To enliven once again the spirit of mission and to renew their priestly commitment, the clergy of the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan had their annual retreat last November 7-11, 2022, at Maryridge Retreat House, Tagaytay City. It was attended by 52 priests, including the religious from the Society of the Divine Word. Most Rev. Rex Andrew C. Alarcon, D.D., bishop of Daet served as the facilitator.
The 5-day flight with the Lord was commenced by the talk of Fr. Vic, the Judicial Vicar of the Vicariate, about Pascite Gregem Dei: The Reformed Penal Laws in the Church with Special Treatment on the New Clerical Offenses and Penalties to Sex, Money, and Power. This was followed by the opening Mass presided by Very Reverend Fr. Nestor Adalia, the Vicariate’s Apostolic Administrator.
Bishop Rex gave a series of conferences on the following days of the retreat. He began by helping the priests look back and renew, recover, and rediscover their sense of purpose. He also shared about serving the people of God and the whole Church with a humble heart. He stressed that humility is availability, serving with intentionality and accountability. The facilitator also highlighted topics about the mission and the new frontiers of the mission. The last matter of the bishop’s sharing was about Synodality. He emphasized the role of priests as synodal pastors in the parish. Sandwiched between the topics per day were moments of silence, prayer, and personal reflection. Each ministry level was also assigned to the liturgical activities during the retreat. Priests were able to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation with their brother priests. It was also during this retreat when the formal announcement from Rome about our Vicariate being sedi vacante took place. The retreat culminated with the Holy Mass by Rev. Fr. Roberto Sanchez.
