VOLUME 20, NUMBER 7, JANUARY 30, 2016

Eucharistic
adorers
growing
globally

IN THIS ISSUE:

CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 The newlyelected head of the World Federation
of the Churchs Eucharistic Works said
their organization has picked up steam
in recent years, proof is a growing
number of adorers world-wide.
Jose Angel Linares, the federations
new president from Spain, said more
and more lay Eucharistic adorers from
all over the world have been seeking
membership in the federation.

Eucharist as food,
popular piety keys to
dialogue in Asia, A2
Cardinal Zen: Latin
Mass nourishes
persecuted Chinese
Catholics, A3

Growing yearly
Every year it grows and grows
throughout the world, said
Linares, who previously served as
the federations secretary before
his election as president during its
general assembly at the sidelines
of the ongoing 51st International
Eucharistic Congress (IEC) here on
Friday, Jan. 29.
He will succeed Eduardo Marino
Gomez, also Spanish, who served
the federation for eight years or two
consecutive terms.
The assembly, which convenes
every four years coinciding with the
IEC, was attended by more than 20
country representatives, some coming
from as far as Peru, Italy, El Salvador
and the US.
The federation, which aims to bring
together diverse groups of adorers,
currently has 39 member associations,
with a total membership of about 2
million and is present in at least 36
countries.
50 years of mission
During the meeting, which was
attended by Archbishop Piero Marini,
President of the Pontifical Committee
of IECs, the Federation ratified the
membership of three more lay groups
from Europe.
Since its inception 50 years ago, the
federation has promoted participation
in national and international
Eucharistic Congresses, has promoted
pilgrimages to Marian shrines as
well as helped fulfill other works
entrusted to them by the bishops.
(Roy Lagarde / CBCPNews)

IEC pilgrims join

pre-Lent Visita
Iglesia, A3

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

Student-volunteers:
IEC, an experience of
a lifetime, A3

Over 1M attend Cebu

Capitol Mass, procession
By Rommel Lopez

CEBU City, January

29, 2016 - Cebuanos and delegates
to the 51st International Eucharistic
Congress (IEC) currently being held in
this city trooped to
the Cebu Provincial
Capitol and filled
its surrounding
streets to hear the
Mass led by Dublin,
Ireland Archbishop
Diarmuid Martin.

According to Fr. Roberto

Ebisa, SVD, of DYRF,
Police Chief Inspector
Ryan Debaras estimated
the crowd that gathered for
the Mass and procession to
be at 1.5 million.
Streets leading to the
Capitol were closed to make
way for the thousands
of people joining in the
international Catholic
gathering dubbed as the
World Youth Day of adult
Catholics. Candle-bearing
delegates and pilgrims
from Cebu and around the
world chanted hymns and
prayers as the carriage

carrying the monstrance

made its way slowly
from the Capitol through
Osmea Boulevard towards
Plaza Independencia while
a choir led in the chanting
of the Litany of the Saints
and other hymns.
In his homily, Martin
reminded the people that
the Church became present
through the Eucharist, through
the Holy Communion.
No Eucharist, no Church
There is no Church
without the Eucharist. The
Eucharist constructs the
Church, he said. Martin

was joined at the makeshift

altar by Papal legate
Charles Maung Cardinal
Bo, Cebu Archbishop Jose
Palma, the Holy Sees
Permanent Observer
to the United Nations
Archbishop Bernardino
Auza, and president of
the Pontifical Committee
on IECs Archbishop Piero
Marini as well as hundreds
of bishops and priests.
The Primate of Ireland
said Christians need to
realize that Christ came
to us as a gift and not as
someone we construct
ourselves. He then urged

Catholics to model their

lives as a celebration of the
mystery of the life and love
of Jesus Christ.
We are called to
understand, love and
assimilate the very love of
Jesus... Our lives too must
be offered in sacrifice.
Martin, who is archbishop
of the last diocese to host the
IEC said that the Christian
community, a Eucharistic
community, must always
be a caring one.
Special monstrance
Last Thursday, the Cebu

Thousands / A7

Nigerian cardinal: Receive Eucharist worthily... or else

CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016
Where others prefer to tiptoe
and use couched language,
John Cardinal Onaiyekan,
Archbishop of Abuja in
Nigeria, minced no words
in talking about the proper
disposition for the reception
of the Holy Eucharist, which
many Catholics seem to take for
granted nowadays.
Those who freely offer or
accept what is inappropriately
called Eucharistic hospitality
to whoever cares to come to the
communion rails seem to me
to be inflicting serious damage
on the sanctity of the Holy
Eucharist, said the prelate.
Delivering this mornings

catechesis, Onaiyekan said that

while no one is really worthy to
receive Holy Communion with
everyone under Gods loving
compassion, the Church has
guidelines that set limits to
the level of unworthiness
compatible with a fruitful
reception of Holy Communion.
The traditional requirement of
being in a state of grace cannot
be jettisoned without spiritual
negative consequence at both
personal and ecclesial levels.
No to Eucharistic hospitality
Allowing just anyone to
receive communion during
Mass will inflict serious
damage on the sanctity of the

Holy Eucharist, and harm both

the individual and the wider
Church.
The Catechism of the Catholic
Church teaches that those
who have mortal sins cannot
receive communion without
first going to the Sacrament of
Reconciliation.
In Nigeria, he said, it is
pastoral practice during public
Masses to announce clearly
before communion that only
Catholics that are properly
prepared should come forward
to receive communion.
Sacrilege
We do not believe that this
is a place for any kind of false

political correctness. It seems

that in many places today, there
is a need to recover the sense of
outrage about whatever may be
tantamount to sacrilege.
Onaiyekans catechesis was
on The Eucharist: Dialogue
with the Poor and the Suffering.
Here we might consider
how much we do to make the
Eucharist available to the poor
living in slums or in remote
villages. What about those who
live in prisons and detention
camps? Wherever possible,
those who are suffering should
be able to contemplate the face
of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist,
he said. (Felipe Francisco /
CBCP News)

Delegates of the 51st Eucharistic Congress receving communion during the

Parish Encounter. ANA PERUCHO

A2 NEWS

January 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7

CBCP Monitor

Eucharist as food, popular

piety keys to dialogue in Asia
CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 The
religious importance of food as well
as popular piety can help the Church
in its dialogue with Asian religions,
according to Indias Oswald Cardinal
Gracias.
The Archbishop of Mumbai tackled
the theme The Eucharist in the
Churchs Dialogue with Religions, in
a paper read for him by Archbishop
Dominic Jala of the Archdiocese of
Shillong in northeast India.
Catholics consider the Eucharist
as spiritual nourishment, and the
idea of sacredness of food in
various religions can be a basis
for understanding the Eucharist
and the Churchs dialogue with
religions, he said. Food is important
in Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism,
major Indian religions, he noted.
And it is a major issue in a continent
where hunger is widespread, the
Indian prelate said.
Denying people the right to food
is a fundamental injustice In
his First Letter to the Corinthians,
St. Paul criticizes the attitude of
selfishness of those who come
together to celebrate the Lords
supper. Hence he says to them:
When you meet together, it is not
the Lords supper that you eat
Whoever therefore eats the bread

or drinks the cup of the Lord in an

unworthy manner will be guilty of
profaning the body and blood of
the Lord.
Oswald also cited the role of popular
piety in Filipino Catholicism, citing
the Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines observation that
much of what the Filipino Catholics
know of Catholic doctrinal truths
and moral values is learned through
the sacraments and devotional
practices.
In discussing the evangelizing
power of popular piety, Pope Francis
in Evangelii Gaudium urges us not
to stifle or presume to control this
missionary power. He said that to
understand this reality we need to
approach it with the gaze of the Good
Shepherd, who seeks not to judge
but to love, he explained.
Further, we are called to promote
the various expressions of popular
piety in order to deepen the never
ending process of inculturation,
he added, referring to localization
or adaptation to cultural practices.
However, Care must be taken to
consider the emerging secularist and
consumer cultural influences which
are negatively affecting worship and
prayer, the cardinal said. (Felipe
Francisco / CBCP News)

Delegates of the 51st International Eucharistic attend a pre-Lenten Visita Iglesia. DOMINIC BARRIOS

Archbishop Villegas seeks

Eucharist brings us together Indian archbishop
forgiveness for lost shepherds
CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 The
greatest is the one who stoops down
to serve.
Ranking ecclesiastics have come
to the 51st International Eucharistic
Congress (IEC) to exercise their
mandate to teach lay people. But
Father Soc, president of the
Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP), went beyond
this and sought forgiveness for the
numerous failures of the shepherds
of the Church.
Catholic laity, before you come
to us your pastors and priests
and bishops to confess your sins
and seek pardon, please give us
your pardon and forgiveness, too,
for our sins against you, said
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop
Socrates Villegas in his homily
for the penitential service for IEC
pilgrims Thursday.
Long homilies, rushed liturgies
Forgive us for our long homilies
and rushed liturgies. Forgive us for
allowing the glitter of gold to dim the
glow of the Sacred Host. Forgive us
for getting stuck in dusty dogmatic
formulas, and snuffing out the spirit
of renewal, he said.
Forgive us for using unChristlike means to spread the
Gospel of love and mercy. Forgive
us for our stingy encouragement
and hasty prejudices. Forgive us
for allowing the Church to age
and playing deaf to the joy of the
youth and children. Forgive us for
delivering hindrances instead of
being helpful, he added.
To parishioners, the prelate
said: Forgive us, your lost
shepherds, and beg God to show
us His mercy.

