ZAMBOANGA City— A Mindanao bishop urged priests Thursday to pursue constant renewal, saying perseverance in ministry is sustained not by emotion but by deliberate choice.
In his homily at the closing Mass of the 47th Diocesan Clergy of Mindanao Assembly, Bishop Glenn Corsiga said the Church’s vitality depends on the clergy’s fidelity, especially amid criticism, fatigue and personal trials.
Speaking before nearly 800 priests gathered at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, he said that priestly perseverance is not sustained by sentiment but by decision.
“It is a decision to stay renewed over and over again because we believe that a renewed clergy is a renewed Church,” Corsiga said.
He described ministry as unfolding in “war zones,” marked by pressures that test vocation and commitment. Some priests, he acknowledged, “have fallen time and again,” but he stressed that choosing to remain faithful opens the path to healing.
“The only price we have to pay for our survival is our decision,” he said, emphasizing that fidelity requires conscious and repeated resolve from ordination through midlife challenges.
Corsiga also pointed to social and political tensions confronting the clergy, warning that such contradictions must not silence the Church’s voice. At the same time, he cautioned against harsh rhetoric.
“Because a synodal Church is essentially dialogic, may we not be offensive in words,” he said.
The bishop urged attentiveness to priests’ internal struggles, including isolation, financial distress and neglect of prayer. Warning signs, he said, include withdrawal from meetings and failure to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.
“When you wrestle with a problem, it does not mean you are broken,” Corsiga said. “Wounded people wound others. Healed people heal others.”