By Provincial Youth Ministry Team - FIS
Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines - The 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu, Philippines gave an opportunity for the Commission on Youth of Archdiocese of Cebu to organize the IEC Youth Day with the theme, “Christ in the YOUTH, the Hope of Glory.” The encounter happened in Lapu-Lapu City hosting to almost 5,000 young people from all over the country from January 27-29, 2016.
The first day of the IEC YD welcomed the pilgrim youth in the 5 host parishes by distributing them to host families followed by an opening mass, dinner in a “barrio fiesta” setting, and a cultural presentation to welcome delegates.
The second day, the main day of the IEC youth day, started with an activity that is connected with the days parish immersion; participants were asked to help clean their surroundings. After which, they all proceeded to the host parishes to assemble for some catechetical experience particularly developing the theme on the Eucharistic elements based on the gospel of St. Matthew 26:26-28/Luke 22:19, Bread: #taken, #blessed, #broken, and #shared. These were developed through affirmation, the making of love notes, solution sharing, and the callejeros de la fe where they shared their love notes to people they met along the road as part of street evangelization.
After the parish catechesis, the youth pilgrims left for hoopsdome as the main assembly area, a very big gymnasium to accommodate all the 5,000 or more youth participants of the IEC YD. They were welcomed with a slice of Cebu’s history through songs and dances. The atmosphere was so festive, indeed very youth-filled energy.
The afternoon was much anticipated because the youth and even the IEC proper participants, 500 of them, went to see and listen to the talk of Bishop Robert Barron, DD, Auxilliary Bishop of Los Angeles and a famous social media personality in youtube and Word on Fire ministries. Bishop Barron developed the theme on “How to Become Saints” by giving three points for the youth to consider, namely:
- Find the center
- Know that you're a sinner
- Realize that your life is not about you
After that power talk, the youth were given time to share their thoughts to one another through some questions given them by the organizers. It was then followed by a Eucharistic celebration participated by 38 priest concelebrants and presided by Fr. Joriz F. Calsa, SDB who also gave the homily. The very question in his reflection is “How can the youth LOVE the Eucharist?” And he said, “To love the Eucharist is to love the Eucahrist.” He developed it by sharing the Eucharistic spirituality elements of #taken, #blessed, #broken, and #share which the youth can continuously practice particularly stressing the point of giving and sharing solutions to challenges of life to fellow youth, as a sign of God’s infinite mercy and hope.
After the Holy Mass, the youth made an hour of pilgrim walk around the City of Lapu-Lapu to share the joy of the Eucharist bringing banners, smiles, and dancing to the tune of the Cebuano traditional feast the “Sinulog.”
Another highlight of the day was the sharing of a family from Argentina, Mr. Paul Ponce. He is an internationally known juggler, where he struggled to discover and practiced his faith. But after years of restlessness and finding God, he found him through prayer and the especially the Eucharist. And from then on, he asked God to give him a wife to form his family, and his wish was granted. Everywhere he goes, he brings his family not only to perform and entertain but to evangelize people of the beauty of the Catholic family. He was blest with 2 sons and a daughter.
The rest of the day was highlighted with the penitential service during the adoration to the Blessed Sacrament and the hearing of confessions by a number of priests.
On the last day, it was highlighted by the concluding mass celebrated by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on Youth, Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian, SVD,DD. In his homily, he challenged the youth to be awake and follow in the footsteps of the two Filipino saints, St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod. He also shared something personal narrating a slice of his vocation story; he started as a “sacristan mayor” who always prepare things for mass in the SVD seminary until he found his vocation and eventually installed as a bishop, stressing that a sacristan can become a bishop to the applause of the youth. In a deeper level he said that the Eucharist offers us three things, “it is a dialogue of love, a primary source of Christian value, and is a communication.”
The IEC youth days may be over but we hope that the experiences and lessons they received be trickled down in the many of the country so as to win back the youth in loving and living the Eucharist.
By the way, the Salesian Youth Movement Philippines (100 of them) are well represented in this IECYD gathering.
