The Lord’s Instrument: To be the reflection of his love, kindness and teachings of faith

“The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.” – St. John Marie Vianney

This was one of the most striking quotes from a Saint that the recently ordained priest, Rev. Fr. Amiel E. Arado, shared, during the question-and-answer portion of the short celebration after his Thanksgiving Mass at the Immaculate Concepcion Parish – Peñaplata (ICP-Peñaplata) on the 11th of August 2024.

Back when he was young, he shared that his whole life only revolved in three major places: church, school, and home. In the interview, he said that he vividly remembers how he usually spent his afternoons at their local church to practice and play a song with the organ in preparation for his mass services. After his practices, he would immediately buy himself some hot cake and pineapple juice from the stall that was stationed outside the church before going home. In his words, his life back then was so simple and patterned.

However, things changed after he got inspired by a priest who sponsored his education. He could recall how this priest would bring him along to several Gagmay’ng Kristohanong Katilingban (GKK) which became his catalyst and motivation as he began to enter the seminary. Yet, as time passed by, he eventually discovered a much deeper reason as to why he was called to enter the seminary. In that sense, he was enlightened that perhaps that priest who showed him kindness, was just one of the Lord’s instruments to guide him in his journey towards priesthood.

Still, Fr. Arado also had his fair share of challenges and moments wherein he wanted to give up, for to walk in God’s way was never easy. Among these challenges, the recently ordained priest particularly shared that he constantly misses his parents, particularly his mother, for he was really attached to them. According to him, there were times wherein he would prompt the idea of possibly leaving the seminary to his parents.

“Mao tong katong mag-skwela na sa seminaryo kay dako kaayo nga challenge kay mingawon ko sa akong mama pero samtang ga-dugay kay naanad ra man pud,” the priest shared.

Aside from this, he also entertained the idea of giving up on his journey, just three months before his diaconate ordination. Nevertheless, the Lord’s will shall always find its way and as faithful followers of Christ, we are to trust these plans.

“Isa ko ka-tuig sa Bishop’s residence before ko na-ordain so kanang murag naa ra ko didto nya namalandong ko sa akong kinabuhi ba. Nganong mga classmate kay daghan na kaayog naay nindot nga trabaho, ang uban kay nanga-pari na unya ako kay naa ra didto. So mao na akong na-feel ato nga time,” he honestly shared during the interview. Fortunately, he continued and when God’s perfect time arrived for him, he was ready to accept it.

Fr. Amiel’s first diaconate assignment was immediately at the Immaculate Concepcion Parish of Peñaplata, where he served as the church’s deacon from June 1 to September 15 of the year 2023. Upon receiving the letter of his assignment, he shared that he was excited and overjoyed since he really loves to swim in the sea though, what he did not expect was that he would not only be seeing the sea but he will also be touching the hearts of many individuals and become their own source of inspiration.

As the Thanksgiving program progressed, programs and presentations from the different church organizations and sectors were presented. It was a presentation of God-given talents, aimed to show gratitude and thanks to one another; from ICP-Peñaplata to Fr. Arado for touching the hearts of others, and from Fr. Arado to the community of the faithful for being part of his journey to priesthood.

Before the question-and-answer portion ended, Fr. Amiel emphasized that he hoped that he would be a priest who can be approached by everyone and anyone from all walks of life. As he said: The biggest challenge of a priest is how do you make people feel loved through you? He hoped to become an instrument of faith just like how a priest became his catalyst and inspired him to enter the seminary, and how Jesus loved us all unconditionally. With this, in a much more completed form of St. John Marie Vianney’s quotation, let us always remember: “The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus. When you see a priest, think of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Diwani Ma. Rosemina G. Gales, Immaculate Concepcion Parish Youth Apostolate Choir – Peñaplata)