Albert Cortina speaks with Luis Gasch Cabot and Raquel Reynal Martínez, parents of six children: Juanjo, Clara, Yago, Pablo, Hugo, and Teresita. The entire family lives in Bellaterra, near Barcelona. Both are lay members of the Hogar de la Madre (Home of the Mother). They are a family deeply involved in various pastoral and volunteer activities in the Diocese of Terrassa, as well as in the Catholic congregation Hogar de la Madre. With them, we will review the highlights of the Third Marian Eucharistic Youth Day (JEMJ), held on July 10, 11, and 12, 2026, at the Sanctuary of Covadonga, and discover the personal impact this year’s JEMJ has had on their spiritual journey.

Luis: You are lay members of the Home of the Mother, an international public association of the faithful founded in 1982 by Father Rafael Alonso Reymundo, whose spirituality centers on identification with Jesus Christ and transformation in Him, from the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The three main missions of the Home of the Mother within the Catholic Church are: the defense of the Eucharist, the defense of the honor of Our Mother, especially the privilege of her virginity, and the winning of young people for Jesus Christ.

How did you come to know the Home of the Mother and what did that encounter with the Servants, the Handmaids and the Lay people of this great spiritual family mean to you?

We first encountered the Home of the Mother in 1996 at the Holy Week Encounter held in Priego de Cuenca, at the Monastery of San Miguel de las Victorias. At that time, we were dating, and for us, discovering the Home of the Mother brought about a radical change in our Christian faith. It allowed us to realize the immense gift God has given us through His close presence in the Eucharist. All the sacraments of the Church are important, but especially Confession and the Eucharist. These sacraments took on a new dimension, becoming central to our daily lives. Furthermore, the example of the Servants, who so deeply love the Blessed Virgin Mary, drew us closer to her maternal intercession. We wanted to consecrate ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but we didn’t understand what it meant. Seeing the Servants of the Home of the Mother, totally abandoned to divine providence, seeking each day to grow in the love of God, we understood experientially what it meant to want to build your life trusting exclusively in God.

Raquel: Home is the gift the Lord wants to give to his Mother. To reach Jesus Christ, we are offered the shortest path: Mary. We know that she, with her “Fiat,” becomes a living example for us, since from the very beginning she accepted God’s plan for the salvation of the world. By contemplating the Virgin, your family finds its own mission of service to God in the Church.

How would you define that feeling of communion with the Church and that commitment that is realized in your collaboration in the works for the establishment of the Kingdom of God?

Following the example of the Virgin Mary, in silent, constant, humble, and prudent fidelity, faithful in our daily lives, in the ordinary, in the small things. The Church is the mother who welcomes and sustains us and gives us the tools (the sacraments) to follow the Lord and our Mother. The Church nourishes us, teaches us, and enlightens us on our path to Heaven.

The Church is not only made up of those of us who live on earth today, but also of all those who have gone before us in faith. Without their witness and faithfulness, the faith would not have been passed on to us. It is an immense treasure to know some of them, as we do with the saints, as well as other people who have been important on our journey of faith. Through the doctrine of the Church, we know that through the communion of saints we are all united.

Luis: Your family has participated almost entirely in the reenactment of scenes from the life of Saint Bernard in the documentary ” The Flame of Europe: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, ”  produced by HM Television, the communication channel of the Home of the Mother. Three of your children play Saint Bernard, and some of his siblings. Your wife, Raquel, plays Saint Bernard’s mother, and you play Saint Bernard as an adult.

What was your experience like during filming? How did you approach the figure of this great 11th-century saint, a promoter of monasticism and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary? And finally, how have his writings helped you personally?

The invitation to participate in the filming of this documentary was a truly special grace. We experienced it as a small pilgrimage, an adventure, placing ourselves in God’s hands. Our whole family traveled together from Barcelona to Cantabria to film there and serve the Servants of the Home of the Mother. The filming lasted only two or three days. The sisters had meticulously prepared all the scenes and locations to make the most of the short time we had for such a task. Watching them work as if they were a single, determined heart seeking to draw souls closer to Christ is profoundly moving and enriching. When many people have the opportunity to participate in a common project, selflessly, the greatness of community is revealed and understood, and how the sum of many small efforts results in a great work. We edify and enrich one another.

For my part, it was a great pleasure to learn more about the life of Saint Bernard, of whom I only knew his famous prayer, “Memorare.” Bernard was a man of great apostolic zeal who ignited souls and called them to leave everything for the love of God. It is impressive how people who had everything, both humanly and socially, preferred to renounce material possessions and live in poverty, chastity, and obedience. And all of this was accompanied by the hand of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom Saint Bernard loved so much. Undoubtedly, being around people who love the Virgin Mary helps us to love her even more, making her closer to us. The same is true for us lay people of the Home of the Mother. When we have the opportunity to share and spend time together in gatherings with the Servants of our spiritual family, we perceive their presence, their love, and their invitation to place our lives in their hands so that we may draw ever closer to God.

