You were professionals before joining the priesthood. How will that influence your priestly ministry? Father Lloyd:  I was a member of the teaching staff of Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), a technical school in Cebu. I was there for five years, teaching Physics and Digital Electronics. I was also teaching social science and religion subjects. My profession taught me to always consider the unique circumstances of each person, to know the personal background of each student and to discover each student’s needs. My job included keeping an eye on student discipline. I had to be patient and optimistic, and to constantly give them positive motivation. In my priestly ministry I will have to pray a lot to the Holy Spirit to give me light and the gift of tongues, in order to know what each person needs and how I should communicate things to them. I will also have to work hard on preparing their soul, so as to make them docile to the action of the Holy Spirit. I have to be patient and optimistic knowing that each soul has it own way of corresponding to God’s grace.

Father Randi:  I worked for two years as a technical assistance engineer in the plastics packaging division of San Miguel Corporation. I had the pleasure of meeting many clients (representatives of factories and plants using our packaging products) so as to know and address better their specific demands, be ahead of possible difficulties, and identify areas of improvement. In the process, I gradually put into practice an important lesson: customer service is not to deal with "problems" but with "people".  I’m convinced that this sense of dedication to people, this passion for souls is important for my priestly ministry.

What made you decide to get ordained?

Father Randi:  It's nearly impossible for me to answer that question without referring to St. Josemaria. He was a man who said "yes" to whatever God asked, not only in big and important decisions, but especially in the fulfillment of everyday ordinary duties, which at times could be more demanding. I was 18 years old when I said “yes” to God by joining Opus Dei; from then on, amid personal strengths and weaknesses, I gradually realized that the story of St. Josemaria is also mine: to strive to say "yes" to whatever God asks of me in the here and now, in big and in small things. Through the example and intercession of St. Josemaria I said "yes" once again, this time to the invitation to serve our Lord and His Church in the priesthood.

Tell us something about your itinerary to the priesthood. Father Lloyd:  During my high school years, I had some classmates and friends who decided to enter the seminary. I deeply admired them because at a young age they were already thinking about corresponding to the will of God. Besides, from our religion class we learned that the vocation to the priesthood is one of the precious gifts a person can receive from God. But it did not occur to me that I would become a priest in the future. I remember that in one of my regular conversations with the Rector of the school, he asked me to consider the vocation to the priesthood. Instead of thinking about vocation, I was preoccupied with finishing my high school studies and going to the university. The positive effect of this regular conversation with the Rector was that I learned to value the importance of seeking one's vocation and to be faithful to it.

How do you see your mission and future work as a priest?

Father Lloyd:  My priestly ministry demands a continuous study of Catholic doctrine and moral issues. I will have to discover different ways of explaining Church teachings according to the circumstances of the listeners.  I have to help those who come in contact with my priestly ministry to discover the grandeur of the Catholic Faith and to seek holiness in their ordinary activities. This means giving them a solid doctrinal formation and presenting our Christian life as something more than a list of pious devotions. One's piety is not only an emotional outpouring but should be a reflection of the firmness and depth of one's faith and love of God. This is possible if our piety is nourished by doctrinal formation.  

What pastoral work will you be doing?

Father Randi:  I'd like to dedicate my priestly work to helping my countrymen, especially young people, live their lives with a deep sense of vocation. I think it's a properly Christian outlook, indispensable to one who really wants to serve the others, both in the human and supernatural planes. God has given to each one a role to play in making this world more human, more in accord with God's loving plan of salvation. I'm firmly convinced that the royal road to enliven and nourish this sense of vocation in everyone is for them to have sincere personal dealings with Jesus Christ in prayer and in the sacraments, especially in the Holy Eucharist and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As a priest I intend, with God's grace, to dedicate my best energies to that work.