Manila Cathedral Mass Today - Episcopal Ordination with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle

[Music] [Applause] is [Music] oh glory bro r [Music] [Applause] [Music] my name is [Music] oh [Music] so we pray for our father r [Music] hello is amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen peace be with you and with your spirit my dear brothers and sisters as we celebrate today the feast of our lady of lourdes we are gathered as god's chosen people to celebrate the gift of a new bishop to the church let us pray for our brother archbishop elect arnaldo and for his special mission in the church let us entrust him and each one of us to marry our mother that like her we too may become obedient children of our merciful father and faithful servants of the church let us now acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries i confess to almighty god and to you my brothers and sisters that i have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words in what i have done and in what i have failed to do through my fault through my fault through my most grievous fault ever therefore all the angels and saints and you my brothers and sisters to pray for me to the lord our god may almighty god have mercy on us forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life amen [Music] please [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] is and on earth you be glory by you we give you thanks for your great glory lord god oh [Music] lord jesus christ over [Music] away the sins of the world of mercy on us [Music] have mercy on is [Music] is alone are the holy ghost [Music] jesus christ in glory [Music] is [Music] let us pray grant us o merciful god protection in our weakness that we who keep the memorial of the immaculate mother of god may with the help of her intercession rise up from our iniquities through our lord jesus christ your son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit god forever and ever amen please be seated a reading from the book of the prophet isaiah rejoice with jerusalem and be glad because of her all you who love her exalt exalt with her all you who are mourning over her oh that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort that you may nurse with the light at her abundant breasts for thus says the lord lo i will spread prosperity over her like a river and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent as nurselings you shall be carried in her arms and fundalled in her lap as a mother comforts her child so will i comfort you in jerusalem you shall find your comfort when you see this your heart shall rejoice and your bodies flourish like the grass the lord's power shall be known to his servants the word of the lord thanks be to god [Music] you are the highest [Music] r blessed are you daughter by the most high god above all the women earth and blessed be the lord [Music] you are your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who tell of the might of god ourselves [Music] a reading from the second letter of paul to the corinthians since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us we are not discouraged rather we are renounced shameful hidden things not acting deceitfully or falsifying the word of god but by the open declaration of the truth we command ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of god for we do not preach ourselves but jesus christ as lord and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of jesus for god who said let light shine out of darkness as shown in our hearts to bring to life the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ but we hold this treasure in heaven vessels that this surpassing power may be of god and not from us the world of the lord thanks be to god please stand [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] are you over who believe that what was spoken to you by the lord would be fulfilled [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] oh [Music] the lord be with you and with your spirit [Music] are reheating from the holy gospel according to john glory to you lord [Music] there was a wedding at kena in galilee and the mother of jesus was there jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding when the wine ran short the mother of jesus said to him they have no wine and jesus said to her woman how does your concern affect me my hour has not yet come his mother said to the servants do whatever he tells you now there were six stone water jars there for jewish ceremonial washings each holding 20 to 30 gallons jesus told them fill the jars with water so they filled them to the brim then he told them draw some out now and take it to the head waiter so they took it and when the headwaiter test tasted the water that had become wine without knowing where it came from although they who had drawn the water knew the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him everyone serves good wine first and then when the people have drunk philly an inferior one but you have kept the good wine until now jesus did this as the beginning of his science akina in galilee and so revealed his glory and his disciples began to believe in him the gospel of the lord praise to you lord jesus christ please remain standing [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] oh please remain standing as we begin the right of ordination foreign [Music] oh [Music] is is [Music] for me [Music] through [Music] if [Music] [Applause] [Music] roster the lord is [Applause] see [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] is god [Music] most reverend father the holy catholic church our mother asks you to ordain this priest the reverend monsignor arnaldo sanchez catalan to the responsibility of the episcopal have you amanda from the apostolic sea we have let it be read francis bishop