May the shepherd and the flock

be merciful with each other, he
said, inviting thousands of IEC
delegates to the Sacrament of
Reconciliation.
All sin is pride
Citing St. Augustine, Villegas said
humility was the only requirement
for heaven. The opposite virtue,
pride, is the cause of all sin, he
reminded IEC delegates.
All sin is pride. Idolatry is
taking pride in our man-made
gods of money and fame. The
dishonor for parents is pride
that makes us forget our roots.
Ingratitude to elders is the root
of disrespect, pride blocking the
memory of the heart. Murder is
pride, dictating that I, not God,
have rights over the lives of my
neighbor, he said.
Stealing is pride, claiming that
I have rights over things I like
regardless of my neighbors needs.
Adultery is pride, adultery reduces
my friends to an object. Sex is my
right, not a responsibility. I do what
I enjoy. The liar is the brother of the
proud. Both proud and liar live in a
bubble world of illusions.
According to Villegas, sinners
should not despair, as Gods
revenge for sin is mercy. Villegas
pointed to the example of Jesus
Christ, the face of the mercy of
God, who humbled himself to be
with men. Christ is like sandalwood
that leaves its fragrance on the axe
that cuts it.
Jesus Christ, the face of God,
leaves a fragrance of forgiveness
on the sinner who nails him to the
Cross, he said. (Felipe Francisco
/ CBCP News)

MANDAUE City, Jan.

28, 2016 Archbishop
Dominic Jala, SDB,
DD of Shillong, North
East India expressed his
realization about how the
faithful are connected
as one Catholic Church
after celebrating a Mass
during one of the Parish
Encounters of the 51st
International Eucharistic
Congress (IEC).
What touched me was
the fact that we, from
many countries, would
come together and offer
very similar witness, he
said in an interview with
CBCP News after the Mass
for the South East Asian
delegation at the National
Shrine of St. Joseph here
in the city.

Staying connected
The 64-year old Salesian
prelate noted that the
Eucharist strengthens
Christians, especially
those who are persecuted
for the faith. And
everywhere, wherever
we are present, even in
persecuted countries [or]
minority countries, it is
always the celebration of
the Eucharist that keeps us
connected to the Universal
Church.
Jala also emphasized
that in the difficulties
of living a Christian life
we should find courage
in Jesus, who is always
present in the Catholic
Church.
The Indian archbishop
acknowledged the

Filipinos part in this faithstrengthening experience

saying we know we are
not alone, even if we are
small, in any country we
are part of the Universal
Church. We feel supported
by the big communities
and the whole church,
especially the Philippines
contributed to this, he
said.
The parish encounter is
part of the week-long IEC
hosted by the Archdiocese
of Cebu.
14 parishes
Each of the 14
participating parishes
hosted a particular
country delegation where
Masses were celebrated in
the countrys vernacular.

Cebuano parishioners
shared faith-sharing
moments with the IEC
foreign delegates, showing
the community and
universality of the Church.
Msgr. Daniel Sanico,
one of the over-all
organizers of the IEC
Parish Encounter said it
was a very complicated
preparation from security
to food to transportation
to everything else. It
involved everyone, but we
were hopeful [it would]
turn out right.
I came to see that the
challenges made them
even stronger in terms
of faith and their love for
the Eucharist, he added.
(Chrixy Paguirigan /
CBCP News)

vw
Deaf
track workshops show Churchs love for all
CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 The 51st
International Eucharistic Congress
(IEC) delivers a clear message
that the Eucharist is inclusive,
expressly because the congress gives
importance to deaf delegates coming
from all over the world.
With the help of the International
Catholic Foundation for the
Service of Deaf Persons (ICF), deaf
persons are given the opportunity
to attend the IEC with translators
always by their side to help them
communicate.
[We] want people to realize that
just because a person cannot hear
they are no different to any person
who can hear. Different people
have said it in different ways we
have one Church, explained ICF
executive director Terry OMeara.

Deaf track workshops

This is the second time an IEC
held a deaf track workshop, the first
one being the one held in Dublin,
Ireland during the 50th IEC.
Mrs. Mary OMeara, wife of Terry
and another organizer from the ICF,
shared how important having deaf
track workshops are, stating their
learnings from Dublin.
It was very important to have a
track for the deaf [because] we need
to create awareness, telling people
about what its like to be deaf in the
Catholic Church and giving a place
for deaf forums to really learn from
one another and discuss the issues
that are very important so they can
grow in their faith, she said.
These actions have so far brought
greater collaboration and sharing of

information [showing] how we, all

over the globe live as one big team,
Mr. OMeara said.
They hope their service leads to
a greater awareness of people with
this disability.
A goal yet to be reached
Their goal and focus is to involve deaf
people in the general life of the Church
because they can easily be excluded and
they are not fully integrated.
Thus far, their activities have
indeed given a chance for the deaf
community to be a part of major
events and provide them with
materials they need in their spiritual
growth. With this, Terry expresses
his eagerness for more.
We had a deaf track in IEC Dublin
Deaf / A7

CBCP Monitor

A3

January 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7

Cardinal Zen: Latin Mass

nourishes persecuted
Chinese Catholics
CEBU City, Jan. 28, 2016
Delegates to the 51st International
Eucharistic Congress (IEC) flocked
to the beautiful chapel of Asilo de
la Milagrosa on Jan. 26 to assist at
the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM)
offered by Hong Kong Bishop
Emeritus Joseph Cardinal Zen ZeKiun, who remembered how the
Latin Mass was a source of strength
for persecuted Catholics in China.
The Mass offered in this fashion
nourished our faith, nourished our
vocation. And so many people in my
native town Shanghai were fortified
by receiving the faith from this Mass,
and during the time of persecution,
they were so strong, said the prelate,
an outspoken critic of Beijings tight
grip on Chinese Catholics.
Communist rule
Zen, recalled how the Tridentine
Mass had nourished the faith of
his compatriots amid upheaval in
China. Zen, 85, was among those
who fled Communist rule in the
mainland for Hong Kong, where he
joined the Salesians.
He nonetheless praised the
liturgical reforms of the Second
Vatican Council which allowed
the celebration of the Mass in the
vernacular languages, now called
the Ordinary Form of the Roman
Rite. He also thanked the Pope for
allowing the continued use of the
Extraordinary Form.
Its good that the Church
promoted the liturgical reform,
especially because the people dont
understand Latin. So its good to

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

use their own language. But then its

still good to carry on this tradition
(TLM). So we are very thankful to
the Pope who granted this, he said.
Sense of mystery
The TLM inspires a sense
of adoration and keeps the
Eucharists sense of mystery,
said Zen. Zen offered the Votive
Mass of the Blessed Sacrament
in what has been called the
Extraordinary Form of the Roman
Rite with a number of priests in
coro or choir dress, including Fr.
Michell Joe Zerrudo of the Diocese
of Cubao and Fr. Joseph Skelton of
the Diocese of Tagbilaran.

Latin is no longer the lingua

franca, acknowledged Zen. But the
whole ceremony inspires majesty,
solemnity.
In this way of saying the Mass,
you dont even hear the priest
pronouncing the words. But you
know what this means, because so
many times, we hear, we pray So
we understand what is going on,
he added.
Through an announcement at the
IEC Pavilion, congress delegates
were invited to the Mass organized
by Societas Ecclesia Dei Sancti Ioseph
(Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph)Una Voce Philippines. (Felipe
Francisco / CBCP News)

Shepherd to Kenyas nomads

shares pastoral challenges
CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016 Bishop
Dominic Kimengich, a priest for
29 years, now sits as Bishop of
Lodwar, a laid-back town some
1,000 kilometers from Nairobi. He is
one of three Catholic clergy from his
ecclesial province attending the 51st
International Eucharistic Congress.
In an interview with CBCPNews, the
54-year-old bishop said his diocese is
situated within Kenyas boundaries
with Uganda, South Sudan and
Ethiopia, where some 60 percent of
the population are nomads.
The nomads survive by taking
care of farm animals and camels in
Lodwars pastures. Others survive
by basket-weaving.
Nomadic apostolate
While 40 percent of have settled
in villages and towns, they have
organized a special pastoral ministry
to attend to the people on the move,
called the nomadic apostolate.
We have nomadic catechists
who move with the people in their
pastures, said Kimengich. Should
any of the nomads need sacraments,
the catechists seek the assistance of
the nearest parish priests, he said.
Kimengich is the first local-born
priest appointed bishop of Lodwar,
located in northwestern Kenya.
Working as bishop for the past five
years, he said there lingers a feeling
of insecurity in the area as various
tribes from different sides of the
border remain traditional enemies.
The prelate said he was shocked at
the high level of insecurity when he
arrived in Lodwar five years ago.
Cattle rustling was common
and conflict usually arose when the
aggrieved party vowed revenge,
explained the prelate.
The bishop said he was well aware
of people being marginalized, which
leads to conflict in a place where only
a small portion of the population

are Catholics. Most of the locals are

animists and traditionalists, he said.
More missionaries
The local church is composed of
56 priests, mostly from 18 religious
congregations. They also have religious women from at least 20 religious communities.
The diocese is also ably supported
by a Filipina development worker
for the past four years, named
Sandra Villegas, from Negros
Island. Kimengich said Villegas first
came as a volunteer who wanted
more challenging assignments.
We are looking forward to having
more missionaries to help us, he said.
Asked if Catholics have been victims
of violence in the past, Kimengich
said there had been none because
his predecessors were foreign
missionaries who had established
schools and other basic services that
proved beneficial to local residents.
The foreign missionaries reached
Lodwar five decades ago.
The people appreciate the
presence of the Church because
missionaries introduced schools,
built water facilities, attended to
their health and provided them with
livelihood, he added.
Good relations also prevail
between the local Catholic church
and other faiths.
Bishop Kimengich is thankful for the
prayerful experience he is having with
his two other companions at the IEC.
This is a forum that brings
Catholics together with the Eucharist
at the center of worship, where one
experiences the universality of the
Church, the prelate said.
He expressed gratitude to the
organizers of this years event, saying
he had experienced a warm interaction
among participants and was introduced
to the high level of faith of the Filipinos.
(CBCP News / Melo M. Acua)

