An explosion of faith, hope, and love

By Rev. Fr. Catalino Arevalo, SJ As told to Jacky Lynne A. Oiga   One of the many first things done by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Committee on International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) was the creation of the Theological Commission. The commission is composed of members whose expertise are in the field of Theology, Scriptures, Liturgy, Anthropology, Pastoral Theology, and Ecumenism. We were tasked to submit to Rome three themes based on something in the old scriptures. The one the Vatican finally chose was from the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians (1:24-29), “Christ in You, Our Hope of Glory.” The Eucharist is a missionary event. The Eucharist is the source of mission and the finality of mission. So the theme that was very particular to the Cebu hosting was a question of the Eucharist as mission, and that the Eucharistic Congress itself is a great act of mission. It fits very well because we are preparing for [...]