Raquel: Among the service and volunteer activities you carry out, I would like to highlight your participation in the Marian Youth Eucharistic Days (JEMJ)  https://www.jemj.org/es/,    which are held in early July at the Marian Sanctuary of Covadonga. This year, 2026, marked the third edition.

Similar to the National Eucharistic Revival launched by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in 2022 as an initiative to intensify faith in the Eucharist through faith formation and Eucharistic activities such as adoration and processions, in Spain, in 2024, the first JEMJ (Eastern Youth Meeting) was launched, focused as a gathering of young people between the ages of 14 and 30 where they could participate in acts of prayer, catechesis, Eucharistic evangelization workshops, testimonies, and thus deepen their love and knowledge of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist with the help of the Virgin of Covadonga.

How do you think young people who attend the JEMJ raise their eyes to heaven and discover in that encounter God’s love for their own lives?

I’ve had the opportunity to speak with many young people who have attended the three World Youth Days held in Covadonga, and one thing they all emphasize is the personal encounter with God they’ve experienced, thanks to the silence and prayerful atmosphere of these days and their faithfulness to the liturgy. The attention paid to the external symbols invites them to inner reflection. All of this, combined with the presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Covadonga, allows them to have a profound experience of prayer and adoration.

Luis: In this third edition of World Youth Day – 2026, which brought together some 2,000 young people in Covadonga, the motto was: “ Do whatever He tells you .” In his homily at the opening Mass in the esplanade of the Sanctuary of Covadonga, Bishop Alfonso Carrasco Rouco of Lugo said:  “Man without God ultimately cannot stand on his own. We are made for great things, that is, for God. We need this immense greatness of God to be who we are.”

How would you translate these words into your personal life?

Certainly, man cannot sustain himself alone. This is a reality I observe as I mature. In the end, any human security crumbles: material possessions come and go, and they do not bring peace. Health also fades, for ultimately we will grow old. Ideologies are passing fads. Cultures and civilizations have also passed away. History shows us that all realities eventually pass away. Everything is in flux, and yet the human heart yearns for security, a firm rock upon which to build life. And then these words of the Lord resonate within me: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” And I say to myself: How true they are!

On the other hand, we are made for great things. When we are young, we imagine them as things that will have a visible impact on the realities of the world. But true greatness lies in being a child of God and living as such. Each of us is called to discover that love. There is no greater greatness than living in love and for love. And we can only achieve that greatness with the help of Our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why Bishop Alfonso Carrasco Rouco invited young people to establish a relationship of friendship with Jesus, to seriously consider this daily friendship with the Lord.

Raquel:   The official anthem of World Youth Day 2026 is entitled  “They Have No Wine.”  With that plea that the Virgin Mary addressed to Jesus at the wedding in Cana, the song introduces us to a prayer that expresses the longings for love and happiness in the hearts of so many young people, who confess, sometimes secretly, what the anthem’s refrain says:  “If you are with me, I am happy; I want nothing more than to be with you. I hear your Mother within me calling me to take one more step for you, to take it without hesitation. She tells us: ‘Do whatever he tells you. Thy will be done in me.'”

I would like to know how you make these words your own in your personal life.

Throughout my life, my priority has always been to do God’s will, because doing His will gives meaning to my life and guides everything I do. No matter what I do, everything, even the smallest and most insignificant thing, is directed toward God. As the refrain of this year’s World Youth Day anthem says: “If you are with me, I am happy.” And that happiness truly springs forth when my will is directed toward God.

Luis:   This year, the 2026 World Youth Day Festival focused on an orchestrated narrative work about the Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro . Twenty-five years ago, Father Rafael Alonso was inspired to write a musical about the lives of the seminarians of Barbastro, a community of young Claretian men, around 24 or 25 years old, who were training there in the seminary to become missionaries and then go out to spread the love of Jesus Christ throughout the world. They didn’t have time to do so, as they suffered the horrors of the Spanish Civil War and the terrible conflict between the two sides. The remains of one of them, Faustino Pérez, arrived at the basilica at the beginning of World Youth Day for veneration by young people during that weekend.

What did this orchestrated work, composed by Sister Karen Maria McMahon, SHM and written by Father Rafael, suggest to you?

It is a work that conveys the gravity of the events it narrates. To think that young people in the prime of their lives are led down a path of no return, subjected to the dilemma of renouncing their faith or giving their lives for it, is overwhelming. And what a firm witness they bear! What a teacher of life! For us, who so often become discouraged by difficulties and who frequently succumb to laziness, contemplating the lives of the martyrs is a clear call to a stronger, more steadfast faith, as well as to a greater commitment.

