Lord, You looked at me; smiling you have pronounced
my name; in the sand I have left my boat, at your side,
I will seek other shores (“Fisher of Menâ€)
On January 16, 2013 the Dominican Province of Our Lady of the Rosary celebrated with solemn simplicity the traditional “Sending Off†of two missionaries to East Timor. The meaningful ceremony took place at St. Dominic’s Priory, Macau and was attended by the twenty three simply professed brothers of our Studentate, and twelve priests from the Priory St. Dominic and from our Dominican communities in Hong Kong, Zhu Hai and Myanmar. The Prior Provincial of the Province, Fr. Javier González, OP, led the concelebrated Eucharist and, within the Mass, the Order of Blessing and Sending of Missionaries.
The Eucharist began with the moving song Pescador de hombres (Fisher of Men). The Responsorial Psalm continued with another inspiring song, Here I Am Lord, which introduced us to the first reading. The first reading was taken from the prophet Jeremiah (1:4-10), and the second reading, from the Gospel of Matthew (28:16-20).
Before I formed you I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you… Lord, I said, ‘I do not know how to speak, I am only a child!’ Yahweh replied: You must go to all to whom I send you… Do not be afraid, for I am with you (Jr)
Jesus appeared to the disciples and spoke to them: ‘Go, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. I am with you always; yes, to the end of time’ (Mt)
 Fr. Provincial expressed his deep gratitude to Frs. Ruben and Gerson Javier for accepting the invitation to start the mission in East Timor and assured them of the continuing prayers and help of the Province. In East Timor everybody knows that the Portuguese Dominicans were the first missionaries there. With the opening of this mission, the Dominican friars of our Province will re-open and renew our significant historical presence in that part of Southeast Asia. By the way, at Present two congregations of Dominican Sisters work for the Lord in East Timor: The Congregation of Dominican Missionaries of the Rosary and the Congregation of St. Catherine of Siena of Portugal. After the homily, the ceremony of the Blessing and Sending of Missionaries followed, and the Blessing and Imposition of the Missionary Cross. Our two brothers Ruben and Gerson Javier were blessed and prayed over and given the Missionary Cross.
After communion, the new missionaries of East Timor were given two special gifts: the statues of our Lady and of St. Dominic. On behalf of the two, Fr. Ruben expressed his gratitude to Fr. Provincial for choosing and trusting them. He spoke humbly of their new adventure for the Kingdom: “Certainly, we are not better than others who could have been chosen instead of us. Still, he added, “we believe that God is and will always be with us. This is not our mission but the mission of the Province and of the Order. I have to say candidly that God was with me in my previous missions – I felt his presence -, and He will be with us in East Timor. We are in his hands.â€
The joyful celebration was closed, following the old tradition of our Province, with the singing of the Salve Regina to Our Lady of the Rosary and the O Spem Miram to our Father St. Dominic. East Timor, or Timor Leste, the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste is a member of the United Nations, a developing country in Southeast Asia with great material and spiritual resources. With the Philippines, East Timor is the other predominantly Catholic country in Asia. The small country with nearly one million and two hundred thousand people has three dioceses: Dili, Baucau and Maliana. Our new Dominican mission is located in the Diocese of Dili. The main three languages spoken in East Timor are Portuguese, Tetum and Bahasa. Before coming here to Hong Kong and Macau, our brothers Ruben and Gerson Javier spent months in Lisbon learning Portuguese. Up to the present, there are strong historical links between East Timor and Macao – both former Portuguese colonies –, and between the Dioceses of Macao and East Timor.
Accompanied by Fr. Provincial, Frs. Ruben and Gerson Javier flew to Dili on January 18, 2013. From Dili the three will proceed to the parish of Hatudo, a town located in the region of Ainaro. In this town, south of East Timor, the Dominicans will start their pastoral work and serve the local Church and preach the Good News that is Jesus Christ.
East Timor is calling!May Our Lady of the Rosary and our Father Saint Dominic be always with the new missionaries in East Timor – and with us all!
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold your people in my heart
Hundreds of migrants – from all over the world and working in Macau – celebrated the 99th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on January 13, 2013, the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord that closes the Christmas Season. The celebration began with a Solemn Mass at St. Augustine Church, a monumental Church, which is part of the great Macau Heritage. After the Eucharist, other activities, including lunch and program, were held at St. Joseph’s Auditorium. The theme for the 99th World Day of Migrants and Refugees is “Pilgrimage of Faith and Hopeâ€. Among those who fully packed the Church and the Auditorium were some of our students from Korea, Vietnam and Myanmar.
