He, the Lord Jesus, must increase. I, Muloy, must decrease. (Part 1 of 2)

(Excerpt from the message of Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D., during his 50th Sacerdotal Anniversary Mass at San Pedro Cathedral, April 10, 2026.)

Good morning! We are about to conclude this Holy Eucharist which I am presiding, my thanksgiving to the Lord for the gift of the priesthood which I received from him, half a century ago.

And now, I turn to you, thanking all of you for joining me today. How I wish I have a more elegant way with words to describe, to express my deep gratitude to all of you!

Thank you, Your Excellency Archbishop Charles J. Brown; thank you for your warm and kind message, and thank you for bringing to us, to me, the presence of our dear Holy Father Pope Leo.

Cardinal Joe Advincula, thank you so much for your homily. I listened to every word you said. I feel the personal vibes in your words springing from the many years of friendship that we have.

[I cannot help myself but bring this up, Cardinal Joe: I can still remember vividly your face when I knocked at your room at the Collegio Filippino, and this happened many times, when I asked you to help me translate very well Latin texts related to my studies at San Anselmo; and written on your face was: How on earth can Muloy survive his studies at San Anselmo with his next-to-nothing Latin?]

Cardinal Orly, your presence today is sincerely appreciated. You know how we, bishops, especially we here in Mindanao, look up to you for you always inspire us.

Cardinal Ambo, I am so grateful for your gracious presence. I know of your extremely very busy schedule. And yet, with a brother’s love, you are here, reminding me of the wonderful time we had together, heading the CBCP.

Archbishop Gilbert Garcera, Archbi, you represent all the bishops in the Philippines, as president of the CBCP. Thank you very much for your presence and inspiring message.

A special mention to my very dear brothers in the Metropolitan Province of Davao, what we know very well as DaDiTaMa: Bishop Jimmy Afable, Bishop Medel Aseo, Bishop Abel Apigo, and my companion here in Davao, Bp. George Rimando.

There are 44 archbishops and bishops who are with us this morning. With this number, I will not be surprised if Archbishop Garcera, our President, will convene a consultation meeting after lunch. A good number of lay people have urged me to call by name each bishop present here.

I cannot fully put into words my sincere appreciation for the joy and brotherly love you have shown to me today – a very concrete expression of the truth that we are brother bishops, and as brother bishops, we journey together both in difficulties and in happiness.