Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva Segovia

The Most Reverend DAVID WILLIAM V. ANTONIO, DD
Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva Segovia
Titular Bishop of Basti

Born on December 29, 1963
Ordained Priest for Nueva Segovia on December 1, 1988
Appointed Bishop by Pope Benedict XVI on July 15, 2011
Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva Segovia on July 15, 2011
Ordained Bishop on August 26, 2011

***

Thanks be to God for the ordination of Bishop David William Antonio at the Conversion of St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral in Vigan City, Philippines. Bishop William is auxiliary bishop of Nueva Segovia, assisting Archbishop Ernesto Salgado.

I am personally thankful to God for the gift of Bishop William to the Church not only in Nueva Segovia, but in the whole of Northern Luzon. Then Fr. William was our baccalaureate mass presider when we graduated at the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary. I too had to the blessing of having him as formator, professor and rector at the Immaculate Conception School of Theology. When I was ordained for the Archdiocese, I had the privilege of working with him at the Chancery, and in the Steering Committee of the Priests' Assembly. I am here in the US working for a Licentiate degree in Systematic Theology very much through his prodding and support.

God has favored his people in Nueva Segovia with the gift of this new bishop, whose person is remarkable.

Bishop William chose as his episcopal motto "Ut vitam habeant" - "That they may have life, and have it more abundantly." from John 10:10. His choice reflects his approach to life and ministry - both are to be a gift of life for others.

Here is his coat-of-arms, and the explanation, courtesy of the Nueva Segovia Chancery:



The Motto, “UT VITAM HABEANT” (“…That they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”), is taken from the Gospel of St. John 10:10, where the Lord Jesus speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd. This figure represents the primary image to which the new Bishop and every Bishop must constantly refer. Chosen to shepherd the Lord’s flock, he is a pastor, a servant of Christ and steward of the mysteries of God (LG 21). The Bishop is a caring pastor who, configured to Christ by his holiness of life, expends himself generously for the flock. He knows his sheep by name (John 10:14), walks ahead of them (John 10:4), leads them to verdant pasture and lays down his life for them (John 10:15).

“UT VITAM HABEANT” expresses too the core-mission of Jesus, namely, the proclamation of the Kingdom of God or God’s salvation, understood essentially as a “New world or universe” liberated from all evils and filled with abundant life-blessings for all of humanity and the whole of creation. This is the same mission entrusted by the Lord to His Church until the final consummation of this kingdom at the end of history; a mission which the Bishop firmly commits himself to.

The Marian Symbol (Marian Monogram with a Crown) at the top portion speaks of the significance and influence of the Blessed Mother in the spiritual life and ministry of the new Bishop. It likewise calls to mind the institutions of learning, religious congregations and communities dedicated to or under the patroness of the Immaculate Conception of Mary – all of which have been instrumental in the bishop’s formation, education and ministry.

The Black bird with Bread on the right side reminds us of St. Benedict of Nursia, acknowledged as Father of Western Monasticism. It signifies the Bishop’s devotion to the saint as well as his interest in the monastic spirituality of Saint Benedict.

The Fleur-de-lis against a black backdrop on the left portion of the shield is reminiscent of St. Dominic of Guzman, whose devotion to the Blessed Mother, especially to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary is legendary. As a symbol of purity and chastity the fleur-de-lis is an iconographic attribute of Virgin Mary. St. Dominic is the patron of the parish/town where the new bishop was born and raised.

***

Laudetur Iesus Christus. Semper laudetur.

Scarce, Scarred, But Never Scared

Click for the Readings: (14th Sunday of Ordinary Time)


“The harvest is great and the laborers are few.” There is a lack of priests, religious, missionaries to serve the whole Church. In my home parish, there are about 50,000 parishioners and there are two priests to serve them. The parish is subdivided into more than a hundred Basic Ecclesial Communities, each they ideally visit, celebrate mass with, and give formation sessions at least once a month. The scarcity of priests is a constant refrain.

But I suggest, Jesus did not only mean the 12 when he spoke of the scarcity of workers; he was sending the 72. He meant the whole of the Church. As he sent the 72, he also sends the whole Church. And in the whole of the world, the harvest is “great”, and the whole Church is but “few”. And could get fewer. There is as most of us could have learned a shifting tide in religion. The Christian population is diminishing where it used to be the foundation and the majority.

As the Lord sent the 72, he also sends all of us, into the world. He sends all of us to take on a more active witness of the Faith. He sends all of us to proclaim him to world – in our words and deeds, in what we preoccupy our thoughts with, what we say, what we do, and how we relate with other people. What is the message we are to proclaim? As Jesus instructed the disciples, it is a message of “peace”. To the world, we are to become ambassadors of peace. What is this peace? It is the peace that we have found in Christ, the peace of the Kingdom of God, the joy, fulfillment, completeness that is found in doing the will of God, no matter how difficult, no matter how challenging.