During the Eucharistic celebration, the Most Rev. Bishop of Macau Jose Lai encouraged in his homily the faithful to help strengthen the unity of all the migrants with their sole faith in Christ, in whom all humanity is saved. He said that we all are migrants in a certain sense, because we are all pilgrim on the way to the house of the Father. The Eucharistic celebration was very colorful: the prayer of the faithful was proclaimed by 15 different persons in their own language and dressed in their respective beautiful national dress. The contagious smile of all the participants was so meaningful that a visitor, Indian priest Fr. James interpreted it as the universal language of “LOVEâ€. He said in his short inspirational message: “I’ve found the meaning of the universal language “Loveâ€. We speak many different languages; in fact, however, there is only one language, that is, the language of Love. We react in many ways, but truly there is only one universal reaction: to smileâ€.
At St. Joseph’s Auditorium, a special guest delivered the main inspirational message to all the migrants and refugees in Macau: Prof. Arnold Monera from the University of Saint Joseph. Professor Monera said that migration is a right and the host governments must not use migrants as an object to develop their countries, but must respect the rights of all the migrants: the migrants are active co-workers for their countries’ development. He added that the migrants, in return, must respect the laws of the country in which they are currently living and must be law-abiding citizens. The whole crowd was pleased with his hope-filled message, and showed its appreciation with a loud and sustained applause. In the cultural program, many different groups performed their well-prepared numbers, which manifested the culture of their respective country; some migrants shared their experiences on the journey of migration. A Chinese group of the choir of St. Lawrence Church entertained the audience with lovely songs; a lady from the group shared her religious experience that changed her life totally and that made her proclaim joyfully: “I am Catholic; I’ll be a Catholic till I dieâ€. It was a touching moment for all the migrants and Catholics. Bishop Jose Lai gave the closing remarks centered on the motto “Pilgrimage of Faith and Hopeâ€. Again the good Bishop encouraged all the participants to stand firm on the Faith that leads us to the Hope which makes our life so meaningful and alive.
Finally one of the directors of the Migrants Day, a religious priest from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) expressed his thanksgiving to God, to the Church of Macau, to Bishop Jose Lai and to all the participants. He cheered all for the successful celebration of the 99th World Day of Migrants and Refugees and asked them all to look forward to next year’s celebration: the celebration of the 100th World Day of Migrants and Refugees in January 2014.
After 52 years, a theological project of dizzying magnitude has finally been completed. In September, the final volume of the Japanese translation of the Summa Theologica was published, the last of 45 volumes of the defining work of St Thomas Aquinas.
Ryosuke Inagaki, a professor emeritus of Kyushu University who translated 20 of the volumes and stuck with the project until the very end, says that despite the huge amount of time required he has not come away from the task with memories of having “worked hard.â€
“Thomas’ writing is like a piece by Bach, with a rhythm that makes it easy to approach. Once I got into the translation, it went pretty quickly,†says Inagaki. He tried to make progress each day, he adds, devoting the time between waking up and eating breakfast to this long series of books.
Written for novices of Christianity over a period of nine years from 1265, but never completed, the Summa Theologica tackles all the big questions confronting mankind, from creation to the existence of God, the latter summed up in five arguments known as the “five ways.†But according to Inagaki, “it would be a mistake to think it is supposed to be the answer to every question. Instead, the Summa Theologica is a roadmap for life.â€
Baptized during his time as a college student, 84-year-old Inagaki discovered St Thomas through some priests he met and a high-ranking American officer who was stationed in Japan after World War II.
Japan’s first introduction to the Summa Theologica came courtesy of the economist Tokuzo Fukuda who died a decade before the outbreak of the war.
While studying in the US, Inagaki later researched Thomas’ conception of natural law theory as well as the constitution of Japan. He joined the translation project when it was still in its 11th volume. Some 15 people had a hand in the recently-finished translation with more than half having died during the time it took to complete.
Two days after the completion of the galley proof of the final Japanese volume in May last year, the elderly founder of the publishing house responsible passed away. Pulling out a letter from the publisher written in 2011, Inagaki notes the emphatic words of support for the lengthy, time consuming translation process which was then in its final stages. Inagaki has held dear the writings of St Thomas for decades as the owner of an American, 1952-published copy of the pocket edition of the Summa for the mass market, My Way of Life.