IEC pilgrims join pre-Lent Visita Iglesia

CEBU City, Jan. 29,
2016 Delegates of the
ongoing 51st International
Eucharistic Congress (IEC)
on Thursday had an early
Visita Iglesia covering
select churches across Cebu
City in a bid to make them
appreciate more deeply the
centrality of the Eucharist
in the lives of Catholics.
Ive been on Visita
Iglesias before, but I never
fully understood what this
practice means. Ive only
done it out of the need to
fulfill a family tradition.
This is the first time I feel
really involved in it, shared
Nich de los Nieves, who had
taken a time off her grocery
business in Olongapo City,
especially for the congress.
The batch of pilgrims she
belonged to hopped from
one of three churches in
the citys Lahug district on

foot, with police officers

often having to temporarily
shut down major roads to
ensure their safe crossing.
Explosion of faith
Its a little tiring at first
knowing youll have to walk
a long way. But after a while
you dont care anymore
about the distance, de los
Nieves noted.
Their version of the
Visita Iglesia kicked off at
the Vincentian-run Asilo
de la Medalla Milagrosa,
proceeding to Our
Mother of Perpetual Help
(Redemptorist) Church
several blocks away, then
to Our Lady of the Sacred
Heart (Capitol) Parish, and
back to Asilo.
In each of these
churches, de los Nieves
and co-delegates spent
time adoring the Blessed

Sacrament, praying, and

singing Eucharistic songs
as well as the official IEC
hymn.
We visited several
churches because these
are the places where we
celebrate the Eucharist
In these three churches, we
had an encounter with God
in the Eucharist, explained
Fr. Rolyn E. Vics, CM, who
led the Visita Iglesia.
Asked about his
experience so far on Day 5
of the IEC, the missionary
said it is nothing short of an
explosion of faith.
Catholic = universal
I dont know how to
describe my feeling having
experienced the activities of
the IEC. the catechesis that
we attended, the opening
Mass, the parish encounter,
and the processions that

we have done, these are all

encounters with God, these
are all expressions of our
faith, and indeed it is joy,
he said.
We feel the universality
of the Church. This is
indeed the Church the Lord
founded. Despite difference
in backgrounds, Catholics
show unity in worshipping
God in the Eucharist, Vics
added, saying the Visita
Iglesia allowed pilgrims to
feel the universality of the
Church.
Besides the one in Lahug,
similar Visita Iglesias were
concurrently held in other
churches of Cebu, namely:
Holy Name of Jesus and St.
Vitales (Cebu Metropolitan
Cathedral), Minor Basilica
of the Holy Child of Cebu,
Sacred Heart Parish.
(Raymond A. Sebastin
/ CBCP News)

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

Student-volunteers: IEC, an
experience of a lifetime
CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016
Volunteers for the 51st
International Eucharistic Congress
(IEC) consider it an experience
of a lifetime to able to contribute
to the success of the global event.
I am grateful I can spend
time helping IEC delegates in
my own little way, said Via Mae
Romo, a second-year hotel and
restaurant services student from
the Banilad Center for Professional
Development in Banilad, Cebu City.
As a volunteer usherette, the
18-year old has to stand for hours
showing hungry pilgrims from
around the world where the meal
stations are inside the IEC Pavilion.

Joy, love
Coming from a school founded
by no less than Blessed Alvaro
del Portillo of Opus Dei, she takes
pride in being part of a gathering
that puts the Eucharist at the
center of Christian life.
I am happy I am here at the
IEC, she exclaimed.
Meanwhile, for Anisa Along,
another student-volunteer,
serving does not just mean
carrying out a duty, but doing so
with genuine joy and love.
This is what I want: To serve
God and His people, the people
of IEC, with joy and love, the
usherette said.

Opportunity to pray
Whats more, being here allows
me also to mingle with different
kinds of people, Along added.
Sje said her tiredness
disappeared every time she saw
pilgrims smiling at her, treating
her kindly, and expressing
appreciation for what she and
fellow volunteers did.
While she is not officially an
IEC delegate, the student said she
would like to grab the opportunity
given her to ask forgiveness from
the Lord, pray for her loved
ones, and ask for blessings.
(Raymond A. Sebastin /
CBCP News)

A4 OPINION

January 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7

CBCP Monitor

EDITORIAL

THE mind boggles at the fact that since Feb. 7, 1937the

last day of the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress held
in the Philippinesand Jan. 24, 2016, the first day of the
51st International Eucharistic Congress, 28,840 days have
passed. Thats equivalent to 4,120 weeks including 19 leap
days, or 78 years and 351 days. Thats quite a long stretch!
This means that the majority of the delegates now had not
even been born during that first IEC held in the Philippines.
It also means none at all, even the oldest, of the delegates
present today had attended that 1937 Congress.
Cebus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal would be celebrating his
sixth birthday exactly that IEC week, on Feb. 6. Lipas
Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales would be barely four-years
old, just two months older than Tuguegarao ArchbishopEmeritus Diosdado Talamayan. Lingayen ArchbishopEmeritus Oscar Cruz and Davao Archbishop-Emeritus
Fernando Capalla would just be toddlers in their play pens,
having been both born in November 1934. And Orlando
Cardinal Quevedo of Cotabato would then still be a gleam
in his fathers eye, so to speak, to be born 49 months after
the Congress.
In the eight-decade gap between the two IECs, the
Philippines experienced a World War, four papal visits (two
of which broke world records as having gathered the largest
crowds in history), one World Youth Day celebration, two
canonizations, and innumerable natural disasters. Despite
the disasters and the pervasive poverty, this only other
predominantly Catholic nation in Asia, aside from the halfisland Timor Leste, still stands as witness to the Presence
that the ongoing Congress is so jubilantly celebrating.
Taking note of how the IEC today is being conducted, it
would be interesting to know how they did it in 1937, and see
what difference the nearly 80-year gap has made. During
the 33rd IEC held from Feb. 3 7, 1937 at the Luneta Park,
different themes were assigned for the daily international
assembly, such as The Holy Eucharist as a Sacrifice, The
Holy Eucharist as a Sacrament, The Eucharist and the
Priesthood. For each day, there would be five-minute
speeches delivered by five bishops in languages that
included Latin, English, Dutch, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog,
Portuguese, Polish, French, Japanese, and Italianwith
apparently translators. The five-minute speeches would be
capped by the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. There
would be priests meetings at the Cathedral and these would
always be conducted in Latin.
The Congress was not limited to the historic Luneta Park
in Manila; according to the Official Program of the xxxiii
International Eucharistic Congress, a scanned copy of
which the CBCP Media Team had obtained from the Lopez
Museum and Library, there would be Masses celebrated by
Bishops, Prelates and Priests in all churches and chapels
from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. daily from Feb. 4, Thursday,
to Feb. 7, Sunday.
From the night of Wednesday, Feb. 3 to morning of
Sunday, Feb. 7, the Blessed Sacrament remained exposed in
four churches, apparently chosen not just for their historic
value but also for their geographical locations symbolically
forming a cross over Manilas street map: Tondo Church
(North City), San Sebastian Church (East City), Sto.
Domingo Church (Walled City) and Malate Church (South
City).
The following details many today might find intriguing:
Feb. 4 featured a General Communion for Women at the
6:30 a.m. Pontifical Mass at Luneta Park. Feb. 5, at 12:00
midnight also at the Luneta was Mens Night andGeneral
Communion for Men in the Pontifical Mass that followed.
Childrens Day was held on Feb. 6, with a General
Communion for Children at Low Mass on the Luneta at
7:00 a.m. culminating in the Consecration of Children and
Parents to the Blessed Virgin Mary and a Breakfast for
Children on the Luneta.
This orderly separation of the crowd would also be
evident in the final days Solemn Procession of the Blessed
Sacrament which began at 4:00 p.m. from several starting
points: for women, it was the area at the south end of Dewey
Blvd near Fort San Antonio Abad, while Sisters commenced
from St. Scholasticas College. Mens starting point was
Harrison Park, while the Clergys was de la Salle College.
The procession ended with the Benediction of the Blessed
Editorial / A5

Monitor
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The IEC, then and now

Candidly Speaking
Fr. Roy Cimagala
WE need to be very familiar with the
world of liturgy, because for us to be
truly human and Christian we need to
have our life to be liturgical. We have
to enter into this world presented to us
by our faith, and much richer than what
our senses and intelligence alone can
perceive and understand.
Its in the liturgy where we unite
ourselves fully with Christ our Savior
and receive the merits of his redemptive
work. Its in the liturgy where the living
Christ offers himself to the Father
together with us.
We are not left with a symbol only of
Christ in the liturgy. Thats because the
sacramental signs used in the liturgy,
especially the Eucharistic species, are
no ordinary signs that simply point to
another reality. In the sacraments, the
signs themselves, the matter and form
that comprise them, are Christ himself
and his grace.
In the liturgy, man is united with God,
time with eternity, earth with heaven. It
is the best union we can have with God
on earth. In a sense, with it, we enter
into the most perfect dimension of our
life, into the fullest scope of reality.
Obviously, we need to be aware of this
nature of the liturgy, so we would know
how to act and live in it.
The fullness of the liturgy takes place in
the Holy Eucharist which is described as
the source and summit of the Christian
life. The Catechism explains it this way:
The other sacraments, and indeed
all ecclesiastical ministries and works
of the apostolate, are bound up with the

Holy Eucharist, basis, and

culmination of liturgy

Eucharist and are oriented toward it.

