Tagle: Nazareno feast a prelude to International Eucharistic Congress

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle Photo by Kristine Sabillo/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

After the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene, one of the biggest religious gatherings in the country, Filipino Catholics have something grand to look forward to.

The Philippines is playing host for the International Eucharistic Congress 2016, which will be held in Cebu this month.

READ: Countdown to 2016 International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu begins

In his homily, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said the Eucharistic celebration on Saturday (today) was a prelude to the grand Congress.

“Tayo pong mga Filipino ay naghahanda dahil ilang araw na lamang ay magaganap sa ating bansa – sa Cebu ang ika-51 na International Eucharistic Congress,” Cardinal Tagle told the devotees during the midnight mass.

(We Filipinos are are preparing for the hosting of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu in the coming days.)

Tagle said that celebration of the feast centers on the “Year of Mercy” and the “Year of the Eucharist.”

“[A]ng pagdiriwang natin ng Kanyang dakilang kapitashan ngayong taon, ay napapaloob sa idiniklara ni Papa Francisco na “Taon ng Awa” o “Year of Mercy,” Tagle said.

(The celebration of His great feast this year is aligned with the “Year of Mercy” declared by Pope Francis.)

“At yan naman talaga ang mensahe ni Hesus Nasareno. Siya ang nagdalang-awa para sa atin” he added.

(And that is the real message of Jesus of Nazareth. He brought mercy for us.)

The 58-year old Archbishop encouraged millions of Catholic faithfuls in Manila, some of them traveled from their own provinces, to reflect, rekindle their faith and celebrate the Eucharist along with massive gathering in Cebu.

The IEC is a gathering of clergy,laity and the faithfuls to celebrate “Real Presence” of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist “to promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church, to help improve our understanding and celebration of the liturgy, and to help improve our understanding and celebration of the liturgy.”

The most recent IEC was held in Dublin, Ireland in 2012. The Philippines first hosted the IEC in 1937. It was the first IEC conducted in Asia.

After 79 years, the Congress will be hosted in Cebu along with the 9-year Novena for the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines.

Christianity started in the Philippines when the Spaniards came to Cebu in 1521.

Pope Francis, whose first visit to the Philippines will mark its first anniversary this month, will not attend the congress. TVJ