Families are future hope of the parish

Sometimes, you know that God is good when you see a family bonding together; when you see their closeness, the way they relate to each other — you see love. They feel good inside; you, watching them, catch the feeling too.

A spirit of love filled the air at the Eucharistic Congress held last November 18 at the San Isidro Labrador Parish, Diocese of Digos. It was a whole day affair. Everyone present such as families and priests ought to feel exhausted, but no, everyone, quite the opposite, was energized as each one “caught the fire.”

Before the congress started, I observed that there was no shortage of model families and participating families per parish. Many came and participated in the activities. They walked the procession, celebrated the mass; and enriched each other in the sharing of family life experiences.

It was a day of unity capped by a moving Eucharistic celebration led by Bishop Jimmy Afable. For many who went there, they felt connected as though the families were just one family.

At lunch, not one was without a new friend. Everyone was just happy to be part of the Unity. It was a lunch and some conversation sharing; but it was communion and most of all acceptance and unconditional loving.

The model families came from all walks of life rich, poor, old, and new. There was even a lumad, teacher and a one-legged catechist. What stories they tell can broaden one’s understanding.

It is of no accident that the Eucharist and the family have a connection because if one receives the Eucharist, she has life. Families are the life given to married couples. They are related such that both are life-sourcing and both are love-giving.

That gathering encouraged me that in spite of everything bad that is going on, there is still a lot of good that continue to exist. Many families still want t get closer to God. It is very fulfilling and quite exciting to consider that families, in the context of being one in the Eucharist, are the future hope of the Church. The buried treasure of faith is firmly planted in the generation to come, after all. (Fr. Allan Joie Nuñez | Diocese of Digos SoCCom)