For in the Blessed Eucharist is contained
the whole spiritual good of the Church,
Christ himself, our Pasch. (1324)
The whole Christ, the Son of God,
who became man, born of the Virgin
Mary, who taught and made miracles,
who suffered, died, and was buried,
and resurrected on the third day, and
ascended into heaven, etc., is there in
the liturgy, especially in the sacrament
of Holy Eucharist.
He did not become man, share our
human nature and condition except sin, and
redeem us with his death and resurrection,
only to have all these events swallowed up
in the past. His redemptive work has eternal
value, is always in the present.
Whenever we are celebrating the
Eucharist, receiving communion or
visiting the Blessed Sacrament, we are
truly and directly dealing with Christ!
In a sense, with the liturgy we become
contemporaries with Christ, and together
with him as in one whole body, the
Mystical Body of Christ, we are the ones
who celebrate the liturgy.
Its important to realize though that
the members do not all have the same
function. The clergy, who by their
sacred ordination become the very icon
of Christ, preside at the Mass while the
rest unite themselves with him, such
that the whole assembly becomes what
is termed as leitourgos, ministers in
their respective ways.
This is an important point to realize.
The lay faithful who attend the Mass
are no mere spectators or some pious

Sent to Consecrate

extras. They celebrate by offering to

God the Father, together with Christs
offering of his own self, whatever praises,
thanksgiving, petitions, and expiations
they have.
In the Mass, what prayer and sacrifice
we make get united with the most
acceptable and pleasing prayer and
sacrifice of Christ to his Father. Its the
most amazing union we can have with
Christ.
No greater windfall, bonanza, or
jackpot can we have than to have Christ
offering his life on the cross for our
salvation. Our sin has caused God to be
with us. Its that happy fault referred
to in the Easter vigil hymn, Exsultet. O
happy fault that earned for us so great,
so glorious a Redeemer!
Still, in the Mass we have to respect
the different functions proper to
each member of the assembly. The
Catechism says: In the celebration of the
sacraments it is thus the whole assembly
that is leitourgos, each according to his
function, but in the unity of the Spirit
who acts in all. In liturgical celebrations
each person, minister or layman, who
has an office to perform, should carry out
all and only those parts which pertain to
his office by the nature of the rite and the
norms of the liturgy. (1144)
The effectivity of the Mass derives
from the power of Christs work rather
than the role we play in it (ex opera
operato Christi). Just the same, it would
be most ideal if we put ourselves in the
best condition and dispositions when
celebrating the Mass.

Biblically Speaking
Leander V. Barrot, OAR

IN one of the press

conferences, a reporter asked
our bishops what the Church
had done to those who are
supposed to be models of
faith but had not lived up
to their consecration. This,
according to the reporter, had
caused discouragement and
an exodus of faithful to other
denominations and sects.
No matter what one thinks
about the question raised, it
was an appropriate one in the
context of the International
Eucharistic Congress
because, after all, the
sacraments of the Eucharist
and priesthood are intimately
related. Yes, it is possible
to hold two independent
theological congresses--one
for the Eucharist and the
other for priesthood. But in
real life, both sacraments
cannot survive without the
other. Who will celebrate
the Eucharist if there are
no priests? And how can
priests remain holy without
being nourished, sustained,
and strengthened by the
Eucharist? And how can
the universal priesthood of
the laity be persevered in

without the minsters and the

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

the priests and religious men

and women.
This consecration is never
automatic. Although one
cannot underestimate the
power of God to change the
hearts and minds of people,
much discipline is needed for
human freedom to submit
itself to a higher principle other
than itself. Self-abnegation
tames pride; self-control
disciplines indecency; and selfrenunciation pacifies arrogance
and conceit. The human heart
and conscience are so sacred
to the Creator even to the
point of God willing to wait for
His beloved to surrender and
submit their freedom and will
to God, the Creator.
However, we know that
human effort will always
be finite. Before countless
and insistent prodding of
the devil via the human
flesh and weakness, our best
determinations and intentions
will always fall short. What
human determination cannot
achieve, the sacrifice of the
Eucharist supplies, what
we cannot obtain through
our struggles, the Eucharist
offers freely, and what our

efforts cannot realize, the

Eucharist completes. In the
Eucharist, the Lord blesses all
our human efforts and fulfills
them. Our fears changed to
courage, our unchastity to
purity and our independence
to obedience. When we
receive the Eucharist we are
little by little transformed to
what we receive; and the more
we receive the Eucharist, the
more we are converted to be
like what is received.
Consecration is the point
of convergence of both the
priesthood and the Eucharist.
In and through the Eucharist,
its ministers are consecrated,
purified, and renewed;
through the same Eucharist
offered each day, the
ministers consecrate, renew,
and sanctify the members of
the body of Christ.
If consecration is the
common benefit, it will do
well for both the ministers
and the laity to journey and
walk together for fuller and
total consecration through
the gift of the Eucharist.
For after all, we are all sent
to consecrate others and
ourselves especially.

CBCP Monitor

A5

January 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7

GPS Mass

Whatever

Simple Gifts

Fr. Francis Ongkingco

THE art of getting lost? My attention

was drawn to the title of one of the BBC
feature articles. The writer observed
how people today are so dependent
on geographical locating devices while
travelling during vacation or navigating
for the best routes to avoid traffic jams.
He lamented, however, that we have
lost the art of getting lost. From what
I gathered, he missed the spirit of
adventure of discovering interesting
places and people as one tries to retrace
his way back to his true destination.
Today, with GPS technology, such
accidental discoveries are very rare.
I couldnt help but agree with his
interesting observation. I recall many
instances when I got lost and as I tried
to find my way back, I stumbled into
some interesting restaurants, excursion
venues, resorts, and very helpful people.
Although people are getting precise
instructions on how to get to their daily
destinations, many are not so welloriented in their spiritual journey. They,
I believe, do not know what could help
illumine and enrich their journey in life
and for the next.
In the spiritual life, our GPS (Global
Position System) is the Holy Mass. Unlike
a GPS or compass that refer us in relation
to earthly bearings, the Holy Mass is both
a coordinating and guiding instrument
and also our final destination. Thus, the
Holy Eucharist, is called the source and
summit of the Christian life. And all the

other sacraments, ministries and works

of apostolate revolved around it and are
oriented toward it. (Catechism 1324)
How is the Mass our positioning tool?
If a GPS gives road reference for our
travels, the Eucharist also reveals how
ones spiritual life is progressing and
how much more it can bear fruit. The
Catechism says, it is the efficacious sign
and sublime cause of that communion
in the divine life and that unity of the
People of God by which the Church is
kept in being. (Ibid., no. 1325)
As a sign, the Mass helps one to
constantly align himself with Gods will.
By constantly nourishing ones soul in
the Word and the Bread, ones spiritual
coordinates are made clearer every day.
Moreover, this constant exposure to
the unique Eucharistic grace gives the
person an infinite cache of blessings that
help him to grow in his love for God,
neighbor and to carry out his particular
mission here on earth.
Simultaneously, the Mass is already
our final goal attained mysteriously
here and now, but for eternity. Doesnt
it feel good when we hear our GPS unit
announcing: You have reached your
destination! Likewise, in the Mass is
contained the whole spiritual good of
the Church, Christ Himself. (Ibid., no.
1324) It means we are already with and
really have Christ. And through the Mass
we already unite ourselves with the
heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal

What Filipino Catholics could

take home from the IEC
THE 51st International
Eucharistic Congress is never
about one nation alone. It
is about all nations being
called to gather around
the Sacrament of Christs
Body and Blood that brings
humankind his undying
presence and saving work
even in our day and age. But
every nation represented
in it has gifts to bring with
them, including the host
country, the Philippines and
the host city, Cebu. Knowing
how limited and flawed my
perceptions can at times be, I
still would like to share a few
things that I think we could
bring home with us from the
IEC.
One, to keep smiling, even
if it seems being known as
the disaster capital of the
world is enough reason
to fold up and perpetually
grieve. Climate change
notwithstanding, there is
reason to not allow the dark
clouds in our hearts. And it
is this: The Emmanuel has
fulfilled his promise, I will be
with you till the end of time
(Mt 28:20). The proof is the
Eucharist that we celebrate
in these parts. While we keep
praying for persecuted fellow
Christians and Catholics
in China, the Middle East,
and elsewhere in the world,
we also need to be thankful
for the grace of freedom to
worship in and through the
Sacrifice of the Cross. The IEC
has made me ask myself, now
more seriously than before:

