ANOTHER CHRISTMAS WITH QUITE SOMETHING
Saint Dominic’s Priory, Dec. 27, 2010. – This Christmas is our fourth Christmas as a community in Macau. Following the tradition, just like any faithful awaiting a festive Christmas, we also prepared greeting cards, decorated the house, arranged the nativity scene and rehearsed Christmas carols for Masses and Christmas Eve performance. Yet this year is perhaps the first time ever since the establishment of the community that we could again experience a Christmas celebration with deeper joy and meaning.
Joining a group of retired policeman and teachers we set off for “Instituto De Menores” on December 18. Here we met a group of around 40 boys, from about 12 to 19 years of age. Guided by the policeman we began our activities with an impromptu prayer and the prayer to “Our Father.” Surprisingly, some of the inmates could recite the second one. Did they come from a Christian school!? We then had two hours together playing games, singing Christmas songs and finally sharing with them the snacks we had brought in. We went home with a good impression of these young friends: They were really an active but disciplined team!
Christmas Eve was probably the most busy and weary day of Christmas time. Nonetheless, the most joyful moment bursting at the end of the day, when “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” did make up for everything. Our 12-pew chapel which usually receives no more than 40 people now could seat a capacity crowd of around 70. There were at least seven nationalities unitedly present in this celebration. Amazing! Fr. Alejandro, the prior of the community and the celebrant at the Mass, said when he wished the congregation a Merry Christmas that this could be written as a new record. It was about midnight after the Mass. Everyone was then invited to join in a friendly party with the community.
On the two consecutive days later, with the help of a local friend, we formed a group of generous volunteers and again followed the retired policeman and the Beatitudes paying visits to the mentally disabled at St. Luis and St. Lucia centers. This time we did not have much to give them but music. With songs and dances we were trying to animate, uplift and share with them our Christmas joy. Some of them knew a good number of songs.
Some could dance quite well. Totally astounded, a question poses in my mind about the role of the intellectual, are they more human than these people? We realize that disabled people, as well as other unfortunate people, deserve more attention and compassion.
Is it only the young, the poor, the simple and the lonely, who are like the shepherds, that could understand Christmas!? Anyway, the fact was that when we reached out to herald Christmas joy to many people with our own life, many did come back to share their Christmas joy with us. A joy shared is a joy multiplied!
Peter Thoai