servant of the servants of god to our beloved son [Music] arnaldo catalan from the clergy of the metropolitan archdiocese of manila up to now counselor of the nunchucher nominated apostolic nunshu in rwanda at the same time acquainted titular archbishop of apollonia greetings and apostolic blessings guarded by constant piety and relying on the soul hope of heavenly grace we urge men and women towards the duty of recognizing in our lord jesus christ the dignity of their nature in the manner of his birth he has brought about hormone human kind a spiritual inauguration guilt to revert to innocence and the old refresh anew and he has called us towards freedom so that we may serve one another through love thus mindful of our responsibility towards the universal church of gaining the salvation and holiness of souls and the flourishing of humanity we turn our thoughts to you our beloved son who is learned in theology and canon law and is especially endowed with human and priestly virtues as well as expertise in accomplishing tasks indeed we have seen the merits of the work you diligently performed at the apostolic nunchuchers in zambia kuwait mexico honduras turkey india argentina canada the philippine islands in china fearlessly bringing brothers and sisters in loving closeness and so you are eligible to perform greater tasks therefore by the fullness of our apostolic authority we appoint you in being apostolic nunchu in rwanda as titular archbishop of apollonia granting you the rights that are due to this office and imposing upon you the obligations related to it as regards your episcopal ordination we joyfully allow that it be administered by a catholic bishop anywhere outside the city of rome the liturgical precepts being observed and upon sending the professional faith and the oath of fidelity to us and to our successors in accordance with the norms of ecclesiastical law dear son we ardently exhort you to always serve with patient charity for the good of the lowly and the poor throughout the whole world so that seeing how much you struggle in your labors for their sake they may always have abundant consolation given in rome and the lateran on the 31st day of the month of january in the year of the lord 20 2022 the ninth in our pontificate thanks be to god please be seated my dear brothers and sisters in christ we thank and praise god for gathering us together as one community of faith as we witness as a church god's enduring care and concern for his people in the gift of a new bishop thank you monsignor arne for responding to god's calling to be a bishop thank you and we thank the family of uh archbishop elect arne for your generosity also in giving one of your sons to the service of the church we thank all of you dear friends among the faithful for your presence we thank our brother priests who are here to witness this great event and we thank our brother bishops i just realized that this evening the four surviving filipino cardinals are all present here tonight [Applause] we are also grateful to god that we're having this episcopal consecration on the memorial of our lady under her title our lady of lourdes healer of the sick comforter of the afflicted we entrust the church and archbishop arne to her loving care a bishop a bishop i invite all of you to please go back to some of the precious documents of the church especially the second vatican council to appreciate the tremendous gift that we are receiving as a church in the calling to service and mission of archbishop irony a bishop is called to be a successor of the apostles to be a living link to the apostolic tradition that began from the time of jesus and must remain alive and fresh today and a successor of the apostles a bishop is called to the service of the community servicem community and how does the bishop serve the community through preaching the word the word of god by the celebration of the sacraments and through the service called governance governance not to lord it over others but the governance of humility of service and of love and through the bishop we have a symbol of the living link between a local church in the universal church such that together with the holy father and the other bishops the episcopal college or the body of bishops really is the effective sign and instrument of the communion of the universal church if what i said did not make sense to you don't worry i'm still trying to make sense of it after 20 years but even just through words it sounds daunting heavy very heavy that's why i think archbishop arnie turned to an apostle paul how did the apostles and in this case paul how did he survive what made him persevere the second reading from the second letter of paul to the corinthians tells us saint paul's secret and i'm sure that is also the secret of the other apostles monsignor army took one passage of this wonderful letter as his episcopal motto not just today but for the rest of his life and of his service since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us we are not discouraged we do not give up the apostle paul experienced so many challenges as he himself narrates in the second reading and in his other letters some people did not like his preaching that made scholar surmised that probably he was not just a dull speaker but maybe he had some speech defect not everyone agreed with this interpretation of scriptures add to that is the comparison being made with the so-called super apostles then saint paul experienced shipwreck persecution arrests and on a personal note he talked about the thorn in the flesh on the personal level on the pastoral level on the missionary level the apostle paul met with so much opposition enough for him to say i give up i give up enough is enough let me go back to a normal life but what made him persevere the answer that he gives