By Rommel Lopez

CEBU City, January 29, 2016 - Cebua-nos and delegates to the 51st Interna-tional Eucharistic Congress (IEC) cur-rently being held in this city trooped to the Cebu Provincial Capitol and filled its surrounding streets to hear the Mass led by Dublin, Ireland Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

According to Fr. Roberto Ebisa, SVD, of DYRF, Police Chief Inspector Ryan Debaras estimated the crowd that gathered for the Mass and procession to be at 1.5 million.

Streets leading to the Capitol were closed to make way for the thousands of people joining in the international Catholic gathering dubbed as the “World Youth Day of adult Catholics”. Candle-bearing delegates and pilgrims from Cebu and around the world chanted hymns and prayers as the carriage

carrying the monstrance m a d e i t s w a y s l o w l y from the Capitol through Osmeña Boulevard towards Plaza Independencia while a choir led in the chanting of the Litany of the Saints and other hymns.

In his homily, Martin reminded the people that “the Church became present through the Eucharist, through the Holy Communion.”

No Eucharist, no Church“There is no Church

without the Eucharist. The Eucharist constructs the Church,” he said. Martin

was joined at the makeshift a l tar by Papal legate Charles Maung Cardinal Bo, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, the Holy See’s P e r m a n e n t O b s e r v e r to the United Nations Archbishop Bernardino Auza, and president of the Pontifical Committee on IECs Archbishop Piero Marini as well as hundreds of bishops and priests.

The Primate of Ireland said Christians need to realize that Christ came to us as a gift and not as someone “we construct ourselves.” He then urged

Catholics to model their lives as a celebration of the mystery of the life and love of Jesus Christ.

“ W e a r e c a l l e d t o understand, love and assimilate the very love of Jesus... Our lives too must be offered in sacrifice.”

Martin, who is archbishop of the last diocese to host the IEC said that the Christian community, a “Eucharistic community”, must always be a caring one.

Special monstranceLast Thursday, the Cebu

IN THIS ISSUE:

Thousands / A7

VOLUME 20, NUMBER 7, JANUARY 30, 2016

Eucharistic adorers ‘growing’ globallyCEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016— The newly-elected head of the World Federation of the Church’s Eucharistic Works said their organization has picked up steam in recent years, proof is a growing number of adorers world-wide.

Jose Angel Linares, the federation’s new president from Spain, said more and more lay Eucharistic adorers from all over the world have been seeking membership in the federation.

Growing yearly“Every year it grows and grows

t h r o u g h o u t t h e w o r l d , ” s a i d Linares, who previously served as the federation’s secretary before his election as president during its general assembly at the sidelines of the ongoing 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) here on Friday, Jan. 29.

He will succeed Eduardo Marino Gomez, also Spanish, who served the federation for eight years or two consecutive terms.

The assembly, which convenes every four years coinciding with the IEC, was attended by more than 20 country representatives, some coming from as far as Peru, Italy, El Salvador and the US.

The federation, which aims to bring together diverse groups of adorers, currently has 39 member associations, with a total membership of about 2 million and is present in at least 36 countries.

50 years of missionDuring the meeting, which was

attended by Archbishop Piero Marini, President of the Pontifical Committee of IECs, the Federation ratified the membership of three more lay groups from Europe.

Since its inception 50 years ago, the federation has promoted participation i n n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l Eucharistic Congresses, has promoted pilgrimages to Marian shrines as well as helped fulfill other works entrusted to them by the bishops. (Roy Lagarde / CBCPNews)

Nigerian cardinal: Receive Eucharist worthily... or elseCEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 – Where others prefer to tiptoe and use couched language, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, A r c h b i s h o p o f A b u j a i n Nigeria, minced no words in talking about the proper disposition for the reception of the Holy Eucharist, which many Catholics seem to take for granted nowadays.

“Those who freely offer or accept what is inappropriately called ‘Eucharistic hospitality’ to whoever cares to come to the communion rails seem to me to be inflicting serious damage on the sanctity of the Holy Eucharist,” said the prelate.

Delivering this morning’s

catechesis, Onaiyekan said that while no one is really worthy to receive Holy Communion with everyone under God’s “loving compassion, the Church has guidelines that set limits to the level of “unworthiness” compatible with a fruitful reception of Holy Communion.

“The traditional requirement of being ‘in a state of grace’ cannot be jettisoned without spiritual negative consequence at both personal and ecclesial levels.”

No to ‘Eucharistic hospitality’Allowing just anyone to

receive communion during Mass will inflict “serious damage on the sanctity of the

Holy Eucharist,” and harm both the individual and the wider Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that those who have mortal sins cannot receive communion without first going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

In Nigeria, he said, it is pastoral practice during public Masses to announce clearly before communion that “only Catholics that are properly prepared should come forward to receive communion.”

Sacrilege“We do not believe that this

is a place for any kind of false

‘political correctness.’ It seems that in many places today, there is a need to recover the sense of outrage about whatever may be tantamount to ‘sacrilege.’

Onaiyekan’s catechesis was on “The Eucharist: Dialogue with the Poor and the Suffering.”

“Here we might consider how much we do to make the Eucharist available to the poor living in slums or in remote villages. What about those who live in prisons and detention camps? Wherever possible, those who are suffering should be able to contemplate the face of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist,” he said. (Felipe Francisco / CBCP News)

Delegates of the 51st Eucharistic Congress receving communion during the Parish Encounter. ANA PERUCHO

Over 1M attend Cebu Capitol Mass, procession

Cardinal Zen: Latin Mass nourishes

persecuted Chinese Catholics, A3

Eucharist as ‘food,’ popular piety keys to dialogue in Asia, A2

IEC pilgrims join pre-Lent ‘Visita

Iglesia’, A3

Student-volunteers: IEC, an ‘experience of

a lifetime’, A3The 51st IEC Monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament was the most prominent feature of the grand procession from the Cebu Capitol Building to Plaza Independencia, accompanied by over a million Cebuanos and IEC participants, Jan. 29, 2016. ROY LAGARDE

A2 CBCP MonitorJanuary 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7NEWS

Eucharist as ‘food,’ popular piety keys to dialogue in AsiaCEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 – The religious importance of food as well as popular piety can help the Church in its dialogue with Asian religions, according to India’s Oswald Cardinal Gracias.

The Archbishop of Mumbai tackled the theme “The Eucharist in the Church’s Dialogue with Religions,” in a paper read for him by Archbishop Dominic Jala of the Archdiocese of Shillong in northeast India.

Catholics consider the Eucharist as spiritual nourishment, and the idea of “sacredness of food” in various religions can be a basis for understanding the Eucharist and the Church’s dialogue with religions, he said. Food is important in Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism, major Indian religions, he noted.

And it is a major issue in a continent where hunger is widespread, the Indian prelate said.

“Denying people the right to food is a fundamental injustice … In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul criticizes the attitude of selfishness of those who come together to celebrate the Lord’s supper. Hence he says to them: ‘When you meet together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat … Whoever therefore eats the bread

or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.’”

Oswald also cited the role of popular piety in Filipino Catholicism, citing the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ observation that “much of what the Filipino Catholics know of Catholic doctrinal truths and moral values is learned through the sacraments and devotional practices.”

“In discussing the evangelizing power of popular piety, Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium urges us not to stifle or presume to control this missionary power. He said that to understand this reality we need to approach it with the gaze of the Good Shepherd, who seeks not to judge but to love,” he explained.

“Further, we are called to promote the various expressions of popular piety in order to deepen the never ending process of inculturation,” he added, referring to localization or adaptation to cultural practices.

However, “Care must be taken to consider the emerging secularist and consumer cultural influences which are negatively affecting worship and prayer,” the cardinal said. (Felipe Francisco / CBCP News) Delegates of the 51st International Eucharistic attend a pre-Lenten Visita Iglesia. DOMINIC BARRIOS

Archbishop Villegas seeks forgiveness for ‘lost shepherds’CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 – “The greatest is the one who stoops down to serve.”

Ranking ecclesiastics have come to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) to exercise their mandate to teach lay people. But “Father Soc,” president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), went beyond this and sought forgiveness for the numerous failures of the shepherds of the Church.

“Catholic laity, before you come to us your pastors and priests and bishops to confess your sins and seek pardon, please give us your pardon and forgiveness, too, for our sins against you,” said Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas in his homily for the penitential service for IEC pilgrims Thursday.

‘Long homilies, rushed liturgies’“Forgive us for our long homilies

and rushed liturgies. Forgive us for allowing the glitter of gold to dim the glow of the Sacred Host. Forgive us for getting stuck in dusty dogmatic formulas, and snuffing out the spirit of renewal,” he said.

“ F org ive u s f or u s ing u n-Christlike means to spread the Gospel of love and mercy. Forgive us for our stingy encouragement and hasty prejudices. Forgive us for allowing the Church to age and playing deaf to the joy of the youth and children. Forgive us for delivering hindrances instead of being helpful,” he added.

To parishioners, the prelate sa id: “Forgive us , your lost shepherds, and beg God to show us His mercy.”

“May the shepherd and the flock be merciful with each other,” he said, inviting thousands of IEC delegates to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

‘All sin is pride’Citing St. Augustine, Villegas said

humility was the only requirement for heaven. The opposite virtue, pride, is the cause of all sin, he reminded IEC delegates.