Raquel: At the Saturday afternoon Mass presided over by Bishop Ginés García, the Bishop of Getafe told the young people that  “when God is the center of life, life changes completely because my perspective changes, and with my perspective, my heart also changes. /…/ Pray, live in the presence of God, let your work, let your life reflect that presence of God .” Bishop Ginés invited the young people to dedicate time to the Lord so that they might conform their hearts to His, as Saint Benedict did in his time, whose feast day was being celebrated that very day.  

Do you think young people today are increasingly placing Jesus Christ at the center of their lives? Do you see a spiritual revival among Spanish youth?

There is undoubtedly a spiritual revival among Spanish youth, and this is evident in the constant and well-attended Eucharistic Adoration, in the Catholic concerts filled with young people singing and praying openly, and in events like World Youth Day, where more and more young people, thirsting for God, gather each year. I also see it in my own children, who don’t hide their faith, are proud of it, and are active in their faith. I also witnessed it during Pope Leo XIV’s recent visit to Spain, where young people proudly and tirelessly repeated: “This is the Pope’s youth!”

Luis: The grand Eucharistic adoration vigil before the Blessed Sacrament in the large esplanade of the Sanctuary of Covadonga was presided over by Fr. Luis José Fernández Candanedo, a priest of the Diocese of Oviedo. Afterwards, a procession took place to the Basilica to place the Blessed Sacrament there and thus begin the adoration in shifts throughout the night. The grand vigil is a very special moment of World Youth Day. Throughout the night, the young people had the opportunity to go to confession and adore Jesus in the Eucharist. With the first rays of the sun on Sunday, Fr. Rafael Alonso told the young people that  “the supreme meaning of our lives is to reach the Lord, to love the Lord in such a way that we deserve to possess eternal life.” “Cast aside all your fears,  ” Fr. Rafael said  , “and build a bridge so that the Lord can reach your soul.”

How do you think one can be a man or woman of prayer, as contemplative lay people in action, while living in the world?

World Youth Day is a privileged opportunity for young people to experience our need for God, for intimacy with Him, and that this intimacy is cultivated in prayer. Prayer is food for the soul, and we all need it. We all need an interior life that helps us face reality and see it not from our own perspective, but from God’s. It means distancing ourselves from our own will, our reason, and our feelings, and contemplating life from God’s point of view. And in the Lord’s presence, we contemplate reality, which becomes new and different for us. In this way, little by little, we place all our hope and all our strength in God, and not in our own strength and abilities.

That encounter we have with the Lord in prayer takes place in the deepest part of our being, in the heart, according to the biblical terminology. Then, throughout the day, in our daily activities, it’s always possible to connect with that depth of the heart, to step back at any moment and see God’s will in perspective. Ultimately, the constant connection with the Lord is realized through love. Try to put love into everything you do, and you will see God in every step you take. In this way, you will always remain united with Him.

Raquel: The Holy Rosary of the JEMJ 2026 began on Saturday afternoon in “El Pozón de Covadonga” – a pond located under the Holy Cave – and followed the massive procession through the Prince’s Park, carrying a small image of the Virgin Mary.

Father Mateo María, who led the Holy Rosary, began by saying:  “The Blessed Virgin Mary has withheld no grace for herself. She has opened herself perfectly to God’s work, and even continues to work in our favor every day of our lives. And why do we pray to her? Why do we come to her house? Why do we remember her? Because it is in her and through her, the humble handmaid of the Lord, that life has come to us. The light of the world came through her Immaculate womb, and everything began, also, through a ‘yes,’ the most perfect ‘yes,’ of which all of Heaven was and is a witness, and we are too. And that is why we pray to her as our Mother. We do not separate ourselves from her because she is the best Mother; she cares for us, clothes us in the grace of her Son, and helps us to be like children before God.”

 How do you live the path of spiritual childhood taught to us by Saint Teresa of Lisieux (or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus), to whom you have such devotion in your family?

I live it with great humility, following the example of Our Mother, with complete trust and surrender to God, expecting everything from Him, as a child expects everything from their father, knowing that without Him I can do nothing, and always trying to do His will. And all this with the help and example of the Saints, like our beloved Saint Thérèse.

Luis: During the Lauds prayer, in a brief reflection by Father David Cueto, the Abbot of the Sanctuary of Covadonga, he spoke to the young people regarding this year’s theme (“ Do whatever He tells you”):  “These are the words of the Virgin Mary for you, and you must listen to them today within your heart. Listen as the Virgin Mary speaks to you personally, ‘Do whatever He tells you.’ /…/ Become Eucharist.”   For it is not enough to believe in the Eucharist – said the Abbot of Covadonga  – “you must allow yourself to be transformed by the Eucharist, and it is not enough to attend Mass; you must enter into the mystery of the Eucharist, which is the mystery of self-giving love.”