Active witness is bound to be challenging. To witness to the love and forgiveness of Christ amidst hostility and injury. To witness to the truth in the midst of lies. To witness to sacrifice in the midst of a pleasure seeking culture. To witness to simplicity in the midst of consumerism. To witness to humility in the midst of competition. To witness to purity in the midst of worldly temptation. Witnessing to Jesus, proclaiming the peace of Jesus entails confronting a world where contradicting values dominate. And we are sure to face opposition, we are sure to face difficulty. Jesus himself said to the 72, “I am sending you as sheep among wolves.” That is why the laborers are not only SCARCE. They are also SCARRED. As St. Paul says, the mark of a true witness of Christ is willingness to suffer for, with and in Christ.

Although SCARCE, and SCARRED, few and wounded, the 72, are not SCARED. When Jesus sent the 72, he told them to bring no money, no sack/bag, no sandals. They were only to bring themselves and Christ. Their very life was their witness, and Christ was their source of security. We are not scared to give witness because we have Christ. We can say no to hatred because we have Christ. We can say no to sin because we have Christ. Teens can say no to drugs and peer pressure because you have Christ. Married people can say yes to fidelity because you have Christ. Unmarried people can say yes to purity because you have Christ. We can say yes to honesty, integrity, service, because we have Christ. We can say yes to life because we have Christ. We can be the source of comfort and consolation that Isaiah spoke of, in a difficult and anxious world; we can be a source of joy, inspiration, encouragement, because we have Christ.

Like the 72, we are also sent by Jesus, to take an active witness of Christ in the world, right where we are and live. We are to preach Christ, not ourselves. Christ is the savior, not ourselves. And for us workers, Christ alone is the source of comfort and consolation, not ourselves, not even success. To have preached Christ is our goal. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was said to have been asked by some critics, “You take care of those old people, they still die, and you don’t change that.” In effect, they were saying, you are not successful. Her response was, “I didn’t know that I was supposed to be successful. I thought I was supposed to be faithful.” Her vocation was not to be successful, but to be faithful.

We, the laborers are scarce, few and little in the face of a great harvest. We are scarred, wounded, opposed, challenged. But we are not scared. We are sent, and we have Christ. We preach the peace that Christ alone can give. And our only boast is the Cross of Christ.

Interviewed

About two years ago, I got interviewed. I found it relevant to reread my responses to the questions. These give me a headstart in rediscovering my priesthood as the Year for Priests is about to end.


How did it feel entering your occupation?

Fulfilled. But it is not an occupation. I would rather refer to it as a vocation. In an occupation, the fulfillment would be professional gains, personal growth, monetary rewards. In a vocation, it is the inner peace of pursuing what one discerns as one’s unique calling in life. When I returned to the seminary to pursue priesthood, after two years off, I felt most fulfilled.

What still inspires you to stick with your occupation? Why?

I made a commitment, and for me, that is what keeps me in the vocation. There are of course tangible rewards, the support of family, friends, people I serve, but I hope that although these may all dwindle, the commitment I made to be faithful to the priesthood will keep me going. This is because priesthood is a calling and a gift, and also a personal response. I am not worthy to be a priest, but that God chose me to become one, is motive enough for me to be gratefully faithful.

How do you earn a living?

Priests do not actually earn a living. Life finds them.* The Archdiocese (the Local Church) supports me, providing lodging and food, and daily upkeep, as well as a modest but fair enough allowance for personal needs and social obligations.

(*On hindsight, I could have spiritualized the question. As an insight from experience though, I am deeply convinced that priesthood makes one amazingly grace-filled life. "Whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it." - Mt 16:25)

As a priest? What do you usually give importance to? Why?

It has to be service – to the Church and her mission especially to the most in need – those we refer to as the least, the lost and the last – the marginalized in various aspects.

Are there any risks in being a priest? How?

There are definitely many risks entailed in being a priest.

First of all, a priest is called to a life of solitude – to be able to live alone in total dedication to the Gospel, without a wife for a lifetime partner. The priest’s lifetime partner is the Church. Among others, there is then the risk of an uncertain future. Anxious questions also come to my mind – who will take care of me when I grow old? With whom will I share my twilight years? What if I get sick and invalid? What if I am no longer able to serve? What will happen in the future?

And of course, real and immediate are the risks of the mission. As priests, we are called to be prophets – to announce what is true, good and just and of course denounce and go against what is false, evil and unjust. And often our lives are put at the forefront of the struggle for a God-centered, just and humane social order. Often, the structures of sin resist confrontation, and the perpetrators of such would not hesitate to counter-attack.