Veronica and Rafael Dy-Liacco

How thankful am I to the Lord

for the religious freedom we
enjoy in our poor country? Or
have I so habitually focused
on our poverty and internal
problems that I have scarcely
noticed the freedom that
exists side by side with it?
These questions I would also
wish the reader to ponder.
Two, to see in Jesus selfgiving a perpetual challenge
against individual or group
selfishness. Though theres
absolutely no harm in being
fond of taking photos of
ourselves (selfies) or with
our own people (groufies),
the Eucharist impels
Filipinos to go beyond
our cultural divides and
individualistic collectivism.
We have criticized and even
bashed ourselves, at times
endlessly, about our lack of
real nationalism. I believe
that, insofar as Catholics are
concerned, one big culprit lies
in treating the Eucharist as an
individualistic devotion both
by us as particular persons
and as whole families or
communities celebrating the
Mass without really living out
what we celebrate. I found
it striking that, for instance,
even in a gathering like the
IEC Filipinos tended to group
together in terms of their
cultural identities, though in a
more refined fashion through
the seeming religious names
we give ourselves such as
diocese, congregation,
organization etc. Culture is
something that we will always

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

life, when God will be all in all. (Ibid.,

no. 1326)
Perhaps, we could incorporate these
considerations about the Eucharist by
following St. Josemaras advice on
growing in our Eucharistic piety. This
refers to the constant effort to foster
a Eucharistic flavor in everything we
do throughout the day. In fact, St.
Josemara encouraged everyone to
convert their whole day into a Mass.
Eucharistic piety, can be understood
as our worship revolving around the
Eucharist since it contains [Christ] the
whole spiritual good of the Church.
And from it, channeling its effects in
everything that a Christian does without
detaching himself from his earthly affairs
and duties.
As we strive to grow in this form of
piety centered in and from the Eucharist,
we will eventually learn how to pray
unceasingly. One starts to permeate
everything he does with the four primary
ends of the Mass: adoring God, thanking
Him, making amends for our offenses,
and asking for His gifts and graces.
If we learn to gradually center our day
in the Holy Mass, then we will never get
lost in our spiritual orientation towards
heaven. Even though sometimes, as it is
with every journey, we may slacken or
stray form the path, the Eucharist will
unfailingly illumine our hearts with the
light of faith, like the North Star, and
always lead us back to Christ.

By the Roadside
Fr. Eutiquio Euly Belizar, Jr. SThD
carry within ourselves, in
our way of thinking, feeling,
seeing, acting or even our
refraining from acting itself.
But so should our Christian
identity, and even more so
because in the Eucharist there
is no more Jew nor Greek,
slave or free, man or woman,
for you are all one in Christ
Jesus (Gal 3:28). Nor should
there be Ilocano, Bicolano,
Tagalog, Waray, Cebuano,
Pampango, Pangasinense,
etc. in us who celebrate the
Eucharist but only Christ in
us, in between us, among
us. We have to work more so
that Christ in us, our hope
of glory passes from song to
reality.
Three, to keep our humor
in its right perspectivethe
Cross of Christ. We crack jokes
whenever an opportunity
presents itself and God
knows how our Pinoy humor
helped us in Eastern Visayas
tremendously to tide over
Yolandas devastation. Id
like to think that our Pinoy
humor is also partly a fruit of
our sense of the Eucharist as
Sacrifice. In Jesus self-giving
act on the Cross perpetually
made present at Mass, we
see the grotesque transience
of earthly life. We are made
aware by Jesus on the Cross
of how vain our obsession for
long life and eternal youth and
the wealth to achieve them
because no one, absolutely
no one, on earth is immune
to suffering and death. The
joke is on us who cannot take

a joke about how much of a

joke earthly life is, unless it is
lived according to the passion,
death, and resurrection of the
Son of God whose suffering
strengthens us in our pains,
whose death overcomes death
itself and whose resurrection
alone restores life. Should we
miss the humor of Gods Son
who sees our fixation with
money, power, popularity,
pleasure, real, or virtual, and
utters an eternal rebuke:
Amen, I say to you, unless
you eat the flesh of the Son of
Man and drink his blood, you
have no life in you (Jn 6:54)?
Four, to cultivate discipline
because discipline is
Eucharistic. Why? Because
Jesus in the Eucharist
challenges us to be disciples
always. A disciple listens
to Gods Word read and
preached in the Eucharist
as well taking flesh
for Communion where it
is received. Our undying
problem of lack of discipline
not only happens because
when we can, we tend to play
with, and not by, the rules but
also because the selflessness
of Jesus in the Eucharist is
something we fail to bring to
our individual and national
lives. We need to learn
from the discipline of fellow
Catholic Christians, such as
Mr. Kei-ichi Sugawara who
would go beyond his familys
needs to look into the needs of
others in a tsunami-stricken
part of Japan. Or of Mr. Paul
By the Roadside / A6

The Eucharist

Fr. Alan Gozo Bondoc, SVD

THE Eucharist is the source and summit
of our Christian life because we encounter
Jesus Himself.
In the Eucharist, we experience the
healing power of Jesus. When we are
broken, He restores us. When we are
damaged and discouraged because of our
past wounds, He lifts us up and gives us
hope. When we are emotionally drained
and have fallen into anxieties and stress, He
fills us with His assuring love and renews us.
In the Eucharist, our soul is being
satisfied by the Word and Body of Jesus
that we receive. When we feel hungry
and thirsty, He gives His own Body and
Blood. When we are at lost and confused,
He gives us enlightenment and direction
through His Word.
In the Eucharist, we are always
welcomed and accepted by Jesus.
When we feel rejected and wronged, He
comforts us because for Him, everyone is

welcome to come and stay. When we are

tired, weary, and weak, He offers Himself
to be our dwelling place and solace.
Our constant contact with Jesus Christ
in the Eucharist will transform us from
being wounded to being healers and from
being one who hungers to one who feeds.
My experience of the Eucharist as a
priest meant being available for God to
use me as His instrument, a channel of
His power: Maging daluyan ng Kanyang
Kapangyarihan. He works His miracle
through me by transforming the bread
and wine to be His Holy Body and Blood.
In the Eucharist, we witness Gods
hands at work in us.
He is made real before our eyes.
He draws us nearer to Him.
He allows Himself to be seen and
touched.
He wants us to be part of Him and
Himself to be in us.

Every Eucharist I celebrate brings

meaning to my life as it leads me to the
fullness of life, and it gives my life a
profound newness.
Personally for me, the Eucharist
is more than just a celebration but a
Presence that I encounter.
It is not a ritual to be read but a
Relationship to be nourished.
I remembered that it was in the
Eucharist that I heard for the first time
God calling me to be a priest. I was eightyears old then, but it was within the
Eucharist that my priestly vocation story
began. The Eucharist became as though
my burning bush where God drew me
closer to Himself.
In the Eucharist we give ourselves to
God and Jesus gives Himself to us.
Let us continue to offer ourselves
to God in the Eucharist that He may
transform and bless us.

The Eucharist and

Christian Marriage
THE grace of Christian marriage is real. Yet, as a Catholic
couple who were married in the Church, we were from the
start far from seeking that grace and availing of it. Seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness, Our Lord teaches,
and all else shall be added to you. The kingdom of God, our
now pope emeritus Benedict once said, is a person: Jesus
Christ. As a married couple we were, at the start, far from
seeking first Our Lord and His righteousness, and far from
abiding in His Holy Presence.
Even though I taught theology at a Catholic university, I was
(for reasons I shall not go into) falling away from Holy Mass.
Indeed, I was falling away from the practices of the Church,
and in belief from most of the third part of the Creed. My
work environment itself was hardly the place where faith, as
my wife and I now understand it, could take root and grow.
As told in the Gospel: A sower went out to sow; and as he
was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came
and devoured it. My wife, on the other hand, formed by the
same university, had already moved away from her childhood
faith and practices. She was now quite the liberal feminist
and Marxist admirer. Looking back, despite the happy life of
academic research and of academic study, in terms of what the
Catechism calls actual gracesthat is, actual interventions of
God in ones lifethat time in our lives was, for us as a married
couple, a parched existence.
Yet looking back still, there were three things that kept
us open to grace and in the end proved stronger than all
the forces that were pulling us away from the spiritual life
of the Church. First, the fact that, in the back of our minds,
my wife and I still clung to our Baptism. Second, my wife
clung to the memories of her childhood faith. Third, there
was my academic love for the Biblical text. Because of the
last, my wife took up Biblical studies herself. Because of the
second, she allowed the sacred Word to flower for her into
a recovery of the Rosary and of the Holy Mass (these two in
her would be instrumental for my own recovery of faith). As
for the first, the clinging to our Baptism, the power in that,
just as with the other two, surely was for us a mystery of
grace. As St. Paul points out: We are his handiwork, created
in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in
advance, that we should live in them. Even now, when we
ask ourselves how and why this journey should have even
begun, and why it still goes on, only the words of Our Lord
come to mind: What man among you, having a hundred
sheep and losing from them one, does not leave the ninetynine in the fields, and go after the one that is lost until he
has found it.
Nonetheless, our road home was far from straight; for the
first few years, we were not even aware that we were on it.
It would take a shattering of personal worldsin particular
minebefore I would consent to being led the long way back.
Yet when that journey began in earnest, the road home became,
in faith, a journey of mercy and of grace; grace upon grace, as
the Evangelist puts it. For both of us, rediscovering together the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the grace of Christian marriage
was like journeying into a new countryinto Gods country,
into its beauty and its wonder.
Editorial / A4

