VOLUME 20, NUMBER 8, JANUARY 31, 2016

Mary, key to Eucharistic devotion – DolanBy Nirva’ana Ella Delacruz

CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016 – To fall in love w i t h J e s u s i n t h e Eucharist, the faithful n e e d t o g o b a c k t o the first Eucharistic a d o r e r , M a r y , s a i d New York Archbishop T i m o t h y C a r d i n a l Dolan, who gave the Jan. 30 catechesis at the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in this city.

“You want to be closer to Jesus on the cross at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? Be closer to Mary, because she’s right next to him,” said the former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The prelate, speaking on the theme “The Eucharist and Mary”, gave an overview on how the Blessed Virgin animates the Eucharist as “sacrifice, meal, and presence”, sharing anecdotes on the inseparability of Jesus and Mary – from crib to cross.

What Mary’s ‘fiat meansAccording to Dolan, the Eucharist

is possible precisely because of the Virgin Mary’s “Yes” to divine action.

“The first Incarnation happened with Mary’s cooperation. The Incarnation goes on now as Jesus-is-with-us, Emmanuel, in the Blessed Eucharist… The Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, as the Incarnation, the Word Made Flesh goes on, as it started with Mary’s fiat, when she provided Him a human nature,” he explained.

Dolan reveals Mary as the first one to be privy to the immensity of God’s gift to mankind in the Eucharist.

“She beheld the presence of the Incarnate Word, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, God the Son, the Eternal Word to whom she had freely given a human nature… She gave birth to the Son of God in a little town called Bethlehem.

“There’s a hint of the Eucharist that first Christmas!”, he exclaimed.

According to Dolan, even Jesus’ birth place of Bethlehem, which means “House of Bread”, offers

clues to his role to humanity.

‘Bread for the world’The Baby Jesus’ resting place, a

manger, means “feedbox”, because, as Dolan explained, “Jesus was intended as bread for the world in the Eucharist.”

“Who provided the human nature to the Son of God?”, asked Dolan, noting how Mary was witness to all of these foreshadowings and would continue to do so – all the way to the Cross.

The Blessed Virgin’s role as a hastener of Eucharistic grace, is seen, said Dolan, from the “first miracle for that newly-married couple at Cana in Galilee, by changing water into wine, at her request… to the Lord’s Supper when He miraculously changes bread into His Body and wine to His Most Precious Blood.”

Some 15,000 delegates from more than 70 countries are gathered in this city for the last days of the IEC.

5k kids receive 1st Communion in Cebu CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016 – The Cebu City Sports Complex was filled to capacity Saturday as 5,000 Catholic boys and girls marked a milestone in their spiritual lives by receiving their First Communion.

“I’m happy and glad [to be in this event],” said eight-year old Maryst Norña Donque of Cebu South, one of thousands of little ladies dressed in white for the special occasion, when asked how she felt like as she was about to have what St. Thérèse of Lisieux called the first “kiss of love” with the Lord.

“I’m glad that the First Communion of my daughter is during the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC),” commented Marsyt’s father, Marbien, an instructor at the Holy Trinity College.

‘Children’s Mass’“It took 79 years and it [IEC] went

back to the Philippines. Before it was Manila. This time, it’s Cebu. We’re proud Cebuanos,” he added.

Meanwhile, Christopher Rago, the father of third-grader John Chrismar Rago, another communicant, of Brgy. Pamutan, was thankful Cebu is hosting IEC, and that his son was finally having his First Communion.

“We are so happy we are able to come here,” added the multi-cab driver.

Presiding over the “Children’s Mass” was no less than Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal, who due to his frail health had to be wheeled into the venue.

In his opening remarks, the 84-year old prelate recalled having been a boy of six when he himself first accepted the Body and Blood of His Eucharistic Lord in a similar ceremony held at Luneta, Manila in 1937.

‘I felt very big’“I know very well the feeling of these

children here… I was one of those children who received First Communion during children’s day at Luneta. I was amazed at the beauty of the priest and the many people. I was even more amazed at the Papal legate looking like a king with his long red robe. But above all as a young boy, I felt very big,” he shared to the applause of the crowd.

The children went on to renew the promises their godparents had recited on their behalf on their baptismal day.

“Viva Jesus, Bread of Life ... Viva Jesus, life-giving food … Viva Jesus, hope of our glory,” this new generation of Catholics said in chorus.

The well-attended religious event capped a series of activities lined up on Day 7 of the ongoing IEC.

Witnessing the First Communion were IEC Eucharistic pilgrims from all over the world as well as delegates from the episcopal sees of Pasig, Novaliches, Ilagan, Talibon, Dumaguete, Calbayog, Naval, Pagadian, Malaybalay, Palo, and the Military Ordinariate. (Raymond A. Sebastián / CBCP News)

IN THIS ISSUE:

WE the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, gathered to celebrate the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu City, Philippines (January 24-31 2016), now relive the beautiful experience of the two disciples of Emmaus.”

“We are convinced that the Holy Spirit sends us forth in order to proclaim the story of Jesus. This Congress is like the gathering of the early disciples when they joyfully shared stories of how each of them encountered the Risen Lord in the Scripture and in the Breaking of the Bread.

The Eucharist commits us to the poor. To love and come to their help. We are challenged to reach out to the poor and help uplift them materially and spiritually as a concrete way of living out the Eucharist.

The Eucharist compels us to act and give them something to eat. The example of Jesus, particularly the meal stories, teaches us what

every Eucharist should be, breaking bread with the poor and marginalized.

The presence of our brothers and sisters who have less in life is a constant reminder that the poor is the privileged place of encounter with Jesus outside the Eucharist.

The Eucharist which is the sacrament of the bread of life fills our spirit and strengthens our resolve as we take the tortuous path of dialogue with religions, cultures, youth and the poor.

We are empowered by the Holy Spirit for mutual understanding, openness, and conversion of hearts and minds.

The Eucharist – the Real Presence of Jesus – sustains our hearts and nourishes our souls as we journey towards the convocation where God gathers us all in inclusive communion, banishing distinctions that alienate and celebrating the gift each one brings.

Energized and renewed by the Eucharist,

Christ’s missionary disciples are sent into the world to be broken bread for a broken world.

They move from Eucharistic celebration to Eucharistic commitment. The Eucharist is not just a gift but also a task and mission that can change the world.

Indeed, Eucharist enables us to effectively respond to the cry of the poor, the cry of the earth, and the cry of Jesus Christ.

Missionary dynamism springs from an encounter with Jesus through deep prayer because the lungs of evangelization is prayer.

We are a people on a mission; truly, IEC 2016 is a clarion call to mission for all of us. Our Eucharist is the source and goal of the Church’s mission.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word and the Eucharistic Lord, accompany us, missionary disciples, in order to share Jesus Christ in us, our hope of glory. Amen.

Statement of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress

THE BODY OF CHRIST. A boy receives his First Communion from Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal during a Mass for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress at the Cebu City Sports Center on Jan. 30, 2016. Nearly eight decades ago, Vidal was also among the first communicants when Manila hosted the IEC in 1937, the first in Asia. ROY LAGARDE

Jaro Archbishop calls for ‘friendly

competition’ of love, A3

Evangelization through clothing, A2

Tantum Ergo: back to the heart of the

Eucharistic Hymn, A6

New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan gives the Jan. 30 catechesis on “The Eucharist and Mary” at the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu City, Jan. 30, 2016. ANA PERCUHO

A2 CBCP MonitorJanuary 31, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 8NEWS

Evangelization through clothingCEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016--In an age where skimpy skirts, see-through tops seem almost de riguer, delegates at the 51st International Eucharistic Congress make a powerful case for irresistible, refreshing modesty, especially during the Holy Mass.

It was a sense of awe for Jesus in the Eucharist that led Berna Manipon to start wearing a veil during Holy Mass despite it being a tradition associated with more matronly women in the Philippines.

“You prepare yourself for a date [with Jesus], so you veil yourself, you cover yourself because you’re meeting the Lord... You’re really [also] more focused,” said the 28-year old volunteer for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) media accreditation team.

‘Too beautiful’According to Manipon, who has

been veiling at Mass for several years now, she believes her personal practice of veiling is a testament to others.

“[I do it] actually not because I feel holy but because I’m focused on the Mass and another thing, I also want

to encourage other people and by doing it you, encourage others more.”

The nurse from the Philippine General Hospital in Manila said she was especially moved by the sight of young, veiled women in churches in Parañaque as well as at the Padre Pio Shrine in Batangas.

“It’s too beautiful.. Imagine a church where all the girls wear veils [during Mass],” added Manipon.

For Tancy Delfin, a management a c c o u n t i n g g r a d u a t e , a l s o volunteering at the IEC, dressing well for the holy Eucharist is more than just a personal preference but something that could have ecumenical consequences.

Modesty matters“ M o d e s t y r e a l l y m a t t e r s ,

especially... [because] there are also other religions, when they see us not dressed properly, instead of appreciating our Eucharist, the impression is not good,” the Negros Occidental native explained.

“When I see people who wear shorts to Mass, I feel offended as a Catholic. I know that it’s not the

proper way [to dress]... when you’re on a date with the Lord,” she added.

For the 26-year old, modesty need not be boring, especially with products like “statement shirts” from groups like Couples for Christ (CFC) Ablaze, an organization committed to New Evangelization.

She said: “Even my friends outside the community [of CFC], they’ll really ask you, where did you get that? It attracts people. They appreciate how bold the statements [about faith] are.”

Only Jesus attracts the heart“It’s nice because it’s really decent,

but you can wear it in a cool manner. All kinds of people can wear it,” added Delfin.

Ablaze, which has shirts and other apparel that communicate Christ through their designs, also creates publications, music as well as organizes events and trainings geared towards New Evangelization.

At the end of the day, the entire person should speak about Jesus – from head to foot.

“We dress well because we are

in front of God. We are in the presence of God. Young people have to [dress] well... [Doing this] would be a testimony in front of the others,” said Bishop Ottavio Vitale, RCI, an Italian Rogationist Father missionary based serving in Albania.

According to the Bishop of Lezhë, aside from the exterior witness of dressing modestly what matters most is a commitment to prayer because “only Jesus, only God attracts” the people to conversion. (Nirva’ana Ella Delacruz / CBCP News)

Ablaze marketing executive Tricia Mae Barretto wears the official 51st IEC congress shirt featuring the event logo, Jan. 29, 2016. NIRVA DELACRUZ

Youth accept ‘holiness challenge’MANDAUE City, Jan. 30, 2016--Youth delegates to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) gathered for a day full of song, faith sharing, and answering the call to live holier, more “Eucharistic” lives as saints

Bishop Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in the US, challenged the audience composed of young people, mostly from the Philippines, to surrender to the will of God and pursue the path to holiness.

“To say your life is not about you is to say you’ve got a mission. There’s no rule, no exception, nobody in the Bible is ever given an experience of God without at the same time being sent on mission. If you f ind the person God wants you to be, you will set the world on fire,” stressed the charismatic host of the hugely popular “Catholicism” documentary.

Only Jesus“As youth, we need to focus on our

faith and believe only in Jesus,” said Benedict Canapi from the Diocese of Butuan. He said he plans to answer this call by “doing some of the Spiritual and Corporal works of mercy.”

