International Eucharistic Congress Reflects on a Wounded World
With the lecture “Wounded World,” delivered by Spanish actor and film director Juan Manuel Cotelo, the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress began. The discourse was based on the biblical passage of the disciples of Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) and emphasized that Jesus, yesterday and today, continues to walk alongside His disciples on the journey of history.
He mentioned that Jesus, as a good actor, disguises Himself as a stranger and becomes close to every man and woman of all times and places. He asks us: “What were you discussing along the way?”
He recalled that the temptation in a wounded world is to seek Jesus in order to impose our own plan of salvation on Him. By doing so, he pointed out, we are surrendering and worshiping the powers of this world that seek to address human violence with more violence.
For Christians, Christ is God’s answer to the wounded world that He so deeply loved. Jesus’ style is characterized by the humility of being a Son. He knows how to lose egoism to gain in love for God and neighbor. The logic of Jesus is prayer to the Father and forgiveness that seeks unity and combats the deceit of superficiality.
Finally, he invited us to view the world with the eyes of Jesus: a gaze that does not condemn but saves. We already have the Savior of the world! We don’t need to invent anything. We need to believe more in Christ and bring the saving source of the Gospel and the Eucharist to the wounded world. Let us not be afraid; the grace of Jesus is enough for us, as St. Paul said. In conclusion, Juan Manuel Cotelo shared a message given to him by Pope Benedict XVI: “The smallest is the most powerful—always remain small!”
The Wounds of Society and the City
In the second part of the morning, Dr. Rodrigo Guerra (Mexico), Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and Mr. Pabel Muñoz (Ecuador), Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Quito, invited participants to become aware of the wounds in our societies and cities, such as corruption and individualism; the destruction of our Common Home and consumerism; social injustice and selfishness, among other issues. Both speakers also highlighted the power of Christian faith to transform hearts and realities, not as adherence to an ideology but as the power of God that precedes us in the presence of Christ in every man and woman who lives fraternity as a demand of humanity and Christian life.
The Wounds of War and Migration
In the afternoon, Bishop Hryhoriy Komar, Auxiliary Bishop of Sambir, Ukraine, shared the faces and stories of the victims of the war that has been raging in his country for three years, under the banner of “not betraying Christ, not betraying the truth.”
He was the spokesperson for the stories of many innocents who die in crossfire, missing families, and children losing their childhood due to this war. Monsignor Hryhoriy concluded his speech by asking for three things: to pray for Ukraine, to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people, and that “when the war is over, please come to Ukraine.”
The second testimony was given by Leyden Rovelo from the Hispanic Ministry of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He spoke about the reality of migration, which, although it has revitalized parishes in the United States, remains a reality marked by pain, fear, and desolation.
In his experience, he has witnessed the fear felt by migrants, the human dramas of being separated from their families, but also the greatest joy of being welcomed and treated as individuals.
Rovelo recalled that, while the Church upholds the sovereign right of nations to regulate their borders, it also emphasizes the imperative to defend human dignity. Thus, in the U.S., they have launched a campaign proposing to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.”
In the final part of his presentation, he reminded us that Christian life is about “migrating” toward our ultimate homeland: heaven. We have a migrant God for a migrant people.