 How do you personally experience this request to “become Eucharist” and the fulfillment of the Divine Will in your daily life?

The Eucharist is the summit and source of the Church’s life, and it should also be the summit and source of our own lives. For me, the Eucharist is nourishment. It’s not a repetition. It’s about constantly drawing near to the Lord, placing ourselves at his feet, letting him work on us. It’s about listening to his Word and allowing it to transform our mental structures, our constructs, the world’s criteria, which are not God’s criteria. In the Eucharist, Jesus Christ gives himself to the Father. And he asks us to give ourselves to him as well. This self-giving takes shape in our daily lives, and it presents itself in many ways: at home, with my wife, with my children, with my colleagues, with clients, with anyone who crosses our paths. Always keeping in mind that it is he who enlarges our hearts.

Raquel: The talk  “Eucharist: Source of Purity and True Love,”  given by Father Patxi Bronchalo, focused on the problems that torment young people today and cause them deep wounds in their hearts: pornography, screen addiction, drugs, alcohol, feeling unvalued and unloved, etc. However, Father Patxi told the young people that  “the Lord has the final word, and what moves the world is His love. Every generation needs a handful of dreamers, of eccentrics, who want to be saints. And that is Christianity. Those of us who follow Jesus, those of us who have truly believed that God loves us, that He wants us to be happy, and that we are called to help others and do good to others. We are called to make the world as God dreamed and as He envisioned it.”  Father Patxi also reminded the young people that God loves them just as they are, because the Lord is the friend who never fails.

It was curious how he showed the young people, wounded and enslaved by the temptations of evil, the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer in reverse.   “Deliver us from evil (or from the evil one) and lead us not into temptation; as we forgive those who trespass against us, forgive us our trespasses; give us this day our daily bread (the Eucharist and the Word); thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; thy kingdom come; hallowed be thy name, our Father who art in heaven.”

Finally, Fr. Patxi recommended the following to those attending the Day:  “Make the Eucharist the center of your lives.”

What does Holy Mass and the moments of adoration and praise in which you encounter Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament represent for you?

For me, Holy Mass is the central moment of the day, a constant yet ever-new miracle that reminds me that Jesus Christ died for me, and who am I to deserve this? Jesus is there in the bread and wine that become his Body and Blood. What friend would be willing to give his life for me? Only the one who loves me deeply: Jesus Christ. Both in Mass and in adoration, Jesus is truly present, inviting me to a profound encounter with Love.

Luis: On Sunday morning, the closing Mass of World Youth Day was celebrated in the esplanade of the Sanctuary of Covadonga, presided over by Archbishop Jesús Sanz Montes of Oviedo. In his homily, Archbishop Sanz Montes recalled that Pope Leo XIV, during his recent visit to Spain, repeatedly emphasized the importance of returning to the communion that unites us in  “that fraternity which has the ever-present reference point of God the Father who makes us brothers and sisters.”

Furthermore, the Archbishop of Oviedo indicated that  “we must not build the Babel that confuses us, but the city of God that unites us as brothers and sisters and accompanies us until we become saints.”

How do you understand holiness?

Holiness is participating in God’s love. It is living God’s very life. Jesus wants to give it to all of us; that is why he became incarnate, that is why he gives us the Eucharist, so that we may live as he lives.

The lives of the saints serve as inspiration, not for us to imitate them in the sense of repeating exactly what they did and how they did it, but to understand that the life God offers each of us is very real, unique, and unrepeatable. For God, each of us is unique and unrepeatable. Our journey through this world is founded on the constant trust that the Lord guides our lives. Let us, therefore, allow Him to work in us. Let us allow God to be God in our lives.

Raquel, Luis, thank you very much for the testimony you have given about your service to the Church as lay people, as well as the volunteering you have done at JEMJ 2026, an event that has already become a benchmark for summer meetings in Spain among young Catholics from different countries.

At the closing of World Youth Day 2026, the Archbishop of Oviedo read  a message  from Pope Leo XIV addressed to all those present. He then thanked Father Rafael Alonso and the Servants and Lay People of the Home of the Mother for their support and the successful organization of the event, and announced the theme for the 4th World Youth Day in 2027. This theme is taken from the Book of Revelation, chapter 10, which reads: “DO NOT BE AFRAID TO SUFFER.” For, like the young martyrs of Barbastro, young people in these challenging times are also willing to give their lives for Jesus Christ and for the establishment of the Civilization of Love.

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Video summary of JEMJ 2026.

All the events of the JEMJ 2026.

Official anthem JEMJ 2026.