On March 10, 2013, Brother Sebastian Lee Skang Hoon, O. P., made his Solemn Profession within the Mass of the Fourth Sunday of Lent at our St Dominic’s Priory in Macau. Bro. Sebastian is from Korea.
The main celebrant of the Eucharist was Fr. Javier Gonzalez, O. P., Prior Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary. Ten Dominicans and two secular priests concelebrated with Fr. Javier. The Chapel was fully packed. The faithful were members of the the Korean Community in Macau, the participants in our Sunday Masses, our Dominican Brothers and Sisters including the postulants, and friends of Bro. Sebastian and of our Priory.
Bro. Sebastian made his Solemn Profession for life before Fr. Javier, promising obedience to the Master of the Order, Fr. Bruno Cadoré, O. P. It was a joyful celebration animated by meaningful songs and prayers led by our Dominican brothers and Sisters.
The Province of the Holy Rosary rejoices! Little by little and consistently the number of brothers getting ready to be missionaries is growing. This month of March 2013, the Province rejoices also for the Solemn Profession of our Brother Paul, member of St. Albert Convent in Rosaryhill, Hong Kong; for the Ordination to the Deaconate of our brothers Philip Soreh and John Bosco, members of the House of the Most Holy Trinity in Rome, and Brother Juan Franco Pérez, O. P., member of the House of St. John Macias in Cáceres, Spain.
For so many blessings – and more to come -, thanks be to God!
The Prior Provincial Rev. Fr. Javier González Izquierdo OP and the brethren of the Dominican Province of Our Lady of the Rosary request the honor of your presence to share with us this joyous occasion when our brother Sebastiano Lee Sanghoon OP will make his solemn profession as a friar preacher.
The profession will be held during the conventual Mass at Saint Dominic’s Priory, 39-41 Avenida Sidonio de Pais, Macau
on 10 March, 2013 Sunday at 11:00 in the morning.
A fraternal agape will follow after the liturgy
“Thank you, Pope Benedict XVI†fr Bruno Cadoré on behalf of the entire Dominican Family
Most Holy Father,
I ask you to accept the immense gratitude of the Order of Preachers for the great generosity and beautiful simplicity with which you have exercised your ministry, ‘a humble worker in the Lord’s vineyard’. The Brothers, Nuns, Apostolic Sisters, Lay Dominicans and the entire Dominican Family join me in assuring you of our communion in prayer and thanksgiving.
On several occasions during your ministry, in the course of your teaching, you evoked some great figures of holiness that God by His grace has given to the Order of Preachers. It was for us a strong invitation to draw anew and constantly from the source of the charism of St. Dominic.
When you did me the honor of receiving me, you insisted that the Order should deploy its rich tradition of “study and worship” and take its place in the “new evangelization†to which you have invited the Church in continuity with the Second Vatican Council.
This reminder, I believe, provides us with the horizon in view of which we are preparing to celebrate, in 2016, the eighth centenary of the confirmation of the Order of Preachers. I ask you to assist us with your prayers, that the Lord may grant us the grace always to seeks always to serve the Church and its unity, “totally committed to the evangelization of the Word of God†as it was expressed by Pope Honorius III.
fr Bruno Cadoré, OP
Master of the Order-
See more at:http://www.op.org/en/content/thank-you-pope-benedict-xvi-fr-bruno-cadore-op#sthash.9QVRbhxt.dpuf
Our arrival at the capital Dili on 19 of January was with a greatreception by the Dominican Sisters in Timor and by the Secretary of the Bishop at the Airport. There were also some other priests and Sisters.
 On the same day of our arrival, the Bishop welcomed us in his residence and invited us to collaborate with the Diocese of Dili in the quasi-Parish of Hatudo, in the southern part of the Island, about 120 kilometers from Dili and a 5 hour trip by car. He provided us transportation (his own car and driver) to go and see the Mission for us to know firsthand about the people and the state of the Mission.
The Parish Priest of Same (the parish under which our Mission is) welcomed us into his home, where we stayed overnight, and gave us a presentation of our Mission of Hatudo; the following day he accompanied us personally there. It is a district with about 11,000 inhabitants, with a territory that is quite big and comprises 5 chapels. In the centre of the Mission (Leo Lima), beside the main chapel, there is a community of Timorese Canossian Sisters and a house for the priests, which is currently being remodeled to accommodate us.