“All sin is pride. Idolatry is taking pride in our man-made gods of money and fame. The dishonor for parents is pride that makes us forget our roots. Ingratitude to elders is the root of disrespect, pride blocking the memory of the heart. Murder is pride, dictating that I, not God, have rights over the lives of my neighbor,” he said.

“Stealing is pride, claiming that I have rights over things I like regardless of my neighbor’s needs. Adultery is pride, adultery reduces my friends to an object. Sex is my right, not a responsibility. I do what I enjoy. The liar is the brother of the proud. Both proud and liar live in a bubble world of illusions.”

According to Villegas, sinners should not despair, as God’s revenge for sin is mercy. Villegas pointed to the example of Jesus Christ, the “face of the mercy of God,” who humbled himself to be with men. Christ is like sandalwood that leaves its fragrance on the axe that cuts it.

“Jesus Christ, the face of God, leaves a fragrance of forgiveness on the sinner who nails him to the Cross,” he said. (Felipe Francisco / CBCP News)

‘Eucharist brings us together’ – Indian archbishopMANDAUE City, Jan. 28, 2016 – Archbishop D o m i n i c J a l a , S D B , DD of Shillong, North East India expressed his realization about how the faithful are “connected as one” Catholic Church after celebrating a Mass during one of the Parish Encounters of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC).

“What touched me was the fact that we, from many countries, would come together and offer very similar witness,” he said in an interview with CBCP News after the Mass for the South East Asian delegation at the National Shrine of St. Joseph here in the city.

Staying connectedThe 64-year old Salesian

prelate noted that the Eucharist strengthens Christians, especially those who are persecuted f o r t h e f a i t h . “ A n d everywhere, wherever we are present, even in persecuted countries [or] minority countries, it is always the celebration of the Eucharist that keeps us connected to the Universal Church.

Jala also emphasized that in the difficulties of living a Christian life we should find courage in Jesus, who is always present in the Catholic Church.

The Indian archbishop a c k n o w l e d g e d t h e

Filipino’s part in this faith-strengthening experience saying ‘we know we are not alone, even if we are small, in any country we are part of the Universal Church. We feel supported by the big communities and the whole church, especially the Philippines contributed to this,’ he said.

The parish encounter is part of the week-long IEC hosted by the Archdiocese of Cebu.

14 parishesE a c h o f t h e 1 4

participating parishes h o s t e d a p a r t i c u l a r country delegation where Masses were celebrated in the country’s vernacular.

Cebuano parishioners shared fa i th-shar ing moments with the IEC foreign delegates, showing t h e c o m m u n i t y a n d universality of the Church.

Msgr. Daniel Sanico, o n e o f t h e o v e r - a l l organizers of the IEC Parish Encounter said “it was a very complicated preparation from security to food to transportation to everything else. It involved everyone, but we were hopeful [it would] turn out right.”

“I came to see that the challenges made them even stronger in terms of faith and their love for the Eucharist,” he added. (Chrixy Paguirigan / CBCP News)

Deaf track workshops show Church’s love for allCEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 – The 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) delivers a clear message that the Eucharist is inclusive, expressly because the congress gives importance to deaf delegates coming from all over the world.

With the help of the International Cathol ic Foundation for the Service of Deaf Persons (ICF), deaf persons are given the opportunity to attend the IEC with translators always by their side to help them communicate.

“[We] want people to realize that just because a person cannot hear they are no different to any person who can hear. Different people have said it in different ways – we have one Church,” explained ICF executive director Terry O’Meara.

Deaf track workshopsThis is the second time an IEC

held a deaf track workshop, the first one being the one held in Dublin, Ireland during the 50th IEC.

Mrs. Mary O’Meara, wife of Terry and another organizer from the ICF, shared how important having deaf track workshops are, stating their learnings from Dublin.

“It was very important to have a track for the deaf [because] we need to create awareness, telling people about what its like to be deaf in the Catholic Church and giving a place for deaf forums to really learn from one another and discuss the issues that are very important so they can grow in their faith,” she said.

These actions have so far brought “greater collaboration and sharing of

information [showing] how we, all over the globe live as one big team,” Mr. O’Meara said.

They hope their service leads to a greater awareness of people with this disability.

A goal yet to be reachedTheir goal and focus is to “involve deaf

people in the general life of the Church because they can easily be excluded and they are not fully integrated.”

Thus far, their activities have indeed given a chance for the deaf community to be a part of major events and provide them with materials they need in their spiritual growth. With this, Terry expresses his eagerness for more.

“We had a deaf track in IEC Dublin Deaf / A7

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A3CBCP Monitor January 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7NEWS

Cardinal Zen: Latin Mass nourishes persecuted Chinese CatholicsCEBU City, Jan. 28, 2016 – Delegates to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) flocked to the beautiful chapel of Asilo de la Milagrosa on Jan. 26 to assist at the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) offered by Hong Kong Bishop Emeritus Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-Kiun, who remembered how the Latin Mass was a source of strength for persecuted Catholics in China.

“The Mass offered in this fashion nourished our faith, nourished our vocation. And so many people in my native town Shanghai were fortified … by receiving the faith from this Mass, and during the time of persecution, they were so strong,” said the prelate, an outspoken critic of Beijing’s tight grip on Chinese Catholics.

Communist ruleZen, recalled how the “Tridentine”

Mass had nourished the faith of his compatriots amid upheaval in China. Zen, 85, was among those who fled Communist rule in the mainland for Hong Kong, where he joined the Salesians.

He nonetheless praised the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council which allowed the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular languages, now called the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. He also thanked the Pope for allowing the continued use of the Extraordinary Form.

“It ’s good that the Church promoted the liturgical reform, especially because the people don’t understand Latin. So it’s good to

use their own language. But then it’s still good to carry on this tradition (TLM). So we are very thankful to the Pope who granted this,” he said.

‘Sense of mystery’The TLM inspires a “sense

of adorat ion” and keeps the Eucharist’s “sense of mystery,” said Zen. Zen offered the Votive Mass of the Blessed Sacrament in what has been cal led the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite with a number of priests in coro or choir dress, including Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo of the Diocese of Cubao and Fr. Joseph Skelton of the Diocese of Tagbilaran.

Latin is no longer the lingua franca, acknowledged Zen. “But the whole ceremony inspires majesty, solemnity.”

“In this way of saying the Mass, you don’t even hear the priest pronouncing the words. But you know what this means, because so many times, we hear, we pray … So we understand what is going on,” he added.

Through an announcement at the IEC Pavilion, congress delegates were invited to the Mass organized by Societas Ecclesia Dei Sancti Ioseph (Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph)-Una Voce Philippines. (Felipe Francisco / CBCP News)

Joseph Cardinal Zen offers the Traditional Latin Mass at Asilo de la Milagrosa in Cebu. MAURICE ALMADRONES

Shepherd to Kenya’s nomads shares pastoral challengesCEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 – Bishop Dominic Kimengich, a priest for 29 years, now sits as Bishop of Lodwar, a laid-back town some 1,000 kilometers from Nairobi. He is one of three Catholic clergy from his ecclesial province attending the 51st International Eucharistic Congress.

In an interview with CBCPNews, the 54-year-old bishop said his diocese is situated within Kenya’s boundaries with Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia, where some 60 percent of the population are nomads.

The nomads survive by taking care of farm animals and camels in Lodwar’s pastures. Others survive by basket-weaving.

‘Nomadic apostolate’While 40 percent of have settled

in villages and towns, they have organized a special pastoral ministry to attend to the people on the move, called the nomadic apostolate.

“We have nomadic catechists who move with the people in their pastures,” said Kimengich. Should any of the nomads need sacraments, the catechists seek the assistance of the nearest parish priests, he said.

Kimengich is the first local-born priest appointed bishop of Lodwar, located in northwestern Kenya.

Working as bishop for the past five years, he said there lingers a feeling of insecurity in the area as various tribes from different sides of the border remain traditional enemies. The prelate said he was shocked at the high level of insecurity when he arrived in Lodwar five years ago.

“Cattle rustling was common and conflict usually arose when the aggrieved party vowed revenge,” explained the prelate.

The bishop said he was well aware of people being marginalized, which leads to conflict in a place where only a small portion of the population

are Catholics. Most of the locals are animists and traditionalists, he said.

More missionariesThe local church is composed of

56 priests, mostly from 18 religious congregations. They also have reli-gious women from at least 20 reli-gious communities.

The diocese is also ably supported by a Filipina development worker for the past four years, named Sandra Villegas, from Negros Island. Kimengich said Villegas first came as a volunteer who wanted more challenging assignments.

“We are looking forward to having more missionaries to help us,” he said.

Asked if Catholics have been victims of violence in the past, Kimengich said there had been none because his predecessors were foreign missionaries who had established schools and other basic services that proved beneficial to local residents. The foreign missionaries reached Lodwar five decades ago.

“The people appreciate the presence of the Church because missionaries introduced schools, built water facilities, attended to their health and provided them with livelihood,” he added.

Good relations also prevail between the local Catholic church and other faiths.

Bishop Kimengich is thankful for the prayerful experience he is having with his two other companions at the IEC.

