ST. DOMINIC’s PRIORY CHRONICLE:
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2011
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OUR VISITORS.- Mons. Dominic, a secular priest brother of Sr. Camino, OP, stayed with us for two brief days and one night. He came to Macau to visit his Dominican sister who was recuperating from a bad fall she had last October 19. Thanks God our sister and friend is recuperating and will be up and about by next December. St. Camino is helping in the pastoral program of St. Paul School. On Nov 9-10, the Provincial of the Irish Province, Fr. Patrick Lucey, OP, and his Companion, Fr. Benedict Moran, OP, visited our Priory. It was a brief and pleasant visit. Frs. Pat and Benedict are stopping in Hong Kong-Macau after visiting India and Australia. They just visited the members of their Irish Province ministering at present in the Dominican provinces of India and Australia, both â€daughters†of the Irish Province. Frs. Pat and Ben visited our Province to see the member of their Province working with us, Fr. Ben Mac Cionaoith, OP, our Director of Postulants in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Our brother the Irish Provincial presided at our concelebrated Mass. He mentioned in his homily the special links of the Irish and Our Lady of the Rosary provinces. During the first week of December 2011, Fr. Fernando Muñoz, OP, who was assigned to Yangon, Myanmar last year, visited us. Fr. Fernando lived with us before being assigned to our first house in Myanmar.
MEETING OF DOMINICAN EDUCATORS.- On November 21-24, the heads or representatives of Dominican Schools run by our Province met at St. Paul School Macau to exchange experiences, propose possible common concerns, objectives and strategies to strengthen and if possible improve the administration and their social, pastoral and Dominican programs. The educational centers and schools represented were. From Venezuela: College of Cristo Rey (San Cristobal), by Fr. Kleyver Jose GarcÃa, OP; Arzobispo Mendez (Barinas), by Oxalide Gonzalez; San Martin (Caracas), by Fr. Jorge Enrique Toloza, OP. From Japan: College of Aiko (Matsuyama), by Fr. Juan Manuel Gonzalo, OP; Kindergarten Schools Tenshi, Iyoshi and Uminohoshi, by Fr. Javier Lechon, OP. From the Philippines: Aquinas College (San Juan, Metro Manila) and San Lorenzo Ruiz School (Binondo, Manila), by Fr. Rafael Carpintero, OP. From Hong Kong: Rosaryhill School, by Fr. Francisco de las Heras, OP. From Macau: St Paul School, by Fr. Alejandro Salcedo, OP. The meeting was recommended by the latest Provincial Chapter of the Province (Hong Kong 2009). It was held in Macau. The Chairman of the meeting was our Prior Fr. Alejandro, Director of the School of Saint Paul, Macau. Our Priory was happy to be the host of our brothers-educators and Miss Oxalide Gonzalez.
REMEMBERING FR. LIONELÂ
November is the Christian month to remember our beloved dead. It is the month of the saints and the month of all the dead. On the last day of the month, November 30, Mr. Dennis Lam came from Canton (he lives in Canada) to pay his last respects to his dear and admired Dominican priest, Fr. Lionel Xavier, who was his High School Principal in Rosaryhill School, Hong Kong and at times served his Mass as acolyte. He visited our Priory and conversed with some of our Fathers. He told us that he was very grateful to Fr. Lionel Xavier, OP, for his kindness, his prayerfulness – and his great skill to play badminton: “He always beat me,†Mr. Lam said. Since the day Fr. Lionel was taken by the Lord to heaven, on October 19, 2011, many friends and former teachers and students have visited St Albert Priory in Hong Kong or our Priory in Macau to tell the Dominican Fathers how grateful they were for having known and being helped by Fr. Lionel. Indeed, he was a serene and lovable person. In his honor there is now the Fr. Lionel Xavier Fund for scholarships that in a few weeks has accumulated a good amount coming mainly from his friends and the Rosaryhill School alumni.
MEETING OF RELIGIOUS MEN AT OUR PRIORY.- On December 9, 2011 (and not on November 25, as earlier programmed), religious men of Macau held their monthly meeting at St. Dominic’s Priory. Eight religious men from different religious Congregations met to continue their informal and important meetings that began last year. It was presided by Fr. Victor Aguilar, MCCJ; Fr. John Ledesma, SVD, acted as secretary. The main point of the agenda was the contemplated pastoral center of the Diocese at the now unused Catholic Center of Macau. A Commission of nine persons (2 secular priests, 2 religious priests, one sister and 4 lay persons) is the one in charge of preparing a renewed pastoral program for the Diocese. It is interesting to note that the three priorities or columns of the pastoral program recommended to the Bishop of Macau, Mons. Jose Lai, are the following: evangelization, formation and hospitality. The religious men and women of Macau will soon be asked how they may help in the implementation of these priorities. After the sharing on those priorities and other points, the religious were informed and asked to inform their respective communities of coming important events. The religious men and women of Macau will celebrate together their feast day, that is February 2, 2012. Another important and relevant future happening will be the series of lectures or conferences to be organized in connection with the celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Vatican II, which will start in October 2012. The University of Saint Joseph and the religious of Macau will jointly sponsor and organize a series of lectures on the documents of Vatican II and their ongoing relevance. Moreover, this year the religious wish to revive an old tradition: their common Christmas Party, which will be held on December 30, 2011.
USJ: CHRISTMAS GREETINGS.- On December 16, 2011, the University of Saint Joseph celebrated from 12:00 noon on “Misa y Mesa†or Mass and Agape as its way to wish to all its constituents – administrators, professors, students, support staff and alumni - a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. The Solemn Concelebrated Mass was presided by Bishop Jose Lai, DD and concelebrated by Frs. Joao Eleuterio, Matthias Christian, SVD, Dionisio Cabezon, OP, and Fausto Gomez OP.
A good number of teaching and administrative staff, and students attended the Holy Eucharist, which was animated by the Dominican students – our brothers and the postulants of the Dominican Missionaries of the Rosary. In his homily, the bishop of Macau underlined the continuing significance of Christmas as the re-birth of Jesus, who comes to us in a special way every Christmas. To prepare for his birth we try to follow the advice of the prophet Isaiah: “Observe what is right and do what is just,†that is, practice the great virtues of justice and love. After Communion, Fr. Eleuterio, Deputy Rector of the University and Coordinator of the School of Christian Studies wished warmly a happy season. He underlined the fact that neither he nor the Rector invited those attending the Mass, but it was Jesus himself. He ended his remarks thus: “We all have accepted his invitation and, therefore, we have accepted him and his incomparable love for us. May you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!†The Mass ended with the Christmas song “Joy to the world,†joy to you and me. After the Eucharist, all those present were invited to an agape: a simple, rich and varied lunch. Indeed, it was a meaningful and enjoyable experience for the body and the soul.
CLOSING WORDS.- The members of our Priory had other invitations to welcome Christmas and the Year 2012, including one with our Fr. Provincial Javier, another with the School of St. Paul and still another with our Bishop Jose and Catholics of Macau. We attended and participated in different varied and wonderful programs to express gratitude, joy and hope. May we all be grateful, joyful and hopeful! To one and all:
BLESSED CHRITMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR
FELIZ NAVIDAD y PROSPERO AÑO NUEVO.
May the Lord Jesus be reborn in our life and may those around us notice it by the way we treat them with kindness and compassion!
“Acquire inner peace, and thousands around you will find liberation.† Amen! (FGB)