is that he has received this ministry through the mercy shown to him remembering god's mercy then there is no room to give up saint paul considers himself the least of the apostles for he started persecuting he started as a persecutor of the disciples of christ but in god's mercy he who deserved to be punished by jesus was given an intimate apparition a dialogue he was entrusted with a mission mercy only the mercy of god how could you give up on the god who does not give up on you that's mercy that's the power of mercy you don't give up on someone who does not give up on you i'm sure many moments in the life and ministry of saint paul he was at the brink of saying no more but then this powerful experience of the fidelity compassion and mercy of god would turn the tables on him and he would affirm his commitment i will not give up for you have not given up on me and saint paul sees a value to that he says through his limitations and through his trials it becomes clear in him who is an earthen vessel that the power of his word and the power of his mission does not come from him but comes from god then he says also in the beginning of the second letter to the corinthians blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ the father of compassion and of all encouragement who encourages us in our every affliction so that we may be able to encourage those who are in affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by god beautiful the encouragement that god gives us is not for personal com consumption the encouragement that we get from god is not just to make me stand up again and be strong and go my merry way god's mercy and encouragement are apostolic we are encouraged by god in our afflictions so that we could be attentive to those who are in affliction and encourage them the way god has encouraged us senior arne and i really pray that the afflictions would be less but they will not disappear i'm sure but the mercy of god is always stronger than all the afflictions and having been encouraged by god's mercy encourage others who are in probably more miserable conditions the mercy that encourages has brought to our attention by saint paul is vividly depicted in the gospel our blessed mother and of course jesus her son they were in a wedding and something catastrophic was about to happen ran out of wine the newly married couple ran out of wine that is a grievous sin during celebrations especially during weddings the husband will be insulted for life how can you support your family when on your wedding day you ran out of wine what type of husband will you be do we have wine tonight oh what a catastrophe but god will be merciful the attentiveness of the blessed mother and she goes to jesus they have no more wine look at that merciful glance seeing what is lacking and seeing the potential embarrassment she goes to jesus to report they have no more wine and the response of jesus has been the subject of interpretations among exegetes scholars and spiritual writers how is your concern my concern how does this affect me and this is a question that jesus asks of us when we see wine running out in the lives of people do we just see [Music] jesus asked us is it your concern does it really concern you we are still in the period of the pandemic and i have to make a confession for almost two years now we have been hearing wash your hands wash your hands often but brothers and sisters there are many people in the world who do not have water they don't have water to drink where will they get water to wash their hands they have no wine they have no water observe distancing if you feel some symptoms stay in your room maintain two meters of a distance from your closest friend or your family they don't have space in their room in their houses they don't even have rooms they don't have wine they don't have space archbishop arne will go to rwanda the archbishop cardinal of kigali the capital archbishop antoine kagamba his whole family was killed except for one sibling during the civil war and he's just one they don't have family they don't have wine is this a concern to you how does this concern us i think this is a moment also to reflect i'm sure we all see where wine is lacking but jesus's question is on another level does this concern us and we should be humble enough to admit why we do not move from seeing that there is no more wine to not to being more concerned i guess one reason is because we have wine we are not too concerned about those who do not have wine because we have abundant water to wash our hands with are we really concerned about those who do not have water because we have enough space are we really concerned about those who do not have space because we still have our family are we concerned about those who lose their families in senseless killing i think here the humility even the affliction of the apostle is important for us to be able to tell jesus yes it is my concern because i have experienced running out of wine father michael buckley wrote something like this he said the story goes that francis of assisi was being shown the lateran palace by pope innocent iii and the vision of the palace was one of splendor splendor the pope is reported to have said it is the same church but we can no longer say with the apostle peter gold and silver i have not to which francis of assisi answered nor do you have the power to say in the name of jesus of nazareth walk the power of the afflicted is in jesus in the name of jesus so after seeing the empty jars and being asked by jesus does it matter to you is it your concern many of us will rise up and do something wait wait wait our blessed mother will tell us what to do do what he tells you to do go to jesus he will tell us what to do our role is to fill the empty jars with ordinary water to labor that way