“This is a forum that brings Catholics together with the Eucharist at the center of worship, where one experiences the universality of the Church,” the prelate said.

He expressed gratitude to the organizers of this year’s event, saying he had experienced a warm interaction among participants and was introduced to the high level of faith of the Filipinos. (CBCP News / Melo M. Acuña)

IEC pilgrims join pre-Lent ‘Visita Iglesia’C E B U C i t y , J a n . 2 9 , 2016 – Delegates of the ongoing 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) on Thursday had an early “Visita Iglesia” covering select churches across Cebu City in a bid to make them appreciate more deeply the centrality of the Eucharist in the lives of Catholics.

“I ’ve been on Visita Iglesias before, but I never fully understood what this practice means. I’ve only done it out of the need to fulfill a family tradition. This is the first time I feel really involved in it,” shared Nich de los Nieves, who had taken a time off her grocery business in Olongapo City, especially for the congress.

The batch of pilgrims she belonged to hopped from one of three churches in the city’s Lahug district on

foot, with police officers often having to temporarily shut down major roads to ensure their safe crossing.

‘Explosion of faith’“It’s a little tiring at first

knowing you’ll have to walk a long way. But after a while you don’t care anymore about the distance,” de los Nieves noted.

Their version of the Visita Iglesia kicked off at the Vincentian-run Asilo de la Medalla Milagrosa, p r o c e e d i n g t o O u r Mother of Perpetual Help (Redemptorist) Church several blocks away, then to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (Capitol) Parish, and back to Asilo.

I n e a c h o f t h e s e churches, de los Nieves and co-delegates spent time adoring the Blessed

Sacrament, praying, and singing Eucharistic songs as well as the official IEC hymn.

“We vis i ted several churches because these are the places where we celebrate the Eucharist … In these three churches, we had an encounter with God in the Eucharist,” explained Fr. Rolyn E. Vics, CM, who led the Visita Iglesia.

A s k e d a b o u t h i s experience so far on Day 5 of the IEC, the missionary said it is nothing short of an “explosion of faith.”

Catholic = universal “I don’t know how to

describe my feeling having experienced the activities of the IEC. the catechesis that we attended, the opening Mass, the parish encounter, and the processions that

we have done, these are all encounters with God, these are all expressions of our faith, and indeed it is joy,” he said.

“We feel the universality of the Church. This is indeed the Church the Lord founded. Despite difference in backgrounds, Catholics show unity in worshipping God in the Eucharist,” Vics added, saying the Visita Iglesia allowed pilgrims to feel the “universality of the Church.”

Besides the one in Lahug, similar Visita Iglesias were concurrently held in other churches of Cebu, namely: Holy Name of Jesus and St. Vitales (Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral), Minor Basilica of the Holy Child of Cebu, Sacred Heart Parish. (Raymond A. Sebastián / CBCP News)

Delegates of the ongoing 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) on Thursday had an early “Visita Iglesia” covering select churches across Cebu City. DOMINIC BARRIOS

CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 – Volunteers for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) consider it an “experience of a lifetime” to able to contribute to the success of the global event.

“I am grateful I can spend time helping IEC delegates in my own little way,” said Via Mae Romo, a second-year hotel and restaurant services student from the Banilad Center for Professional Development in Banilad, Cebu City.

As a volunteer usherette, the 18-year old has to stand for hours showing hungry pilgrims from around the world where the meal stations are inside the IEC Pavilion.

Joy, loveComing from a school founded

by no less than Blessed Alvaro del Portillo of Opus Dei, she takes pride in being part of a gathering that puts the Eucharist at the center of Christian life.

“I am happy I am here at the IEC,” she exclaimed.

Meanwhile, for Anisa Along, another student-volunteer, serving does not just mean carrying out a duty, but doing so with genuine joy and love.

“This is what I want: To serve God and His people, the people of IEC, with joy and love,” the usherette said.

Opportunity to pray“What’s more, being here allows

me also to mingle with different kinds of people,” Along added.

S j e s a i d h e r t i r e d n e s s disappeared every time she saw pilgrims smiling at her, treating her kindly, and expressing appreciation for what she and fellow volunteers did.

While she is not officially an IEC delegate, the student said she would like to grab the opportunity given her to ask forgiveness from the Lord, pray for her loved ones, and ask for blessings. (Raymond A. Sebastián / CBCP News)

Student-volunteers: IEC, an ‘experience of a lifetime’

A4 CBCP MonitorJanuary 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7OPINION

Holy Eucharist, basis, and culmination of liturgy

ILLU

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BY

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EDITORIAL

WE need to be very familiar with the world of liturgy, because for us to be truly human and Christian we need to have our life to be liturgical. We have to enter into this world presented to us by our faith, and much richer than what our senses and intelligence alone can perceive and understand.

It’s in the liturgy where we unite ourselves fully with Christ our Savior and receive the merits of his redemptive work. It’s in the liturgy where the living Christ offers himself to the Father together with us.

We are not left with a symbol only of Christ in the liturgy. That’s because the sacramental signs used in the liturgy, especially the Eucharistic species, are no ordinary signs that simply point to another reality. In the sacraments, the signs themselves, the matter and form that comprise them, are Christ himself and his grace.

In the liturgy, man is united with God, time with eternity, earth with heaven. It is the best union we can have with God on earth. In a sense, with it, we enter into the most perfect dimension of our life, into the fullest scope of reality. Obviously, we need to be aware of this nature of the liturgy, so we would know how to act and live in it.

The fullness of the liturgy takes place in the Holy Eucharist which is described as the “source and summit of the Christian life.” The Catechism explains it this way:

“The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the

Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the Blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, Christ himself, our Pasch.” (1324)

The whole Christ, the Son of God, who became man, born of the Virgin Mary, who taught and made miracles, who suffered, died, and was buried, and resurrected on the third day, and ascended into heaven, etc., is there in the liturgy, especially in the sacrament of Holy Eucharist.

He did not become man, share our human nature and condition except sin, and redeem us with his death and resurrection, only to have all these events swallowed up in the past. His redemptive work has eternal value, is always in the present.

Whenever we are celebrating the Eucharist, receiving communion or visiting the Blessed Sacrament, we are truly and directly dealing with Christ!

In a sense, with the liturgy we become contemporaries with Christ, and together with him as in one whole body, the Mystical Body of Christ, we are the ones who celebrate the liturgy.

It’s important to realize though that “the members do not all have the same function.” The clergy, who by their sacred ordination become the very icon of Christ, preside at the Mass while the rest unite themselves with him, such that the whole assembly becomes what is termed as “leitourgos,” ministers in their respective ways.

This is an important point to realize. The lay faithful who attend the Mass are no mere spectators or some pious

extras. They celebrate by offering to God the Father, together with Christ’s offering of his own self, whatever praises, thanksgiving, petitions, and expiations they have.

In the Mass, what prayer and sacrifice we make get united with the most acceptable and pleasing prayer and sacrifice of Christ to his Father. It’s the most amazing union we can have with Christ.

No greater windfall, bonanza, or jackpot can we have than to have Christ offering his life on the cross for our salvation. Our sin has caused God to be with us. It’s that “happy fault” referred to in the Easter vigil hymn, Exsultet. “O happy fault that earned for us so great, so glorious a Redeemer!”

Still, in the Mass we have to respect the different functions proper to each member of the assembly. The Catechism says: “In the celebration of the sacraments it is thus the whole assembly that is ‘leitourgos,’ each according to his function, but in the ‘unity of the Spirit’ who acts in all. ‘In liturgical celebrations each person, minister or layman, who has an office to perform, should carry out all and only those parts which pertain to his office by the nature of the rite and the norms of the liturgy.’” (1144)

The effectivity of the Mass derives from the power of Christ’s work rather than the role we play in it (ex opera operato Christi). Just the same, it would be most ideal if we put ourselves in the best condition and dispositions when celebrating the Mass.

Fr. Roy CimagalaCandidly Speaking

The IEC, then and nowTHE mind boggles at the fact that since Feb. 7, 1937—the last day of the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress held in the Philippines—and Jan. 24, 2016, the first day of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress, 28,840 days have passed. That’s equivalent to 4,120 weeks including 19 leap days, or 78 years and 351 days. That’s quite a long stretch! This means that the majority of the delegates now had not even been born during that first IEC held in the Philippines. It also means none at all, even the oldest, of the delegates present today had attended that 1937 Congress.

Cebu’s Ricardo Cardinal Vidal would be celebrating his sixth birthday exactly that IEC week, on Feb. 6. Lipa’s Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales would be barely four-years old, just two months older than Tuguegarao Archbishop-Emeritus Diosdado Talamayan. Lingayen Archbishop-Emeritus Oscar Cruz and Davao Archbishop-Emeritus Fernando Capalla would just be toddlers in their play pens, having been both born in November 1934. And Orlando Cardinal Quevedo of Cotabato would then still be a gleam in his father’s eye, so to speak, to be born 49 months after the Congress.

In the eight-decade gap between the two IECs, the Philippines experienced a World War, four papal visits (two of which broke world records as having gathered the largest crowds in history), one World Youth Day celebration, two canonizations, and innumerable natural disasters. Despite the disasters and the pervasive poverty, this only other predominantly Catholic nation in Asia, aside from the half-island Timor Leste, still stands as witness to the Presence that the ongoing Congress is so jubilantly celebrating.

