On March 18, 2015, the University of Saint Joseph, the Catholic University of Macau celebrated its patron saint, St. Joseph, with a solemn Mass at the chapel of the Seminario of St. Joseph at 12:30 in the afternoon.
The Mass was presided by the Bishop of Macau, the Most Rev. Joseph Lai, DD, and concelebrated by eleven priests from the diocesan clergy and different religious congregations, including the Dominican Order. Fr. Peter Stilwell, the Rector of the University of Saint Joseph was among the concelebrating priests. The Eucharistic celebration was animated by liturgical songs rendered well by the students of the Faculty of Religious Studies of the University of Saint Joseph, including our twenty student brothers. The Holy Mass was attended by the professors and students of the Faculty of Religious Studies and some other professors and students from other university faculties, and by the support staff of the university.
The Mass was followed by a simple fraternal agape generously provided by the Seminario of Saint Joseph.
In the same context, our Priory of Saint Dominic celebrated the solemnity of Saint Joseph on his day, which is March 19. In the Eucharistic celebration, the community prayed for all the brothers whose name is Joseph and, in particular, for our brothers who compose the community of St. Joseph House in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. Some of our brothers, moreover, went to Kowloon Tong in the afternoon to share in the dinner/agape prepared by St. Joseph House, which is also the house of the Provincial Curia.
The Religious Association of Men & Women in Macau cordially invites you to
A Lecture on
Quality of Life in Religious LifeÂ
 By Fr. FelicÃsimo MartÃnez, OP
The speaker is a well-known theologian and expert on religious life. He is a visiting professor at the Faculty of Religious Studies of the University of Saint Joseph.
  Date: March 25, 2015 (Wednesday)
Time: 6.30-8.00 PM
Place: Bishop’s house Conference Hall
(Second Floor)
Macau
(For any further informations kindly contact Fr. Fausto 62318896 / 28763637 or Fr. Jojo 62691296)
Dominican students from the communities of Hong Kong and Macau gathered together at Saint Dominic’s Priory in Macau to attend a one week course on “Dominican Preaching.†The interesting and enlightening mini-course was given by a Korean Dominican priest, Fr. John Kim Sang Tae on February 22 – 27, 2015. Fr. Kim is at present the Regent of Studies of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Based on the book “De Eruditione Preadicatorum†by Humbert of Romans, who was the fifth Master of the Order, Fr. Kim shared his knowledge of preaching the Word of God in today’s world. Taking advantage of the holidays in celebration of the Lunar New Year, about twenty simply professed students participated in the course.
The speaker started the course on preaching by explaining the definition of preaching as a mode of communication comprising multiple ministries. He distinguishes five kinds of preaching, namely: Evangelical preaching designed for non-believers; Catechetical preaching aimed at catechumens; Didactical preaching directed to those who are already Christians; Liturgical preaching focused on the homily during the Mass or assembly of worship; and Witnessing of life preaching by living a good Christian life.
Based on classical work “De Eruditione Preadicatorum†of Humbert of Romans, Fr. Kim dealt with the following six major questions for the preachers: why preach, what to preach, how to preach, what effects from preaching, what preachers should consider concerning the listeners, and who are the preachers.
Indeed, preachers are the instruments of God for the salvation of humanity and for spreading the kingdom of God throughout the world. In a profound sense, a preacher is a true prophet who brings God’s message to the people. In doing so, prayer and contemplation are urgently necessary. Above all, a preacher is a witness in the Church. He has to live what he preaches as Jesus told the apostles: “You are my witnesses†(Acts 1:8; Luke 24:48). Being a member of the Order of Preachers, a Dominican preacher like his Father Dominic is an itinerant preacher: “St. Dominic discovered his mission ‘on the road’, and sent his brothers to preach ‘on the road’.†However, Fr. Kim reminded us not to have a wrong motivation for travelling for worldly affairs in order to escape the community life, which is one of the Dominican four pillars.
Throughout the course, the young students were urged to study well the Sacred Scriptures and the teachings of the Church. Humbert of Romans writes: “The two Testaments are like rocks for preachers.†Likewise, another major important element is prayer. In this context, the Fundamental Constitution of the Order states: “Preaching and teaching should issue from contemplation.†The motto of the Order coined by St. Thomas Aquinas says it well: “Contemplata Aliis Tradere.†In the end, Humbert says, a preacher is a messenger who receives a message from God and delivers it to the people.
