THE CLERGY must remain steadfast in Christ and resist the temptation to seek something new when enthusiasm that once marked relationships, ministry, and even their faith begins to fade, the Archbishop of Manila said.
Cardinal Jose Advincula said many people respond to seasons of spiritual dryness by abandoning commitments in pursuit of another relationship, another community or another experience. According to him, authentic love is not sustained by constant excitement but through fidelity.
“When the joy diminishes or the enthusiasm fades, our first response should not be to give up or walk away, but to turn to Jesus,” Advincula said during the opening mass of the 12th Philippine Conference on the New Evangelization (PCNE XII) on Friday, July 24.
Advincula explained that steadfast trust in Jesus requires Christians to continue offering their ordinary acts of love and faithfulness even during moments when spiritual joy becomes difficult to feel. He urged the faithful to heed Mary’s invitation to remain faithful to Christ rather than seek another source of fulfillment.
“Friendship is not built on intense moments of dramatic emotions, but on steadfast trust—to keep carrying the water, to keep filling the jars, and to keep doing whatever Jesus tells us. True friendship is measured not by the intensity of emotions but by the faithfulness to remain,” the prelate said.
He related this to the Gospel account of the wedding at Cana, where the hosts ran out of wine but were assisted by Jesus through a miracle that Mary asked Him to perform. Advincula recalled how Mary responded to the couple’s predicament by quietly presenting their need to Jesus and entrusting the situation to Him instead of forcing a solution.
“It was precisely that ordinary water that Jesus transformed into the finest wine. Steadfast trust in Jesus means heeding Mary’s invitation to follow Jesus when we run out of wine and to give our ordinary water anyway, to pour out our simple water every day. We continue to pray even when prayer feels dry,” he added.
Advincula encouraged the faithful to emulate the three major virtues shown by Mary that are integrated in the conference’s central theme: hinay-hinay (gentleness), kanunay (steadfastness) and buligay (mutual sharing). These virtues would allow the faithful to deepen their trust in Christ rather than weaken their commitment to Him, the prelate said.
The cardinal explained that embodying the term “hinay-hinay” means resorting to gentle care, an approach that can be adopted in treating others with patience instead of expecting immediate change. Such an approach recognizes that God gradually works in every person’s heart.
“We often want people to change immediately. We become impatient with those who are slow to forgive, slow to grow, slow to understand, or slow to return to God… But Mary reminds us that, in true friendship, love never forces; but simply accompanies,” Advincula said.
The Manila archbishop also urged the clergy to patiently entrust moments of emptiness to Christ instead of searching elsewhere for fulfillment.
The virtue “kanunay” mirrors this trait, he said, as it allows the faithful to be loyal to Christ when the excitement of marriage, friendships and conversion begins to fade and when one adjusts to the ordinary rhythms of daily life.
“We do this because we mistake intensity for love. But love is not found in intensity, but in fidelity, in constancy amid the ordinary,” he added.
Advincula also called on the faithful to reflect on the virtue of mutual sharing, saying Christian friendship is sustained through offering time, talents and experiences to God while humbly allowing others to share their gifts.
“True love knows how to help, and it also knows how to receive help. We are enriched as we allow others to share their gifts with us, just as they are enriched when we share our blessings with them,” the archbishop said.
“In a Church that is built on the mutuality of friendship, no one walks alone. We pray for one another, encourage one another, forgive one another, and strengthen one another… And like Mary at Cana, we become the people through whom Christ continues to bring his finest wine into the lives of others,” he added.
The Eucharistic celebration was offered as a Votive Mass in honor of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary during the first day of the PCNE XII held at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion. The conference gathers bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful from dioceses across the country for days of prayer, formation and dialogue on renewing the Church’s mission of evangelization. F