Taking note of how the IEC today is being conducted, it would be interesting to know how they did it in 1937, and see what difference the nearly 80-year gap has made. During the 33rd IEC held from Feb. 3 – 7, 1937 at the Luneta Park, different themes were assigned for the daily international assembly, such as “The Holy Eucharist as a Sacrifice”, “The Holy Eucharist as a Sacrament”, “The Eucharist and the Priesthood.” For each day, there would be “five-minute speeches” delivered by five bishops in languages that included Latin, English, Dutch, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Portuguese, Polish, French, Japanese, and Italian—with apparently translators. The five-minute speeches would be capped by the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. There would be priests’ meetings at the Cathedral and these would always be conducted in Latin.

The Congress was not limited to the historic Luneta Park in Manila; according to the “Official Program of the xxxiii International Eucharistic Congress”, a scanned copy of which the CBCP Media Team had obtained from the Lopez Museum and Library, there would be “Masses celebrated by Bishops, Prelates and Priests in all churches and chapels” from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. daily from Feb. 4, Thursday, to Feb. 7, Sunday.

From the night of Wednesday, Feb. 3 to morning of Sunday, Feb. 7, the Blessed Sacrament remained exposed in four churches, apparently chosen not just for their historic value but also for their geographical locations symbolically forming a cross over Manila’s street map: “Tondo Church (North City), San Sebastian Church (East City), Sto. Domingo Church (Walled City) and Malate Church (South City)”.

The following details many today might find intriguing: Feb. 4 featured a “General Communion for Women” at the 6:30 a.m. Pontifical Mass at Luneta Park. Feb. 5, at 12:00 midnight also at the Luneta was “Men’s Night” and”General Communion for Men” in the Pontifical Mass that followed. “Children’s Day” was held on Feb. 6, with a “General Communion for Children at Low Mass on the Luneta” at 7:00 a.m. culminating in the “Consecration of Children and Parents to the Blessed Virgin Mary” and a “Breakfast for Children on the Luneta.”

This orderly separation of the crowd would also be evident in the final day’s Solemn Procession of the Blessed Sacrament which began at 4:00 p.m. from several starting points: for women, it was the area at the south end of Dewey Blvd near Fort San Antonio Abad, while Sisters commenced from St. Scholastica’s College. Men’s starting point was Harrison Park, while the Clergy’s was de la Salle College. The procession ended with the Benediction of the Blessed

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Editorial / A5

Sent to ConsecrateLeander V. Barrot, OAR

Biblically Speaking

I N o n e o f t h e p r e s s conferences, a reporter asked our bishops what the Church had done to those who are supposed to be models of faith but had not lived up to their consecration. This, according to the reporter, had caused discouragement and an exodus of faithful to other denominations and sects.

No matter what one thinks about the question raised, it was an appropriate one in the context of the International E u c h a r i s t i c C o n g r e s s b e c a u s e , a f t e r a l l , t h e sacraments of the Eucharist and priesthood are intimately related. Yes, it is possible to hold two independent theological congresses--one for the Eucharist and the other for priesthood. But in real life, both sacraments cannot survive without the other. Who will celebrate the Eucharist if there are no priests? And how can priests remain holy without being nourished, sustained, and strengthened by the Eucharist? And how can the universal priesthood of the laity be persevered in

without the minsters and the Eucharist?

When Jesus called his disciples, he planned that they will have to be with him always. They were to be part of his audiences to listen to his teachings. When he performed the healing ministry, they were to witness the mercy of God and God’s heart for the poor and the marginalized; when he expelled demons, they were to understand the grand design that, from the very beginning, evil had no power over good and ultimately against God; when he taught by means of parables, they were to recognize the humor of God and accept how close God was to them and how intimate the Father was to their reality and culture. But the greater challenge of their call was for them to become what they saw and to become what they heard. They were to be who Jesus is--to think as Jesus thinks, to pray as Jesus prays, to love as Jesus loves, to care as Jesus cares. This is the vocation of the disciples. This too is the consecration of

the priests and religious men and women.

This consecration is never automatic. Although one cannot underestimate the power of God to change the hearts and minds of people, much discipline is needed for human freedom to submit itself to a higher principle other than itself. Self-abnegation tames pride; self-control disciplines indecency; and self-renunciation pacifies arrogance and conceit. The human heart and conscience are so sacred to the Creator even to the point of God willing to wait for His beloved to surrender and submit their freedom and will to God, the Creator.

However, we know that human effort will always be finite. Before countless and insistent prodding of the devil via the human flesh and weakness, our best determinations and intentions will always fall short. What human determination cannot achieve, the sacrifice of the Eucharist supplies, what we cannot obtain through our struggles, the Eucharist offers freely, and what our

efforts cannot realize, the Eucharist completes. In the Eucharist, the Lord blesses all our human efforts and fulfills them. Our fears changed to courage, our unchastity to purity and our independence to obedience. When we receive the Eucharist we are little by little transformed to what we receive; and the more we receive the Eucharist, the more we are converted to be like what is received.

Consecration is the point of convergence of both the priesthood and the Eucharist. In and through the Eucharist, its ministers are consecrated, puri f ied, and renewed; through the same Eucharist o f f e r e d e a c h d a y , t h e ministers consecrate, renew, and sanctify the members of the body of Christ.

If consecration is the common benefit, it will do well for both the ministers and the laity to journey and walk together for fuller and total consecration through the gift of the Eucharist. For after all, we are all sent to consecrate others and ourselves especially.

A5CBCP Monitor January 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7OPINION

Fr. Eutiquio ‘Euly’ Belizar, Jr. SThDBy the Roadside

What Filipino Catholics could take home from the IEC

THE 51st International Eucharistic Congress is never about one nation alone. It is about all nations being called to gather around the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood that brings humankind his undying presence and saving work even in our day and age. But every nation represented in it has gifts to bring with them, including the host country, the Philippines and the host city, Cebu. Knowing how limited and flawed my perceptions can at times be, I still would like to share a few things that I think we could bring home with us from the IEC.

One, to keep smiling, even if it seems being known as the “disaster capital of the world” is enough reason to fold up and perpetually grieve. Climate change notwithstanding, there is reason to not allow the dark clouds in our hearts. And it is this: The Emmanuel has fulfilled his promise, “I will be with you till the end of time” (Mt 28:20). The proof is the Eucharist that we celebrate in these parts. While we keep praying for persecuted fellow Christians and Catholics in China, the Middle East, and elsewhere in the world, we also need to be thankful for the grace of freedom to worship in and through the Sacrifice of the Cross. The IEC has made me ask myself, now more seriously than before:

How thankful am I to the Lord for the religious freedom we enjoy in our poor country? Or have I so habitually focused on our poverty and internal problems that I have scarcely noticed the freedom that exists side by side with it? These questions I would also wish the reader to ponder.

Two, to see in Jesus’ self-giving a perpetual challenge against individual or group selfishness. Though there’s absolutely no harm in being fond of taking photos of ourselves (selfies) or with our own people (groufies), t h e E u c h a r i s t i m p e l s Fi l ipinos to go beyond our cultural divides and individualistic collectivism. We have criticized and even bashed ourselves, at times endlessly, about our lack of real nationalism. I believe that, insofar as Catholics are concerned, one big culprit lies in treating the Eucharist as an individualistic devotion both by us as particular persons and as whole families or communities celebrating the Mass without really living out what we celebrate. I found it striking that, for instance, even in a gathering like the IEC Filipinos tended to group together in terms of their cultural identities, though in a more refined fashion through the seeming “religious” names we give ourselves such as “diocese”, “congregation”, “organization” etc. Culture is something that we will always

carry within ourselves, in our way of thinking, feeling, seeing, acting or even our refraining from acting itself. But so should our Christian identity, and even more so because in the Eucharist there is “no more Jew nor Greek, slave or free, man or woman, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). Nor should there be Ilocano, Bicolano, Tagalog, Waray, Cebuano, Pampango, Pangasinense, etc. in us who celebrate the Eucharist but only Christ in us, in between us, among us. We have to work more so that “Christ in us, our hope of glory” passes from song to reality.

Three, to keep our humor in its right perspective—the Cross of Christ. We crack jokes whenever an opportunity presents itself and God knows how our Pinoy humor helped us in Eastern Visayas tremendously to tide over Yolanda’s devastation. I’d like to think that our Pinoy humor is also partly a fruit of our sense of the Eucharist as Sacrifice. In Jesus’ self-giving act on the Cross perpetually made present at Mass, we see the grotesque transience of earthly life. We are made aware by Jesus on the Cross of how vain our obsession for long life and eternal youth and the wealth to achieve them because no one, absolutely no one, on earth is immune to suffering and death. The joke is on us who cannot take

a joke about how much of a joke earthly life is, unless it is lived according to the passion, death, and resurrection of the Son of God whose suffering strengthens us in our pains, whose death overcomes death itself and whose resurrection alone restores life. Should we miss the humor of God’s Son who sees our fixation with money, power, popularity, pleasure, real, or virtual, and utters an eternal rebuke: “Amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (Jn 6:54)?