Chaira Magno from the Archdiocese of

Davao also shared her learning saying, “When you give more of yourself, it doesn’t mean you lose – it means you gain more and through that you become a saint in your own way.”

Meanwhile, Beegie Marine from the Diocese of Talibon, Aklan acknowledges the faithful’s need to accept their sinfulness.

“Before you become a saint, you go through purification, to be a saint you have to know you are a sinner – a sinner trying my best to minimize sins. Pray always and attend Mass [because] it’s the highest form of prayer,” he said in Filipino.

While another youth from Luzon, Therese Ledesma, a delegate from the Diocese of Tarlac, believes the faithful need “to focus [their] energies towards God, find God and make Him the center of [their] lives.”

“It’s a matter of being humble, you can only share mercy and compassion, if you accept that you are weak and you are willing for God to fill you.”

Relevant talkThe mayor of the city acknowledged

the enthusiasm of the youth delegates and expressed that this experience was phenomenal.

“It shows to you the Christian faith of the Filipino. When you say youth, everything is there, they are so excited and we too from the city government, we’re overwhelmed,” said Lapu-lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza.

Fr. Conegundo Garganta, the executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on the Youth of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, considers the talk appropriate and believes the call to sainthood is “very much possible.” He also hopes this message really adds to the many messages and invitations encouraging young people to pursue holiness.

“[The talk was] very relevant since our Filipino youth [hvave the] the biggest representation in terms of population: the energy, dynamism, and creativity they have, if properly directed as Bishop Barron said, will bring a big change to our country in faith and how we live our lives – politics, economy, social responsibilities.”

He promised, “to continue and be committed [to] help and guide this young people in finding this treasure and field – the path of sainthood,” he said. (Chrixy Paguirigan with reports from Ronalyn Regino / CBCP News)

Sorsogon’s Poor Clares on IEC ‘Eucharistic mission’CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016 – Two Poor Clares ventured out of their cloisters in Sorsogon to go on a mission at the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC): to turn over monstrances from a generous American donor to Cebu’s poor parishes.

According to Sister Mary Magdalene Lagco, OSC, an American donor, who was saddened upon learning that a lack of resources had been depriving many poor parishes of the benefits of Eucharistic exposition and adoration because these require having a monstrance to protect Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, had since committed to provide monstrances to poor parishes for free.

This is where the Poor Clares come in – as bridges between the said parishes and the donor, who prefers anonymity.

Other IEC ‘purpose’L a g c o , 4 3 , a s s i s t a n t

superior of the Poor Clares Monastery of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, didn’t really plan to go to the 51st IEC, as contemplatives belong to the cloister, not outside, but Divine Providence obviously had other designs.

Sr. Mary Magdalene Lagco, OSC and Sr. Marie Elvie Magsucang, OSC attend the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu City. ROMMEL LOPEZ

Support unexpectedly came from donors, and her superior tapped her to attend the Cebu gathering given her role in the community as formator and in-charge of liturgy. With her was Sister Marie Elvie Magsucang, OSC, a relative of Jesuit priest Fr. Jose Quilongquilong.

It also eventually occurred to Sister Mary Magdalene that her order’s spiritual mother, St. Clare, is depicted as holding a monstrance. “The Lord really wants us to be here,” she said in Filipino, noting that her other “purpose” of being at the IEC is to act as the distributor of

the free montrances. The order endorsed 51

monstrances, symbolizing the 51st edition of the IEC in the Philippines, to Fr. Carmelo Diola, SSL, chairman of the IEC’s Committee on Solidarity and Communion.

Simple conversion storyThe donor, who would

rather remain unknown, has a simple story of conversion. For 18 years, the donor, a hospital worker, fell away from the faith, and didn’t have time to go to Mass.

“ T h e r e w a s n o extraordinary miracle, just an inspiration,” shared Sister

Mary Magdalene. The donor went to a chapel one day and prayed, and rediscovered a devotion to the Eucharist. The donor now shares the devotion by giving away pamphlets on the Eucharist to people.

An old woman mentioned to the donor the lack of monstrances in poor parishes, and since then, the donor has taken up the need to make the Eucharistic Lord known all over, especially to the poor, as her cause.

The monstrances depart from the traditional design as they can be hanged, and the receptacle for the Blessed Sacrament can be detached, Sister Mary Magdalene explained. The practical design is also meant to prevent the theft of the sacred species, she added, lamenting that nowadays, there is lack of respect for the Blessed Sacrament.

T h e P o o r C l a r e s monastery in Sorsogon has more monstrances for distribution elsewhere in the country. Interested parishes may send an email to poorclaresorsogon@gmail.com or call 09182902003. (Felipe Francisco / CBCP News)

Papal legate to elderly: Smile more!CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016— Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon in Myanmar, has a message for the elderly: lighten up and smile more!

In a visit to a home for the aged managed by the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by soon-to-be canonized Teresa of Calcutta, on Saturday, the cardinal urged the elderly to “say cheese” more often, smiling can change a lot.

Upon the entering the facility, the

papal legate to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) was greeted with handshakes, smiles, and flowers.

“I have received gifts and especially your gifts of smiles. I encourage you to smile more often,” said the prelate.

“We have so many gifts which we can with share with each other— our smile. This is the gift that we receive and give to each other,” he said.

The facility, located along Cardinal

Rosales Street, houses 66 wheelchair-bound elderly men and women.

In his short message, Bo also spoke about the importance of missionary work and being charitable towards the needy.

“We can take the example of the Missionary of Sisters of Charity. What is their gift? Their whole life,” he said. “It’s a great example what these sisters are doing.” (Roy Lagarde / CBCPNews)

Religious sister ‘excited’ about sharing IEC learnings

CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016 – Given the gems of wisdom she has been reaping so far from talks at the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC), a religious sister expressed joy she has a lot more to share in her apostolate once the global religious gathering wraps up.

“It [IEC] deepens more my spirituality, my faith, in a way that I am reminded more again … [from the talks]. The talks enrich more my knowledge of the Eucharist … The talks refreshed me again,” noted Sr. Marilyn Gabawan of the Missionary Sisters of the Catechism (SMC) in an interview.

She said her congregation is involved in teaching catechism, giving seminars

taking care of the elderly and orphaned children as well as giving formation to catechists.

Based on her personal experience, she lamented m a n y C a t h o l i c s e v e n now are not sufficiently informed about the role of the sacraments in their spiritual lives, particularly the Eucharist.

Eucharistic education “Educating the people,

especial ly the poor, on importance of the Sacraments [is needed]. Many people don’t understand the sacraments. Some thought they can buy the sacraments ... It’s not that. Sacraments [are a] deepening [of] one’s faith,” she added.

As “Bread of Life,” Gabawan pointed out that every baptized faithful is called upon to like live Christ.

“When we eat the Eucharist,

that is the Body and Blood of Christ, it means that what I eat is Christ, so I must live like Christ. So all of us our model of our life must be Jesus Christ,” she explained.

Having been a religious for some 23 years now, a portion of which she spent doing mission in Kenya, Africa, Gabawan stressed she has had a fulfilling experience in her vocation.

Finding meaning in lifeBefore entering the convent,

she used to work at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as a researcher.

However, she said she did not find meaning in what she was doing back then.

“I am happy now that I am a sister. [Before entering the convent], I didn’t find satisfaction that way I feel now that I am sister,” she said.

As a consecrated person, her daily routine includes attending Mass and spending time in the Blessed Sacrament.

Gabawan went on to invite Catholic women to consider pursuing a religious vocation.

“For those young ladies who feel God calls them kindly responds to God calling. It’s a nice life to share and serve our Lord, Jesus Christ. If you feel you have the vocation to the religious life, please answer your vocation to the religious life. And you will be happy to serve our Lord,” she added.

The 51st IEC is set to conclude on Sunday, Jan. 31, 4:00 p.m. with the Statio Orbis Mass at the South Properties Road, Cebu City. (Raymond A. Sebastián / CBCP News)

51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) delegates share a laugh during the catechesis given by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Jan. 28, 2016. DOMINIC BARRIOS

A3CBCP Monitor January 31, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 8NEWS

Jaro Archbishop calls for ‘friendly competition’ of love

CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016--Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo called on delegates to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) to engage in “friendly competition” not to upstage one another, but in showing love and kindness for others.

Leading the morning prayer on the seventh day of the IEC, Archbishop Lagdameo reflected on what it is to be a “Eucharistic community”: that is, to be disposed to practice “acts of kindness and beauty, of mercy and reconciliation, of peace and justice, of generosity.”

“As Christians, we rely on one another. We depend on one another. We help one another. The various parts of the body [rely] on one another. We suffer together. We rejoice together,” said Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines from 2005 to 2009.

“As we fulfill that mission, Jesus gives us the command to love one another, as He has loved us, and at the same time He gives us the grace we need to carry out that command.”

Lagdameo reminded the IEC

pilgrims that God has made available to them individual gifts, talents, experiences, and perspectives. These gifts also include the wider community everyone belongs to, he said.

“As members of this Eucharistic community, we are called not only to practice love and to honor one another but also to those outside the community,” he said. “We should engage ourselves in friendly competition on showing love and kindness to our neighbors.” (Felipe Francisco / CBCP News)

Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo leads the morning prayer for the seventh day of the 51st IEC. MICHAEL DALOGDOG

‘Visita Iglesia’ reminder of Christian mission – priest

CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016--A missionary delegate was reminded of the Catholic faithful’s mission during his Visita Iglesia experience during the ongoing 51st International Eucharisti Congress (IEC) in this city.

Fr. Thomas Gomez, a Bangladeshi missionary to Canada shared his reflection on the Visita Iglesia, comparing the “way de legates walk toward the churches taking different route”’ to how God “sends us to mission in different ways.”

He also noted that the delegates traveled on different paths but always towards one Church, just like how the faithful have different missions, all leading to the path towards the Kingdom of Heaven.

“All roads go to the church and all the roads from the church sent us to the mission--we are walking to the church now just [like how] the Lord sends us to the mission in different ways,” he explained in an interview with CBCP News.

Faith for allThe IEC Visita Iglesia

was an open-to-all activity where even non-IEC delegates could join the official delegates.

“The Vis i ta Ig les ia experience was even more powerful because it was open to all. It was all the more welcoming and the local parishioners were gleeful,” said Michael Laxina, a participant.

“We had communal p r a y e r a n d i t f e l t

l ike a ‘g lobal V is i ta Iglesia’ because of the enternational delegates,” he added.

The participants were also given a glimpse of how Filipinos practice the Catholic faith.

“Each country, even though the faith is [the] same, the practice is different. Here, the people are more church-going, for some--even though they are poor they are rich in heart--they want to become richer and so they go to the church,” explained Gomez.

Journeying with Jesus“Now, we are practicing

here all together, we are journeying with the Lord, I think now we are living the same faith and the same way of faith,” he added.

Cebu is wonderful!” Fr. Gomez also noted.

Each group visited four of the seven participating churches. The delegates were transported by IEC buses and dropped off at one point from where they walk edtheir way to the other churches included in the itinerary.