The first risk is however part of the personal choice, made in faith. And the second, part of the mission we embraced, kept aflame with love.

"Do not TELL anybody..."

I wrote the following reflection for my My 3rd Ordination Anniversary Mass last December 5, 2008. The Gospel was from Mt 9: 27-31.


It is rather surprising to note that Jesus did not want the healed men to talk about the healing that they received. First of all, Jesus would need all the mileage that he could gain. His was a herculean mission of establishing the Kingdom of God, and he had only three years to do it. So, he is supposed to need all the exposure he could get. If those healed would speak about their healing, then his popularity would grow and as more people will be interested with him, more people would flock to him, and he would have opportunity to preach to them. Second, it was almost impossible for the two healed men to keep the healing to themselves – after all, they used to be blind but now can see. So how could they hide the fact that they had been healed miraculously? Likewise, how could they keep to themselves the joy of being healed?

I would like to believe though, that Jesus had reasons to do so. First, if we look closely at Jesus, we find that he did not want the men to talk about him healing them because he did not want to promote himself. He wanted to promote the work of the Father. He wanted to fulfill and promote the will of the Father, not himself as a wonder worker. For me as a priest, as I celebrate my anniversary, I am reminded that I am a priest not for myself but for him who called me to share in his mission. I have to be cautious that in my ministry, I do not point to myself, rather, that I should point to Christ. I am reminded not to seek praises for myself, to work and minister not for recognition or acceptance. I have to bear in mind, and always be conscious that all that I do should never be for me, but for the greater glory of God.

The same challenge is also for us. Let us do good things, not to seek our own glory. We do good because somebody has been so good to us, and we do good in response to this goodness. This leads us to our second reason as to why it was surprising for Jesus to have forbidden the men to spread the news about their healing.

Second, Jesus did not want the men to speak about their healing, I believe, is because he knew that there is something more that they should do, more than just spreading the word of their healing, and this is that they be grateful to him who healed them, by a life worthy of the gift that they have received. There was a young man who was drowning at the river. An elderly man jumped into the water and saved him. The young man was so thankful to the elderly man. He asked him how he could thank him. He could give him some cash, since his parents were rich. The elderly man refused. He told the young man, “Live your life well, and that would be enough to thank me. In that way, you prove that your life is worth saving.” Jesus wanted the men not only to talk about their gratitude, he wanted them to live their gratitude.

For me, this is a reminder that I have to live my priesthood right and fully, if I were to be truly grateful to God for this gift. It is not enough for me to mouth gratitude if I do not take care of my priesthood, and do my best to be faithful, to struggle to be faithful.

For us all, this is a reminder to live grateful lives – we have received so much, and the best thanksgiving we could give to our donor is a life that is well lived.

Wholeheartedly Thankful for Four Years

Today, I am four years old as a priest (December 5, 2005-2009). I was ordained priest by Archbishop Salgado four years ago at the San Juan de Sahagun Parish Church in Candon City, Ilocos Sur, Philippines for the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia.

Four years of grace.
Four years of blessing.
Four years of providence.

Four years of seeking.
Four years of hoping.
Four years of trusting.

Four years of striving.
Four years of giving.
Four years of growing.

Four years of service.
Four years of prayer.
Four years of witness.

Four years of joy.
Four years of inner peace.
Four years of fulfillment.

Four years of discipleship.
Four years of surrender.
Four years of priesthood.

For all that has been Lord, thank you.
For all that will be, your will be done.
I have not been worthy, never will be.
But I trust in your grace and mercy.
Please make me more and more, a shepherd after your own heart.

(I am celebrating a thanksgiving mass. All of my life and priesthood had been grace and blessing. I have nothing I can claim as my own, except for my shortcomings, which God has even made into avenues for grace through repentace and reform. I have everything else to thank God for. I will remember all who have been part of my life and priesthood with gratitude to God who has so richly blessed me with their persons. Foremost, I thank God for my Parents, Brothers and Sisters and the rest of the Family, Relatives and Friends through whom I encounter God, the Loving and Faithful most concretely. I thank God for Archbishop Ernesto Salgado, who ordained me a priest, and also for his fatherly concern for and confidence in his most unworthy priest. I thank God for the Presbyterium of Nueva Segovia with whom I share not only the priesthood of Christ for the Archdiocese, but with whom I share communion of life and mission. I pray for the faithful of the Archdiocese that we may continue on our journey towards the fullness of life. I especially pray for my ordination class whose friendship and ministry are an inspiration. I pray for the ICST community that we may be living traditions of integral priestly formation. I pray for all whom God has graciously deigned their lives to intersect and enrich my own. I pray for all of God’s people, for whom through God’s grace and mercy, I am a priest, servant, shepherd.)