St. Margaret Mary’s Church
Volume 3
Happy Chinese New Year
February 2015
W hat does the Y ear of C onsecrated L ife mean to us?
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n November 2014, Pope Francis issued a letter, announcing that the year 2015 will be dedicated to Consecrated Life which will start throughout the universal Church on 30th November (First Sunday of Advent) until 2nd February 2016 (Feast of Presentation of Jesus in the Temple). In his letter, the Pope underlined the aims of the Year, viz. to look to the past with gratitude, to live the present with passion, and to embrace the future with hope. He said to the consecrated men and women: “I’m counting on you to ‘wake up the world’, since the distinctive sign of consecrated life is prophecy.” 1) Look to the past with gratitude: Praise and thank God for our history which recorded the high ideals, vision and values of all the saints and founders of the Church. The consecrated men and women will bear witness to the holiness and vitality before the world. 2) Live the present with passion: Follow Jesus as the Gospel teaches and live Gospel to the full. Consecrated men and women are called to serve the people with passion. They are a credible sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit who inspires in human hearts a passion for all to be one (Jn 17:21). The Pope advised the consecrated men and women to ask themselves a question during this year: “If and how we too are open to being challenged by the Gospel… The Gospel is demanding: it demands to be lived radically and sincerely. It is not enough to read it…nor is it enough to meditate on it… Jesus asks us to practice it, to put his words into effect in our lives.” 3) Embrace the future with hope: In this modern world full of uncertainties and difficulties, consecrated men and women are called to practice the virtue of hope, the fruit of our faith in the Lord of history, who continues to tell us: “Be not afraid… for I am with you.” (Jer 1:8) The hope is based on the One in whom we have put our trust, the One for whom “nothing is impossible”. The Pope repeated in his letter what he said to the members of ecclesial movements on the Vigil of Pentecost in 2013: “Fundamentally, the strength of the Church is living by the Gospel and bearing witness to our faith. The Church is the salt of the earth; she is the light of the world. She is called to make present in society the leaven of the Kingdom of God and she does this primarily by her witness, her witness of brotherly love, of solidarity and of sharing with others. “Radical evangelical living is not only for the religious,” he said, “it is demanded of everyone.” We shall all bear witness to how Jesus lived on this earth by denouncing the evil of sin and injustice, by practicing the Gospel approach of self-giving and fraternity, embracing differences and love of one another. The Pope asked consecrated men and women and all members of the Church to come out of ourselves and “go into all the world”, to “proclaim the Good News; you will find life by giving life, hope by giving hope, love by giving love.” Finally, the Pope invites every Christian community to experience this Year as a moment of thanksgiving to the Lord and grateful remembrances for all the gifts we continue to receive.
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“Marriage vow, Blessed Love”
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ixty-two pairs of blessed couples joining the event “ Marriage Vow, Blessed Love” organized by the Diocesan Pastoral Commission for Marriage and the Family is for sure one of the recent highlighted event of our parish which took place in late December, 2014. With the guidance of God, all of the blessed couples have all gone through a long marriage-run. Allelujah! During the event, mass was celebrated which offered the couples a chance to give thanks to God for giving them such a perfect partner in life. It was also an occasion to congratulate them on their endurance and successful ministry of love while commemorating the wedding anniversaries of the pairs. During the celebration, warm greetings and heartfelt blessings were exchanged. In this day and age, a 10 years or even 20 years of marriage-running miracle is definitely no small feat! In God this is made possible. As if attesting to fullness of life in God, many of the couples joining the event brought their children too. A family stays close together, learn how to love and to be loved with the guidance of God. It is God’s divine love flowing through the family that made them filled with adventures of faith and love. Time flies but it’s clear that the scene of exchanging vows in front of all the guests during the ceremony still make their eyes sparkles with love in each of them. It is glorious to see the grace, love, power and mercy of God, through the unity with the Holy Spirit in our lives, continually accomplish His will that has been announced at the very beginning, “A man shall leave his mother and father and the two shall become one flesh.” God by His grace is constantly working all the time throughout these twenty years, fulfilling His will with a penetrating love and sentiment among family members in union with Him. God is truly amazing. The blessed couples are living testimonies of God’s love in this day of broken marriages. It was an humbling experience in revisiting His incredible grace which turn everything into good in mysterious ways, without such blessings it’s easy to flounder to the wrecks of a brokenmarriage. Nevertheless, His overflowing mercy and grace in the Holy Spirit, it is more than enough to keep families in unity all the time. Happy anniversary to all the couples who have joined the “ Marriage Vow, Blessed Love” event. May God keep them in his light, guide them on his path!