Seven of the churches visited in this walking pilgrimage were the: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Escario, Asilo de la Medalla Milagrosa, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Sacred Heart Parish in Jokosalem, the Santo Rosario Parish, Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño. (Chrixy Paguirigan / CBCP News with Reports from Berna Manipon)

IEC Visita Iglesia participants visit and pray at several churches in Cebu City. DOMINIC BARRIOS

‘Western world has lost ability to connect’

CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016--Belgian convert Marianne Servaas revealed how the west has become less human and has lost the zest for life, unlike Filipinos who are known for their positive outlook despite hardships.

“We no longer trust life. Our attitude is critical. We begin with theories and ideas before looking at life itself. We turn things upside down. We have lost the ability to relate,” Servaas said during the sixth and final press conference of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC).

‘Incredible sense of joy’Servaas said Filipinos are able

to bring hope to others through their joy. “The Philippines has an incredible sense of joy rooting from humility. Even when things are hard, joy carries you through,” she said.

Servaas gave a powerful testimony on the second day of the congress, revealing how the Eucharist helped her heal emotionally and spiritually. She was abused by her father, an evangelical pastor, from age 4 until she reached 16-years old.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, president of the 51st IEC, said, however, that it is possible the Philippines might lapse into the same culture. The challenge is to preserve the values already present in the country, which European countries can emulate, he said.

Other lay speakers in the congress were also present. Pastoral worker

Ma. Georgia Cogtas, a former street child, suggested the conversion of unused spaces in parishes into venues for study and feeding activities for street children.

Room for the poor“Maybe the Church could make

room for the poor by providing a space where the children can study and have meals, or utilize resources to provide them with books,” Cogtas said.

Thai author and entrepreneur Mary Sarindhorn, who gave her testimony on Jan. 30, told the media how she found faith after being accused of a crime she did not commit.

“During my suffering, I prayed to God day and night. He spoke to me that one day the truth will prevail. I finally was able to dig up the evidence that will prove my innocence. After that, I found God to be my savior up to this day,” Sarindhorn said.

Capping the last press conference of IEC week, CBCP Episcopal Social Communciations and Social Media chairman Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara said the congress has achieved its goal of encouraging the faithful to foster humility, to reach out to the poor and suffering, tp and have a devout prayer life.

“The prayer of the Eucharist should lead to action. We are to be the bread broken and shared to others,” said Vergara. (CBCP News / Krystel Nicole A. Sevilla)

Fr. Timothy Radcliffe: Living in extraordinary hopeCEBU City, Jan. 26, 2016--In a world of challenges and struggles, there are different ways to express hope.

Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, O.P.’s afternoon session on “The Christian Virtue of Hope” involved sharing many of his personal testimonies and stories on extraordinary hope. He said hope is found in “remaining”, telling a story of not running away amid hard times and choosing to trust in God and abide in His word.

Despite crises“Remaining is a sign of hope, of

trust in the Lord who remains with us. Sometimes, it’s difficult to stay in the Church, but we abide, because God abides with us,” said the former Master-General of the Order of Preachers, the 800-year old order known as the Dominicans.

When celebrating the Eucharist, the faithful gather in hope, pray,

and sing, he said. This also shows expression of hope in Christ, especially in difficult times. “The Eucharist is our great sign of hope, the sacraments are signs – they express hope that are beyond words,” explained Radcliffe.

“It is in the darkest [times] that God comes to us in ways that we may never have anticipated, so don’t be afraid of crisis,” he added.

Hope in the PhilippinesRadcliffe said he has come to

admire the Philippines’ resilience in the face of being hit by so many disasters and so many crises. “When I came to the Philippines, I think I came to learn about hope from you,” he said.

Even in mundane things, people convey hope. Fr. Radcliffe pointed out that doing good deeds, learning and teaching, thinking, and being like children are expressions of hope.

“God gave us minds, He gave us reason so we could try and understand. If we believe in God, we would understand [that] in the end, everything makes sense,” he said.

Potentials of peaceTeaching the young is one of the

greatest signs of hope, he also said. Children, he said, “represent the potentials of peace that we can’t hope to imagine.”

“Hope means doing the good thing today, regardless of tomorrow. In so many things we do in our daily lives, we hope and we entrust everything to God, even through our simplest acts and deeds,” he added.

“God is the protagonist of this truth so we trust in God – we leave things in His hand because we trust that he brings about his Kingdom in his own way,” stressed Radcliffe. (Chrixy Paguirigan / CBCP News)

Belgian convert Marianne Servaas. DOMINIC BARRIOS

Korean media impressed by Pinoy faith

CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016--A South Korean journalist covering the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) shared her impression of the faith of Filipinos, noting the honor and passion they show in being Catholics.

“[Filipino] Catholics are proud and passionate. They surprised me, and I was very pleased,” declared Cristina Eunyoung Kim, who works for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK), in a recent interview.

Contrasting Catholics in the two Asian nations, she pointed out the major difference lies in how they express their faith.

Fear of persecutionKim went on to explain that

while they may be just as devoted, Catholics who comprise a minority in the peninsula tend to be inhibited and not as showy about their religion.

According to her, this must be ultimately due to historical circumstances.

Two hundred years back, she noted Korean Catholics often had to live out their faith in hiding for fear

of persecution, something many of the present generation of faithful have carried over.

“In Korea, many Catholics hide their faith. Korea is a multi-religion country and they don’t want conflict between other religions. I guess the silent faith of Koreans is caused by persecutions from two centuries ago. The persecutions made Catholics hide themselves,” she added.

As a first-timer in the Philippines, she said she had to study much about the host country.

‘Great nation’“I found the Philippines is a very

great nation,” she said.Korea was the colony of Japan.

But Filipinos didn’t lose their pride in spite of the colony era of Spain for a long time. Your history deeply moved me,” she added.

The 37-year old from Seoul had also previously covered the 50th IEC in Dublin, Ireland in 2012.

Kim said Catholics in South Korean make up approximately 10 percent of the total population. (Raymond A. Sebastián / CBCP News)

Korean IEC delegates attend a Mass during the Parish Encounter. MICHAEL DALOGDOG

A4 CBCP MonitorJanuary 31, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 8OPINION

What I learned from the IEC

ILLU

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BY

BRO.

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EDITORIAL

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

Fr. Roy CimagalaCandidly Speaking

The 51st IEC legacy and challenge: bring the Eucharist

to the world today

Let us be backyard missionariesTHERE is something nostalgic about a huge hall filled with empty chairs. Just hours ago, this hall—the IEC Pavilion—was reverberating with the sounds of faith and joy. Now it is empty but for us who must record for posterity everything that took place within its walls this past week.

For seven consecutive days this hall was filled to overflowing with people in jubilation over the almost palpable presence of God in this 51st International Eucharistic Congress. We were “high” from savoring the company of the Eucharistic Lord. Emptying ourselves of mundane concerns for one whole week, we made ourselves available to Him and to one another. Feeling our best, we were ready to receive Jesus in the Eucharist and in our neighbor everyday. The daily Liturgy filled the air with grace and blessing, so much so that each day felt like a Sunday.

Eucharist, Eucharist, Eucharist. We feasted upon the nourishing lectures centering on the Eucharist. We made new friends, refreshed old friendships, and renewed our friendship with Jesus. We exchanged views in the spirit of brotherly love. We were touched by mystery. Like children we laughed, we wept, we sang, we prayed, we took selfies. With renewed zeal we exchanged stories over our “laptop lunch”. We also shopped.

But what do we bring home from this place besides the souvenirs we had bought to remember this experience by? Many of us are expected to echo our learning when we return to our parishes or communities. What would be our most precious lesson to pass on? Besides regaling others with accounts of exciting times and showing off our innumerable selfies—what do we do?

We bring home the Christ in us—“…the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past… but now made manifest to His saints… it is Christ in you, the hope for glory” (Col. 1:26-27).”

That is the challenge of this Congress. When we leave this place and return to the world and find ourselves outnumbered by infidels and lukewarm Catholics, how are we going to proclaim the reality that is the Holy Eucharist?

To non-believers, the Eucharist does not make sense; it is just a bland biscuit. No doctrine, no pontificating, will convince them otherwise. Not all of us can be preachers, and even those trained to be preachers may not always become effective as such. But when our lives and our persons preach the Gospel without using words, people are moved because it is the power of Christ they behold, and that power is irresistible.

The Catechesis in the 51st International Eucharistic Congress often stressed the power of the Eucharist to heal a broken world, citing the threats to humanity bought about by greed, indifference, hunger for power and dominance, et al. Healing a broken world can begin in our own homes or primary circle of influence, making peace with those closest to us, forgiving and asking forgiveness of our family members, our confreres, other members of our community. Eucharist is mission, and by the grace and mercy of God we can be backyard missionaries. Nothing is too small in the eyes of God when done with utmost self-giving.

Back in our rooms, before our altars, we will offer ourselves to the Eucharist, and await His Word in the silence of our hearts.

MonitorPROTAGONIST OF TRUTH, PROMOTER OF PEACE

CBCP

Pedro QuitorioEditor-in-Chief

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This special issue of the CBCP Monitor is published daily for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress by Areopagus Communications, Inc. with editorial and business offices at Ground Flr., Holy Face of Jesus Center & Convent, 1111 F. R. Hidalgo Street, Quiapo, Manila. Editorial: (632) 404- 2182. Business: (632) 404-1612.; ISSN 1908-2940

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Sammy Navaja, Michael DalogdogPhotographers, IEC Special Issue

EVERY good thing on earth comes to an end. Only Jesus Christ in the Eucharist does not. As the 51st IEC draws to a close, I have asked myself two questions that, I feel, need to be answered by us delegates and by every Christian who adores, worships, and serves the Lord in and through the Eucharist. The first is: What is the world of today like? The second follows from the first: What does the Eucharist brings it and thus impels us to be and to do? I will try to answer as a fellow believer who wishes to share, in a Eucharistic manner, with brothers and sisters some shafts of the light that came my way.

1. We live a world threatened by climate change and environmental degradation. In response, the Eucharist constantly reminds us of our duty to care for the earth which, in the words of Pope Francis, is “our common home”. The Eucharist is a firm reminder that the God we worship in the Eucharist is the “God of all creation” through whose goodness we receive the bread and wine that later become the Body and Blood of the Lord who gives himself through them for our

salvation. This salvation wrought for us by Christ Jesus and celebrated whenever we break bread and drink the cup of the Eucharist pertains not only to us but also to creation itself. The Apostle Paul has this to say in this regard: “For creation itself shall also be delivered from the servitude of corruption and brought into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God” (Rom 8:21). To quote the first Catholic US President: “God’s work on earth must truly be our own.” Nowhere is this more truly and clearly applied than in the work of bringing the fruits of salvation to our “common home” itself.

2. We live in a world threatened by old and new forms of hatred, extremism and fundamentalism at the root of terrorism. In response, the Eucharist is the perpetual sacrament and testament of God’s love for us, effectively reconciling us with himself and with one another. This gift of reconciliation urges and obliges us to be peacemakers and builders of solidarity, never responding to hatred with hatred but with the love of Christ that we make visible by initiating and calling fellow human beings to dialogue, mutual

understanding, prudence, and sobriety. After all, the Jesus we encounter in the sacrament is the Risen One whose word “Shalom (all the blessings of peace and goodness)!” (Jn 20:19, 21, 26) is also our command.