to scoop something of that water to be brought to the head of the feast and to hear the words of the guest master why did you keep the best wine to the last that is our humble role not to produce the new wine it is the work of jesus and only jesus can do that we remain humble servants carrying the water and being witnesses and singing the praises of jesus it is the hour of jesus not our hour it is the hour of jesus the hour of salvation the hour of mercy then the vision of isaiah becomes true a humiliated people starts rejoicing they become triumphant in the hour of jesus ordinary water becomes the best wine in the hour of jesus empty wine bottles have been substituted with at least 120 gallons of the best wine the mercy of jesus and we humble servants will just carry the water and see the hour of jesus unfolding before us in your ministry that every activity every moment be the hour of jesus and you can always count on the nearness of the blessed mother and the power of jesus and in god's hour may people especially in rwanda see the mercy of the lord and they themselves will say with paul and with you we are not discouraged we will not give up the ancient rule of the holy fathers ordains that the bishop elect is to be questioned in the presence of the people on his resolve to uphold the faith and to discharge his duty and so dear brother do you resolve by the grace of the holy spirit to discharge until death the office entrusted to us by the apostles which we are about to pass on to you by the laying on of our hands i do do you resolve to preach the gospel of christ with constancy and fidelity i do do you resolve to guard the deposit of faith entire and incorrupt as handed down by the apostles and preserved in the church everywhere and at all times i do do you resolve to build up the body of christ his church and to remain in the unity of that body together with the order of bishops under the authority of the successor of saint peter the apostle i do do you resolve to render obedience faithfully to the successor of the blessed apostle peter i do do you resolve to guide the holy people of god in the way of salvation as a devoted father and sustain them with the help of your fellow ministers the priests and deacons i do do you resolve for the sake of the lord's name to be welcoming and merciful to the poor to strangers and to all who are in need i do do you resolve as a good shepherd to seek out the sheep who stray and gather them into the lord's fold i do do you resolve to pray without ceasing to almighty god for the holy people and to carry out the office of high priest without reproach i do with the help of god may god who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment please then dearly beloved let us pray the kindness of almighty god in providing for the welfare of the church will grant an abundance of his grace for this chosen one let us all know so [Music] lord have a mercy christ lord have mercy lord [Music] holy mary mother of god [Music] holy angels of god [Music] saints peter and [Music] since john and james amen [Music] saint maximilian oh [Music] gregory [Music] nations [Music] since martin and benedict [Music] sains princess and dominique [Music] ignatius and francis saint charles morometer [Music] saint rose [Music] from [Music] from everlasting by your incarnation by your death and resurrection by your gift from the spirit have mercy on us lord jesus by the grace of baptism o jesus son of the living god in its fullness on your sons and your daughters who believe and profess you you are jesus graciously hear our petition so lord and pour out upon this your servant the power of your blessing flowing from the horn of priestly grace through christ our lord amen stand please visit please stand god and father of our lord jesus christ father of mercies and god of all consolation who dwell on high and look upon the lowly who know all things before they come to be and who lay down observances in your church through the word of your grace who from the beginning foreordained a nation of the just born of abraham who established rulers and priests and did not leave your sanctuary without ministers and who from the foundation of the world were pleased to be glorified in those you have chosen pour out upon this chosen one that power which is from you the governing spirit whom you gave to your beloved son jesus christ the spirit whom he bestowed on those holy apostles who established the church in every place as your sanctuary for the glory and unceasing praise of your name grant oh father knower of all hearts that this your servant whom you have chosen for the office of bishop may shepherd your holy flock serving you night and day may he fulfill before you without reproach the ministry of the high priesthood so that always gaining your favor he may offer up the gifts of your holy church grant that by the power of the spirit of the high priesthood he may have the power to forgive sins according to your command assign offices according to your decree and lose every bond according to the power given by you to the apostles may he please you by his meekness and purity of heart presenting a fragrant offering to you through your son jesus christ through whom glory and power and honor are yours with the holy spirit in the holy church now and forever [Music] please be seated may god who has made you a sharer of the high priesthood of christ himself pour out upon you the oil of mystical anointing and make you fruitful with an abundance of spiritual blessings [Music] upon me [Music] me please to the lord [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] receive the gospel and preach the word of god with all patience and sound teaching receive this ring the seal of fidelity adorned with undefiled faith preserve and blemish the bride of god the holy