The French Speaking Catholic Community in Hong Kong
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here have been more and more French people live in Hong Kong and consequently, the French Catholic Speaking community is growing. Here are a few figures to give you an idea of our community: more than 250 children and teenagers attend catechism, 50 families are supported in the preparation of the baptism of their child and 30 engaged couples prepare their wedding each year. Several activities, prayer groups and retreats are offered in French to satisfy diverse spiritual expectations. We also regularly enjoy festive moments; on Saturday 10th January, we shared the traditional Kings’ cake after the mass and on the next Sunday, 1st February, we visited the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. 0ur chaplain Father Rémy Kurowski celebrates the Sunday mass in French each Saturday at 6.30 p.m. in the chapel of Rosaryhill School (41B, Stubbs Road, the chapel is on 3rd floor). Everybody is more than welcome to attend. The French Catholic Speaking community is grateful to St. Margaret Church for hosting us in the parish and to the Dominicans for hosting us in their newly renovated chapel. Visit our website (in French): www.communautecathohk.com Send us an email: info@communautecathohk.com
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Spirituality & Religion in a Secular World John Main Seminar 15-18 January, 2015:-
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arrived at the Lecture Theatre, Waikato University, Hamilton, NZ. I looked at the seminar papers; Title of the Seminar: “Spirituality and Religion in a Secular World” ; “What on earth is that ?” I wondered. I was trying to interpret the title with what I thought I knew . . . Well, maybe this / maybe that . . Bingo ! . I congratulated myself for the instant talent ! . But it was only when Prof David Tacey, the speaker, started the Talk, I was able to explore the subject in depth ; each and every aspect of spirituality / religion / secular world came to life ; my earlier presumptions vanished ! . . . Most of the audience (who came with the thought that they are decent religious people) were soon hit by a mild case of cultural shock, as the speaker took them through the subject matter . . . He quoted Matthew Arnold’s poem: “Wandering between two worlds : one dead, and the other powerless to be born” . . . Indeed, the speaker was referring to the bulk of us nowadays, whose spirituality is hijacked by the secular world ! . . . He meant people are indiscriminately controlled by some invisible frame which has been set up by the Religious Organization. He said that traditional religious leaders would invariably give their followers a set of doctrine and ask them to accept ! The destination pointed by the Religious leader is correct, but most people fail to go the right way ! Why is that so ? . . . They got baptized and would soon (like their legalistic teacher) fall into the trap of original sin, forgetting original blessing ; the former would invariably make some feel guilty ; most of the rest would become hesitant to venture ! The negative effect of shame/guilt and the fear of being labelled as sinners deprived them of the opportunity to “live and grow” ! On the other hand, the religious are normally quite skeptical about spiritual exercises like meditation, particularly those involving a common platform with other religion(s) ! So , more often than not, we have a situation where religion and spirituality are in opposite camps. Prof Tacey encouraged the audience to explore and appreciate the mystical dimension ; this is where we experience God’s presence . . . Religion without spirituality is grossly inadequate !
Sharing by Paul So, SMC Meditation Group
John Main Seminar 15-18 January 2015
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urning a New Leaf from Within - Prof Tacey says in his enlightening and amazing talks that what we should do in our secular world is to follow genuinely the spirit of “Metanoia”, which means transformation. He urges us to “turn our life around” . . Matthew’s first word is “change”. Sacredness is not confined to church worship ; we need to dig deep into ourselves. He advocates reverence to Nature as St Francis of Assisi did, learning from the indigenous of their love for the land, as well as appreciating the grandeur of God from our soul, from the holy land, Israel : “Take off your shoes, for the place you stand is holy ground” (Ex 3:5). He quotes Karl Rahner’s prophetic saying: The future of a Christian will be a mystic, or he will not exist at all. Some might find it ironical that the rise of science is in fact leading to mysticism ! As a meditator having taken up daily meditation for over 10 years, Deo Gratias – it suddenly clicks! The continents (that of rationality and the craving for the Lord) within my soul are being merged and reconciled, with my fears and doubts subsided ! I realize God is open, is for every single human being who is sacred within, especially when we are celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the birth of St Teresa of Avila who experienced the Divine in her “interior castles”. I am so touched by Prof Tacey’s shout from within his soul : Bring the Monastery to the Street - People are hungry for the Divine, particularly the Young !!! Come to the SMC Meditation Group - Thursdays, 8:00pm Room 203, Parish Center, and experience God’s silence and stillness. Your life will not be quite the same !
Sharing by Lina Lee, Coordinator, The World Community for Christian Meditation (HK) A link to Prof Tacey’s Talk at the John Main Seminar , 2015:https://soundcloud.com/wccm/sets/john-main-seminar-2015-david
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Words from Gospel reading in Feb 2015 Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time Mark 1:21-28 All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” Cuarto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (San Marcos 1:21-28) Todos se quedaron tan asustados que se preguntaban unos a otros: “¿Qué es esto? ¡Una enseñanza nueva, pues lo hace con autoridad! Les da órdenes incluso a los espíritus malignos, y le obedecen.”
Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time Mark 1:29-39 Jesus cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him. Quinto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (San Marcos 1:21-28) Jesús sanó a muchos que padecían de diversas enfermedades. También expulsó a muchos demonios, pero no los dejaba hablar porque sabían quién era él. Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Mark 1:40-45 Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” Sexto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (San Marcos 1:21-28) Movido a compasión, Jesús extendió la mano y tocó al hombre, diciéndole: —Sí quiero. ¡Queda limpio!
Ash Wednesday Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 Jesus said to his disciples: “But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” Miércoles de ceniza (San Mateo 6:1-6,16-18) Pero tú, cuando te pongas a orar, entra en tu cuarto, cierra la puerta y ora a tu Padre, que está en lo secreto. Así tu Padre, que ve lo que se hace en secreto, te recompensará
First Sunday of Lent Mark 1:12-15 Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Primer Domingo de Cuaresma (San Marcos 1:12-15) Jesús se fue a Galilea a anunciar las buenas nuevas de Dios. “Se ha cumplido el tiempo —decía—. El reino de Dios está cerca. ¡Arrepiéntanse y crean las buenas nuevas!”
Article Contributions Welcome
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he newsletter is in many ways a ‘family letter’, facilitating the communication and sharing of
ideas between different groups in our parish. Therefore you will be most welcome to share with us your spiritual life and insights, parish activities and pilgrimage experience, etc. Text should be close to a full-A4 page length or half of it, with high resolution photos for print quality where relevant. We also welcome a simpler photo journal format with titles for the photos and may be a few lines to describe an event you have participated; it would be great to see different members of our family. Please send your contributions by email if possible; in case of handwritten manuscripts, please give it to the counter staff at the amenities building next to St. Margaret’s Church. Originals will not be returned so please make copies if
By post: St. Margaret’s Church (Newsletter) 2A Broadwood Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong. Fax: 25769764 Email: smc@catholic.org.hk
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