Sacrament at Luneta. The IEC ended with the personal

blessing from the Pope capped by the closing discourse by
the Papal Legate and the singing of the IEC Hymn.
By the way, the Popes personal blessing then was
received by radio. By radio! It is not certain whether
the papal blessing was broadcast over national
radio, and it can only be assumed that photographs
of the event were published in the succeeding days
newspapers. Our 11th hour attempt to retrieve
photographs of the event yielded but one Google
image of a commemorative stamp. In contrast, the
ongoing 51st IEC is immeasurably benefitting from
cyber technology that makes possible the internet
transmission of photographs at the speed of lightto
millions of users around the world. The speakers would
be watched and heard in real time via global satellite
TV broadcast and internet live-streaming from the IEC
media center simultaneously beamed to all corners of
the world. News would travel just as fast to the faithful
and eager followers.On Day One alone, Jan. 24, hashtag
#eucharistph had a total reach of 2,502,909; as of
January 28, the total impressions on social media had
shot up to nearly 38,000,000. And this, not to mention
other media platforms such as print and radio.
Information technology also makes for a more varied
IEC program at present. Today our delegates watch various
video presentations of the Churchs social action efforts
among the poor; vicariously they visit the homes of street
children witnessing to Gods love conveyed through a
compassionate Church. Instead of purely sermons and
liturgy as in the 33rd IEC, the current program is a rich
blend of catechesis, doctrine and its vibrant enfleshment
as evidenced by various forms of witnessing, from moving
personal sharings to scintillating performing arts involving
a whole family of jugglers. Ensuring everybodys active
participation in the Congress, time was made for a deaf
track and space was allotted for simultaneous translation
in seven languages.
Indeed, with the impetus provided by the dynamic
speakers, the inspiration welling up from our participation
in the Holy Eucharist, the contagious zeal of our fellow
delegates, and the information technology at our fingertips,
who can stop us from bringing the Eucharistic Presence to
the ends of the earth? What is to stop us from living in a
manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in
every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge
of God (Col 1:10)?
The theme of the 51st IEC is Christ in you, our hope of
glory. We continue to hope, fully trusting in His promise:
Behold I am with you always, until the end of time (Matt.
28:20).

A6 FEATURES

January 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7

CBCP Monitor

The Catholic Church In The Philippines:

A BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
(last of a series)
By Fr. James H. Kroeger, MM

ROY LAGARDE

CONTINUING RENEWAL AND

COMMITMENT. A major local
Church milestone was achieved
in the 1991 month-long Second
Plenary Council of the Philippines
(PCP-II). After three years of
intense preparation, a total of
504 participants (including
165 lay faithful) gathered for a
comprehensive review and renewal
of Christian life in the light of the
vision of Vatican II. The Council
boldly challenged the local Church
to be a Community of Disciples,
a Church of the Poor, committed
to the mission of renewed integral
evangelization, toward building
up of a new civilization of life and
love in this land. A systematic
implementation scheme was
elaborated in the National Pastoral
Plan, In the State of Mission:
Towards a Renewed Integral
Evangelization, approved by the
bishops on July 11, 1993.
Ten years later (January 2001)
369 delegates gathered for the
National Pastoral Consultation
on Church Renewal (NPCCR) and
reflected on how far we as a Church
have fulfilled the grand vision
and mission proposed by PCP-II
and the National Pastoral Plan.
The evaluation was both sober
and hopeful: The Church in the
Philippines has, to our shame,
remained unchanged in some
respects; we, as Church, have
to confess some responsibility
for many of the continuing ills of
Philippine society. We rejoice,
however, in the perseverance and
increase of many movements of
renewal; we hear anew Gods call
to renewal. NPCCR recommitted
the Church to nine focused pastoral
priorities for the first decade of
the new millennium; they center
on: faith, formation, laity, poor,
family, community-building,
clergy renewal, youth, ecumenismdialogue, and ad gentes mission.
These nine priorities have become
the basis for a nine-year novena of
renewal as the local Church prepares
to celebrate the fifth centenary of
evangelization of the Philippines
(1521-2021). Each year from 20132021 is dedicated to catechesis and
reflection on a particular theme.
Providentially, the NPCCR, as
originally scheduled, took place
during the week immediately
following the People Power II
events (January 16-20, 2001) that
removed Joseph Estrada from the
Philippine presidency after only a
little over two years of his six-year
term; Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
became the fourteenth president
and the second woman to hold the
highest office in the land. There was
muted euphoria; the local Church
had played a significant role; the
event was described as the gift of
national and moral renewal which
God empowered the Filipinos to
receive. The tasks ahead were
clear: democratic institutions
need strengthening; confidence
in government awaits restoration;
poverty beckons amelioration; the
economy needs rebuilding. The
Philippine Churchs commitment
to renewed integral evangelization
took on new depths and urgency.
Recalling the words of Pope John
Paul II in Novo Millennio Ineunte
where he quoted Luke 5:4: Duc in
altum (Put out into the deep), the
NPCCR final statement asserts:
The challenge for us, the Church
in the Philippines, is to do the same.
We are called to put out into the
depths of Philippine life and society,
to put out into the depths of our life
as Church, to put out our nets into
the unknown depths of the future.
Like Peter, we know the frustration
of having caught nothing. But
like Peter, we know that the One
who directs us is the Lord who has

Church has held five National

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

renewed all things by his life, death

and resurrection. And so we dare to
begin again in the task of renewal.
May Mary, star of evangelization,
be with us in our journey to the new
creation we so deeply desire.
JOURNEYING IN THE THIRD
MILLENNIUM. The local Church
in the Philippines, as noted earlier,
sponsored the successful National
Mission Congress in 2000 as a
programmatic first step as a local
Church into the Third Millennium.
This perspective continues the
implementation of National Pastoral
Plan that emerged from the Second
Plenary Council: In the State of
Mission: Towards a Renewed
Integral Evangelization. In a word,
missionary evangelization describes
the dynamic, pastoral mission vision
of the Philippine Church in its faith
journey with the Filipino people.
The bishops conference (CBCP)
continued catechizing the faithful
through its frequent pastoral
letters and the statements of the
CBCP President. From 20002015 inclusive, 141 documents
were released (an annual average
of about nine). In the period of
the third millennium, the CBCP
Presidents were: Orlando Quevedo
(1999-2003), Fernando Capalla
(2003-2005), Angel Lagdameo
(2005-2009), Nereo Odchimar
(2009-2011), Jose Palma (20112013), and Socrates Villegas (20132017). In its history, the Philippines
has had eight cardinals; their
names and year of appointment
are: Rufino Santos (1960), Julio
Rosales (1969), Jaime Sin (1976),
Ricardo Vidal (1985), Jose Sanchez
(1991), Gaudencio Rosales (2006),
Luis Antonio Tagle (2012), and
Orlando Quevedo (2014). As of this
writing (2016), there are four living
cardinals: R. Vidal, G. Rosales, L. A.
Tagle, and O. Quevedo; Tagle and
Quevedo are still papal electors.
The Philippines has had four papal
visits: Paul VI (1970), John Paul II
(1981 and 1995), and Francis (2015).
Some significant Church events
in the first fifteen years of the
new millennium can be briefly
noted. The division of the huge
Manila Archdiocese into six
dioceses [Manila, Cubao, Kalookan,
Novaliches, Pasig, and Paraaque]
was begun in 2002 and completed in
2003. The Church held two highly
successful national congresses of
the clergy (2004 and 2010). The
charity program to assist the poor
(Pondo ng Pinoy) was established
in 2005 by the then-archbishop

of Manila, Gaudencio Rosales.

There was strong participation from
the Philippines in the First Asian
Mission Congress, organized by
the FABC and held in Chiang Mai,
Thailand on October 18-23, 2006.
The CBCP issued its second pastoral
letter on the environment in 2008,
commemorating the twentieth
anniversary of the 1988 CBCP
letter, What is Happening to Our
Beautiful Land (quoted in Pope
Francis Laudato Si no. 41). The
Philippine Church hosted the Ninth
Plenary FABC Assembly (August
10-16, 2009).
After several years of intense
debate in which the Church took
an active role, President Benigno
Aquino III signed the muchcontested Reproductive Health Bill
into law on December 21, 2012.
The Supreme Court took up various
challenges to its constitutionality
in 2013. On April 8, 2014, the
Court affirmed the bill, but declared
eight items (in sections 3, 7, 17,
and 23) to be unconstitutional;
these were, in fact, the main items
to which the Church had serious
objections. In this atmosphere
CBCP President Villegas promoted
renewed collaboration between the
Church and the government for the
welfare of the Filipino people.
The Philippines was visited by
several natural calamities in the
years 2012-2015. On December
4, 2012 Typhoon Bopha [local
name: Pablo] devastated the
provinces of Davao Oriental and
Compostella Valley in Eastern
Mindanao. It was on October 15,
2013 that a severe earthquake hit
in central Philippines; the island
of Bohol was greatly affected.
Typhoon Haiyan [local name:
Yolanda] struck on November 8,
2013; affecting several provinces,
it caused very severe destruction
and resulted in the loss of over
7,000 lives. Extreme weather was
also experienced in 2014-2015,
bringing floods, crop destruction,
loss of life, and much suffering.
Church and civic resources were
stretched to their limits; yet, it was
also edifying to witness numerous
and widespread examples of
heroic generosity, dedication,
service, and charity.
Though it is not possible to present
a full description and specific data
on many other Church events, one
must mention in general a wide
variety of constructive initiatives, as
the Church continued its efforts at
missionary evangelization: Congress
for Seminary Formators (2009);

