by Fe N. Reyes
How can we make sure that the poor have a voice in the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) to be held in Cebu in January 2016? This was the ultimate question set before us, a motley group of about 400 members of parish-based organizations, local government, NGOs, businesses and professions, in a half-day recollection.
The four-hour activity was organized by the Solidarity and Communion Committee of the IEC headed by Fr. Carmelo Diola. The encounter with Fr. Diola, Archbishop Jose Palma and a small discussion group raised many questions, but one thing was clear: we start by responding to the needy.
The story chosen for reflection by Fr. Diola was Jesus’ parable on Dives, the luxurious, well-provided rich man and Lazarus, the hungry, sore-covered beggar. Dives had done nothing wrong to Lazarus; Dives merely ignored him. When Dives died, he found himself in Hades. Lazarus, on the other hand, was in Abraham’s bosom.
Commenting on the passage from Scripture, Fr. Diola conceded that our “culture can make us numb to the needs of the poor”. Our group of five brought up the tendency to give out of fear of harm rather than out of compassion for the needy. Each of us confessed to occasions of grudgingly giving to mendicants. However, we noted that trusting God in the Eucharist brings us opportunities to respond with compassion to those truly in need. One of us narrated how a girl begging for alms smiled widely and blurted out to a companion smaller than she was “Makakaon na gyud ta”, (“Now we can feed ourselves”) after being given a five-peso coin.
“The Eucharist confronts selfishness and greed with the self-sacrificing love of Christ. It is an invitation of Christ to love the Father, ” Archbishop Jose Palma explained. He enjoined us to get involved in organized charity. We were elated to find out that one of our group members, Angie, coordinates a feeding program for school-based children who scavenge garbage for a living. During the October 2013 earthquake, she was in Bohol as part of a volunteer team, and when typhoon Yolanda struck she traveled to Tacloban. To her, heeding the needs of the poor is not mere alms-giving; it implies engagement with them.
“The Eucharist is a celebration where everybody feels welcome,” said Archbishop Palma. One of the initial responses to make the needy feel welcome to the Eucharistic celebration was undertaken by Fr. Carmelo Diola in cooperation with police personnel of Cebu City. Twenty-five street children received their First Communion in April 2014, while another 57, including a mother, received the Eucharist in December of the same year. Catechists and donors for Communion attire were among those who made access to the Eucharistic celebration possible.
It does not come as a surprise then that Cebu is the venue for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress. “We are privileged to be the venue. It is God’s will,” Archbishop Palma concluded.
In the meantime, how else can we see to it that the poor are given voice in the coming international celebration of God’s love for His people?
Fe Reyes is a mother of four who has more time to write now after a life’s career in education.