 “This title really brings out the defining features of the Summa Theologica,†he says. “[St Thomas] wanted to write a roadmap for people who really and truly seek happiness.â€
The General Promoter of the Order of Preachers visited our Priory on January 6, 2013. He was accompanied by Fr. Provincial Javier from Hong Kong. His stop in Hong Kong-Macau is part of his journey through the Region.
Fr. Eric Salobir, OP, stayed with us up to January 8 and conversed with the Dominican priests and the student brothers on issues related to the apostolate of the Order through Mass Media, particularly by the use of internet and online new stages of evangelization and preaching. He gave a talk to our students and invited them to write for the Priory’s web www.dominicansmacau.org As General Promoter, Fr. Eric is in charge of the web page of the Order www.op.org and of the monthly online publication IDI. He had some time to visit St. Paul’s School and the emblematic places and monuments of Macau.
Fr. Eric hails from Toulouse, France, and was ordained in 2006. He is a member of the Dominican Province of France. His next stop, after Hong Kong, will be Vietnam and the next, the Philippines. Â We wish him well. Have a safe and fruitful journey!
Vatican II says that the media of social communication “can contribute generously to the refreshment and refinement of the spirit, and to the spread and strengthening of God’s own kingdom†(Decree Inter Mirifica: On the Instruments of Social Communication, no.2).
On December 31, like everybody else, the Priory of St. Dominic said Goodbye to the year 2012 and Welcome to the new year of 2013.
On the last day of the year, our Fr. Provincial Javier, who was visiting us for a few days, greeted the community before lunch and wished it a Happy New Year. He used the beautiful lyrics of the Spanish song to Mary that our students interpreted very well “Santa MarÃa, ven†and invited us to change – for the better. After supper, we had some games and bingo directed by Fr. Prior Alex. By eleven, we had a Holy Hour presided and facilitated by Fr. Jose Luis. Just before midnight we said Goodbye to 2012 and welcomed 2013 with the eating of the 12 grapes and champagne in a joyous and fraternal spirit.
On January 1, 2013, we celebrated the first Eucharist of the Year in honor of Mary, the Mother of God and Regina Pacis, and prayed for peace in the world. Fr. Fausto presided the Eucharistic celebration and centered his homily on the Message of Pope Benedict XVI for the World Day of Peace entitled Blessed are the Peacemakers.Â
Within the Mass and after the homily, five brothers were admitted to the ministries of readers and acolytes: Peter Thoai, Sebastian Lee, Joseph Nguyen, Isaac Saw and Mariano Maung. Before the brothers and the lay faithful participating in the Eucharist, Fr. Provincial accepted the commitments of the new ministers in a simple and devout ceremony.
Tomorrow January 2 classes begin, like in other schools in Macau, at the University of Saint Joseph, where our students pursues their institutional studies, and at St. Paul’s School, which is run by the Dominicans.
By the way, the Priory of St. Dominic is presently composed of thirty members. Up to November 2012, we were seven priests and 22 simply professed student brothers. To these one more was added by the end of November: Bro. Francis Naw San, from Myanmar, who came to ourPriory from the Dominican Convent of St. Albert, Rosaryhill, Hong Kong, where he finished his Novitiate and made his first profession. Bro. Francis made his first simple profession on November 25 and came to St. Dominic’s the following day November 26, 2012. He is currently pursuing the institutional studies at the Catholic University of Saint Joseph. (FGB)
The joyful celebration was closed, following the old tradition of our Province, with the singing of the Salve Regina to Our Lady of the Rosary and the O Spem Miram to our Father St. Dominic. East Timor, or Timor Leste, the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste is a member of the United Nations, a developing country in Southeast Asia with great material and spiritual resources. With the Philippines, East Timor is the other predominantly Catholic country in Asia. The small country with nearly one million and two hundred thousand people has three dioceses: Dili, Baucau and Maliana. Our new Dominican mission is located in the Diocese of Dili. The main three languages spoken in East Timor are Portuguese, Tetum and Bahasa. Before coming here to Hong Kong and Macau, our brothers Ruben and Gerson Javier spent months in Lisbon learning Portuguese. Up to the present, there are strong historical links between East Timor and Macao – both former Portuguese colonies –, and between the Dioceses of Macao and East Timor.