3. We live with a digitally induced world and other forms of isolation and individualism, an unhappy fruit of the advances in science and technology. In response, the Eucharist is God’s oasis of joy found and encountered in community. The Real (not digital) Presence of the Lord constantly impels us to seek “real” company of “real” people who, in the Word made flesh who has therefore shared our very nature with all its weaknesses, are our “real” brothers and sisters. It is in them and through them that we not only find the meaning of the Eucharistic bread broken and shared but also the real nourishment for our hunger for love and freedom.

4. We live in a world ever more deeply wounded by secularization. In the words of St. John Paul II in his apostolic letter Mane Nobiscum Domine (“Remain

Teresa R. Tunay, OCDSAnd That’s The Truth

YOU think that as a priest I already know everything about the Eucharist? The answer is a big, flat No. Even if I must confess that I know quite a bit about it, and already have an extensive experience related to this most sublime sacrament, I realize that what the Catechism says about the “inexhaustible richness” of the Eucharist cannot be any truer.

I found myself feeling like one with a zero-knowledge everytime I attended a session during the Congress. I was like a desert experiencing for the first time the refreshing blessing of a downpour.

I had the clear impression that the Holy Eucharist would engage me in a lifelong process of getting to know, appreciate, and live it better and better everyday. During the Congress, I was aware of many new insights coming in, like seeds just sown. Hopefully in time, these would grow and bear much fruit.

It started right at the opening Mass celebrated by no less than the Papal Legate, the Burmese Cardinal Maung Bo. He set the tone for the weeklong event. It was about having a greater sensitivity to the social dimension of the Eucharist, something that many people fail to realize

That was the theme or the spirit that was consistently built up in every talk, session, or workshop. To be sure, it was a theme that had as its proper roots in the deep realization that the Eucharist is the most central part of a Christian’s life, and its celebration has to be as best as possible humanly, liturgically,

culturally speaking, etc.In other words, the social dimension

should be the organic outgrowth of our faith in the centrality of the Eucharist in our life and its most solemn celebration. As the Papal Legate put it, the celebration has to turn into a commitment.

The Eucharistic celebration should not just be an hour-long ceremony. It has to be an abiding, lifelong celebration. The celebration should not be understood solely as something purely liturgical, done in some church, sanctuary or holy place.

We need to understand that the Eucharistic celebration has to extend to all parts of the day and to all aspects of our life, whether spiritual or material, sacred, or mundane. In other words, there’s nothing in our life that cannot and should not be related to the Eucharist.

The whole day, our whole l ife should be some kind of a Mass that, of course, should be rooted on its liturgical celebration. But the liturgical celebration would somehow be nullified, its tremendous effects practically wasted, if we fail to take advantage of its power to purify and transform us individually

Candidly Speaking / A7

By the Roadside / A7

A fresh pair of eyes

ALLOW me to tell you a story about an extraordinary communion that gave me a fresh pair of eyes. Although this took place during the Eucharist, it did not happen inside a church, but in a modest office to celebrate the company’s foundation anniversary. The Gospel that day was Luke 9:11-17, about the multiplication of the loaves and fish, and the story I’m about to tell is about division, the division of the Hosts at Mass.

As with all Masses that are celebrated outside of a church, the priest was careful not to consecrate too many pieces of host lest he end up having to consume the excess. In spite of his care, however,

the priest miscalculated the number of communicants so that towards the end of Communion, he was splitting the Sacred Hosts in order to make them last.

When my turn came, I received what must have been one/sixteenth of a regular host. I am not exaggerating. It was smaller than a mung bean. Chipped off hosts were nothing new to me, but it was the first time I received a fraction of a host—and such a teeny-weeny bit at that!

But glancing at the “little white thing” in the palm of my hand I instead “saw” something else, a small body of the crucified Christ with neither arms nor legs. And with that flashed a question

from nowhere: “Would you still love me in my broken state?” I ignored it as I gently picked up the Host with my tongue, afraid I might drop it if I used my fingers.

Back in my seat , the question came back: “Would you still love me in my broken state?” And my answer came: “Of course, Lord, I’d love you even more.”

I didn’t dwell on that experience, instead dismissed it as a distraction during Communion. But months later, I would notice that I would be more “present” to the Host at Communion. Whether I was given a whole host or a quarter of the bigger host the priest himself took didn’t matter—I knew it

was not just a “holy wafer” I was taking—it was the Lord Himself giving Himself to me.

Much later, while awaiting my turn in a long Communion queue at our parish church, the image of the armless and legless Crucified Christ in my hand came back to mind—and along with it, a new pair of eyes. I “saw” the Body of Christ in each and every person in line to receive Him—broken, pleading to be loved. It’s as though I saw the wounds they were hiding, and it filled me with compassion. Not all the people in the queue were easy to like, and one lady was even considered “weird” in the parish, but in that marvelous way that defies

And That’s the Truth / A7

The Eucharist and the “Glory of God”THE acclamation of the Eucharistic assembly after the consecration aptly concludes the manifestation of the eschatological orientation that is signified by the participation in the table of the Lord: we proclaim the death and resurrection of Christ “until he comes again”. The Eucharist is tension toward the goal, foretaste of the fullness of joy promised by Christ. In a certain sense, it is anticipation of the final Kingdom, “pledge of future glory”. In the trustful waiting that “the blessed hope is accomplished and our Savior Jesus Christ may come.”

The Eucharist which is at the same time seed and goal of the mission manifests the experience of the glory of God that has at its center the Paschal Mystery of Christ, his passion and death, his glorious resurrection. It is on the cross that the true glory of God is revealed to us because there the Father shows in his Son his merciful face and his love up to the point of death for the salvation of his creatures and creation. Thus “Christ in you, hope of glory” is revealed to us as no other than the whole saving plan of God realized in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. From Sunday to Sunday, gathered in the name of the Lord, we celebrate the glory of God in every Eucharist. That Jesus who was crucified we now encounter-- risen, living, raised before the world who crucified him. Now death is made joyful by love and our resurrection is manifested in the efforts to love as Jesus loved. “Gloria Dei vivens homo; vita autem hominis visio Dei. The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.”

-- Excerpts from the theological and pastoral reflection in preparation for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress

A5CBCP Monitor January 31, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 8OPINION

The Eucharist:‘So ancient yet so new’

Love, prayer, and Our Blessed Mother

Fr. Francis OngkingcoWhatever

Veronica and Rafael Dy-LiaccoSimple Gifts

Fr. Jose Ernil Almayo, OARJust Inspired

IT all started long time ago in a far, far away place called Jerusalem when the Jesus’ last meal with his core group called apostles took place. That meal came to be known as “Last Supper” (though, like the term “Trinity”, it does not exist in the New Testament).

“Do this in memory of me,” Jesus said. His apostles faithfully complied. Wherever they went, they propagated the breaking of bread. That life-changing event, re-presented in what we call Holy Eucharist, would continue to nourish the people of God in diverse situations, embolden new generations of Gospel ambassadors, and, yes, eucharistify the face of the earth…

The gargantuan impact of the Eucharist swells beyond description “that even the world itself would not contain the books that should be written” to loan St. John’s words (Jn 21:24) in another context.

For instance, when Bishop Dominick Kimengich of Lodwar, Kenya took lunch with us in our convent, I thought it was simply a matter of simple sharing. He talked about his diocese, the presence of our Augustinian Recollect contemplative nuns there, his need for more missionaries, et cetera. When asked about the first time he heard about the Philippines, he said, “Long time ago!” He also made a special mention of Jaime Cardinal Sin during the latter’s attendance at the 43rd IEC convened in Nairobi on August 11-18, 1985.

“I was still a seminarian, then,” he

recalled. “And everybody swarmed around him because he had a lot of interesting stories to tell.”

As I tried to listen intently to this 55-year old prelate, my mind was stuck on his mention of Cardinal Sin and the year 1985. Then, something different dawned on me like a blitzkrieg. If it was the IEC 1985, I said to myself, then, it must have been the “Eucharistic nutrients” that fortified the brave cardinal six months later, on February 1986, to unflinchingly call for what is now labeled as the People Power Revolution.

I know there is no way to confirm my hypothesis. But the significant relationship is inevitable.

Hopefully, this Eucharistic impact continues to amaze us, as Pope John Paul II wished in his Ecclesia de Eucharistia n.6. Pope Benedict XVI also wished the same: “The wonder we experience at the gift of God has made to us in Christ gives new impulse to our lives and commits us to becoming witnesses of his love” (SC 85).

In this vein, I cannot help but rewind our Church history to 1937 when, for the first time, the IEC was held in Asia, specifically here in the Philippines. The 5-day congress unfolded from Feb. 3-7 of that year. The official hymn, in Spanish, was titled “Gloria a Jesus”, which was a collaboration of Fr. Domingo Carceller, OAR (music) and Emeterio Barcelon Barcelo, a Carmelite third order member (lyrics). And it amazes us to hear that the then 5-year old Manila Archbishop

emeritus Gaudencio Rosales and then 8-year old Ricardo Cardinal Vidal could still refer to that historic event participated in by 1.5 million souls.

The impact is, no doubt, indelible. For that’s the natural dynamics of one’s encounter with the Lord in the Eucharist. There is always that element of “remembering” just as it was at its origin. So ancient yet so new, if I were to use St. Augustine’s phrase.

On a more personal note, I found something compelling, a sort of blessing in disguise, in the tandem of Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista of Cavite and the Recoletos choir who led the morning prayers on the sixth day of IEC 2016. Probably, I was the only one who took notice of it. I don’t think the organizers knew this connection. That on this year, 2016, the Recoletos is celebrating its 400th anniversary of evangelization in this diocese. And that tandem was a “thanksgiving Mass” (well, every Mass is an act of thanksgiving) for those four centuries of breaking bread and sharing the faith with the people of Cavite.

In this IEC 2016, I know the impact of the Eucharist will exceed the number of participants. For truly, the ripples have already reached millions—nearly 40 million from organic tweets alone, and that includes those who know and/or follow the proceedings from all over the world.

May the Eucharist send, not just ripples, but waves of change in our personal lives and communities.

Mass in a Tricycle

A FRIEND and I went to Binondo looking for cheap sportswear. I haven’t been to this part of town for the longest time. I was looking forward to once again riding the rusty, rickety, tin can pedal-powered tricycles littering every street corner l ike famished fl ies that skillfully darted between alleys, cars, and pedestrians.

Our first stop was Binondo Church to greet our Lord and say a Rosary before the La Japonesa. My companion explained this was the image of our Lady before which St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint, entrusted his missionary trip that was rewarded with martyrdom in Japan.

After this visit, we hailed one of the tricycles to shuttle us to one of the many colossal wholesale stores. It was hard to squeeze into the vehicle. I had to literally exhale all the air in my lungs and stomach to miraculously fit inside the Jurassic iron rib cage of a dinosaur we could call Tricyclosaurus.

Being squeezed inside a prehistoric sardine can didn’t really give one a good view of the outside. The most we could see were deformed reflections on the doors of the higher vans and buses. Every now and then a squid of a jeep would manage to overtake and squirt us with a jet of polluted black smoke ink.

“Do you realize that this is Heaven here on earth?” My companion suddenly said out of the blue.

“Huh?” I didn’t quite understand where he was coming since I was still choking from the smoke.

“Look at all these stickers,” he pointed at the rattling panel before us.

Perhaps I was too absorbed with trying to get a view of the outside that I wasn’t too attentive with the inside. Indeed, my companion’s description was so precise: it was Heaven here on earth!

