VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Hawaii Catholic Herald
One of the advantages of being a priest is that you have to preach. My understanding of preaching is that you are not there to give a whole diatribe of church truths, but you are there to be a bridge. So, what you do is to take the Liturgy of the Word and bridge it with your homily, into the liturgy of the Eucharist. It needs to be effective, but short. It is in that preparation before preaching that I find my spiritual nourishment.
I love reading the scriptures in the Bible. As a priest of the Sacred Hearts, reparative adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is also an important part of my life. Thus, in preparing for preaching and teaching, I feel I gain more than the people I am ministering to — wherever and however, I may be called to serve.
From the young age of 31 or 32, I was pastor of various churches. These included St. Elizabeth in Aiea; St. Ann in Kaneohe; St. Michael in Waialua with Sts. Peter and Paul Mission in Waimea Bay; Immaculate Conception in Lihue, Kauai; St. Sophia in Kaunakakai, Molokai (now St. Damien of Molokai Church); Our Lady of Sorrows in Wahiawa; and where I presently assist at St. Augustine in Waikiki.
In-between those years I served as provincial superior for two terms of six-years each, as well as serving in Tonga for five and a half years. Being in Tonga was a great experience. I was in charge of the English-speaking community. There are about 15,000 Catholics in the islands, and each village had a very big church. The young people in Tonga liked the English Mass. So, I would go to the various parishes and celebrate an English Mass with them.
Although I was trained to say “yes,” in response to going wherever the need may be, or wherever one is sent (as reflected in my various assignments), I found my most recent assignment one with which I did have questions. Being tasked with the non-traditional parish work of raising funds for the congregation and recruiting vocations, is very different. However, as I used to be on the other side of the table giving orders as provincial, I know what it is like. So I cut my superiors some slack and continue to say “yes.”
It was the old Sacred Hearts Belgian priests that inspired me as a youngster to become a Sacred Hearts priest myself. Today, there is a problematic lack of visibility of the Sacred Hearts clergy, as well as others in our schools and parishes. It is important to be present to the kids and to acknowledge that they are present.
There was a young Filipino boy in Molokai from a big family. He was naughty. One day, I went up to him and said, “I think you should be a priest.” He said, “Oh no, no. Ask my brother. He’s the good one.” I said “No, no. I want the rascal one. That’s you.” He was in shock. But immediately the relationship changed, because I acknowledged him. One does not necessarily need to engage in deep conversation with them, but just be present. And by being present, one becomes a bridge to perhaps even a religious vocation.
Waipahu-born Father Clyde Guerreiro is a priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He was professed in 1973 and ordained in 1976. He currently serves in his congregation’s office of development and vocations. He lives at St. Augustine Church in Waikiki where he assists part-time.
