The third and final day of the conference was dedicated to “Celibacy, charisms, and spirituality.”
“The priesthood of Jesus is completely missionary and continues to be so for He intercedes eternally for his brothers and sisters before the Father in the heavenly sanctuary,” Tagle said.
“Jesus’ priesthood is a wholly missionary life. Remove mission, there will be no joy, no joy, in those who share in the priesthood of Christ in baptism, in other states of life, and in the ministerial priesthood.”
Tagle reflected on Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
“The ones Jesus loves are the ones he sends,” Tagle noted. “Dangerous love. The more he loves you, the more he sends you.”
The 64-year-old cardinal from the Philippines said that being called to “belong to Jesus and share in his mission” is not a matter of “creating or promoting one’s own project, but of participating in God’s salvific plan in the missions of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.”
“It is the joy, not of inventing one’s message, but of proclaiming what one has heard, seen, looked upon and touched of the word of life. It is the joy, not of boasting of one’s knowledge of the Lord, but of humbly being led by the Holy Spirit’s testimony to Jesus,” he said.
“It is the joy, not of being obsessed with achievements, degrees – ‘Oh, I have a doctorate, you only a master’s degree. I deserve the cathedral. You deserve a village parish.’ – That’s not joy. It’s obsession with achievements.”
“It is the joy of gratitude to Him who makes weak and sinful disciples strong by His grace. We wish every baptized Christian would experience the joy of being a disciple missionary,” he said.
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