The rust-pocked panel was covered with religious stickers. There was our Lord, another of His Sacred Heart, our Lady of Lourdes, Fatima, Miraculous Medal, and then St. Joseph, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, and angels of all sorts of colors and sizes.

My companion whisked out his smartphone and snapped a photo of the celestial kaleidoscope before our eyes.

***This episode reminded me

of a more sublime experience that eventually led to the conversion of a famous Protestant minister to the Catholic Faith: Scott Hahn. He shared how he one day, out of a healthy curiosity to understand early Christian Liturgy, sneaked into a Catholic chapel in Milwaukee. As the Mass progressed

he could not help but be raptured by a “new and yet old” discovery.

He writes, “In less than a minute, the phrase Lamb of God had rung out four times. From long years of studying the Bible, I immediately knew where I was. I was in the Book of Revelation, where Jesus is called the Lamb no less than twenty-eight times in twenty-two chapters. I was at the marriage feast that John describes at the end of that very last book of the Bible. I was before the throne of heaven, where Jesus is hailed forever as the Lamb. I wasn’t ready for this, though — I was at Mass! (The Lamb’s Supper)”

Reading on the ear ly Christian writers, he learned that the connection between Revelation and the Mass was already common knowledge for the Fathers. He says:

“[The Fathers] considered the Book of Revelation the key to the liturgy, and the liturgy the key to the Book of Revelation. (…) I had been trying to make sense of the Book of Revelation as some kind of encoded message about the end of the world. (…) Now, after two weeks of daily Mass attendance, I found myself wanting to stand up during the liturgy and say, ‘Hey, everybody. Let me show you where you are in the Apocalypse! Turn to chapter

four, verse eight. You’re in heaven right now.’ (Ibid.)”

The miniature Heaven that my companion and I contemplated inside the tricycle is also present in the Mass. But this time, not as mere stickers, but as real celestial figures who participate in every single Mass that is celebrated here on earth.

We read in the Constitution on the Sacred Li turgy, Sacrosanctum concilium the following words:

“In the earthly liturgy we share in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle. With all the warriors of the heavenly army we sing a hymn of glory to the Lord; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for some part and fellowship with them.”

Scott Hahn amusingly but profoundly reflects on these very words of the Council by concluding: “That’s heaven. No, it’s the Mass. No, it’s the Book of Revelation. Wait a minute: it’s all of the above. (Ibid.)”

May all these help us to realize and value the fact that every Mass is already “heaven here on earth!”

Get Thee to a Seminary

WITH more than a million turning out for events on the final days of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress, it is a good time for young men to consider a vocation. Just look at all the Catholics devoted to the Eucharistic Christ who will need a priest in the years to come to feed them with the Bread of Life. God must surely be calling many of the men who went on the Eucharistic procession.

So, let’s get down to basics about what a vocation entails.

You’re a young man, finishing college or making your way in the working world, open to marriage but right now unattached. Unlike many of your millennial peers, you are spiritual and religious. You love the Catholic Church and the sacraments, find meaning in the Mass and Scripture. What is the best path you can take as you plan for a life of hard work and fulfillment?

Get thee to a seminary.Forget what the world says; listen to

the deepest part of your heart and choose whom you will serve this day. If there is even the faintest “still small voice” prompting you to consider it, then go!

Get thee to a seminary.Understand, young Catholic man, that

I am not saying you need to decide this moment that you’re called to be a priest. That may come later, or not at all. What you need to say now is that you have a heart to serve, are willing to suffer and inquire, as you discover what great mystery of manhood God has planted in your soul. God has created you, as strong and weak, as zealous and timid, as gifted and groping as you are. If you can offer him all that, and work with him to find the better thing he can make of you, then go.

Get thee to a seminary.Perhaps you’ve thought about it. You

wonder if God is calling and how you can possibly know. You’re downright scared to ask if you can be happy as a full-blooded, lady-loving celibate man. But if you have a hint that for you there may be a higher love, and if your heart is lifted as the priest elevates the host, then go.

Get thee to a seminary.Who am I to say? What do I know?

Well, I did it. I spent more than three years in the New York seminary system.

Though I am now married with two children, I still say my time in “sem” was worth every minute of every day, even some very difficult days. I learned things that I would never have learned elsewhere – Thomism, metaphysics, the form and matter of the sacraments, Church history, the inside of a sacristy – and was formed into a better man than I ever would have become otherwise. After I left seminary and got married, one of my professors spoke the truth: “I hope your wife appreciates that you’re a much better man now than when you started here.” I replied, “Yes, I don’t think she would have paid any attention to the pre-seminary guy.” Now I’m not saying that a few years of priestly training will set you up for the woman of your dreams after you leave, but you never know – so go.

Get thee to a seminary.The real point is that a daily dose

of seminary will wake you from your spiritual and secular slumbers; get you thinking about the ultimate truth regarding mankind and the world at large; rip up your insides and build you

OUR journey back to God, together as a married couple, began most clearly after what my husband now refers to as his conversion. It happened at the point in his academic career when he seemed to be moving away from faith and belief at the highest speed. Always intense about his academics, he had gone to Alaska to observe the aurora borealis, as part of his research for the Ph.D., on the topic of ancient sky reading. American geophysicists had suggested, decades ago, that the vision of God contained in the Book of Ezekiel, chapter 1, was actually the prophet’s experience of an aurora over the Babylonian wilderness. My husband’s research uncovered more published evidence, from Russian geophysicists, for the plausibility of this hypothesis. All he needed now, my husband believed, was actually to see an aurora that conformed in some way to the imagery in the Biblical text, as nothing that he saw of the aurora in videos uploaded on the internet seemed quite to do so.

The funding for his trip was not easy for him to obtain, and for a while he believed he might never make it.During this time of uncertainty he sometimes seemed in despair of accomplishing his work. Once, in passing, he asked me to pray for him. So during this period, including all the time that my husband was actually in Alaska, unbeknown to him I began praying the rosary for him, asking Our Blessed Mother to let him find what he was looking for. My husband himself said that even if he made it to Alaska, he knew that his chances of seeing what he needed to see were exceedingly small. He needed a solar event (“the sun exploding”, as he put it), but the explosion must be pointed in the direction of planet Earth. He needed clear skies. And he needed to be there in the right place at the right time when the actual aurora appeared. Yet despite these odds, and the difficulty of finding funding, something inside of him was driving him to go.

When funding opened up, my husband grabbed it. Immediately he planned his trip down to the last detail of date, location, gear, and equipment that he believed would maximize his chances within the budget allotted to him. Then he was off. What he did not know at that time was that he was flying into an already month-long cloud cover over Fairbanks, Alaska, his chosen place of observation. Nor did he know that despite the approaching date of the spring equinox, Alaska was experiencing its worst winter ever recorded. The first solar explosion occurred as his plane left Manila for Oahu, Hawaii. The second solar explosion occurred when his plane left Oahu for Fairbanks. When he landed, the cloud cover over Fairbanks lifted. On his second night in Fairbanks, he was waiting for the expected aurora. Ignoring the posted warnings about Alaskan wildlife and about going out alone, he trekked with his equipment to an open field a kilometer and half from his lodge, at 10 in the evening.

It was so cold, he recounted, that he could hear the ice crystals on his eye lashes click every time he blinked. And when he would come in from a night’s observation, the inner lining in his nose would thaw, crack, and he’d get a nosebleed. But more seriously, the lithium battery in his electronic camera would freeze after thirty minutes and stop working. At the onset of the most spectacular moments of the aurora that hit that second night, when inserting his last functioning battery, he accidently dropped it in the snow and immediately it froze. In the end that was for the best, he said later, because otherwise he would have spent time fumbling with his equipment, focused only on obtaining recordings. Instead, he was forced to stand back and simply watch the sky. Afterwards, he would hear Fairbanks residents saying about that night’s aurora: “I’ve lived here all my life, but I’ve never seen anything like it.” In the words of other residents: “It was an incredible explosion of activity; I didn’t know which direction to look”, “the sky exploded”, “the lights were really mobile, pin-wheeling and swirling across the sky”.

From the Book of Ezekiel, chapter 1. Ezekiel the prophet recounts what he saw: “In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God... As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing forth continually, and in the middle of the fire, something like gleaming amber. In the middle of it was something like four living creatures… In the middle of the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; the fire was bright, and lightning issued from the fire. The living creatures darted to and fro, like a flash of lightning. As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel… one for each of the four of them…Their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel… When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.… Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell on my face….”

When my husband came back home from Alaska, he was very quiet. He seemed lost in a void, alone in some interior sub-arctic wilderness of his own. Sometimes I’d find him looking at the NASA satellite photo of the sun of March 13, 2012, the time of the second solar explosion, the explosion that gave birth to the amazing aurora that he had witnessed. “At first, I thought someone on the internet had Photoshopped it”, he would say, referring to the photo. “But it’s real.” As reported on the internet at that time: “A large and very oddly-shaped coronal hole has appeared on recent images of the Sun taken from various American space-based observatories…. The hole is distinctly triangular in shape and is pointed at the Earth”.

He lost taste for his research. He no longer seemed to desire his Ph.D. He seemed to lose interest in everything. Inside he seemed to be suffering. It turned out he was searching still, but not for data nor for concepts, not even theological concepts (he was already well familiar with those). Now, he was searching for Someone. He found an extra rosary among the things on my shelf, made of wooden beads and a wooden crucifix, held together by twine. He would lie beside me in bed at night as I prayed, insisting that I say all the prayers out loud. As I prayed he would hold the wooden rosary in his hands and pass the beads between his fingers. At the start, he would often fall asleep this way. Then one day he said that he should take the lead. He would say the Creed and the Our Fathers, he would announce each mystery, he would say the Glory Bes and the O My Jesuses, and he would say the Hail Holy Queen and the Let Us Pray. After some months of our praying this way, he then said that we should preface our Rosary with petitions to Our Blessed Mother, and that before each mystery we should ask her for graces, because she is “full of grace”.

Brian CaulfieldHalf-a-world Away

Half-a-world Away / A7

A6 CBCP MonitorJanuary 31, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 8OPINION FEATURES

Tantum Ergo: back to the heart of the Eucharistic Hymn

By Fr. Jose Ernil Almayo, OAR

MAJORITY of Filipino Catholics are quite familiar with O salutaris H o s t i a a n d T a n t u m e r g o Sacramentum, two of the famous Eucharistic hymns that echo in our churches and cathedrals whenever the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. But only a few of them know that they were composed by St. Thomas Aquinas upon the special request of Pope Urban IV in preparation for the universal Church’s celebration of the feast of the Corpus (et Sanguis) Christi in 1264.

And how many are also aware that these two are treated as distinct from the complete text of hymns of which they are a part? O salutaris Hostia is actually the last two verses of Verbum supernum prodiens and Tantum ergo Sacramentum of Pange, lingua, gloriosi.

Thanks to Aquinas’ deep faith and theological wisdom, the Church is aided in singing and celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. The songs’ melodies elevate the soul to an ineffable altitude of contemplation; their lyrics—when properly understood—stoke the fire of love in an overflowing praise and gratitude.

