The episcopal office is not a promotion or reward for service, but a mission that continues the work of Jesus and his apostles, Rome-based Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said Saturday.
Tagle, the pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, delivered the message in his homily during the episcopal ordination of Bishop Samuel Agcaracar at the Divine Word Seminary chapel.
“It is a mission,” he said. “And it is a mission that must endure until the end of time.”
Agcaracar, 56, will be installed as the new shepherd of the Diocese of San Jose in Nueva Ecija on Feb. 6. The diocese covers parishes in the northern part of the province, a predominantly agricultural area that has seen growing urban migration in recent years.
Tagle said the role of a bishop should not be viewed as a rise in rank or a symbol of prestige, but as a continuation of the apostolic mission entrusted by Christ to his disciples.
He cited the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus meets his disciples in Galilee and sends them out to “make disciples of all nations.”
The apostles were chosen not because they were exceptional, Tagle said, but because Jesus chose them “to be sent.”
The cardinal described the tension between staying close to Christ and being sent to serve.
“Every disciple must be an apostle,” Tagle said. “You remain by going, and you go while still remaining with Jesus.”
He pointed out that Galilee was not a place of honor but was associated with Gentiles and considered impure by some. Yet Jesus chose it as the place to meet and send his followers.
This underscores, according to him, that the mission of the Church is not limited to the elite or the comfortable.
Tagle also stressed that authority in the Church is not meant to replace Christ’s authority but to amplify it.
“We are servants… not called to supplant the authority of Jesus, but to make the authority of Jesus shine,” he said, warning that a bishop who cannot empathize with the weak risks usurping Christ’s authority.
Tagle urged the new bishop to embrace weakness as a source of strength, echoing St. Paul’s message that where he is weak, Christ’s power rests on him.
He also emphasized the universal nature of the Church’s mission, noting that the Gospel is meant for all nations, not for a preferred tribe or social class.
“So, the bishop works with all the clergy, the laity, the religious, the poor, the neglected, the despised, sinners, people of all ranks and all nations,” he said.