church receive the mitre and may the splendor of holiness shine forth in you so that when the chief shepherd appears you may deserve to receive from him an unfading crown of glory receive the crochet the sign of your pastoral office and keep watch over the whole flock in which the holy spirit has placed you as a bishop to govern the church of god [Applause] [Applause] [Music] oh is is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] r foreign [Music] r [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] oh foreign [Applause] [Music] hey [Music] oh [Music] i [Music] my one [Music] [Applause] [Music] my please pray brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to god the almighty father may the lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name for our good and the good of all his holy church receive o lord the offerings of our devotion and grant that we who celebrate your son's work of boundless charity may through the example of the blessed virgin mary be confirmed in love of you and of our neighbor through christ our lord amen the lord be with you and with your spirit lift up your hearts we lift them up to the lord let us give thanks to the lord our god it is right and josh it is truly right and just our duty and our salvation to praise your mighty deeds in the exaltation of all the saints and especially as we celebrate the memory of the blessed virgin mary to proclaim your kindness as we echo her thankful hymn of praise for truly even to earth's ends you have done great things and extended your abundant mercy from age to age when you looked on the lowliness of your handmaid you gave us through her the author of our salvation your son jesus christ our lord through him the host of angels adores your majesty and rejoices in your presence forever may our voices we pray join with theirs in one chorus of exultant praise as we acclaim [Music] r [Music] oh [Music] you are indeed holy o lord and all you have created rightly gives you praise for through your son our lord jesus christ by the power and working of the holy spirit you give life to all things and make them holy and you never cease to gather a people to yourself so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name therefore o lord we humbly implore you by the same spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration that they may become the body and blood of your son our lord jesus christ at whose command we celebrate these mysteries for on the night he was betrayed he himself took bread and giving you thanks he said the blessing broke the bread and gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and eat of it for this is my body which will be given up for you [Music] in a similar way when supper was ended he took the chalice and giving you thanks he said a blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples saying take this all of you and drink from it for this is the chalice of my blood the blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins do this in memory of me please stand the mystery of faith [Music] is [Music] therefore o lord as we celebrate the memorial of the saving passion of your son his wondrous resurrection and ascension into heaven and as we look forward to his second coming we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice look we pray upon the oblation of your church and recognizing the sacrificial victim by whose death you will to reconcile us to yourself grant that we who are nourished by the body and blood of your son and filled with his holy spirit may become one body one spirit in christ may make of us an everlasting offering to you so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect especially with the most blessed virgin mary mother of god with blessed joseph her spouse with your blessed apostles and glorious martyrs and with all the saints on whose constant intercession in your presence we rely for unfailing help may this sacrifice of our reconciliation we pray o lord advance the peace and salvation of all the world be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your pilgrim church on earth with your servant francis our pope jose our bishop and me your unworthy servant who has been ordained today with the order of bishops all the clergy and the entire people you have gained for your own listen graciously to the prayers of this family whom you have summoned before you in your compassion a merciful father gather to yourself all your children scattered throughout the world to our departed brothers and sisters and to all who are pleasing to you at their passing from this life give kind admittance to your kingdom there we hope to enjoy forever the fullness of your glory through christ our lord through whom you bestow on the world all that is good through him and with him and in him o god almighty father in the unity of the holy spirit all glory and honor is yours forever and ever oh [Music] at the savior's command and formed by divine teaching we dare to pray oh [Music] is is uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] deliver us lord we pray from every evil graciously grant peace in our days that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our savior jesus christ [Applause] is lord jesus christ who said to your apostles peace i leave you my peace i give you look not on our sins but on the faith of your church and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will who live and reign for ever and ever amen the peace of the lord be with you always and with your spirit let us offer each other the sign of peace [Music] foreign is [Music] away is [Music] oh [Music] behold the lamb of god behold him who takes away the sins of the world blessed are those called to the supper of the lamb lord i am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed is [Music] [Music] please