The path to holiness and orderliness

Last Saturday was the 31st Eucharistic Congress of the Pink Sisters in New Manila. This year’s theme is “The Eucharist and the Call to Holiness in Today’s World.” It was organized by the Eucharistic Adorers League (EAL) with its Spiritual Director Rev. Fr. Jose Quilongquilong, SJ, STD. Most Rev. Leopoldo Jaucian, SVD, DD (Bishop of Bangued, Abra) and Rev. Fr. Rolando Dela Rosa led the congress as well. They all rallied the people to the path of holiness. Quite a timely feat when everyone seems to have gone astray in this day and age. 

The idea of Eucharistic feast was conceived by a French woman, Emilie Tamisier, supported by the Bishop of Lille and a pious layman, Philip Vrau. These events were meant to inspire spiritual revival through a program of prayer, processions, religious assemblies, pontifical masses and other activities The original intent was to have a simple national religious affair, but the response was so enthusiastic, supported even by Pope Leo XII himself. And so, the First International Eucharistic Congress was held in the city of Lille, France in 1881, attended by an unprecedented 3,000 people.

In the Philippines, my late grandfather Benito Soliven was instrumental in organizing the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress in Manila in 1937. He made the proposal at the sectional meeting of the First National Eucharistic Congress in 1929. It was approved by the members of the Philippine hierarchy who brought the matter to then Manila Archbishop Michael O’Doherty who, in turn submitted a letter of proposal to the Secretary of the Permanent Committee of the International Eucharistic Congress, Count d’Yanville. In 1933, the Archbishop went to Rome to plead before the Permanent Committee. Upon his return to the country, he received a letter of unanimous approval for the holding of the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress in Manila from February 3-7, 1937.

The 1937 International Eucharistic Congress was said to be the greatest and most glorious spiritual event ever witnessed in the Orient and held for the first time in Asia. It was an event every Filipino was proud of. The Philippines, the only predominantly Catholic country in the Far East was chosen as the venue for this prestigious gathering. On the last day of the Congress, the papal legate celebrated mass to thousands of devotees and communicants. As a matter of fact, my late father Max Soliven was among those who received their first Holy Communion on this day.

The Eucharistic Congress at the Pink Sisters was a success. There were more than 1,000 participants. Every year the number of participants just gets bigger. I hope that we have more of this in the different islands because our people need it. Our culture is very much embedded with Catholic beliefs and practices. Even if we try to set ourselves into new age religions, we still find ourselves thinking Catholic. It is in our DNA as a nation and we should all the more strengthen it. We need to return to the path of holiness.

 As Rev. Fr. Quilongquilong said, “A Christian cannot think of his mission on earth if he doesn’t think of his path to holiness. Whatever work we do that is united with the will of God becomes a path to holiness. It is in ordinary work and in our daily human experiences that we find our path to holiness; any activity that sanctifies.”

This year was dedicated to the Clergy and Consecrated Persons. Next year, will be the Year of the Youth. I hope we start getting our act together to save the young from the many internal and external conflicts they experience. Unfortunately, most of the time their problems are caused by the adults around them.

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Boracay is back in business. After the 6-months rehabilitation efforts of the government, Boracay’s powdery white shores are clean, without a trace of green algae on its coastline. According to Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, the fecal coliform level had significantly gone down during the closure.

According to Tourism Secretary Bernadette “Berna” Romulo-Puyat, they will be limiting Boracay’s carrying capacity to 19,000 tourists at any one time, so that the island’s resources are not strained. She added, “Eco-friendly policies have been in place for a long time - this is nothing new. People just need to follow them. The environment is important. We need to change the mindset of the people.”

Richard Fabila, a Boracay-based environmental officer, in doing his part said, “We test the waters three times a day, every day and every morning, locals participate in a beach cleanup.”

Regulations are being tightly enforced. Tourists will be banned from setting up day beds, tables and chairs, beach umbrellas and the like anywhere within the newly-regulated 30-meter exclusion zone from the shoreline. There will now also be rigorous rules on partying, which include no alcohol on the beaches. At the same time, water sports like jet skiing can only take place 200 meters away from the shoreline.

Cases have been filed by the NBI on resort owners who have violated the environmental laws of the island. These include government officials who should be charged with graft and violation of the Local Government Code. Let’s see how the will of the government is in handling all these violations. Will they enforce the rule of law after all the hullabaloos they have put everyone through? Abangan!

Recent news reports say that Boracay Island will soon get a new power transmission infrastructure. According to AKELCO, the electric cooperative servicing the area, the island is projected to see continuous growth in power consumption. Thus, an additional power transmission avenue must be built to secure the stability and continuous flow of power to residents and businesses in the area.

The Philippines is taking the lead in achieving sustainable tourism in Southeast Asia. Let us hope and pray that our policy-makers will focus more on the yield rather than on raw numbers.

My alikabok says, many resort owners are really struggling to make ends meet especially with the new rules. They acknowledge the importance of saving the environment but some rules are too stringent, it affects tourism. They are anxious about the fate of the incoming tourists to the island. Rules seem to be over the top. Visitors may be disillusioned to return. Maybe the Tourism Secretary can look closer into the details and balance the tourism features to make the visitors a little happier.