Four, to cultivate discipline b e c a u s e d i s c i p l i n e i s Eucharistic. Why? Because Jesus in the Eucharist challenges us to be disciples always. A disciple listens to God’s Word read and preached in the Eucharist a s w e l l “ t a k i n g f l e s h ” for Communion where it is received. Our undying problem of lack of discipline not only happens because when we can, we tend to play with, and not by, the rules but also because the selflessness of Jesus in the Eucharist is something we fail to bring to our individual and national l ives. We need to learn from the discipline of fellow Catholic Christians, such as Mr. Kei-ichi Sugawara who would go beyond his family’s needs to look into the needs of others in a tsunami-stricken part of Japan. Or of Mr. Paul

The Eucharist

GPS Mass

P.O.G.I. (Presence Of God Inside)

Fr. Alan Gozo Bondoc, SVD

The Eucharist and Christian Marriage

Fr. Francis OngkingcoWhatever

“THE art of getting lost?” My attention was drawn to the title of one of the BBC feature articles. The writer observed how people today are so dependent on geographical locating devices while travelling during vacation or navigating for the best routes to avoid traffic jams.

He lamented, however, that we have lost the art of getting lost. From what I gathered, he missed the spirit of adventure of discovering interesting places and people as one tries to retrace his way back to his true destination. Today, with GPS technology, such accidental discoveries are very rare.

I couldn’t help but agree with his interesting observation. I recall many instances when I got lost and as I tried to find my way back, I stumbled into some interesting restaurants, excursion venues, resorts, and very helpful people.

Although people are getting precise instructions on how to get to their daily destinations, many are not so well-oriented in their spiritual journey. They, I believe, do not know what could help illumine and enrich their journey in life and for the next.

In the spiritual life, our GPS (Global Position System) is the Holy Mass. Unlike a GPS or compass that refer us in relation to earthly bearings, the Holy Mass is both a ‘coordinating and guiding instrument’ and also our final destination. Thus, the Holy Eucharist, is called “the source and summit of the Christian life. And all the

other sacraments, ministries and works of apostolate revolved around it and are oriented toward it. (Catechism 1324)”

How is the Mass our positioning tool? If a GPS gives road reference for our travels, the Eucharist also reveals how one’s spiritual life is progressing and how much more it can bear fruit. The Catechism says, it is “the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being. (Ibid., no. 1325)”

As a sign, the Mass helps one to constantly align himself with God’s will. By constantly nourishing one’s soul in the ‘Word and the Bread’, one’s spiritual coordinates are made clearer every day. Moreover, this constant exposure to the unique Eucharistic grace gives the person an infinite cache of blessings that help him to grow in his love for God, neighbor and to carry out his particular mission here on earth.

Simultaneously, the Mass is already our final goal attained mysteriously here and now, but for eternity. Doesn’t it feel good when we hear our GPS unit announcing: “You have reached your destination!” Likewise, in the Mass “is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, Christ Himself. (Ibid., no. 1324)” It means we are already with and really have Christ. And through the Mass “we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal

life, when God will be all in all. (Ibid., no. 1326)”

Perhaps, we could incorporate these considerations about the Eucharist by following St. Josemaría’s advice on growing in our Eucharistic piety. This refers to the constant effort to foster a Eucharistic flavor in everything we do throughout the day. In fact, St. Josemaría encouraged everyone to ‘convert their whole day into a Mass.’

Eucharistic piety, can be understood as our worship revolving around the Eucharist since it contains [Christ] “the whole spiritual good of the Church.” And from it, channeling its effects in everything that a Christian does without detaching himself from his earthly affairs and duties.

As we strive to grow in this form of piety centered in and from the Eucharist, we will eventually learn how to “pray unceasingly”. One starts to permeate everything he does with the four primary ends of the Mass: adoring God, thanking Him, making amends for our offenses, and asking for His gifts and graces.

If we learn to gradually center our day in the Holy Mass, then we will never get lost in our spiritual orientation towards heaven. Even though sometimes, as it is with every journey, we may slacken or stray form the path, the Eucharist will unfailingly illumine our hearts with the light of faith, like the North Star, and always lead us back to Christ.

THE Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian life because we encounter Jesus Himself.

In the Eucharist, we experience the healing power of Jesus. When we are broken, He restores us. When we are damaged and discouraged because of our past wounds, He lifts us up and gives us hope. When we are emotionally drained and have fallen into anxieties and stress, He fills us with His assuring love and renews us.

In the Eucharist, our soul is being satisfied by the Word and Body of Jesus that we receive. When we feel hungry and thirsty, He gives His own Body and Blood. When we are at lost and confused, He gives us enlightenment and direction through His Word.

In the Eucharist, we are always welcomed and accepted by Jesus. When we feel rejected and wronged, He comforts us because for Him, everyone is

welcome to come and stay. When we are tired, weary, and weak, He offers Himself to be our dwelling place and solace.

Our constant contact with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist will transform us from being wounded to being healers and from being one who hungers to one who feeds.

My experience of the Eucharist as a priest meant being available for God to use me as His instrument, a channel of His power: “Maging daluyan ng Kanyang Kapangyarihan”. He works His miracle through me by transforming the bread and wine to be His Holy Body and Blood.

In the Eucharist, we witness God’s hands at work in us.

He is made real before our eyes.He draws us nearer to Him.He allows Himself to be seen and

touched.He wants us to be part of Him and

Himself to be in us.

Every Eucharist I celebrate brings meaning to my life as it leads me to the fullness of life, and it gives my life a profound newness.

Personally for me, the Eucharist is more than just a celebration but a Presence that I encounter.

It is not a ritual to be read but a Relationship to be nourished.

I remembered that it was in the Eucharist that I heard for the first time God calling me to be a priest. I was eight-years old then, but it was within the Eucharist that my priestly vocation story began. The Eucharist became as though my burning bush where God drew me closer to Himself.

In the Eucharist we give ourselves to God and Jesus gives Himself to us.

Let us continue to offer ourselves to God in the Eucharist that He may transform and bless us.

THE grace of Christian marriage is real. Yet, as a Catholic couple who were married in the Church, we were from the start far from seeking that grace and availing of it. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” Our Lord teaches, “and all else shall be added to you.” The kingdom of God, our now pope emeritus Benedict once said, is a person: Jesus Christ. As a married couple we were, at the start, far from seeking first Our Lord and His righteousness, and far from abiding in His Holy Presence.

Even though I taught theology at a Catholic university, I was (for reasons I shall not go into) falling away from Holy Mass. Indeed, I was falling away from the practices of the Church, and in belief from most of the third part of the Creed. My work environment itself was hardly the place where faith, as my wife and I now understand it, could take root and grow. As told in the Gospel: “A sower went out to sow; and as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.” My wife, on the other hand, formed by the same university, had already moved away from her childhood faith and practices. She was now quite the liberal feminist and Marxist admirer. Looking back, despite the happy life of academic research and of academic study, in terms of what the Catechism calls “actual graces”—that is, actual interventions of God in one’s life—that time in our lives was, for us as a married couple, a parched existence.

Yet looking back still, there were three things that kept us open to grace and in the end proved stronger than all the forces that were pulling us away from the spiritual life of the Church. First, the fact that, in the back of our minds, my wife and I still clung to our Baptism. Second, my wife clung to the memories of her childhood faith. Third, there was my academic love for the Biblical text. Because of the last, my wife took up Biblical studies herself. Because of the second, she allowed the sacred Word to flower for her into a recovery of the Rosary and of the Holy Mass (these two in her would be instrumental for my own recovery of faith). As for the first, the clinging to our Baptism, the power in that, just as with the other two, surely was for us a mystery of grace. As St. Paul points out: “We are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” Even now, when we ask ourselves how and why this journey should have even begun, and why it still goes on, only the words of Our Lord come to mind: “What man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing from them one, does not leave the ninety-nine in the fields, and go after the one that is lost until he has found it.”

Nonetheless, our road home was far from straight; for the first few years, we were not even aware that we were on it. It would take a shattering of personal worlds—in particular mine—before I would consent to being led the long way back. Yet when that journey began in earnest, the road home became, in faith, a journey of mercy and of grace; grace upon grace, as the Evangelist puts it. For both of us, rediscovering together the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the grace of Christian marriage was like journeying into a new country—into God’s country, into its beauty and its wonder.

Veronica and Rafael Dy-LiaccoSimple Gifts

Sacrament at Luneta. The IEC ended with the personal blessing from the Pope capped by the “closing discourse by the Papal Legate and the singing of the IEC Hymn.

By the way, the Pope’s personal blessing then was received by radio. By radio! It is not certain whether the papal blessing was broadcast over national radio, and it can only be assumed that photographs of the event were published in the succeeding days’ newspapers. Our 11th hour attempt to retrieve photographs of the event yielded but one Google image of a commemorative stamp. In contrast, the ongoing 51st IEC is immeasurably benefitting from cyber technology that makes possible the internet transmission of photographs at the speed of light—to millions of users around the world. The speakers would be watched and heard in real time via global satellite TV broadcast and internet live-streaming from the IEC media center simultaneously beamed to all corners of the world. News would travel just as fast to the faithful and eager followers.On Day One alone, Jan. 24, hashtag #eucharistph had a total reach of 2,502,909; as of January 28, the total impressions on social media had shot up to nearly 38,000,000. And this, not to mention other media platforms such as print and radio.

