PREPARATIONS are now in full swing
for the International
Eucharistic Congress (IEC) to be held in Cebu next year. We need to
give our all-support for this event that for sure will give a big
boost to our spiritual lives taken individually and collectively.
For example, we can step up our prayers, sacrifices and
the recourse to the sacraments, the basic spiritual means we ought to
use, so that this landmark celebration would yield a lot of fruit for
the good of everyone, the abundant graces that can be expected to be
poured on us not going to waste.
Obviously, any earnest effort to sanctify oneself by
fighting against temptations and sin, growing in the virtues, carrying
out one’s responsibilities dutifully, etc., and offering all this for
this intention of the IEC, will go a long way in insuring the
spiritual and pastoral success of this event.
We have to understand that the first and indispensable
support we can give should always be of the spiritual and moral kind
before it is in kind.
And for those who can, may this occasion tickle their
generous heart to give whatever service or material and financial help
they can. That support, for certain, will redound a hundredfold to the
good not only of the donors and volunteers themselves but also of
everybody else.
Such generosity would be a tremendous expression of faith
and love for God and for his people, and will surely be rewarded
roundly. Let’s remember that God cannot be outdone in generosity. The
more generous we are with him, the more he also will be with us, and a
lot more.
What is even more important in this time of preparation is
the deepening and strengthening of our Eucharistic piety, based on
solid doctrine that is lived faithfully to its ultimate consequences
and made to bear fruit in everyone.
We need to do a lot of catechesis about the Holy
Eucharist. There is actually a lot to learn—in fact, endless things to
know, appreciate and live. For what we have in the Holy Eucharist is
nothing less than Christ himself, his real presence plus the whole
range of the merits that his redemptive work has made available for
us.
These things are mainly spiritual and supernatural in
nature, and therefore mysterious. If we don’t exercise our faith, ask
for God’s grace and try to meditate and study the truths about the
Eucharist, then we will miss out many important and crucial things
that the Eucharist can do for us.
Thus, we need to once again realize more deeply the
necessity of being ruled by faith and piety more than by our sense of
practicality and convenience alone. We need to nourish and strengthen
our faith and piety, giving them their due time and availing ourselves
of the relevant practices.
In this, we have to feel the need to help everybody else,
starting with the family. Parents should lead the way, giving good
example to their children with respect to catechizing their children
about the Eucharist and developing the relevant Eucharistic practices,
like going to Mass together on Sundays, making visits to the Blessed
Sacrament, inculcating the practice of reciting spiritual communions
often, etc.
From the family, let’s see if we can do some personal
apostolate about the Eucharist among our friends, colleagues, etc.
Let’s take advantage, for example, of the common practice
of people making a sign of the cross or any sign of reverence whenever
they pass by a church or chapel, to explain more the reasons behind
that informal tradition. Thanks to God we can already notice
rudimentary forms of Eucharistic piety that can be developed and
enriched some more.
The Holy Eucharist is, of course, a great mystery, but we
have to overcome that deficient understanding of it and the
corresponding attitude that consists of considering the sacrament as
too mysterious as to be completely detached from our daily concerns,
if not also from our worldly affairs.
In short, it is considered practically irrelevant and that
the only reason why we have some Eucharistic practices is to meet some
social expectations. We have to establish very clearly and concretely
the vital and inalienable connection between the Eucharist and our
earthly affairs.
We need to highlight the basic truth about it being the
source and culmination of Christian life here on earth. We actually
are not true Christians as we ought unless we are genuine Eucharistic
souls who are always in need of the Eucharist.
Let’s hope that in this period of preparation for the IEC,
we become true Eucharistic souls!
Eucharistic Congress (IEC) to be held in Cebu next year. We need to
give our all-support for this event that for sure will give a big
boost to our spiritual lives taken individually and collectively.
For example, we can step up our prayers, sacrifices and
the recourse to the sacraments, the basic spiritual means we ought to
use, so that this landmark celebration would yield a lot of fruit for
the good of everyone, the abundant graces that can be expected to be
poured on us not going to waste.
Obviously, any earnest effort to sanctify oneself by
fighting against temptations and sin, growing in the virtues, carrying
out one’s responsibilities dutifully, etc., and offering all this for
this intention of the IEC, will go a long way in insuring the
spiritual and pastoral success of this event.
We have to understand that the first and indispensable
support we can give should always be of the spiritual and moral kind
before it is in kind.
And for those who can, may this occasion tickle their
generous heart to give whatever service or material and financial help
they can. That support, for certain, will redound a hundredfold to the
good not only of the donors and volunteers themselves but also of
everybody else.
Such generosity would be a tremendous expression of faith
and love for God and for his people, and will surely be rewarded
roundly. Let’s remember that God cannot be outdone in generosity. The
more generous we are with him, the more he also will be with us, and a
lot more.
What is even more important in this time of preparation is
the deepening and strengthening of our Eucharistic piety, based on
solid doctrine that is lived faithfully to its ultimate consequences
and made to bear fruit in everyone.
We need to do a lot of catechesis about the Holy
Eucharist. There is actually a lot to learn—in fact, endless things to
know, appreciate and live. For what we have in the Holy Eucharist is
nothing less than Christ himself, his real presence plus the whole
range of the merits that his redemptive work has made available for
us.
These things are mainly spiritual and supernatural in
nature, and therefore mysterious. If we don’t exercise our faith, ask
for God’s grace and try to meditate and study the truths about the
Eucharist, then we will miss out many important and crucial things
that the Eucharist can do for us.
Thus, we need to once again realize more deeply the
necessity of being ruled by faith and piety more than by our sense of
practicality and convenience alone. We need to nourish and strengthen
our faith and piety, giving them their due time and availing ourselves
of the relevant practices.
In this, we have to feel the need to help everybody else,
starting with the family. Parents should lead the way, giving good
example to their children with respect to catechizing their children
about the Eucharist and developing the relevant Eucharistic practices,
like going to Mass together on Sundays, making visits to the Blessed
Sacrament, inculcating the practice of reciting spiritual communions
often, etc.
From the family, let’s see if we can do some personal
apostolate about the Eucharist among our friends, colleagues, etc.
Let’s take advantage, for example, of the common practice
of people making a sign of the cross or any sign of reverence whenever
they pass by a church or chapel, to explain more the reasons behind
that informal tradition. Thanks to God we can already notice
rudimentary forms of Eucharistic piety that can be developed and
enriched some more.
The Holy Eucharist is, of course, a great mystery, but we
have to overcome that deficient understanding of it and the
corresponding attitude that consists of considering the sacrament as
too mysterious as to be completely detached from our daily concerns,
if not also from our worldly affairs.
In short, it is considered practically irrelevant and that
the only reason why we have some Eucharistic practices is to meet some
social expectations. We have to establish very clearly and concretely
the vital and inalienable connection between the Eucharist and our
earthly affairs.
We need to highlight the basic truth about it being the
source and culmination of Christian life here on earth. We actually
are not true Christians as we ought unless we are genuine Eucharistic
souls who are always in need of the Eucharist.
Let’s hope that in this period of preparation for the IEC,
we become true Eucharistic souls!
No comments:
Post a Comment