OZAMIZ City, July 24, 2010—The local clergy of the Archdiocese of Ozamiz held its annual retreat to further strengthen their spiritual live and grow in holiness in their pastoral ministry.

The clergy’s annual retreat allows them to spend time in silence and solitude with the Lord so that “they may be strengthened in the faithful performance of their pastoral ministry and sacred duty to the church. The theme was “Prayer and Renewal in the Priesthood.”

There are 35 priests working in various pastoral ministries in the archdiocese, five of them are missionaries, four from the Congregation of Mission (C.M.) and one from the Missionary Society of St. Columban (MSSC).

In his message, Ozamiz Archbishop Jesus Dosado, CM urged the clergy to sacrifice for the welfare of their flock and commit more time in prayer.

The prelate added that part of the identity of a diocesan priest must be love for his people. Not a love that is self-seeking or narcissistic, but love that translates into an overwhelming desire to help people know God and experience His love.

“As fathers make so many sacrifices to feed, clothe and educate their children so the priest, a spiritual father, makes countless sacrifices for the people God has entrusted to him to ensure their salvation,” Dosado said.

After the conclusion of the Year of the Clergy a campaign is now silently taking place including making confessions available before all masses as well as a promotional program to prepare for the sacrament of reconciliation as outlined in our Gabayan sa Espiritu sa mga Misamisnon (Spiritual Guide for Misamisnon), the prelate explained.

This will encourage the Catholic faithful to reconnect with this sacrament of the Lord's mercy and part of the spiritual journey of priests, Dosado said.

He said priests should look upon the Cure d'Ars and Padre Pio for their love for the confessional as the throne of God's mercy and expression of their own pastoral love for God's people, and their desire to see them living lives with grace in God’s friendship.

During the Year for Priests, they are also encouraged to follow St. John Vianney's example as a "teacher of the faith," and to take advantage of opportunities to mentor new disciples in the faith.

Their own life of study, ongoing formation and personal reflection help equip them for this challenge, he said.

They must help people see how the various aspects of our faith are interconnected and how they flow from Christ, who is the Head of the Church, the prelate opined.

Marian devotion and Eucharistic piety are also essential for the priests, he added.

“The yearly retreat and yearly check up with medical professionals are ways priests responsibly take care of themselves. And to neglect either is an inexcusable mistake. Nothing could excuse any priest from these minimal kinds of self-help,” Dosado said.

All diocesan priests of the ecclesial province registered for the one-week Annual Retreat which began last Monday, July 19 and scheduled to end on Sunday, July 25, at the Talavera House of Prayer, Pardo, Cebu City.

The event was officially opened with a concelebrated mass. The retreat master was Fr. Jaime Noel Deslate, a diocesan priest of Capiz but now assigned as director of the Galilee Center in Tagaytay City. (Wendell Talibong)