Information technology also makes for a more varied IEC program at present. Today our delegates watch various video presentations of the Church’s social action efforts among the poor; vicariously they visit the homes of street children witnessing to God’s love conveyed through a compassionate Church. Instead of purely sermons and liturgy as in the 33rd IEC, the current program is a rich blend of catechesis, doctrine and its vibrant enfleshment as evidenced by various forms of witnessing, from moving personal sharings to scintillating performing arts involving a whole family of jugglers. Ensuring everybody’s active participation in the Congress, time was made for a “deaf track” and space was allotted for simultaneous translation in seven languages.

Indeed, with the impetus provided by the dynamic speakers, the inspiration welling up from our participation in the Holy Eucharist, the contagious zeal of our fellow delegates, and the information technology at our fingertips, who can stop us from bringing the Eucharistic Presence to the ends of the earth? What is to stop us from living “in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10)?

The theme of the 51st IEC is “Christ in you, our hope of glory.” We continue to hope, fully trusting in His promise: “Behold I am with you always, until the end of time” (Matt. 28:20).

Editorial / A4

By the Roadside / A6

A6 CBCP MonitorJanuary 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7OPINION FEATURES

The Catholic Church In The Philippines: A B R I E F H I S T O R I C A L O V E R V I E W

( l a s t o f a s e r i e s )

By Fr. James H. Kroeger, MM

CONTINUING RENEWAL AND COMMITMENT. A major local Church milestone was achieved in the 1991 month-long Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP-II). After three years of intense preparation, a total of 504 part ic ipants ( inc luding 165 lay faithful) gathered for a comprehensive review and renewal of Christian life in the light of the vision of Vatican II. The Council boldly challenged the local Church to be “a Community of Disciples, a Church of the Poor, committed to the mission of renewed integral evangelization, toward building up of a new civilization of life and love in this land.” A systematic implementation scheme was elaborated in the National Pastoral Plan, In the State of Mission: Towards a Renewed Integral Evangelization, approved by the bishops on July 11, 1993.

Ten years later (January 2001) 369 delegates gathered for the National Pastoral Consultation on Church Renewal (NPCCR) and reflected on “how far we as a Church have fulfilled the grand vision and mission proposed by PCP-II and the National Pastoral Plan.” The evaluation was both sober and hopeful: “The Church in the Philippines has, to our shame, … remained unchanged in some respects; … we, as Church, have to confess some responsibility for many of the continuing ills of Philippine society…. We rejoice, however, in the perseverance and increase of many movements of renewal; … we hear anew God’s call to renewal.” NPCCR recommitted the Church to nine focused pastoral priorities for the first decade of the new millennium; they center on: faith, formation, laity, poor, family, community-building, clergy renewal, youth, ecumenism-dialogue, and ad gentes mission. These nine priorities have become the basis for a nine-year “novena” of renewal as the local Church prepares to celebrate the fifth centenary of evangelization of the Philippines (1521-2021). Each year from 2013-2021 is dedicated to catechesis and reflection on a particular theme.

Providentially, the NPCCR, as originally scheduled, took place during the week immediately following the “People Power II” events (January 16-20, 2001) that removed Joseph Estrada from the Philippine presidency after only a little over two years of his six-year term; Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo became the fourteenth president and the second woman to hold the highest office in the land. There was muted euphoria; the local Church had played a significant role; the event was described as “the gift of national and moral renewal which God empowered the Filipinos to receive.” The tasks ahead were clear: democratic institutions need strengthening; confidence in government awaits restoration; poverty beckons amelioration; the economy needs rebuilding. The Philippine Church’s commitment to “renewed integral evangelization” took on new depths and urgency.

Recalling the words of Pope John Paul II in Novo Millennio Ineunte where he quoted Luke 5:4: Duc in altum (Put out into the deep), the NPCCR final statement asserts:

The challenge for us, the Church in the Philippines, is to do the same. We are called to put out into the depths of Philippine life and society, to put out into the depths of our life as Church, to put out our nets into the unknown depths of the future. Like Peter, we know the frustration of having caught nothing. But like Peter, we know that the One who directs us is the Lord who has

Ponce who, despite admitting that he “was free to follow or not Jesus”, chose to follow him even in a world that thrives on self-centeredness, show business.

Five, to nourish a healthy sense of sin in the face of the destructive consequences it has brought our country: c u l t u r e o f c o r r u p t i o n , criminality with impunity, d e g r a d a t i o n o f m o r a l values, massive poverty. At the beginning of the Mass we are always invited to be aware of and renounce our

sins as individuals and as a community. We know nothing else prevents us from entering into the mysteries of salvation, into the divine presence itself. Filipinos easily see sin in murder as in by “riding-in-tandem” assasins, stealing by known criminals or disrespect for the elderly. But when sin is hidden in set practices (wasn’t there a time when stealing public money was called ‘S.O.P.’ [Standard Operating Procedure’] or ‘tong-pats’?), attitudes and even immoral laws (such as parts of the

RH Law), we white-wash sin as part of “keeping up with the rest of the world”. To celebrate the Eucharist in this social environment as though everything is OK smacks of a betrayal of Christ in the sacrament itself. We complain against “public sinners” in our midst who, after all the plunder and abuse of power they or their forebears have committed, offer no apology. But that is what we become too when we allow ourselves to lose a healthy sense of sin.

Finally, to be serious about mission and dialogue. After the celebrant says the Prayer After Communion and imparts the blessing, he declares: “Ite, missa est” (“Go forth; the Mass is ended). The Mass ends by our being “sent” or, more properly, by the celebrant becoming the mouthpiece of Jesus who commands us: “Go and make disciples of all the nations” (Mt. 28:19). If that is not motive enough to mission, I don’t know what is. To be fair, Filipino Catholics have

not been exactly sleeping on Jesus’ command. But mission has been, by and large, seen as belonging to an elite group, such as the clergy, the religious, the faith communities. The difficulties surrounding the BECs’ perceived over-dependence on the hierarchy’s leadership rather than on the Spirit-given charisms behind flourishing lay movements and communities should not be overlooked. Perhaps mission and dialogue should start within Church leadership in the Philippines first. Perhaps

our difficulties revolve on the lack of real dialogue not only at the top of the hierarchy but also with those below it, one that truly listens, instead of one that simply talks, to the “those at the bottom of the ladder”. Or perhaps, we could begin by setting aside even longer periods of real heart-to-heart dialogues with the Master in prayer and silence the way he does in the Gospels.

Only then can we go from the “Misa” (Mass) to the “mesa” or “table” of the world’s teeming masses.

By the Roadside / A5

renewed all things by his life, death and resurrection. And so we dare to begin again in the task of renewal. May Mary, star of evangelization, be with us in our journey to the new creation we so deeply desire.

JOURNEYING IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM. The local Church in the Philippines, as noted earlier, sponsored the successful National Mission Congress in 2000 as a programmatic “first step as a local Church into the Third Millennium.” This perspective continues the implementation of National Pastoral Plan that emerged from the Second Plenary Council: In the State of Mission: Towards a Renewed Integral Evangelization. In a word, missionary evangelization describes the dynamic, pastoral mission vision of the Philippine Church in its faith journey with the Filipino people.

The bishops’ conference (CBCP) continued catechizing the faithful through its frequent pastoral letters and the statements of the CBCP President. From 2000-2015 inclusive, 141 documents were released (an annual average of about nine). In the period of the third millennium, the CBCP Presidents were: Orlando Quevedo (1999-2003), Fernando Capalla (2003-2005), Angel Lagdameo (2005-2009), Nereo Odchimar (2009-2011), Jose Palma (2011-2013), and Socrates Villegas (2013-2017). In its history, the Philippines has had eight cardinals; their names and year of appointment are: Rufino Santos (1960), Julio Rosales (1969), Jaime Sin (1976), Ricardo Vidal (1985), Jose Sanchez (1991), Gaudencio Rosales (2006), Luis Antonio Tagle (2012), and Orlando Quevedo (2014). As of this writing (2016), there are four living cardinals: R. Vidal, G. Rosales, L. A. Tagle, and O. Quevedo; Tagle and Quevedo are still papal electors. The Philippines has had four papal visits: Paul VI (1970), John Paul II (1981 and 1995), and Francis (2015).

Some significant Church events in the first fifteen years of the new millennium can be briefly noted. The division of the huge Manila Archdiocese into s ix dioceses [Manila, Cubao, Kalookan, Novaliches, Pasig, and Parañaque] was begun in 2002 and completed in 2003. The Church held two highly successful national congresses of the clergy (2004 and 2010). The charity program to assist the poor (Pondo ng Pinoy) was established in 2005 by the then-archbishop

of Manila, Gaudencio Rosales. There was strong participation from the Philippines in the First Asian Mission Congress, organized by the FABC and held in Chiang Mai, Thailand on October 18-23, 2006. The CBCP issued its second pastoral letter on the environment in 2008, commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the 1988 CBCP letter, What is Happening to Our Beautiful Land (quoted in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ no. 41). The Philippine Church hosted the Ninth Plenary FABC Assembly (August 10-16, 2009).