Taize-sponsored Pilgrimage of
Trust for youth (2010); annual
gatherings of the AMRSP
(Association of Major Religious
Superiors of the Philippines);
vigorous mission promotion by the
Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS)
that celebrated their eightieth year
in the Philippines with a Grand
Mission Festival (2012); exemplary
faith witness of numerous Filipinos
serving in foreign mission and the
dedication of expatriate missioners
working in the Philippines;
continued defense of the rights of
the indigenous [lumad] peoples;
the local and national efforts to
strengthen the Basic Ecclesial
Communities (BEC); catechetical
and youth initiatives. Despite its
recognized limitations, the local
Church of the Philippines struggles
to remain faithful to its mission of
integral evangelization.
VISIT OF POPE FRANCIS.
Undeniably, the most significant
Church event of 2015 was the January
15-19 pastoral visit of Pope Francis;
he told the crowds that when he saw
the destructive effects of the 2013
typhoon on television, he decided
to come to comfort his brothers and
sisters. Affectionately nicknamed
Lolo Kiko (Grandfather Francis)
by the huge crowds, he won their
hearts and souls. He emphatically
asserted: The poor are at the center
of the Gospel, are at the heart of the
Gospel; if we take away the poor from
the Gospel, we cannot understand
the whole message of Jesus Christ.
The most moving part of the papal
visit was Pope Francis presence in
Tacloban, the city hardest hit by the
2013 typhoon. Thanking Pope Francis
for his pastoral visit, Cardinal Tagle
captured the peoples sentiments and
mission commitment; he said: Every
Filipino wants to go with younot to
Romebut to the peripheries, to the
shanties, to prison cells, to hospitals,
to the world of politics, finance, arts,
sciences, culture, education and
social communications. We will go
to these worlds to bring the light of
Jesus, Jesus who is the center of your
pastoral visit and the cornerstone of
the Church.
EUCHARISTIC CONGRESSES.
The Philippine Church is privileged
to have been selected to host the
fifty-first International Eucharistic
Congress (IEC) in 2016 in Cebu
City. This is the second time the
country has hosted the IEC; the
thirty-third IEC was held in Manila
on February 3-7, 1937. The local

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE.

The Philippine Church has embarked
on a nine-year journey in preparation
for the fifth centenary of Christianity
in the Islands (1521-2021). In a
lengthy pastoral exhortation on the
New Evangelization issued in 2012,
the CBCP once again promoted
missionary evangelization as a
fundamental commitment of the
local Church; the scope of the
document is impressive; it is a clear
roadmap for the coming years.
We can be inspired by some brief
quotes:
We look forward with gratitude
and joy to March 16, 2021, the
fifth centenary of the coming of
Christianity to our beloved land.
We shall, therefore, embark on a
nine-year spiritual journey that
will culminate with the great
jubilee of 2021. It is a grace-filled
event of blessing for the Church.
The mission of all of us who are
called to take part in the New
Evangelization is the Churchs
own essential mission, as it was the
mission of Jesus Himself also.
Concern with the New
Evangelization has been the overall
theme of the Second Plenary Council
of the Philippines (PCP-II) in 1991,
of the National Mission Congress
for the New Millennium (NMC)
held in Cebu in September/October
2000, and of the National Pastoral
Consultation on Church Renewal
(NPCCR) which the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
sponsored in Manila in 2001. Thus,
we in the Church in the Philippines
come to this program of the New
Evangelization already with
considerable prior extensive and
intensive study, reflection, deliberation
and resolution. In truth, we have been
trying to earnestly pursue renewed
evangelization especially in the last
twenty-five years.
We respond to the call of the Spirit
for a New Evangelization by focusing
on the Nine Pastoral Priorities of
the Church in the Philippines as the
key themes over a nine-year period
[2013: Integral Faith Formation;
2014: Laity; 2015: The Poor;
2016: Eucharist and the Family;
2017: Parish as a Communion of
Communities; 2018: Clergy and
Religious; 2019: Youth; 2020:
Ecumenism and Interreligious
Dialogue; 2021: Missio ad gentes].
Dear Friends, being evangelizers
is not a privilege but a commitment
that comes from faith. Beloved
People of God, we invite you to
pray and reflect on what the New
Evangelization asks of all of us, from
each of us. In this Year of Faith
and throughout the nine-year period
of special New Evangelizationand
beyondlet us celebrate our faith.
Live Christ! Share Christ!
_____
James H. Kroeger, a Maryknoll
Missioner, has served in the
Philippines since 1970. Currently,
he is professor of systematic and
mission theology at Loyola School
of Theology, East Asian Pastoral
Institute, and Mother of Life
Catechetical Center, all located in
Metro Manila. He may be contacted
at: jhkroeger@gmail.com

By the Roadside / A5

Ponce who, despite admitting

that he was free to follow or
not Jesus, chose to follow
him even in a world that
thrives on self-centeredness,
show business.
Five, to nourish a healthy
sense of sin in the face of the
destructive consequences it
has brought our country:
culture of corruption,
criminality with impunity,
degradation of moral
values, massive poverty. At
the beginning of the Mass
we are always invited to be
aware of and renounce our

sins as individuals and as a

community. We know nothing
else prevents us from entering
into the mysteries of salvation,
into the divine presence itself.
Filipinos easily see sin in
murder as in by riding-intandem assasins, stealing by
known criminals or disrespect
for the elderly. But when sin is
hidden in set practices (wasnt
there a time when stealing
public money was called
S.O.P. [Standard Operating
Procedure] or tong-pats?),
attitudes and even immoral
laws (such as parts of the

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

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

not been exactly sleeping on

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

our difficulties revolve on the

lack of real dialogue not only
at the top of the hierarchy but
also with those below it, one
that truly listens, instead of
one that simply talks, to the
those at the bottom of the
ladder. Or perhaps, we could
begin by setting aside even
longer periods of real heartto-heart dialogues with the
Master in prayer and silence
the way he does in the Gospels.
Only then can we go from
the Misa (Mass) to the
mesa or table of the
worlds teeming masses.

CBCP Monitor

A7

January 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7

6 day of the 51 International The call and provision

Eucharistic Congress
of the Eucharist
th

st

A SYNTHESIS

By Teresa Tunay
HIS Eminence John Cardinal
Onaiyekan, DD, Archbishop of
Abuja (Nigeria), whose subject is
The Eucharist: Dialogue with the
Poor and the Suffering, opened
the days Catechesis on a note of
gratitude: It is a great grace for
each and everyone who is here to
be part of this Congress. There
are many all over the world who
would have wanted to be here but
cannot be. For those of us who are
here we must consider ourselves
called by God to this Eucharistic
Assembly. During our time here, we
should try to find union with God
and solidarity with each other. I
personally thank God that I have the
chance and the opportunity to share
some reflections with this special
congregation on this occasion.
Linking his lecture to the theme
Christ in you, our hope of glory,
the cardinal referred to this glory
as first and foremost of the face
of God revealed to us through the
Son the glory that is also revealed
in the will of God being expressed
and fulfilled in our world and in our
lives the glory of Gods eternal
kingdomthe ultimate destiny of
every living human being created
by Godthe glory of the heavenly
banquet of which we have already
a foretaste in the Holy Eucharist.
After expounding on the Eucharist
as Real Presence, Sacrifice and
Communion, the Nigerian prelate
spoke about the Eucharist in dialogue
with the poor and suffering. He
said material poverty is the most
immediate poverty the Church needs
to addressit is not inevitable, but is
due to human failures such as injustice
and greed. The Eucharist stresses the
goodness of God who gives himself to
humanity and the need for sharing
among Gods children starting from
those in the Church.
There is also a spiritual poverty,
a lack of spiritual values expressing
itself in the form of selfishness.
The Eucharist challenges us to
see one another as brothers and
sisters, children of the same Father
in heaven. It is often said that the
Church must have a preferential
option for the poor. Although many
would say this is easier said than
done, we ought to recall the miracle

of the loaves and fish when Jesus

asked his disciples to do something
instead of complaining at the
inadequacy of available resources.
We should not say, therefore, that
the problem is too much, or that
what we have would not make any
difference. God is challenging us:
Do the little you can with the right
spirit and God will do the rest.
As for suffering which is very much
part of human life and is invariably
linked with pain, and there are many
kinds of suffering, whether physical,
emotional, even spiritual. The image
the Eucharist shows us is of Jesus
hanging on the cross, sharing our
human state of suffering.
Here we might consider how
much we do to make the Eucharist
available to the poor living in
slums or in remote villages, said
Cardinal Onaiyekan, and those
who live in prisons and detention
camps. Wherever possible, those
who are suffering should be able
to contemplate the face of Jesus in
the Holy Eucharist. In conclusion,
the cardinal said the Eucharist
is not just for those who receive
communion. Above all it is also for
the people of this world both living
and dead for whom the Sacrifice
of Calvary is daily represented on
our Altar. The Eucharist becomes
the hope of the world today in the
midst of all the bad news we are
hearing. For this we must remain
forever grateful.
The paper of His Eminence
Oswald Cardinal Gracias, DD,
Archbishop of Mumbai (India), and
Secretary General of the Federation
of Asian Bishops Conference, was
read by Archbishop Dominic Jala,
Archdiocese of Shillong. It is our
firm conviction that an authentically
Eucharistic Church is a missionary
Church and truly, nothing is more
beautiful than to know Christ and
to make him known to others, it
began. The multi-cultural and the
multi-religious background of the
people of Asia pose an enormous
challenge to unity. However, in
spite of their great ethnic, linguistic,
economic, political, religious,
and cultural diversities, it is their
religious traditions that bind
them together Hence, one of the
essential tasks of Christianity is to be
a witness to the values of kingdom of

God by proclamation and dialogue.