As an example of going back to the heart of a Eucharistic hymn, let us now take a look at the one with the incipit Tantum ergo, singling out two lines at a time and inserting an attempt at making our own literal translation…

Tantum ergo Sacramentum / Veneremur cernui

On bended knees, let us, therefore, venerate so great a sacrament.

Consistent with our belief in the Real Presence, we accord due reverence or respect—expressed in a general sense by the act of veneration—by kneeling down (“cernui”) in front of the Blessed Sacrament either exposed on the altar, or reposed in the tabernacle, or in procession. In this personal encounter, our reverential attitude must already be that of worshipping which is made to God alone. In fact, the Italian rendition of the hymn translates “veneremur” as “adoriamo”

Remembering the hungerBy Diana Uichanco

EVERY week, on the Lord’s day, a Eucharistic minister pays my family a visit to enable my mother to receive Holy Communion despite her temporary inability to go out and attend Holy Mass in church. My mother had been hospitalized in 2015 for a heart ailment, and though declared well enough to be discharged after a couple of weeks, her doctor was emphatic about limiting physical exertion and avoiding all sources of stress. This warranted significant adjustments on her lifestyle, including doing away with trips to the nearby church – on Sundays and any day for that matter. As any Catholic faithful knows, being deprived of the Eucharist all of a sudden is akin to going on a hunger strike when one has been accustomed to taking three squares a day. One simply becomes weaker in the spiritual sense when the soul isn’t nourished by the Lord in the Eucharist. Hence, my mother’s reception of Holy Communion was soon worked out after making arrangements with the parish in our community.

The weekly visits by the Eucharistic minister have been going on for four months now, and while one may fall into momentarily taking them for granted, the implication of those few minutes that Brother Gil – the Eucharistic minister -- spends with us is not lost to me. They may be brief – not more than 10 or 15 minutes each time – but who is timing when one realizes Who really enters the gate, is carried up the few steps toward the front door and waits patiently to be received into a soul ready for such an important Guest?

One Sunday, as Brother Gil walked into the living room and cheerfully greeted my mother, I felt somewhat overwhelmed. “I should’ve done some dusting… straightened the throw pillows, smoothened the upholstery…” I quietly lamented, chiding myself for forgetting the details of preparing for the arrival of a Special Guest. In that moment, I had been mulling over the fact that instead of my mother and I making the effort to approach Jesus in His house, it was God coming to us and entering our home. Those moments were immensely humbling, and at the same time also very reassuring--reassuring of God’s love for us to the point of being willing to approach us in those times we are unable to go to Him. Who would not

want to cultivate and continually nourish a relationship with such a Person, when He obviously knows how to love? And who wouldn’t want to be friends with Someone like that? At this thought I am reminded of a point that I always find encouraging; it’s from the book Jesus as Friend: Meditations by Salvatore Canals:

“You and I know by experience how much good a good friendship can do someone: it helps him behave better, it brings him closer to God, it keeps him away from evil. And if a good friendship links us not just to a good man but to a saint, the good effects of that kind of life are multiplied: contact and conversation with a holy person will leave us with something of his holiness: cum sanctis, sanctus eris! If you mix with saints, you will be a saint yourself.

Well then: think what can happen if you become close friends of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist: think of the deep impression that can make on your soul. You will have Jesus as a Friend, Jesus will be your Friend. He – perfect God and perfect Man – who was born and worked and wept; who has stayed in the Eucharist; who suffered and died for us!”

On Sunday, my mother and I will attend Sunday Mass in church again for the first time in many months. Her health has improved significantly; she has ditched the wheelchair for some time now and is comfortable walking slowly--and over short distances--with the aid of her cane. This Sunday instead of the Lord “making the trip” to our home, we will be going to His house, taking part in the Liturgy, worshipping with the community, and approaching the altar to receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. For a long time, it was He approaching us, and from time to time we, sadly, took this act of love for granted. Fortunately, such instances are temporary; apparently, hunger for the Lord eventually overpowers everything else. Perhaps one merely needs to experience being deprived of that which truly feeds the soul and quenches our thirst, to keep on seeking it. As the Most Rev. Robert Barron, DD, said during the International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu City, “We have to remember what is like to starve for the Bread of Life.”

Memories of starvation of this sort are things I would gladly hold on to. For remembering the hunger seems to be what drives us to keep seeking the Lord in the Eucharist with fervor.

to the Father (“obedient unto death, death on the cross” [Phil. 2:8]), and accomplished the mission entrusted to Him in whom the Father is well-pleased (Matt. 3:17): “It is finished” (John 19:30). In human terms, it’s like making high fives to both father and child for a collaborative job perfectly done.

Salus, honor, virtus quoque / Sit

et benedictioLet there be salvation, honor, also

power, and blessing

T h e s e f o u r a t t r i b u t e s a r e doxologically ascribed to God, the Summum Bonum. Whether these refer to God as He is in Himself and/or God in relation to us, we can read between the lines: it still His love that wells up toward us as, for instance, our “salvation” and/or “blessing”. It is love as He is in Himself (as a community of three divine persons) and as He is in relation to us (as our Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier, refuge, strength, etc.). That means these attributes are various expressions of the same love of God, or of the same love who is God.

Procedenti ab utroque / Compar sit laudatio.

To the One proceeding from both, be equal praise.

The three divine persons are now complete here, with the mention of the “One proceeding” (“Procedenti”), referring to the Holy Spirit who enjoys perfect equality with the Father and the Son. Since this third divine person proceeds from both (ab utroque), this, then, is in harmony with the Latin Rite’s (our) belief on “Filioque” (i.e., that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son) which is in contrast to the “per Filium” formula (i.e., the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father is through the Son). But where there is divergence, we show respect. Where there is exclusion, we reach out. After all, we are brothers and sister in communion with the same God in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Thai convert finds ‘healing in forgiveness’CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016 – Catholic convert Sarindhorn Mativachranon of Thailand on Saturday inspired delegates of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu with her story of forgiveness and healing in the face of false accusations.

“God is hope. God is love, God is truth. The fact that converts like myself standing here today as a humble witness is a proof that love knows no boundaries, but reaches all corners of the world,” she declared.

B e f o r e t h i n g s t o o k a downturn, Mativachranon described herself as being “on top of the world.” As one of her country’s most admired executives, she had everything a person could dream of: money, properties, influence.

Embezzlement caseIt all changed after she was

wronfully implicated in an embezzlement case involving millions.

Making matters worse was the fact that she was framed by a former colleague and employees, and became a “non-person”. She was hurt.

“ I w a s a f o r g o t t e n woman, broken spiritually, physically, and financially,” she recalled.

For years, Mativachranon led the life of a fugitive, having no means to be able to bail herself out once caught.

While in hiding, she saw the life she used to live.

The unknown GodAt this time, she could only

find solace in praying to the god she knew—she was not yet a Christian—asking him why he let her suffer terrible things despite her innocence.

According to her , she pleaded to have the courage to forgive the people who wished her harm.

(“we adore”), and “adoration”—as we know—is directed only to the Lord. In the Blessed Sacrament, we recognize the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, who is 100% divine and 100% human.

Et antiquum documentum / Novo cedat ritui

And let the old document give way to the new rite

Both the “documentum” and the “ritus” reflect the two parts of the Sacred Scriptures: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The former, the Book of Promise, yields to the latter, the Book of Fulfillment. Everything that the law and the prophets spoke about is now fulfilled in Jesus Christ. As one commentator puts it: the precise terms have been replaced by the laws of the Beatitudes and Jesus’ two great commandments. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:37b, 39).

Praestet fides supplementum /

Sensuum defectuiLet faith surpass the supplement

for the deficiency of the senses.

The usual translation for these lines is: “The faith provides a supplement for the failure of the senses.” It expresses the power of faith working in us despite the inability of the eyes, for example, to see the mystery of God’s real presence in the consecrated host.

Let us offer an alternative, following a hint from the literal meaning of “praestare” (“to stand before”) and the dictum “perstare et praestare” (“to persevere and to excel”). In this sense, we can find three layers of knowledge: at the bottom is one gained by the senses (“sensus”), the other by reason (implied by the use of “supplementum”), and the one by faith (“fides”). Admittedly, the senses cannot explain, for instance, how the bread and wine are transformed (read: transubstantiated) into the body and blood of Christ, or that Jesus, “the son of a carpenter,” is the Word-made-flesh. This constitutes the ontological limit or deficiency—rather than the defect—

of the senses. Reason may be able to explain many of our beliefs, as in employing philosophical terms “substance” and “accidents” to help shed light on the mysterious event of transubstantiation. Yet it is not enough. It takes the humility of reason, then, to acknowledge that beyond its frontiers belongs the realm of faith. Although faith surpasses the power of reason, let alone that of the senses, both senses and reason aid our faith.

Genitori genitoque / Laus et jubilatio,

To the Begetter and to the Begotten, Be praise and rejoicing

We start the Trinitarian doxology in this verse by paying homage, in these first two lines, to the Begetter (Genitori) who is the Father, and to the Begotten (Genito) who is the Son. In front of the Blessed Sacrament, we are also enkindled to give praise and jubilation to them, whose infinite love and unfathomable mercy merited the salvation of mankind: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16). And this Son, Jesus, was obedient

Catholic convert Sarindhorn Mativachranon. JOHANN MANGUSSAD

“Dear God, I want to forgive on my own. Please make me able to do so,” she said.

“Then a miracle happened, I was touched and salvaged by God’s love. I was able to forgive all who wronged me because of God’s grace,” she added.

It was Christmas day of 1989.

She remembered hearing the voice of a Person telling her not to give up because in the end, truth will prevail.

VindicatedFacing her court case, she

realized her lawyers weren’t really doing much to help her gain justice, and took up her case only for the money they were expecting to get.

In what seemed like an epiphany, Mativachranon remarked, “I have God. Why did I need any lawyer?”

In 1994, she was vindicated, walking out of court for the last time as an innocent person.

But her suffering didn’t end there: Her husband later left her and their children soon after the Thai economy collapsed. She felt self-pity, but learned again to forgive and move on.

Beautiful not perfectShe told herself, “I must

be able to accept what had happened to me. So what that I was a single mother? So what if society shunned me? I still have ten fingers, a perfect body, and a sound mind, didn’t I? I couldn’t go back and relive or change my past, but I could live the present, and share my future.”

On June 2, 1996 at the U r s u l i n e c h a p e l i n N e w Y o r k , M a t i v a c h r a n o n f o r m a l l y e n t e r e d t h e Catholic Church.

S i n c e t h e n , s h e h a s refocused her energy on serving God and others by founding a hotline under the Catholic Association of Thailand.

“I was so busy serving God that I forgot about myself and my wounds. I found the pain no longer there. I was completely healed. Instead of scars, my heart was filled with the love of God, of my children, and of others,” she said.

“Life is not perfect, but beautiful,” Mativachranon a d d e d . ( R a y m o n d A . Sebastián / CBCP News)

JOHA

NN M

ANGU

SSAD

A7CBCP Monitor January 31, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 8FEATURES

and socially, spiritually and materially, etc.

With the Eucharist, we are already given everything by our Creator, Savior, and Sanctifier to be what we ought to be, again individually and socially, spiritually, and materially, etc.

We need to draw the endless implications of that reality about the Eucharist. For example, how should the Eucharist affect our life of prayer, of sacrifice, of continuing formation? What should it do with regard to our family life, our work, our business, and politics, our culture?