After several years of intense debate in which the Church took an active role, President Benigno Aquino III signed the much-contested Reproductive Health Bill into law on December 21, 2012. The Supreme Court took up various challenges to its constitutionality in 2013. On April 8, 2014, the Court affirmed the bill, but declared eight items (in sections 3, 7, 17, and 23) to be unconstitutional; these were, in fact, the main items to which the Church had serious objections. In this atmosphere CBCP President Villegas promoted renewed collaboration between the Church and the government for the welfare of the Filipino people.

The Philippines was visited by several natural calamities in the years 2012-2015. On December 4, 2012 Typhoon Bopha [local name: Pablo] devastated the provinces of Davao Oriental and Compostella Valley in Eastern Mindanao. It was on October 15, 2013 that a severe earthquake hit in central Philippines; the island of Bohol was greatly affected. Typhoon Haiyan [local name: Yolanda] struck on November 8, 2013; affecting several provinces, it caused very severe destruction and resulted in the loss of over 7,000 lives. Extreme weather was also experienced in 2014-2015, bringing floods, crop destruction, loss of life, and much suffering. Church and civic resources were stretched to their limits; yet, it was also edifying to witness numerous and widespread examples of heroic generosity, dedication, service, and charity.

Though it is not possible to present a full description and specific data on many other Church events, one must mention in general a wide variety of constructive initiatives, as the Church continued its efforts at missionary evangelization: Congress for Seminary Formators (2009);

Taize-sponsored “Pilgrimage of Trust” for youth (2010); annual g a t h e r i n g s o f t h e A M R S P (Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines); vigorous mission promotion by the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) that celebrated their eightieth year in the Philippines with a Grand Mission Festival (2012); exemplary faith witness of numerous Filipinos serving in foreign mission and the dedication of expatriate missioners working in the Phi l ippines; continued defense of the rights of the indigenous [lumad] peoples; the local and national efforts to strengthen the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC); catechetical and youth initiatives. Despite its recognized limitations, the local Church of the Philippines struggles to remain faithful to its mission of integral evangelization.

VISIT OF POPE FRANCIS. Undeniably, the most significant Church event of 2015 was the January 15-19 pastoral visit of Pope Francis; he told the crowds that when he saw the destructive effects of the 2013 typhoon on television, he decided to come to comfort his brothers and sisters. Affectionately nicknamed Lolo Kiko (Grandfather Francis) by the huge crowds, he won their hearts and souls. He emphatically asserted: “The poor are at the center of the Gospel, are at the heart of the Gospel; if we take away the poor from the Gospel, we cannot understand the whole message of Jesus Christ.” The most moving part of the papal visit was Pope Francis’ presence in Tacloban, the city hardest hit by the 2013 typhoon. Thanking Pope Francis for his pastoral visit, Cardinal Tagle captured the people’s sentiments and mission commitment; he said: “Every Filipino wants to go with you—not to Rome—but to the peripheries, to the shanties, to prison cells, to hospitals, to the world of politics, finance, arts, sciences, culture, education and social communications. We will go to these worlds to bring the light of Jesus, Jesus who is the center of your pastoral visit and the cornerstone of the Church.”

EUCHARISTIC CONGRESSES. The Philippine Church is privileged to have been selected to host the fifty-first International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in 2016 in Cebu City. This is the second time the country has hosted the IEC; the thirty-third IEC was held in Manila on February 3-7, 1937. The local

Church has held five National Eucharistic Congresses: (1) Manila (December 11-15, 1929); (2) Manila (November 28-December 2, 1956); (3) Cebu (April 25-May 3, 1965); (4) Manila (December 4-8, 1987) [1987 was a National Eucharistic Year]; (5) Manila (January 22-26, 1997). A special Archdiocesan Eucharistic Congress was held in Manila on February 8-11, 1962 in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the thirty-third IEC. The local Church fully ascribes to the dictum: The Church makes the Eucharist, and the Eucharist makes the Church.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE. The Philippine Church has embarked on a nine-year journey in preparation for the fifth centenary of Christianity in the Islands (1521-2021). In a lengthy pastoral exhortation on the New Evangelization issued in 2012, the CBCP once again promoted missionary evangelization as a fundamental commitment of the local Church; the scope of the document is impressive; it is a clear roadmap for the coming years. We can be inspired by some brief quotes:

We look forward with gratitude and joy to March 16, 2021, the fifth centenary of the coming of Christianity to our beloved land…. We shall, therefore, embark on a nine-year spiritual journey that will culminate with the great jubilee of 2021. It is a grace-filled event of blessing for the Church…. The mission of all of us who are called to take part in the “New Evangelization” is the Church’s own essential mission, as it was the mission of Jesus Himself also….

C o n c e r n w i t h t h e N e w Evangelization has been the overall theme of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP-II) in 1991, of the National Mission Congress for the New Millennium (NMC) held in Cebu in September/October 2000, and of the National Pastoral Consultation on Church Renewal (NPCCR) which the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) sponsored in Manila in 2001…. Thus, we in the Church in the Philippines come to this program of the “New Evangelization” already with considerable prior extensive and intensive study, reflection, deliberation and resolution. In truth, we have been trying to earnestly pursue “renewed evangelization” especially in the last twenty-five years….

We respond to the call of the Spirit for a New Evangelization by focusing on the Nine Pastoral Priorities of the Church in the Philippines as the key themes over a nine-year period [2013: Integral Faith Formation; 2014: Laity; 2015: The Poor; 2016: Eucharist and the Family; 2017: Parish as a Communion of Communities; 2018: Clergy and Religious; 2019: Youth; 2020: Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue; 2021: Missio ad gentes]….

Dear Friends, being evangelizers is not a privilege but a commitment that comes from faith…. Beloved People of God, we invite you to pray and reflect on what the New Evangelization asks of all of us, from each of us…. In this Year of Faith and throughout the nine-year period of special New Evangelization—and beyond—let us celebrate our faith. Live Christ! Share Christ!

_____

James H. Kroeger, a Maryknoll Missioner, has served in the Philippines since 1970. Currently, he is professor of systematic and mission theology at Loyola School of Theology, East Asian Pastoral Institute, and Mother of Life Catechetical Center, all located in Metro Manila. He may be contacted at: jhkroeger@gmail.com

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A7CBCP Monitor January 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7FEATURES

Manufactured byFOOD INTERNATIONAL, INC.

MANDAUE CITY COLLEGE

Dr. Paulus Mariae L. CañetePresident

Daughters of Charity-St. Louise De MarillacEducational System

and we made sure we came to Cebu,” she said. Not knowing where the next IEC will be held, she hopes that they can continue their service to deaf delegates, saying she is “looking forward to it.”.

Mrs. O’Meara says she will

continue to serve people with disabilities, especially the deaf believing that “there is a beauty to every person that is a child of God.”

“We are all created in the image and likeness of God. Coming to know the beauty

of the deaf person in the Church is just another gift and blessing that the Church offers to us all.”

According to the group’s websi te , the ICF is “a movement of communion among people from various

countries brought together by the Holy Spirit out of a common conviction that deaf persons are called to the fullness of life in Christ’s M y s t i c a l B o d y , w h i c h is the Church.” (Chrixy Paguirigan / CBCPNews)

Deaf / A2

provincial government declared no work at the Capitol on Friday via its official social media accounts to give way for the preparations for the Holy Mass and the Eucharistic procession.

The monstrance, specially designed for the IEC, was placed on a pedestal in an open-top truck decked with flowers. Thousands followed the procession while others waited at the sides, carrying lighted candles or praying the rosary.

F o u r t h d e g r e e K n i g h t s o f Columbus in full Honor Guard regalia led the procession followed

by women in white veils and the rest of the crowd.

On Sunday, millions are expected to attend the Statio Orbis Mass (Latin for “Stations of the World”) or Concluding Mass of the 51st IEC at the South Road Properties. The term was first used to describe the concluding celebration of the 37th IEC in Munich, Germany in 1960. The phrase came to refer to the global nature of the gathering for closing Mass of each IEC.

The papal legate will lead the Statio Orbis Mass which will begin at 4:00 p.m.

Thousands / A1

6th day of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress

A SYNTHESIS

By Teresa Tunay

HIS Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan, DD, Archbishop of Abuja (Nigeria), whose subject is “The Eucharist: Dialogue with the Poor and the Suffering”, opened the day’s Catechesis on a note of gratitude: “It is a great grace for each and everyone who is here to be part of this Congress. There are many all over the world who would have wanted to be here but cannot be. For those of us who are here we must consider ourselves called by God to this Eucharistic Assembly. During our time here, we should try to find union with God and solidarity with each other. I personally thank God that I have the chance and the opportunity to share some reflections with this special congregation on this occasion.”

Linking his lecture to the theme “Christ in you, our hope of glory,” the cardinal referred to this glory as “…first and foremost of the face of God revealed to us through the Son… the glory that is also revealed in the will of God being expressed and fulfilled in our world and in our lives … the glory of God’s eternal kingdom…the ultimate destiny of every living human being created by God…the glory of the heavenly banquet of which we have already a foretaste in the Holy Eucharist.”

