In preparation for the 525th anniversary (in 2019) of the first Eucharist celebrated in the New World, the Dominican Episcopal Conference declared 2018 as the Year of the Eucharist. In this context, celebrating the month of September as the month of the Bible, took place the Second Biblical Congress of the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana. The congress was held on Saturday, September 1, at the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios parish, in Azua.
The event was organized by Fr. Juan Manuel Camacho, a member of the Community of Saint Paul, who is responsible for the Diocesan Biblical Commission, and the theme was "WORD AND EUCHARIST." The conference of the congress was delivered by Fr. Martí Colom, also of our community.
Martí shared with the attendees some reflections on various biblical passages related to the Eucharist, starting with the accounts of the Last Supper and then expanding the focus to "the other Eucharists", that is, other “eucharistic moments” related by the Gospels. We saw how these other moments can enrich our understanding of the Eucharist, as each one of them underlines an aspect of the Eucharist. For example, the joy that should be present in all our celebrations (as it is present at the Wedding in Cana), or the radically inclusive fraternity which we see in the meals of Jesus at the house of tax collectors, or the gift of full and responsible freedom that Jesus gives us –if we are willing to receive it– that underlies the Johannine text of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes.
His presentation was very well received by the more than 200 participants of the Congress, who came from different parishes of the region. They returned to their communities with the desire to continue deepening in the scriptures and in what they teach us about the Eucharist.