We were told that by the end of the month, they will finish it and then we can enter to live in it. There is electricity but not running water. The Mission also has a new kindergarten, various primary and secondary schools. But some are in a very poor state.
Mission in Hatudo received us well. They are very amiable, simple and they like to tell us what they do. They seem to be well dedicated to their ministry.On the roads one can see children walking kilometers every day (an average of 5 or 6) to go to schools, some of them of the government, which were recently built while others are still under construction. The landscape is beautiful but the land seems to be very poor as it is rocky thus being not apt for planting. The climate is very warm and many trees had just been cut down along the roads to give way to the light posts. It is a Mission that is in great need and it will demand much sacrifice and great apostolic zeal. The people are simple, happy and receptive. For them the priest is almost a “god†whom they respect and admire. The clergy of the mountainous places which we passed through in our trip towards theThe people live in small settlements not very dispersed but always beside the principal roads, which are all in bad state. There are many typical Timorese houses which are built over some tree logs, with the domestic animals living under them in the open; the houses are made of bamboo and of thatched straw roofs. The people principally dedicate themselves to agriculture and they work in the mountains which are about a few kilometers away from the villages. They all go to work on their feet.
During these 10 first days, aside from trying to get to know all the members of the Dominican Family in Timor Leste, which is composed of the Dominican Sisters of the Rosary and the Portuguese Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena, we also took the opportunity toknow the other religious in Dili, the Major and Minor seminaries, the Nuncio and those in charge of the Spanish collaboration in Timor Leste. Everyone intimated to us their vision of the Church and of her concern for making Timor Leste a place that is more humane and moredignified.
We have only been here for a few days. The arrival always causes a great impact for the cultural change, but little by little we have already started to adjust ourselves to this new form of life and especially to its people. The good reception which we have received everywhere makes us feel more and more integrated in this country, where almost five hundred years ago, our Dominican Portuguese brethren sowed the seeds of faith.
                                    Fr.Ruben
On February 9, 2013, St. Dominic’s Priory said ‘Good bye’ to the old Year of the Dragon with a dinner at home tastefully cooked by our brothers. We had then two special guests and friends of the community: Frs. Peter Stilwell, Rector of the University of St. Joseph and Joao Eleuterio, Dean of the Faculty of Christian Studies of the same university. After the sumptuous dinner, our student brothers went to the city to enjoy the colorfully lighted city of Macau, especially the Casino districts. (In case you do not know, there are at present forty four casinos in Macau)
The Chinese New Year, the Year of the Snake, was welcomed by the Priory with a Solemn Mass and a lunch of tasteful Chinese food. As the first day of the New Year (January 1, 2013) we celebrated the Feast of the Motherhood of Mary, the first day of the Chinese New year (this year February 10, 2013) we commemorated the Feast of Our Lady of China. After communion, a lovely touch: The giving of simple gifts (in red or yellow envelopes, of course!) to our faithful brothers and sisters who attend regularly our Sunday Mass. What was the simple gift? A five-mystery Rosary made by our brothers in China!
After the celebration of the Eucharist, all the members of the community, that is, thirty one (31) shared a good lunch with the usual kinds of Chinese dishes in a Macau restaurant. After the dessert, Fr. Prior Alex distributed the traditional red or yellow envelopes – this time with some money, as custom demands – to each member of the community. By the way, we were thirty, and a few days ago became thirty one: Brother Antoninus from China joined our community to pursue a master’s degree at the Catholic University of St. Joseph. Most welcomed, Brother!
The Chinese families celebrate the New Lunar Year with great solemnity, exemplary harmony and serene joy – and at times with some accompanying fire crackers to keep the bad spirits away. On February 10, 2013, the Year of the Snake began. The Chinese Horoscope assigns the twelve Zodiac sings of the year to different months. The first month is given to the rat, and the last to the pig. The sixth month is the Month of the Snake. The snake in this case is a symbol of wealth, progress, courage and of finding solution to difficult problems. We Christians living in this part of the world add a deeply religious meaning: the year of Our Lady as Our Lady of China. May the Year of the Snake, the Year of Our Lady be for all a hopeful and happy year!
