone to falling into that sense of entitlement ‘trap’ due to how they are taken care of in the community.

In his homily during the Pastoral Day at the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary of Mindanao Feb. 24, Bishop Apigo said that seminarians who are sent for pastoral exposure in the community should develop that love for all especially the poor.

There are instances that due to excessive care of the community for the seminarian whom they treat as special guest, the seminarian forgets what he is ought to develop and do in the community.

Bishop Apigo reminded them that they desire to become priests because they want to serve but not to be served.

He also lamented that there are times when seminarians express how difficult their life is in the seminary, like dining with the people instead in the seminary because food is better outside saying that in a subtle way, the goodness and the generosity of the people are exploited.

“The objective of developing the capacity to love and to be generous to the people is now wrongly directed towards people being loving and being caring to us,” Bishop Apigo said.

Despite that, he hopes that seminarians will develop their love for service to the people through their exposure and conversation with the inmates, the young people who are affected by drugs, among others.

He added that seminarians should continue going out of their comfort zones who are willing to serve the people especially those in the peripheries.