 Pope Francis just released today his first apostolic exhortation, titled Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel).
The Pope has written Evangelii Gaudium in response to the October 2012 Synod on the New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, in which he encourages and challenges Catholics to action rather than to simply define Church doctrine.
Interestingly, the very first apostolic exhortation was published in 1975 by Pope Paul VI after the 1974 synod on evangelization. Titled Evangelii Nuntiandi (Evangelization in the Modern World), the document aimed to define evangelization and explore how to carry it out in today’s increasingly secular world. Although the document bore Pope Paul VI’s signature, large chunks were written by a young Polish bishop, Karol Wojtyla, who would later become Pope John Paul II.
As we all know, that same Pope John Paul would instigate the New Evangelization, a springtime of faith and the topic of the 2012 synod to which Pope Francis devotes his exhortation. It’s beautiful to see this harmony among popes and how this new exhortation fits neatly into the teaching history of the Church.
Peter Thoai, O.P.
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“The Church is a mother… a good mother can recognize everything that God is bringing about in her children, she listens to their concerns and learns from them.”
Pope Francis
Two student brothers of our St. Dominic Center of Studies were awarded scholarships by the University of Saint Joseph on November 12, 2013. The awarding ceremony was held at the chapel of St. Joseph Seminary in Macau.
The two student brothers granted scholarships were Brother Joseph Tran Van Huong and Brother Francis Naw San of the USJ Faculty of Christian Studies. The program was opened by Professor Peter Stilwell, Rector of the University, who congratulated the scholars and expressed the gratitude of the university to the donors of the scholarships. Two awardees, Kornelius Bardata and Sandra Ng Ka Man, expressed their gratitude on behalf of the sixty six awardees from the various faculties of the university. The different donors presented the individual certificates to the students.
Besides the University of Saint Joseph, the other twenty three donors from different social, cultural and academic institutions of Macau, plus some generous individuals, offered the USJ community scholarships directed to cover fully or partially the tuition fees of the higher education students.
The 2013 Scholarship Award Ceremony was attended by a good number of professors and students of the university. The program closed with a group photo of all the participants in front of the impressive baroque chapel.
A simply professed Dominican student brother finished his institutional studies with the presentation and defense of his thesis at the Seminary Hall on November 14, 2013. He presented his work before a tribunal of three professors of the Faculty of Christian Studies of the Catholic University of Saint Joseph.
Brother Peter Phan Ngo Xuan Thoai, OP defended successfully his thesis entitled New Evangelization in the Digital World: A Dominican Approach. Brother Peter who is from Vietnam developed his work in three parts: evangelization in the present time, the Presence of God in the Digital World, and a Dominican approach to the new evangelization in the digital world.
The panel of interrogators was composed of the following: Professor Joao Eleuterio, Chairman; Professor Arnold Monera, Chief Examiner, and Professor Fausto Gomez, OP, Supervisor. After his presentation and defense, the candidate was awarded the honor of Summa Cum Laude.
Brother Peter Thoai, fraternal and joyful congratulations for a work well done!
Saint Dominic’s Center of Studies officially began its series of formation courses for Christian and Religious Life on Saturday afternoon (9 Nov 2013) at Saint Paul’s School, Macau.
The two new courses for school year 2013-2014 started with some welcoming remarks from Fr. Javier González, Prior Provincial. Then there was an introduction to the Center of Studies by Fr. Edmond Eh, Moderator. Fr. José Luis de Miguel, Assistant master of Students delivered the introduction to his course: “Liturgical Symbols and Psalms.†The topic for the day was “The Way as Symbol.†Fr. Jarvis Sy, Master of Students, next delivered the introduction to his course: “Evangelical Counsels in the 21st Century.â€
After the introductory lectures, the students and other participants were invited to choose one of the two courses and to register. The session ended with a concluding prayer in the school chapel. (EE)
