Holy Spirit Mass – XaCoSe

(An excerpt from the Homily of Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D., Archbishop of Davao, August 2, 2021 during the live streamed mass in St. Francis Xavier College Seminary, Cat. Grande, Davao City.)

My brothers and sisters this is the chapel, the church of St. Francis Xavier College Seminary and together with this are two old buildings. Of the three we are fortunate we’re able to restore this beautiful chapel and dugang pa these concrete buildings especially the three – the chapel, the father’s quarters and the seminarians quarters – these are the remaining buildings. Almost untouched they have been like this since the beginning. The buildings built by the PME Missionaries are quite distinct. I have not seen any style of buildings in Mindanao, at least in Davao Region, nothing like this so we are very proud.

When mahuman na ang pandemic please come to the seminary and visit the chapel not only the physical building but so that your love for the church, your love for the Archdiocese, ang inyong gugma sa Simbahan manifested unta, mabuhi diha sa inyong paghigugma sa seminary mapukaw. So I hope that, keep that in mind dili pa karon but especially December 3 because the whole complex of the seminary was dedicated by Archbishop Clovis Thibault, the first bishop and archbishop of Davao. He dedicated this whole place of formation to St. Francis Xavier. In fact my dear friends, as far as I know the only known, tinood gyud, certified relic of St. Francis Xavier we brought it from Rome and it has an official certificate coming from the Society of Jesus that it is a certified relic. So this is a significant place for us Catholics in the Davao Region.

Keep the seminary in your prayers and when the time comes please come to the seminary to see not only this beautiful historic buildings but aron moanhe kamo madungagan, mabuhi ang inyong pagtoo ug pagpangga ug pagmahal sa simbahan. Because dinhi magsugod ang formation sa atong future priests, dinhi magsugod ang ilang mas lalom nga pag-ila sa Ginoo.

My dear brothers, seminarians, that is the very purpose of being in the seminary. When we say I want to become a priest because I want to serve the church, I want to serve God’s people, very true gyud na. But if we study closely the pattern of those who were ask by the Lord, sent by the Lord to work, to serve that is not the first phase. But the first phase, Jesus said, “Come, follow Me.” Know me, listen to me, be familiar with me – that is the reason of the seminary, that’s the reason why you are here to be disciples of Jesus.

This particular phase of your formation is discipleship year and the introduction to that would be the propaedeutic year down below. The same stages coming to know Jesus not in terms of academics but to know in the Bible with your heart, know Him well intimately, personally. And that is the purpose why you are here to know Jesus because, automatic, my dear friends you come to know Him as a person. Like for example in the evenings after so much work in the seminary you will come to this chapel and you know that Jesus is in the Blessed Sacrament, the bread of life. Then it is not anymore knowledge, it’s not anymore the pages in the books, it’s not anymore exam but you know to come to know Jesus as very present in our lives.