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    A week long basic catechism seminar was held during the time break of Chinese Lunar New Year at St. Dominic’s Priory, Macau. The lectures started on February 3 and ended on February 7, 2014. The special lecturer was Ms Helene Reichl, a consecrated lay person, who works for the Kingdom in Taiwan; she originally comes from Germany. Twenty two simply professed brothers, including two from St. Albert Convent in Hong Kong, participated in the interesting and fruitful week-long course.
     The major aim of the program was to enhance the knowledge of the Dominican brothers on the the catechism, an essential subject matter for our future apostolate as Dominican priests.
     The two-hour daily sessions started at ten in the morning and ended at noon. The daily lecture opened with a song. The lectures were mostly based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). Some themes were underlined and presented by the lecturer, in particular liturgical ministries, the liturgy of the Mass and its celebration according to the standards of Vatican II.
     Ms. Helene, a renowned speaker on the subject, mixed wonderfully the doctrinal content of the lectures with her own varied experiences during her missionary work in Taiwan. She also shared with us the questions raised to her by non-Catholics. According to her, it is crucial for those who are preparing to carry out the mission of Christ, to acquire a deep knowledge of the following points: the celebration of the Mass, the liturgy of the Hours, the general instruction of the Roman Missal, the importance of the Creed, the detailed instruction of the liturgy of the Mass as well as the different liturgical ministries. Every lecture was followed by a lively open forum.
     The Dominican community is very grateful to Ms Helene Reichl for giving us her time and sharing her wisdom and life. By the way, Ms. Helene is the founder of the Epiphany Covenant Community of consecrated lay women. She had been ministering in Taiwan for over fifty years.
Thanks to the Holy Spirit, the course ended up successfully and meaningfully.
Bro. Mikele Gei, O.P
