“Our roots in the Eucharist strengthen us in vocation and service”

“The Salesian Cooperators strengthen their faith in the sacramental experience. They find in the Eucharist the nourishment of their pastoral charity. In Reconciliation they find the mercy of the Father, who imprints in their life a dynamic and continuous conversion and makes them grow in the capacity to forgive.” (E 19,2 of the PVA)

The 53rd International Eucharistic Congress held in Quito – Ecuador, from September 8 to 15, brought together thousands of people from all over the world.

Manuel Castro and Angie Zapata, Salesian Cooperators of Machala, tell us about this international experience

Is it possible to share the Eucharist with others?

Knowing the importance of the Eucharist in my life, it became important for me to strengthen my formation in this sense in order to be an active witness of Faith in God. And the meeting with more brothers, from various countries, allows me to know that there are many servants of Christ and with the unity of all we can achieve a more fraternal world where we lay people understand that our role is very important.

What is more important?

The motto “Let us not forget our faith” caught our attention.

Knowing how we can help heal the wounds of the world in our daily lives, especially those of our young people who are the most fragile in the face of so much social and human crisis, is where we find that call to be bearers of fraternity for others.

And in the Eucharistic Procession, the culmination of the Congress, Tania Consuelo Proaño Vaca, Salesian Cooperator of Esmeraldas, participated in the polyphonic choir that accompanied such an emotional expression of popular devotion.

Their testimonies are a shared joy of ecclesial and vocational belonging.