The paper tackled the sacredness
of food in various religions as basis
for understanding Eucharist and the
Churchs dialogue with religions.
It elaborated on the importance of
food in Hinduism, the significan role
of food in Islam, and the sacredness
of food in Sikhism.
The bonding that takes place
among the members of the
community eating together and
the renewal in their relationships
with one another indicate to us the
paramount importance of food.
Further, and most important, for
most of our Asian religions, food is a
symbol of communion with God and
a bond of spiritual fellowship and
social solidarity with one another.
Further, and most important, for
most of our Asian religions, food is a
symbol of communion with God and
a bond of spiritual fellowship and
social solidarity with one another.
Hence, food naturally lends itself to
being a powerful symbol of God who
is the fullness of life, happiness, and
fulfilment.
Cardinal Gracias lecture went
on to say that partaking of the
one Sacred Eucharistic Meal
demonstrates a sharing in the
Divine Life as well as promoting
a culture of life. The Eucharist
is an indestructible friendship
between God and humanity: Jesus
Christ gives himself to humanity
as nourishment in order to nourish
and love others. The Lineamenta
of the XIth Ordinary General
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
on the Eucharist stated that Jesus
Christ gives himself (cf. Jn 13:1)
to humanity as nourishment; he
gives his body and sheds his blood
for us. In this sense, the Eucharist
provides the unifying power of the
human race. Just as Jesus gave his
body and shed his blood for us, we
are invited to break ourselves for
others and live for others. Nourished
by the body and blood of Christ,
we must grow in awareness of the
dignity and value of every person
We must be sensitive to human
suffering and misery, to injustices
and wrongdoings in society and
seek ways to effectively remedy such
situations We experience a deep
desire to love our neighbour and love
every human being.

CEBU City, Jan. 27, 2016 The

Eucharist calls for mission and
dialogue as well as care for
creation, according to the two
catecheses delivered on Jan. 27.
Peter Cardinal Turksons
catechesis read by Cagayan
de Oro Archbishop Antonio
Ledesma, spoke of the challenge
to reflect on the importance of
the world and to find the need
to care for it and everything that
dwells in it.
This means taking seriously
our obligation of being in
communion with and caregivers
for our common home, said
Turkson, president of the
Pontifical Council for Justice
and Peace.
We are never to presume
that we are its masters or that
we are its lords. We are fellow
companions, responsible to
succeeding generations for our
care of and for it, he added.
Cry of Christ
Archbishop Thomas
Menamparampil, Apostolic
Administrator of Jowai, India,
said that as human beings, we
are responsible for acting as the
stewards of Gods creation.
[People] ought to care for their
environment and protect it from
pollution and over-exploitation,
he said.
Menamparampil talked about
missionary dialogue on cultural
and religious traditions, social
transformation, secularized
society, responding to the cry of
the poor, and the cry of Christ

on the Cross.
He said dialogue means to
discover the presence of Christ
and the working of the Spirit
among diverse people.
These [people on the
periphery] are all truly areas for
dialogue: Secular and spiritual
wisdom must draw closer.
Intelligence and faith must find
ways of relating. Justice and
mercy must embrace, explained
the prelate.
Eucharist and provision
Menamparampil said the
faithful are not alone in this call
and that the Eucharist equips
one for the mission, gives life and
supplies energy.
The Eucharist is rightly called
panis viatorum, nourishment
for travelers. It supplies energies.
It builds up inner sturdiness for
the mission, he said.
The Eucharist equips us for
the mission Jesus does not
merely say Go; He assures us I
will be with you, the archbishop
added.
The providence of the
Eucharist was further discussed
by Turkson, who reiterated that
the Eucharist is the summit and
source of the Christian life.
The Eucharist is integral to
the very essence of Catholicism, it
integrates all the facets of our life
of faith, he said. The Eucharist
is heaven on earth and invites us
to share even now in the fullness
of Gods glory in heaven forever,
he added. (Chrixy Paguirigan
/ CBCP News)

Thousands / A1

provincial government declared

no work at the Capitol on Friday
via its official social media accounts
to give way for the preparations for
the Holy Mass and the Eucharistic
procession.
The monstrance, specially designed
for the IEC, was placed on a pedestal in
an open-top truck decked with flowers.
Thousands followed the procession
while others waited at the sides,
carrying lighted candles or praying
the rosary.
Fourth degree Knights of
Columbus in full Honor Guard
regalia led the procession followed

by women in white veils and the rest

of the crowd.
On Sunday, millions are expected
to attend the Statio Orbis Mass
(Latin for Stations of the World)
or Concluding Mass of the 51st IEC
at the South Road Properties. The
term was first used to describe the
concluding celebration of the 37th
IEC in Munich, Germany in 1960.
The phrase came to refer to the
global nature of the gathering for
closing Mass of each IEC.
The papal legate will lead the
Statio Orbis Mass which will begin
at 4:00 p.m.

Deaf / A2

and we made sure we came to

Cebu, she said. Not knowing
where the next IEC will be
held, she hopes that they
can continue their service to
deaf delegates, saying she is
looking forward to it..
Mrs. OMeara says she will

continue to serve people with

disabilities, especially the
deaf believing that there is
a beauty to every person that
is a child of God.
We are all created in the
image and likeness of God.
Coming to know the beauty

of the deaf person in the

Church is just another gift
and blessing that the Church
offers to us all.
According to the groups
website, the ICF is a
movement of communion
among people from various

countries brought together

by the Holy Spirit out of a
common conviction that
deaf persons are called to
the fullness of life in Christs
Mystical Body, which
is the Church. (Chrixy
Paguirigan / CBCPNews)

Manufactured by

FOOD INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Daughters of CharitySt. Louise De Marillac

Educational System

MANDAUE CITY
COLLEGE
Dr. Paulus Mariae L. Caete
President

A8

January 30, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 7

CBCP Monitor

Indonesian seminarians trashcollecting IEC formation

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

CEBU City, Jan. 29, 2016

Collecting garbage may not
be the most glamorous thing
in the world. But Stanislaus
Renca couldnt care less,
believing the menial task
assigned to him is part of his
formation as a future priest.
I only pray that more
people will be faithful to
God [because of the 51st
International Eucharistic
Congress (IEC)], he noted.
In an interview with
CBCP News Wednesday, the
Indonesian seminarian went
on to stress he doesnt mind
picking trash at all, if doing
so will help him bring the
presence of Christ to others.
Volunteering to clean up
what pilgrims left behind
at an event on the level of
the IEC makes that task a
lot easier as he gets to meet
people from all walks of life.

Childhood dream
I want to be here. I want
to know better the meaning
of the Eucharist I can see
the Eucharist as the presence
of God in my life, he added.
For Renca, what the Body
and Blood of the Lord stands
for is nothing but love. And in
his own little way, Stanislaus
wants to be an instrument of
that Divine Love.
It is for this reason he
is studying to become a
missionary, a dream of his
since childhood.
My congregation is the
Scalabrinian congregation
[Missionaries of St. Charles
Borromeo] founded by
[Blessed] John Baptist
Scalabrini because it helps
migrants. I am also a
migrant. I want to serve
them, added Renca, who has
been undergoing formation

for 7 years now to become a

Scalabrinian religious.
Missionary-in-the-making
According to the 25-year
old, he felt happy the global
religious gathering enables
him to rub elbows with people
from different countries.
As a missionary-in-themaking, he pointed out his
IEC assignment is a foretaste
of his future life as a religious
and priest.
As an Indonesian, Renca
knows he has to be able to
study different languages in
order to communicate to
others the presence of God
in his life.
Growing up in Flores, a
Catholic majority islandprovince in overwhelmingly
Islamic Indonesia, Stanislaus
knew early on he wanted to
enter the priesthood.

Many think people in

Indonesia all of them
are Muslim. In my place,
especially in my place, the
majority is Catholic, he
said.
Fathers witness
It was a blessing he has a
father who is very supportive
of the vocation he has chosen.
My first encounter with
Jesus was through my
family, especially my father.
He is a very faithful man,
he said.
According to him, the
presence of his own biological
father is the presence of God
in his life.
As a missionary he would
like to continue sharing that
presence with the people he
will encounter. (Raymond
A. Sebastin / CBCP
News)

The Wood of Sacrifice

The typhoon took their homes
And lives away--the waves
Ripped the outriggers off
And smashed the fishing boats
Against the rocks--the winds
Coiled themselves around
The fragile wooden houses,
Which escaped being pulled up
By bending, bowing, kneeling,
And breaking up to flounder
In the rains spinning chalice.
The angry waters forced
A homeless fisherman
To hang on to a tree.

The people stored the rubble

In a pile--broken oars,
Fractured posts, shredded walls,
Those no one had use for,
At the back somewhere, all
But irretrievable,
Until a stranger with
Far out ideas came
And asked for wood, the bits
Of boats, the pieces of
The posts and walls, and even
The tree where someone died,
And then put them together,
Chiseled them, sawed and hammered,

And when the man had finished

The people saw an altar.
The lives of those who died
The folk could not retrieve,
But through the odds and ends
Of what remained of them
Was formed a table for
What they had sacrificed.
They knew that if there was
A dying on the altar
There also was a rising.
~ Simeon Dumdum Jr.
January 27, 2016