After expounding on the Eucharist as Real Presence, Sacrifice and Communion, the Nigerian prelate spoke about the Eucharist in dialogue with the poor and suffering. He said material poverty is the most immediate poverty the Church needs to address—it is not inevitable, but is due to human failures such as injustice and greed. The Eucharist stresses the goodness of God who gives himself to humanity… and the need for sharing among God’s children starting from those in the Church.

There is also a “spiritual poverty”, a lack of spiritual values expressing itself in the form of selfishness. The Eucharist challenges us … to see one another as brothers and sisters, children of the same Father in heaven. It is often said that the Church must have a preferential option for the poor. Although many would say this is easier said than done, we ought to recall the miracle

of the loaves and fish when Jesus asked his disciples to do something instead of complaining at the inadequacy of available resources. We should not say, therefore, that the problem is too much, or that what we have would not make any difference. God is challenging us: “Do the little you can with the right spirit and God will do the rest.”

As for suffering which is very much part of human life and is invariably linked with pain, and there are many kinds of suffering, whether physical, emotional, even spiritual. The image the Eucharist shows us is of Jesus hanging on the cross, sharing our human state of suffering.

“Here we might consider how much we do to make the Eucharist available to the poor living in slums or in remote villages,” said Cardinal Onaiyekan, “and those who live in prisons and detention camps. Wherever possible, those who are suffering should be able to contemplate the face of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.” In conclusion, the cardinal said the Eucharist is not just for those who receive communion. “Above all it is also for the people of this world both living and dead for whom the Sacrifice of Calvary is daily represented on our Altar. The Eucharist becomes the hope of the world today in the midst of all the bad news we are hearing. For this we must remain forever grateful.”

The paper of His Eminence Oswald Cardinal Gracias, DD, Archbishop of Mumbai (India), and Secretary General of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference, was read by Archbishop Dominic Jala, Archdiocese of Shillong. “It is our firm conviction that ‘an authentically Eucharistic Church is a missionary Church’ and ‘truly, nothing is more beautiful than to know Christ and to make him known to others’”, it began. The multi-cultural and the multi-religious background of the people of Asia pose an enormous challenge to unity. However, in spite of their great ethnic, linguistic, economic, political, religious, and cultural diversities, it is their religious traditions that bind them together… Hence, one of the essential tasks of Christianity is to be a witness to the values of kingdom of

God by proclamation and dialogue.The paper tackled the sacredness

of food in various religions as basis for understanding Eucharist and the Church’s dialogue with religions. It elaborated on the importance of food in Hinduism, the significan role of food in Islam, and the sacredness of food in Sikhism.

The bonding that takes place among the members o f the community eating together and the renewal in their relationships with one another indicate to us the paramount importance of food. Further, and most important, for most of our Asian religions, food is a symbol of communion with God and a bond of spiritual fellowship and social solidarity with one another. Further, and most important, for most of our Asian religions, food is a symbol of communion with God and a bond of spiritual fellowship and social solidarity with one another. Hence, food naturally lends itself to being a powerful symbol of God who is the fullness of life, happiness, and fulfilment.

Cardinal Gracias’ lecture went on to say that partaking of the one Sacred Eucharistic Meal demonstrates a sharing in the Divine Life as well as promoting a culture of life. The Eucharist is an indestructible friendship between God and humanity: Jesus Christ gives himself to humanity as nourishment in order to nourish and love others. The Lineamenta of the XIth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist stated that “Jesus Christ gives himself (cf. Jn 13:1) to humanity as nourishment; he gives his body and sheds his blood for us. In this sense, the Eucharist provides the unifying power of the human race. Just as Jesus gave his body and shed his blood for us, we are invited to break ourselves for others and live for others. Nourished by the body and blood of Christ, we must grow in awareness of the dignity and value of every person… We must be sensitive to human suffering and misery, to injustices and wrongdoings in society and seek ways to effectively remedy such situations… We experience a deep desire to love our neighbour and love every human being.

The ‘call and provision’ of the EucharistCEBU City, Jan. 27, 2016 – The Eucharist calls for “mission and dialogue” as well as “care for creation,” according to the two catecheses delivered on Jan. 27.

Peter Cardinal Turkson’s catechesis read by Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, spoke of the challenge to reflect on the importance of the world and to find the need to care for it and everything that dwells in it.

“This means taking seriously our obligation of being in communion with and caregivers for our common home,” said Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

“We are never to presume that we are its masters or that we are its lords. We are fellow companions, responsible to succeeding generations for our care of and for it,” he added.

‘Cry of Christ’A r c h b i s h o p T h o m a s

Menamparampil, Apostolic Administrator of Jowai, India, said that as human beings, we are responsible for acting as the stewards of God’s creation.

“[People] ought to care for their environment and protect it from pollution and over-exploitation,” he said.

Menamparampil talked about missionary dialogue on cultural and religious traditions, social transformation, secularized society, responding to the cry of the poor, and the “cry of Christ

on the Cross.”He said dialogue means to

“discover the presence of Christ and the working of the Spirit among diverse people.”

“ T h e s e [ p e o p l e o n t h e periphery] are all truly areas for dialogue: Secular and spiritual wisdom must draw closer. Intelligence and faith must find ways of relating. Justice and mercy must embrace,” explained the prelate.

Eucharist and provisionMenamparampil said the

faithful are not alone in this call and that the Eucharist “equips one for the mission, gives life and supplies energy.”

“The Eucharist is rightly called ‘panis viatorum,’ nourishment for travelers. It supplies energies. It builds up inner sturdiness for the mission,” he said.

“The Eucharist equips us for the mission – Jesus does not merely say ‘Go’; He assures us ‘I will be with you,’” the archbishop added.

T h e p r o v i d e n c e o f t h e Eucharist was further discussed by Turkson, who reiterated that the Eucharist is the “summit and source” of the Christian life.

“The Eucharist is integral to the very essence of Catholicism, it integrates all the facets of our life of faith,” he said. “The Eucharist is heaven on earth and invites us to share even now in the fullness of God’s glory in heaven forever,” he added. (Chrixy Paguirigan / CBCP News)

A8 CBCP MonitorJanuary 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7FEATURES

The Wood of SacrificeThe typhoon took their homes

And lives away--the wavesRipped the outriggers off

And smashed the fishing boats Against the rocks--the winds

Coiled themselves around The fragile wooden houses,

Which escaped being pulled upBy bending, bowing, kneeling, And breaking up to flounder In the rain’s spinning chalice.

The angry waters forcedA homeless fisherman To hang on to a tree.

The people stored the rubble In a pile--broken oars,

Fractured posts, shredded walls, Those no one had use for,

At the back somewhere, all But irretrievable,

Until a stranger withFar out ideas came

And asked for wood, the bits Of boats, the pieces of

The posts and walls, and evenThe tree where someone died,And then put them together,

Chiseled them, sawed and hammered,

And when the man had finished The people saw an altar.

The lives of those who died The folk could not retrieve,

But through the odds and ends Of what remained of them

Was formed a table for What they had sacrificed.

They knew that if there was A dying on the altar

There also was a rising.

~ Simeon Dumdum Jr. January 27, 2016

Indonesian seminarian’s ‘trash-collecting’ IEC formation

CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 – Collecting garbage may not be the most glamorous thing in the world. But Stanislaus Renca couldn’t care less, believing the menial task assigned to him is part of his formation as a future priest.

“I only pray that more people will be faithful to God [because of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC)],” he noted.

In an interview with CBCP News Wednesday, the Indonesian seminarian went on to stress he doesn’t mind picking trash at all, if doing so will help him bring the presence of Christ to others.

Volunteering to clean up what pilgrims left behind at an event on the level of the IEC makes that task a lot easier as he gets to meet people from all walks of life.

Childhood dream“I want to be here. I want

to know better the meaning of the Eucharist … I can see the Eucharist as the presence of God in my life,” he added.

For Renca, what the Body and Blood of the Lord stands for is nothing but love. And in his own little way, Stanislaus wants to be an instrument of that Divine Love.

It is for this reason he is studying to become a missionary, a dream of his since childhood.

“My congregation is the Scalabrinian congregation [Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo] founded by [Blessed] John Baptist Scalabrini because it helps migrants . I am also a migrant. I want to serve them,” added Renca, who has been undergoing formation

for 7 years now to become a Scalabrinian religious.

Missionary-in-the-makingAccording to the 25-year

old, he felt happy the global religious gathering enables him to rub elbows with people from different countries.

As a missionary-in-the-making, he pointed out his IEC assignment is a foretaste of his future life as a religious and priest.

As an Indonesian, Renca knows he has to be able to study different languages in order to “communicate to others the presence of God” in his life.

Growing up in Flores, a Catholic majority island-province in overwhelmingly Islamic Indonesia, Stanislaus knew early on he wanted to enter the priesthood.

“Many think people in Indonesia … all of them are Muslim. In my place, especially in my place, the majority is Catholic,” he said.

Father’s witnessIt was a blessing he has a

father who is very supportive of the vocation he has chosen.

“My first encounter with Jesus was through my family, especially my father. He is a very faithful man,” he said.

According to him, the presence of his own biological father is the presence of God in his life.

As a missionary he would like to continue sharing that presence with the people he will encounter. (Raymond A. Sebastián / CBCP News)

Thousands of lay people, religious, and consecrated persons gather for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu City, Jan. 29, 2016. JOHANN MANGUSSAD