The suffering of typhoon victims will be uppermost in the minds of those who attend next Sunday’s Mass in Cebu City for the national launch of the 2016 International Eucharistic Congress.
As people walk in solemn procession from Fuente Osmeña to Plaza Sugbo in front of City Hall, they will be asked to bring one can of tinned food or a bottle of water to be donated for calamity victims.
“Our call is one can more, one bottle more for them,” said Msgr. Marnel Mejia of the Cebu Archdiocese, so that activities “will take a deeper dimension aside from the usual things we do.”
Students, lay organizations, and parishioners will gather for a 4 p.m. Mass at Fuente park, followed by a foot procession and then a benediction.
About 15,000 delegates from around the world and the Philippines will be attending the International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu City, whose preparations are spearheaded by the Cebu Archdiocese.
Next Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King in the Catholic church calendar, and marks the culmination of the Year of Faith celebrated worldwide.
Acts of charity during the IEC launch allows people to help and give more, explained Mejia.
The street one walks during the procession “becomes the extra mile our Lord is asking us to go. The one can of sardines becomes the extra shirt in the Gospel (which Jesus said believers should give to an unclothed man). We don’t just become simple participants of the procession. We become the good Samaritans on the road to Jericho,” said Mejia at a press conference last Friday in the Archbishop’s residence.
While many Cebuanos have already sent relief goods to affected families, Mejia said we can still do more.
“One can or bottle of water, if combined, becomes thousands and will become like the multiplication of loaves and fishes in the Gospel,” he said.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma encouraged everyone to participate in the launching of the IEC two years from now in January 2016.
“We believe that there is a great connection between what we experience now and the Holy Eucharist. Amid all these calamities and devastation, we find strength in God,” Palma said.
Filipinos, particularly Cebuanos, are hoping Pope Francis will be able to attend the international conference in 2016 as they await official confirmation.
The last time the Philippines hosted the IEC was in 1937 in Manila. /ADOR VINCENT S. MAYOL