stand let us pray grant to your church o lord that strengthened by the power of this sacrament she may eagerly walk in the pathways of the gospel until she reaches the blessed vision of peace which the virgin mary your lowly handmaid already enjoys eternally in glory through christ our lord amen [Music] my name [Music] thy [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] the brothers [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] please be seated your eminence cardinal luis antonio tagle prefect of the congregation for the evangelization of peoples your eminence cardinal gaudencio rosales archbishop emeritus of manila your eminence cardinal orlando quebedo archbishop ameritus of cotabato your excellency archbishop charles brown apostolic nunchu to the philippines your excellencies the archbishops and bishops of the philippines your excellency archbishop elect arnaldo catalan titular archbishop of apollonia and apostolic nuncio to rwanda reverend monsignori and fathers religious men and women members of the family of archbishop arne and other guests those who are joining the live streaming of the mass especially those at the vatican in taiwan and in rwanda my dear brothers and sisters in christ last sunday the 6th of february we celebrated the 443rd anniversary of the establishment of manila as the first diocese in the philippines declaring also the church of manila dedicated to the immaculate conception as the first cathedral of the country from this mother church all dioceses of the country were born pope francis in his letter on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the rebuilding of the postwar manila cathedral said and i quote when our predecessor gregory the 13th established around 440 years ago the diocese of manila comprising the entire archipelago had he thought at the time of how prosperous the development of the catholic faith there would be indeed the noble church in the philippines now stands among the great catholic nations in the entire world hence no wonder she continuously sends missionaries to other regions it is in this context that i wish to view our grace-filled and historic gathering this evening after 443 years one of the priests of manila is ordained to the episcopacy for a particular mission in the church that is for the diplomatic service of the holy see [Music] we thank the holy father pope francis for this gift and honor archbishop catalan's ordination adds meaning to our celebration of the 500th anniversary of christianity in the philippines we are indeed gifted to give the archdiocese of manila has indeed been very blessed now it is our turn to give and we are offering our very own archbishop arne as a missionary to the world archbishop arne [Music] in the name of the clergy religious men and women and all the lay faithful in our beloved local church i congratulate you on your episcopal ordination today we are very proud of you you are our gift to the church in your mission as an official representative of the holy father enrich the diplomatic service with the wealth of our filipino spirit wherever you are sent bring with you the filipino faith the philippine warmth the filipino hospitality the filipino personalism the filipino joy and the filipino smile and know that your brothers and sisters here in the archdiocese of manila support you with our love and prayers we entrust you to the blessed virgin mary our immaculate mother that she may always protect you and lead you to whatever jesus wants you to do and to wherever jesus wants you to go archbishop arnie [Music] congratulations [Applause] your eminence cardinal luis tagley your eminence cardinal jose advincula remnants cardinal dear brother bishops and priests religious and laypeople our hearts and minds are filled with gratitude and grace this evening as we come to the conclusion of this beautiful and splendid liturgy of the ordination to the episcopate of his excellency archbishop arnaldo catalan who was recently named nuncio by our holy father pope francis to the country of rwanda today is a day as we have heard in which the archdiocese of manila and indeed the church throughout the philippines can rejoice with justified pride as a son of the church of manila is numbered among the successors of the apostles for me as your apostolic nuncio this moment brings me particular happiness and satisfaction because i have known archbishop catalan since the very first months of his diplomatic service to the holy see i first met the then father arne in the year 2002 just a few months after his arrival in his first diplomatic posting in lusaka the capital of zambia and i have followed with great interest his diplomatic itinerary ever since and as everyone who knows him can attest archbishop catalan is a wonderful person a devoted priest and will surely be a kind and effective shepherd of god's holy people i want in a very special way to recognize the presence of his mother who is with us in the cathedral this evening thank you dr naomi catalan for the gift of your son to the church first as a priest and now as an archbishop and nuncio and to you dear archbishop arnaldo father arne to me on behalf of everyone at the nunciature in manila where you serve for three years all of us who are here present the staff the priests the sisters all of us from the nunciature here in the cathedral this evening on their behalf i want to express to you our heartfelt congratulations and our very best wishes on your episcopal ordination today we will continue to pray for you father arne as you begin your new mission in rwanda may god bless you and may our lady watch over you and protect you always amen [Applause] good evening pope francis constantly reminds us that our heavenly father is a god of surprises in 2013 upon his election as pope he urged us to be open