THE MYSTERY, GRACE, AND INSPIRATION OF THE BISHOP'S PALACE

Tagbilaran City, Bohol – Shepherding a flock is one of the hardest occupations in the planet for me. Like a Bishop, he shepherds his flock which include his priests and parishioners to the right path and encourages them to preach the good news of salvation to all people. It is not that pastors are perfect. If that is the case, then pastorless churches would be the norm in the society. Most important, it is that God calls on us to honor those who lead us spiritually, particularly “those who labor in preaching and teaching”, as it is stated in 1 Timothy 5:17.
We live in a sophisticated, fast-paced, and complex world, and our expectations for “high performance” shepherds often set the bar at unattainable heights. We may switch focus instead and become high-performance church members who honor our Bishops and Priests with words of encouragement and prayer. A supportive note or a “thank you” in the church’s entrance will go a long way to inspire our Priests and Bishops to serve with joy and efficiency.
Coming to a place where our shepherds stay is both a mysterious and inspiring experience for me. There is that kind of enigmatic glow that tries to awaken my curiosity of how our dear priests and bishops spend their day to day living. As a child, I use to hear my kins talking about convents and so-called bishop’s palaces. When I would try to imagine a bishop palace, it is a picture of grandiosity and elegance in my mind. Like kings and queens, I always thought that a bishop palace is a home of people with royal bloods, of which I was proven wrong. I believe so, a bishop’s home is called a palace because we inherit it from the Spanish era. However, literally most of the bishop’s palaces in the Philippines are manifestations of grandeur and sophistication even up to today. Thanks to our Spanish forefathers who left us with these grand structures we can surely enjoy with.
For one, the Bishop’s Palace in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, always give me a feeling of excitement and awe-inspiring moments everytime I am inside it. For the second time of visiting such place, I can say that its mystery and grace lives on. The mystery lies on the old structures evident in the palace such as grand doors, great windows, chandeliers, and ancient furniture and fixtures. And its grace is the splendid gentleness of the people living in it. From Most Reverend Leonardo Y. Medroso, Bishop of Tagbilaran, to his priests and staff, they are all an epitome of gentleness and grace with the inspiring glow of the Holy Spirit. The Bishop’s Palace in Tagbilaran also serves as priests’ home especially for those sick priests who need care and attention. Sick priests are routinely visited by nurses and caregivers to help them perform their activities for rehabilitation. They are all well taken cared of.
So what would a house of bishops and priests have to do to display the presence of God? Its people would have to live like Him. Dynamics like hospitality, the loving acceptance of all kinds of people, a quickness to service, a tangible love for one another and the people outside, giving them a feeling of being safe and accepted regardless of color or class. A patient tolerance of one another’s weaknesses would be a great way to start a saint-like living in a pastor’s place. Saint Paul said that we should walk in a manner “worthy of the Lord”. And he also said that being worthy means that we will be humble, gentle, bearing with one another in love, eagerly maintaining the unity of the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace.