The Archdiocese of Manila celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi on June 22, 2025, marked by traditional adoration and procession.
Cardinal Jose F. Advincula called on the faithful to anchor their hope in the Eucharistic Lord and be generous.
The ceremony began with a Mass at the Santa Cruz Parish Church, also known as the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament, and was followed by a grand Eucharistic procession to the Manila Cathedral.
In his homily, he reflected on the theme, “Kapanatilihan ni Kristo sa Eukaristiya: Ganap na Biyaya at Daluyan ng Pag-asa,” which means “The abiding presence of Christ in the Eucharist: a perfect grace and a channel of hope.”
Advincula spoke about how the Eucharist not only nourishes a person spiritually but also forms Eucharistic values and attitudes that make them a sign of hope. “To draw from the wellspring of hope in the Eucharist, start by acknowledging God's grace. Do not disregard even what may seem little,” he said.
Reflecting on the Lukan gospel story of the multiplication of loaves, which was the prescribed gospel reading that day, Advincula expressed concern that, like Jesus’ apostles, people often treat as 'nothing' what is, in fact, 'something' when they refuse to share.
He remarked on the little boy in the gospel narrative who shared the five loaves and two fishes, saying, “When there is a disposition of gratitude and sharing, even in scarcity, we will experience not only fullness but abundance.”
He threw light on how Jesus addressed the apostles’ dismissive attitude with the invitation to charity and generosity. “Every crisis is an invitation to gratitude and generosity. To satisfy the hungers of the world and to conquer our vulnerabilities and weaknesses, Jesus teaches us to love.”
The archbishop declared that poverty is not an excuse not to share. He cited Pondo ng Pinoy, a program for alleviating poverty in the archdiocese, and its avowed motto that “No one is too rich that he has nothing to receive, and no one is too poor that he has nothing to give” as the example for the kind of generosity expected by the Eucharistic Lord.
“The whole church is called to share in Christ’s Eucharistic mission of being broken for the feeding. The people of the Eucharist are beautiful loaves that end up as scraps of leftovers after breaking and feeding. Yet the Lord Jesus will gather them all up again for yet another miraculous feeding. Jesus, the Bread of Life, taught us how to be a source of hope by being bread—broken and shared for the life of the world. May we also learn to be bread broken for others, bread shared with others.”
The yearly celebration of Corpus Christi brought together hundreds of thousands of Catholics for a meaningful encounter with Christ in the Eucharist.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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