to the surprises of god in 2018 he said god does not meet our expectations he surprises us instead recently on the 30th of january this year he assured us again that the lord always surprises us indeed the reason for our presence at this beautiful cathedral this evening is a god-given surprise totally unexpected and undeserved you see i wasn't able to take my vacations in 2020 and 2021 perhaps like some of you because of the pandemic but by mid november last year travel conditions got better and my mother was hinting to me that some repairs had to be done on the roof and gutters of our house i guess she needed a real reason for me to come home however after overseeing those repairs i received a call from the holy see that i was nominated nuncio to rwanda imagine my big surprise when all i wanted to do with my free time was to fix the roof over my head and ended up with this as well like all surprises this nomination is a gift that is totally gratuitous and unmerited but it is also quite a demanding task truly god did not meet my expectations he exceeded them so much that i am at a loss of words to thank him so i take saint paul's appreciation of his own ministry as a motto and as a pledge of gratitude that since i have this ministry only through the mercy shown me i am not discouraged to our holy father pope francis who confirmed this gift god-given gift and task to me today my sincerest thanks for your trust and constant paternal concern thank you for being an instrument of god's manifold surprises what was not a surprise for me on the other hand is the support and the assistance that i have always had from the archdiocese of manila and some good friends to whom i now have the opportunity to acknowledge with heartfelt gratitude firstly to his eminence cardinal jaime sin of good memory who accepted me as a seminarian ordained me and who in his own words offered me as a gift of the archdiocese to the universal church despite my unwillingness to enter the diplomatic school in rome and appeal for him to choose someone else thank you cardinal sin for your insistence your foresight and trust prove true only by god's grace to his eminence cardinal luis antonio tagle my former archbishop and now the prefect of the congregation for the evangelization of peoples that oversees countries like the republic of china taiwan and rwanda thank you for delaying your trip back to rome to be the principal consecrator today and for your solicitude towards me and my work infinite eminence to his eminence cardinal jose advincula my new archbishop who in thanking pope francis for the gift given to the archdiocese in its first nuncio unknowingly completed full circle the gift made by cardinal sin more than two decades ago thank you your eminence for sealing that exchange gift by being co-consecrator today and for your assurance of support and prayers for my new mission in a special way i would want to thank his semin the eminences cardinal rosales and cardinal quevedo for taking the time to join with us in this happy occasion to his excellency archbishop charles brown our apostolic nuncio thank you for the privilege of being consecrated by one who is in the same diplomatic service of the holy see as i am and for the invaluable work that you do together with monsignor cabure in favor of the filipino people my many thanks many thanks also to the archbishops and bishops here present especially to bishop david the president of the cbcp for all the wonderful experiences that i had with all the bishops in the philippines when i was here three years and working in a special way i also want to thank bishop francis de leon the bishop of the diocese of antipolo who was my first parish priest when i was parochial vicar for all the things that i learned from you jokes included my heartfelt appreciation also to all the religious who are here present and to the priests who have come especially to my batchmates from the usd central seminary of class 92 there you hear them some came from visayas and mindanao to be with us today i acknowledge as well the dominican order represented by father roy rodriguez opie for the education and formation that i received from their schools and universities both in the philippines and in italy lastly my sincerest gratitude to the clergy of the archdiocese of manila especially to father reggie father kali father jack federico father marian father kaloy father sid monsignor sid father cesar and monsignor clem and all those who collaborated with them the four deacons the acolytes the ministers the choir the technical staff and all those who made this occasion possible and meaningful and memorable to all hear present thank you for praying with me remember be open to god's surprises paul [Applause] please stand the lord be with you and with your spirit may the lord bless you and keep you and as he has willed to set you as high priest over his people so may he make you happy in this present life and grant you a share in the happiness that is eternal amen may god grant that the clergy and people he has chosen to unite by his gracious help be happily governed by his providence and your stewardship for many years to come amen may they obey god's commandments freed from adversity and may they abound in all that is good submitting in faith to your ministry so that they may enjoy peace and tranquility in the present age and with you be found worthy to share the company of the citizens of heaven amen and may the blessing of almighty god the father and the son and the holy spirit come down on you and remain with you forever amen go and announce the gospel of the lord thanks be to god oh [Music] me [Music] [Music] now [Music] you

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Length: 144min 21sec (8661 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 11 2022