How should it shape and develop our relations with others? Does it lead us to involve ourselves increasingly in the big issues of the world, or does it only restrict us to certain issues without relating them to the other burning issues of the day, like climate change, technological challenges, terrorism and the ever present problems of poverty, inequality, and injustice, terrorism, etc.?

The IEC has given me a richer appreciation of the intricacies of evangelizing the

secular world today. I believe I saw glimpses of the nuances of the art of proclaiming the Gospel while engaging in a continuing dialogue with all kinds of people in different human situations and predicaments.

The IEC somehow has given me a deeper impulse to be most discerning of the different spirits behind all kinds of developments in our life. There are true spirits and deceptive ones, the spirit of God that is always shown with humility, and the spirit of devil that tries to seduce us with giving us appearances of truth and goodness packaged beautifully with sound bytes, hype, and other worldly allure and charm.

The latter spirit seems to be getting rampant nowadays as a good number of spiritual leaders today have the tremendous capacity to mesmerize people with their speaking skills and other talents, while their actual life is a mess.

Just the same, the IEC has clearly convinced me that while sin may abound, God’s grace abounds much more. There’s always hope, my friend!

Candidly Speaking / A4

With us, Lord’) our world culture is “characterized as it is by a forgetfulness of God and a vain pursuit of human self-sufficiency” (MND 26). In response, the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood propels us to live by what St. John Paul II calls “the Eucharistic plan” which he himself explains thus: “Incarnating the Eucharistic ‘plan’ in daily life, wherever people live and work—in families, schools, the workplace, in all of life’s settings—means bearing witness that the human reality cannot be justified without reference to the Creator: ‘Without the Creator the creature would

disappear’ [GS 36]. This…in no way detracts from the legitimate autonomy of earthly realities, but grounds that autonomy more firmly by setting it within its proper limits” (MND 26). The reason is simple. When we bond with God through Communion in the Eucharist, that naturally has the consequence of making him an integral and indispensable part of our daily life. That is to say, our sense of his presence and our constantly recognizing how everything we are and have comes from him cannot but fill us with a sense of gratitude, which is at the heart of the Eucharist as our thanksgiving par excellence.

5. We live in a world that still persecutes Christians as well as fellow sincere believers in moral-spiritual values in old and new ways, sometimes violently, often subtly. In response, the Eucharist is our constant reminder of the Persecuted One on the Cross who “went to his own and his own did not accept him” (Jn 1:11) and who from that same Cross utters not a curse but a prayer: “Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). From the example of the Eucharistic Jesus we gather this command: That we must always and everywhere pray for people who persecute us. I propose that we make this

an integral part of the Prayer of the Faithful itself for there are truly people who, for one reason or another, see it as a calling to make the life and liberty of Christians as difficult as possible. But, above all, we must draw our greatest source of strength from the Eucharist itself—Jesus who suffers, Jesus who dies, Jesus who rises again. Persecution comes with the territory of true disciples. For we follow the Lord, not the world. But that world is passing away.

On the other hand, because of the Eucharist and through the Eucharist Christ is “in us” and with Christ “our hope of glory” (Col 1:27).

By the Roadside / A4

explanation, the Eucharist then filled me with love for everyone, love that expressed itself in goodwill towards everyone without anyone of them knowing about it.

Again, years later, I would realize in my most silent moments that I was being so forgiving of others, even when reason and other people would say I should not be, that I should “teach them a lesson.” I would smile off such suggestions, remembering the Lord’s question: “Would you

still love me in my broken state?” I did not know why I replied, “Of course, Lord, I’d love you even more” but perhaps this was what it meant. The “even more” demands that I love not just Him but His flock as well. Jesus showed me His Broken Body—a wounded Church—because He had wanted to give me a forgiving heart, not judging anyone but loving everyone in their woundedness—for His sake. And that’s the truth.

And That’s the Truth / A4

7th day of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress

A SYNTHESISBy Felipe Francisco

THE seventh and final session of the 51st IEC was a short one but was as eventful as the previous ones. To sum up the day’s talks is to sum up the entire Congress. By this time it’s clear to 15,000 IEC delegates: the Holy Eucharist sustains Christian life, in more ways than one. Like the Sacred Host, it is first broken, shared, and lived.

First, it is no ordinary devot ion. Through the Eucharist, Christ makes available to all the salvific benefits of his suffering and death on the Cross. The Eucharist is Christ himself, as evidenced by 1.5 million people who flocked to the Cebu Capitol and the grand, record-breaking Eucharistic procession that followed. Second, it is not a private devotion. It is meant to be shared. Receiving the Eucharist leads one to a commitment to share Christ, and the love for Christ leads one to action. Third, we are not alone in the Eucharistic path. The Eucharist is communion with others--the poor, the marginalized, those outside the comforts of our communities.

A r c h b i s h o p A n g e l Lagdameo reflected on the need to build a Eucharistic c o m m u n i t y d u r i n g t h e morning prayer. One way to do this is to compete with one another in showing love of neighbor, using our God-given talents and resources. The Eucharistic Lord commanded this. “As we fulfill that mission, Jesus gives us the command to love one another, as He has loved us, and at the same time, He gives us the grace we need to carry out that command,” Lagdameo said in his reflection.

Mary, our companionLike many events held and

documents issued in our Church, the last day of the Congress proper is entrusted to Mary our mother, as reflected in the final catechesis and Congress Statement.

T h e B l e s s e d M o t h e r accompanies us in the E u c h a r i s t i c p a t h , N e w York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan said in his well-received catechesis, titled “The Eucharist and Mary.” Cardinal Dolan spoke of the Eucharist in its three dimensions—sacrifice, meal, real presence—and how Mary animated each of these aspects. Mary was in every major event in the life of Christ: Bethlehem, Cana, and Calvary, he noted.

“Who was there with Jesus as He was tortured on the Cross? Near the Cross stood Mary His Mother,” Dolan said as he discussed the sacrificial dimension of the Eucharist. “You want to be closer to Jesus on the cross at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? Be closer to Mary, because she’s right next to him.”

Talking about the Eucharist as meal, Dolan noted that Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. The name of the city, which means “House of Bread,” gives a hint of the Bread of Life. Mary was present at the wedding in Cana, which prefigured the Eucharist and showed to us the Blessed Mother’s intercessory role. Mary was also present in the Upper Room, where Christ instituted the Eucharist and his holy priesthood.

“He would work His first miracle for that newly-married couple at Cana in Galilee, by changing water into wine, at her request. She

is with us at another Feast we call the Lord’s Supper when He miraculously changes bread into His Body and wine to His Most Precious Blood,” Dolan said.

Mary also made possible the Incarnation of the Word, God dwelling with men in the person of Christ, when she said “Behold the Handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to Thy Word.”

Some people, including t h o s e w h o r e c e i v e Communion, snicker at the Catholic belief of the sacredness of bread and wine when it becomes the Body and Blood of Christ, Dolan said. But not those who walk the Eucharistoc path accompanied by the Blessed Mother: “We proclaim, with Mary, we do believe!”

Eucharist as freedom

Actually, another Mary ended the congress proper. The final testimony came from Mary Sarindhorn, a T h a i b u s i n e s s w o m a n accused and persecuted for a crime she did not commit. She had her “dark night of the soul” episode. Sarindhorn was born in a devoutly Buddhist family. She found healing in the Catholic faith, and is now nourished by the Eucharist.

At the IEC, Sarindhorn became a model of Eucharistic action that so many bishops and cardinals talked about. S h e w r o t e a b o o k a n d became the first Catholic to share her faith on Thai television. Rather than keep her Eucharistic devotion and transformation to herself, she has been on the lecture circuit to share her experience and bring hope to others. For this, the congress gave her a standing ovation.

“Today I am having a special kind of fever--Jesus Fever--the kind of fever that I do not want its degree to subside no matter what. I am a faithful servant of God, a happy mother and grandmother and a businesswoman--in that order,” she said.

Emmaus experience

The past week has definitely been life-changing, and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, the 51st IEC president, likened it to the experience of two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Reading the Congress Statement, he said: “We are convinced that the Holy Spirit sends us forth in order to proclaim the story of Jesus. This Congress is like the gathering of the early disciples when they joyfully shared stories of how each of them encountered the Risen Lord in the Scripture and in the Breaking of the Bread.”

“We are a people on a mission; truly, IEC 2016 is a clarion call to mission for all of us. Our Eucharist is the source and goal of the Church’s mission,” he added. “May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word and the Eucharistic Lord, accompany us, missionary disciples, in order to share Jesus Christ in us, our hope of glory. Amen.”

It has been a long week! As we write this synthesis, many IEC delegates, even members of the media, are raring to go home. Yet there’s separation anxiety, as Archbishop Palma said in the last IEC press conference on Jan. 29. Cebu has been a wonderful host and a living testimony of Eucharistic fervor. That is something we will live, share, and never forget!

back better; batter your precious self-image and whatever else you imagine yourself to be, and fling you back onto yourself as you fall into the strong and merciful arms of God. Oh yes, as a bonus, you will be scandalized by the fallible and very human faces of the men who are preparing to serve God at the altar, starting with the image that you see in your morning mirror. Best of all, you will learn to pray. The daily rhythm of the Divine Office, the well-appointed “hours,” will become part of your metabolism. You will imbibe the

Psalms with your morning coffee. You will snicker with 50 other guys when someone starts the “Alleluia” during Lent. You will say many times a day, in and out of chapel: “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.” And he will, if you let Him, often at the hand of someone you would least expect, and never approach. So go.

Get thee to a seminary.I have given versions of this message to

various young men over the years, even spoken to a group of young Catholic Wall Streeters. I know a few who have gone

to seminary, perhaps on my prompting. Yet the message is not new with me. It’s what I received some 30 years ago from Cardinal O’Connor, of happy memory, who wrote a column in Catholic New York much like this one: If you are a man who loves God and his Church, are single, are willing to study hard, pray without ceasing, and embark on the greatest adventure a man could undertake in this fallen world, then come and see if you will be God’s priest. What do you say?

Get thee to a seminary.

Half-a-world Away / A5

‘Juggling family’ charms IEC crowd

CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016 – The testimony of conversion and faith by Mr. Paul Ponce and his family was given a standing ovation by the crowd of the 51st International Congress.

Mr. Ponce thoroughly narrated his authentic story of faith, conversion and mission – always pointing out the role of the Eucharist in all of it.

“The Holy Eucharist in my life has been very important, it has held a key role,” he stated.

How he came to beThe Ponce family has been

in the showbiz industry for six generations and he said ‘didn’t start believing in God in his early age.’

“I came from a family of entertainers who were C a t h o l i c , b u t w e r e n ’ t practicing Catholics,” he said.

“I wanted to be famous, travel the world, earn a lot of money and have many girlfriends from every city – I did reach those objectives but [it] didn’t give me the happiness I was looking for,” he recounted.

He enumerated some of his great achievements and how ‘he always wanted more and more – until something beautiful happened; He’s confirmation.

Conversion story“It was through those

confirmation classes that I started to learn more about God. I was overwhelmed by the treasures of our

Catholic Church,” Paul Ponce emphasized.

What ‘shocked’ him about it all was our freedom to choose our God who humbly waits.

