United by the Eucharist

by Fr. William Orbih

Last Sunday, I attended Mass with the Filipino community in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the closest catholic parish, per Google. Eric, a fellow Ph.D. student at Notre Dame, and I took Bus 5. We alighted at the bus stop nearest the parish, walking the remaining distance to the small albeit beautiful church called Our Lady of Valor.

It was a beautiful experience. Except for a few words in English during the sermon and the communion and recessional hymns, everything else was in Filipino.

Fr. William Orbih

Yet I felt totally at home. I did not feel like a stranger.

First, the warmth of the joyful smiles of everyone around me made me feel very welcome. Even more remarkable was that I did not need to understand the language to feel truly welcomed at the Eucharistic table. The Eucharist is, indeed, the Sacrament of unity.