Cebu Archbishop Alberto “Abet” Uy in his homily during the Cebu Clergy Annual Christmas Fellowship and Thanksgiving at Pope John XXIII Minor Seminary (30 December 2025)
“Saint John understands something very important: in the Christian community — and especially in the priesthood — people stand at different seasons of life. Not everyone carries the same burdens. Not everyone struggles with the same temptations. Not everyone is sustained by the same hopes.
And so, he speaks to each with understanding, realism, and love.
I would like to do the same today.
To our senior clergy, thank vou. Thank vou for the many vears vou have given as priests. Thank you for the countless Masses offered, confessions heard, sick visited, and quiet sacrifices that very few people ever noticed.
Some of you may feel tired now — and that is very understandable. Some of you may feel that your pace has slowed, your strength is less, your energy is not what it once was. But please remember this: fruitfulness in priesthood is not measured by speed, but by faithfulness.
What matters now is that you continue to find joy and peace. In these remaining years, just offer whatever strength you have — with love. You are near the finish line. May what remains be a quiet, trusting, and beautiful gift to the Lord.
To our middle clergy, thank you for your hard work. You are carrying much of the daily weight of ministry — administration, expectations, responsibilities, and pressures that never seem to end.
I know some of you may have less energy than before. Some may be dealing with health concerns, disappointments, or the quiet struggle of feeling stretched too thin. My prayer for you is this: that you may find ways to renew not only your strength, but more importantly, your love for the priesthood.
Let that renewal begin simply — with a faithful return to prayer. Not complicated. Not heroic. Just honest. Because it is God, and God alone, who reminds us why we became priests in the first place — long before calendars were full and rest was scarce.
To our junior and young clergy, thank you for bringing fresh life and energy to our presbyterium. Please keep that going. Your presence is a blessing to the Church and to your brother priests.
Do not get tired too easily. And please — do not lose the idealism you learned in the seminary. Hold on to it. Protect it. Live it out as best you can, even when reality becomes demanding. We truly need you, and the Lord places great hope in you. Keep the positive energy and the spirit of service-but also learn to pace yourselves. This is a lifelong journey.
In our first reading, Saint John reminds all of us: “Your sins are forgiven.. you have known Him… you have conquered the evil one.”
Before we are parish priests or parochial vicars; before we are team members, seminary formators, chaplains, or school directors — we are forgiven men.
And, brothers, that is where our unity begins.
That is where our joy is renewed.
That is where our priesthood is kept humble and alive.
But Saint John also gives us a difficult and honest warning:
“Do not love the world or the things of the world.”
He is not condemning creation. He is not rejecting joy or beauty. He is warning us about a subtle danger-the danger of slowly losing our first love.
Even priests can be tempted, little by little: to choose comfort instead of sacrifice, money and material things instead of genuine service, efficiency and recognition instead of prayer and humility.
Today, Christmas gently reminds us: we were not ordained to earn and succeed. We were ordained to be faithful.
The world passes away. Assignments end. Parishes change. Titles fade. Material things rot But the one who does the will of God remains forever.
Allow me now, as your father, to speak with genuine concern.
One of the greatest dangers in priesthood today is not persecution — but comfort.
Comfort can dull our zeal. Power can isolate us. Materialism can quietly convince us that we deserve more. And before we realize it, we are no longer shepherds walking with our people—we become executives protecting our space.
But Jesus was not born in comfort.
He was laid in a manger.
And He never stopped giving Himself away.
If Christmas means anything for us as priests, it is this: God saves the world not by taking — but by giving.
The Gospel today introduces us to Anna, an elderly widow who never left the temple.
She did not preach. She did not organize movements. She did not lead crowd She simply remained — faithful in prayer, fasting, and hope.
And because she stayed, she was among the first to recognize the Child.
My dear brothers, many of the most beautiful fruits of priesthood are hidden: prayers whispered in silence, tears shed alone before the Blessed Sacrament, help and support for less fortunate members of the flock, faithfulness on days when joy feels absent.
Like Anna, what keeps us in the God’s house is not excitement — but love.
Luke ends the Gospel with a simple but consoling line: “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.”
Even Jesus grew gradually.
So must we.
If you feel unfinished, tired, or still learning — do not be discouraged. Grace is at work even when growth feels hidden. God is patient with us. Let us be patient with ourselves.
My dear brother priests, this Christmas I ask you: not to prove more, not to acquire more, not to impress more.
I ask you to love more — freely, joyfully, generously.”