“He was there waiting for us patiently. I wasn’t obligated to follow him. I was free – I could love him or not, follow him or not – that was the big surprise for my conversion,” he stressed.

Surrendering to a life of mission

He stated how his life changed and he went to Church everyday. Soon he found himself surrendering everything, pausing his showbiz life and doing mission.

“I stopped everything in show business and gave my whole year [being] a lay missionary. I realized that that year was the happiest of my life up to then,” he testified.

Inspiring family lifePaul Ponce retold how his

family came to be. From his and Lia Ponce, his wife’s love story up to when their kids were born, inspiring people with their prayer life while at it.

“We find it our vocation to travel around the world because I’m booked to do shows around the world – but we always travel as a family because we think we are called to give witness of family, life and love, we go to church everyday we can, and we pray,” he concluded. (Chrixy Paguirigan / CBCPNews)

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo is welcomed by nuns of the Missionaries of Charity during his visit to their convent in Cebu City on Jan. 30, 2016. ROY LAGARDEArgentinian juggler Paul Ponce shares a testimony of faith and performs at the 51st IEC with his sons and daughter joining in too. DOMINIC BARRIOS

A8 CBCP MonitorJanuary 31, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 8FEATURES

Cebu hosts ‘World’s Mass’CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016— Cardinal Charles Maung Bo is capping his visit to the Philippines in a fitting way— with the “Stations of the World”, a Mass for the masses, on Jan. 31 at Cebu City’s South Road Properties (SRP).

The first cardinal of Myanmar is expected to see the largest gathering of his week-long tour on Sunday when he celebrates an outdoor Mass at 4:00 p.m. to close the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC).

More than 1.5 million people are expected for the Mass, along with more than 15,000 cardinals, bishops, priests, religious, and official IEC delegates from at least 75 nations around the world.

Message from Pope Francis?Local IEC organizers earlier hinted

at a possible message from Pope Francis at the gathering. However, it is still unclear as of this posting whether it will be through live feed or taped video.

“Let us be surprised by Pope Francis who will speak to us. I think that is what we should look forward to,” Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, who heads the IEC’s communications committee, earlier said.

Anticipating a mammoth crowd, the SRP area will be open to the public as early as in the morning.

Local authorities have also outlined their steps for the crowd and traffic control for the Mass.

At least 200 parking lots for buses

A fourteen-year old girl with Down’s Syndrome receives Holy Communion for the first time during a Mass for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress at the Cebu City Sports Center on Jan. 30. Around 5,000 students from different schools, some 500 of them are street children from all over the country, receive their First Communion. ANA PERUCHO

Thousands of people packed the Cebu City Sports Center during a Mass presided over by Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal on the seventh day of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016. JOHANN MANGUSSAD

Church mounts record-setting media coverage for 51st IECCEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016 – In a first in the modern history of International Eucharist ic Congresses (IEC), the Church mounted a massive, multiplatform media coverage of the 51st staging of the IEC in the Philippines, involving 15 organizations and 250 personnel.

“It’s actually a lot of firsts, in broadcast, print, radio and social media,” said Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, director of the CBCP Media Office and head of broadcast and media accreditation for the 51st IEC.

It’s the first time for an IEC to have a global satellite broadcast, with 12 hours of programming including coverage of remote sites in Cebu.

Because the IEC was not just a Catholic but a major international gather ing that drew 15 ,000 participants from 75 countries, the Philippine Broadcast Pool under the auspices of Radio-Television Malacañang (RTVM) was activated, said Luis Enrico Eleazar, head of RTVM’s Media Production Division and Information and Technology Section.

“The plan was for a papal visit-style coverage,” Eleazar, a veteran who assembled the broadcast operations for last year’s historic visit of Pope Francis and the Philippines’ successful APEC hosting, told CBCP News. “Iba ang tama sa akin ng papal visit (the papal visit made lasting impression on me). After that experience, excited kaming gawin ito (I was so excited to do this),” he said in an interview.

State-of-the-art facilities and equipment, first used for the APEC meetings in Cebu, were again deployed for the IEC. The broadcast team put up the “IEC Channel” that carried 12 hours of programming, featuring all major IEC events and live and tape-delay broadcasts.

RTVM took charge of events at the IEC Pavilion and the International Media Center, aside from running the TOC or control room including the master switcher. The People’s Television Network was in-charge of outdoor broadcasts.

In all, there were 17 TV cameras, one ENG van, one OB van and four switches.

Satellite operator Apstar Global provided the main satellite uplink with the assistance of the Supreme Office of the Knights of Columbus. “We got a satellite that can reach up to Italy and also the US,” Eleazar said. Video was also streamed live online and carried by top media outlets, receiving positive comments from netizens all over the world. Manny Pangilinan-led PLDT provided generous bandwidth, with 1 GB alone made available to the TOC.

The IEC broadcast was picked up by Cignal TV and broadcast on two channels: Channel 99 for standard definition and Channel 199 for high definition. TV Maria likewise carried the broadcast while the Cebu Catholic Television Network or CCTN beamed it to viewers in Cebu, Mindanao and Asian clients.

For radio, Radyo Veritas broadcast IEC events to listeners in Luzon while DYRF handled Visayas and Mindanao on top of the stations of the Catholic Media Network.

EWTN, the global Catholic network, was tapped for live and tape delay content, with Ma. Mercedes Robles, Angelique Lazo and Bernard Factor Cañaberal as

well as Fr. Lorenzo Ruggiero and Fr. Joel Camaya, SDB, as anchors.

Edwin Lopez, EWTN Asia-Pacific regional manager, put together a team of volunteers including Sydney-based Gerardo Cabellon as director.

“We have never done media coverage on this scale, ever,” Lopez said in an interview. “In the past, we just covered the events and sent the video to the satellite uplink. What happened here will last beyond our lifetime. It’s the best gift that the Philippine Church, the Archdiocese of Cebu can give to the next host of the IEC,” he added.

Lopez also moderated daily press conferences at the International Media Center, with mainstays such as Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma; Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, chairman of the IEC Communications Department; Msgr. Joseph Tan; and Fr. Jose Quilongquilong, who provided daily summaries of IEC proceedings.

EWTN itself broadcast IEC events to 230 million homes in 144 countries. Thirteen satellites picked up the signal and as a result, IEC events were viewed in China, France, Italy’s RAI, and CTV or Centro Televisivo Vaticano, Lopez said.

In yet another first for the IEC, CBCP News and Areopagus Communications produced daily special editions of the CBCP Monitor. Stories were also uploaded round the clock on www.cbcpnews.com/iec2016, the website for the CBCP News special coverage of the 51st IEC, and shared on its official Facebook and Twitter accounts.

As of this writing, the Facebook page IEC2016SpecialCoverage has generated more than 26,000 likes, while the hashtag #EucharistPH generated as much as 37,235,807 impressions, Quitorio said.

“As a result, Church media became the news leader and a reliable source of information on the IEC for the secular media,” he added.

CBCP and Areopagus deployed 25 personnel to Cebu, including volunteers from Couples for Christ Global Mission Foundation who handled media accreditation using the Media Accreditation and Management System developed originally for the papal visit by Roman Paul Tesoro.

The Society of St. Paul also rolled out its own social media coverage, a new territory for the congregation known for its media apostolate, said Fr. Restie de la Peña, SSP. St. Paul’s deployed an army of 88 volunteers including three priests, two perpetually professed brothers, 23 seminarians, and students from the University of San Jose-Recoletos.

“Our Facebook page had a total reach of 3 million in just two weeks,” de la Peña said.

St. Paul’s and the Order of August inian Recol lects a lso produced video clips such as daily summaries, shown on giant screens at the IEC Pavilion.

EWTN’s Lopez said that what’s different this time was that Catholic media organizations were more cohesive than ever.

As with every major undertaking involving several organizations, things tended to get disorganized at first. “My takeaway from the IEC is this: that grace and freewill can cooperate,” Lopez said. (Felipe Francisco/CBCP News)

Meet IEC ‘adoration guardians’CEBU City, Jan. 30, 2016 – Amid the hustle and bustle of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC), the Adoration Chapel of the IEC Pavilion serves as a reserved space for time with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Unknown to the countless who went there to pray, adore, and confess their sins are three young seminarians assigned to serve priests and pilgrims coming to the IEC Chapel throughout the duration of the congress.

Samuel Paconla, one of the seminarians at first “thought [this] was a burden because our other classmates are [on’ vacation while we are here working.” He later realized that as the hours and days passed they “didn’t want this encounter to end.”

”It was a nice experience to serve God every hour, and meeting new people while at it,” he added in Filipino.

Where the Lord isWhile on service at the chapel,

one of the seminarians recounted that he realized people seek the presence of Christ in their lives.

“[Many] people are s t i l l searching for our Lord, we have to pause for a moment and see

[that] what we are looking for is in the tabernacle, the real presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament,” explained Lance Patrick Inad, another seminarian stationed at the IEC Chapel.

“The thing we like most is that we are always with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament,” he added.

Jemiel Marc Pardo, the third seminarian stationed at the IEC chapel, also shared about the grace of serving in their post.

“I encountered our Lord, the comforting presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and in it, I felt my burdens lighten,” he said.

Duties in watching the LordWe have to be here earlier than

seven [in the morning], regardless if we lack sleep, we have to be here the whole day, we serve every hour and we have shifts,” said Inad.

They witness people come and go to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation, or stay for adoration. The seminarians act as guides throughout their visit to the chapel.

“What was challenging was directing people to confession acting as traffic police, some personalities were challenging,” shared Inad.

Retelling an amusing incident, he said: “A Spanish lady asked me for a Spanish confessor and I replied to her: ‘I do not speak Spanish’ – in Spanish! And there she was laughing at me.”

“Most people come to confess after talks, people consistently come and go [to] the chapel to adore the Lord too,” said Paconla.

Always something newWhen asked about the whole

experience the three answered with much enthusiasm.

“Everyday there is something happening, something new – we are happy that everything falls in place, we see so many bishops and high-ranking officials from the Church,” said Inad.

“For us, i t ’s a wonderful experience to serve God, I learned that in the Christian community, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ so anywhere we live, any nation, any state, we are all one in the eyes of God,” added Paconla.

“Every thing was a memorable experience. It’s a great experience to meet new people from other places and meeting a lot of bishops and clergy,” concluded Pardo. (Chrixy Paguirigan / CBCP News)

ferrying parishioners along the 1.4-kilometer stretch beside Pond F. and another 100 slots along Pardo Access Road are ready for the event.

Transportation protocol“Traffic routes at the SRP will not

be closed except for huge container vans and trucks while the activity is going on,” organizers said.

This means only delegates’ buses of the delegates as well as IEC committee heads’ and VIPs’ vehicles are allowed to park near the Templete.

Those travelling via buses and jeepneys from the South of Cebu are advised to travel up to the Kawit Island area only. Buses are

available at the area to shuttle the pilgrims to the SRP Templete.

Those coming via buses and jeepneys from the North of Cebu are advised to travel up to the Maritima Building (near the City Hall area) area only. Buses are available at the area to shuttle the pilgrims to the venue.

Those travelling via private and light vehicles may enter the SRP area and use the available parking space at SM Seaside City.

The organizers issued an advisory for those attending the Mass “to bring with them their own chairs since the ones being prepared are reserved for the IEC delegates only.” (Roy Lagarde / CBCP News)