Let me close with a few data on our speaker. Fr. John Kim Sang Tae is the second ordained priest from South Korea of the Dominican Province of Our Lady of the Rosary. He made his first profession on the 4th of February 2001, and finished his bachelor’s degree in Theology at the Catholic Seminary in Seoul, Korea. He received his Licentiate and Master of Arts in Religious Life from the Institute of Consecrated Life in Asia (ICLA), Quezon City, Metro Manila. (The institute is affiliated to the Dominican University of Santo Tomas in Manila) Fr. Kim received his Doctorate in Theology from the Pontifical University of Santo Tomás (Angelicum), Rome. At present, he is assigned at the Dominican community in Ansan, South Korea, and is the Director of the Confraternity of the Rosary.
Bro. Paul Win Aung Myint, OP
St. Dominic’s Priory, Macau
101st Celebration of WDMR, Macau
January 18th, 2015.
The program of “Migrant Day†began with the mass by the Bishop of Macau and concelebrated with the priests from different congregations and different nationalities at St. Augustine Church. The mass began at 10:30 am and around 800 migrants attended the mass. The purpose of this Migrant Day is that not to look at the differences that we have but to appreciate what we have in common. Those are the people who migrated to Macau with different purposes and different reasons. Just as the Bishop said in his homely “We are one, we are the same in God’s family no matter what our nationality is or where we come fromâ€. The motto of this celebration is “Church without frontiers, Mother of all.†During the mass, the Bishop made different intentions for the migrants.
After the mass was followed by agape buffet lunch at the St. Joseph auditorium. There were different kinds of food from different countries. After lunch, there was cultural shows from different countries. They are— Philippine traditional dance performed by Philippine community. Myanmar (Burmese) traditional water festival dance, performed by Myanmese (Burmese) community. Indonesia traditional dance, Vietnam traditional dance, East Timor traditional dance was performed by Dominican Sisters from East Timor and others performances were performed in singing traditional songs. The Dominican Brothers and the Dominican Sisters from Myanmar performed Karen (Kayin) traditional dance. All the people enjoyed showing their own traditional performances and watching others traditional performances. All, those who participated in this program could feel the togetherness and being one in God’s love. As the motto says, Church without frontiers, those people from different countries did not feel the wall between them that they are in the same family of the Mother Church.
(Macau, February 2, 2015): The celebration of the Day of Consecrated Life took place at the Fatima Church, especially adorned for the occasion, where some two hundred religious, women and men, old and young, from far and near, belonging to a rich variety of cultures, speaking different languages, etc., but sharing the same Spirit, gathered on the second of February, day of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple and Day of the Consecrated Life.
Under the motto “Consecrated Life brings joy and hope to Peopleâ€, faithfully reflecting the atmosphere of the weeks previous to the celebration, and at the rhythm of the Hymn “Wake the World with Dawning Joyâ€, written ‘ad hoc’ by Steven C. Warner, and interpreted by our young brothers and sisters, eventually joined by the whole assembly present, the Paraliturgy began with a Solemn procession with the Book of Holy Scriptures, accompanied by a representative of every Congregation/Institute present in Macau, holding a small lit candle. Then, the Enthronement of the Holy Bible and a Prayer led by the Right Reverent José Lai, Bishop of Macau, followed.
 
Next we listened to some words, in Chinese and English, from Saint Paul (1Th 5: 16-18), and the Hole Father (from his Letter to Religious Life), alternating with some religious songs suitable for the moment.
One of the aspects that was meant to be highlighted during the celebration was the prophetic, testimonial dimension of the Consecrated Life, so frequently mentioned by Pope Francis. This was the moment to let two lay voices be heard: that of Jorge, a Macau historian who talked briefly to us (in English) about how Religious Life has brought joy and hope to the people of Macau from its very beginnings; and that of a young man, Chiu Heung Sing, (in Chinese), witness of a very touching recent incident, where a consecrated person has brought joy and hope to people very close to him.Â
After a few words by the Bishop, the ceremony contemplated to have the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, which ended with the Prayer of the year of Consecrated Life (Chinese and English) and the concluding Hymn.
The fraternal dinner that ensued, livened up by the choir members, was a present from people who wanted to manifest their acknowledgement and gratefulness to the Religious of Macau. To them our most sincere and heart-felt thanks and God’s blessings.
St. Dominic’s Priory. Macau.
