This is a year of grace! As we concluded the local church’s celebration of the Year of the Poor, we begin the year of the Eucharist and the Family – these realities are indeed some of God’s best gifts to mankind.

The Eucharist is Jesus himself present on this earth, and the family is where we all belong, without which we would only have been individuals alien to our own identity and origin, since we started existence in a family.

This year, the theme on the Eucharist coincides with the 51st International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Cebu this coming January 24-31, 2016.

The Catholic bishops of the Philippines are looking forward to the Five Hundredth Anniversary of Evangelization as then CBCP President Archbishop Jose Palma stated in his pastoral letter last July 9, 2012. The nine years of preparation for the new era of evangelization which started in 2012 will culminate in the year 2021, when the Philippines will celebrate the five hundred years of its evangelization.

The first year back in 2013 was dedicated to the Laity, and this past year, to the Poor and this coming year 2, to the Family and the Eucharist.

But this year is a moment of grace not only because of this coincidence but more importantly, as the message from the Pontifical Commission for International Eucharistic Congresses states, “the celebration of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in this Country (Philippines). . . is an important challenge to strengthen the missionary / evangelizing perspective. . .”

The family: what a beautiful means that God has revealed to us as a way of evangelization. In fact as St. John Paul II said, the way of the church is the family. Yet, this divine and human institution is being attacked from all sides, both internally and externally.

What is our best defense? If it is internally destroyed by division which goes to the very core of its existence – and if is it is devoured by outside influences of hedonism, secularization, consumerism, a throw-away culture, the culture of death, the and the contraceptive culture, by irresponsible sex, disrespect for the elderly to the point of euthanasia, and deviated sexual orientations, and the reduction of the role of the evil one to a deep physical, psychological and spiritual dysfunction – the best antidote against these assaults is an inner force which comes from above: a gift, a grace.

Man really seems to be increasingly powerless against these forces of disunity within the family. He needs help from God himself, the creator of the family. To take away God is to take away the source of the family’s life and existence! However, this God who became man in Jesus is continuously and substantially present in the Eucharist.

The effect of the Eucharist is that union between God and man which also brings about the unity among men. The Eucharist produces this same effect, as it transforms us into another Christ. And since the love that has been revealed to us in Jesus is the model of love that we should have for one another, we get to love as Christ loves.

In the Eucharist, we cannot but love one another as Christ loves us. Though we are sinners, He showed to us His everlasting mercy which cannot but elicit a loving response from us. In effect, in spite of and despite our failures, if we are truly prepared and have fulfilled the conditions, i.e., being in the state of grace, the Eucharist or Jesus Himself, becomes that bond and link that unites us with God and with one another in love, since it was He who originally united us with God and with one another.

It binds us together in Christ and more so, it helps us become Christ together, within our families. Needless to say, since the Eucharist makes us love as Christ loves, it helps us become merciful to one another, and it makes our love for one another grow deeper. It gives us the grace and capacity to forgive one another.

Last month, our Pope opened the year of Mercy, and what could be more fitting for us to than to discover that in the Eucharist, there is God’s mercy which leads us to show mercy to one another?

May this year which starts with the theme on the Eucharist and the family be a fruitful one.

May our families be united and be shielded from the world’s negative influences which are ever more present, stronger and dangerous. But this can only be realized if we humble ourselves and accept that alone we cannot make it. We need God in the Eucharist to help our families become ever more united, loving and merciful.

May our families be a reflection of this love and unity in the eternal family of the Trinity in Heaven through the bond of the Eucharist. In this year, a Eucharistic family is the best gift from God to our country. It is also the best gift that we can offer to God for the world’s evangelization.