Contrary to the way modern Christmas cards portray the first Christmas: snow, Santa Clause, or scenic winter pictures, the first Christmas was neither with snow, silent, beautiful nor perfect. The story of the Christmas we celebrate today was filled with mess and confusion: Mary was expecting and Joseph didn’t understand this at all, and had his doubts about what was going on; Joseph, with Mary in labor had to travelled to Bethlehem; there was no room at the inn; stuck in the middle of nowhere Mary had the baby in a stable; the shepherds got scared when they saw the angel; the three kings got lost; etc. Even if we buy a card with the picture of the Holy Family it looks far away from reality. Mary does not look like she just had a baby; Joseph looks like one of the Beatles and not like the typical father worrying for not been able to find a place for his family to stay. Even the baby Jesus does not look like he just came out of the womb. Christmas cards do not portray the reality of Christmas because what would be realistic could not be beautiful.
Our world like the first Christmas is not a perfect picture either. We live everyday in a messy world. There are wars; there are conflicts; people get sick; we suffer from natural disasters; there are car accidents; our loved one die, parents without a job struggled to put presents under the Christmas tree; families and neighbors forced to close their business because of the economic crisis, etc. We live in a world in which people wonder what the New Year will bring.
But even in these tough times, there is still so much to celebrate this Christmas. A message of peace and brotherhood that continues to inspire more than 2,000 after Jesus’ birth. The bonds of love of our community, our family and friends. For many people it is hard to believe that it is rational to be optimistic. However, no matter how bad the situation is we should not give in to pessimism. Across two thousand years, the words of the angels reach out to us in joy and hope and consolation, “do not be afraidâ€. No matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter what your circumstances are, this is what matters: “Do not be afraidâ€.
While so many people are powerless by fear of what is coming on the world, you and I can share the conviction, which comes from beyond ourselves, from beyond our powers. God did not come as a dictator demanding submission but as a vulnerable child. God did not come as legislator with an ideology but in the life of a child to melt our divisions and with the promise of peace and goodwill for all the world. Jesus is the hope for peace on earth, for peace of heart. “Do not be afraidâ€.
Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget. With this thought, I personally and on behalf of the community of Saint Dominic’s Priory, wish you a very Merry Christmas. May the wonder of that first Christmas, the joy of God’s abundant blessings, and the peace of Jesus’ presence be with you always.
Fr. A. Salcedo
Prior
WITH NEWS FROM GOD
“No news from Godâ€Â reads the catching title of a movie. I am not interested in the movie; instead I am intrigued by its title, which I find dramatic and somehow irreverent, particularly during these days of Advent and Christmas season. That is why I paraphrase it for my 2011 Christmas message.
No news from God!! How distressing if it were true! For distressing indeed is having no news when these are of life and death. And the news from God are of such calibre. The strange thing, however, is the fact that many people around us are neither distressed, nor worried, and nor even bothered about living “without news from God.†Why? Just because they do not see their importance and also, in many instances, because they neither expect them. Sad and tragic, but this is how we are.
And what about us, Dominicans, missionaries, members of Our Lady of the Rosary Province? Do we have news from God? Of course we have. And good news indeed. We have actually accepted a saving message with the commitment even to spread it: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our firm belief that God has been incarnated in Jesus of Nazareth and that through him, His Son, has spoken and saved us. This is good news of Love and Life. That is why there is rejoicing in our hearts and we, deeply grateful, feel the urgency to bring the news to others.
But how to explain the awesome “silence†of God dealt with by Spiritual Theology; a silence that impels people to question God and even leads us sometimes to lose pleasure in prayer?… Doctors of the Church know how to answer: “It is not so much silence on the part of God,†they say, “as rather lack of willingness to listen to Him on ours’.†“For in giving us, as He did, His Son, which is His Word – and He has no other – He spoke to us all together, once and for all, in this single Word, and He has no occasion to speak further.â€Â (St John of the Cross)
Brothers, I greet you this Christmas season with News from God. News that in this time in history He conveys through his Son, his Word made flesh. Let us open then our ears and listen attentively. Let us open also our heart: because messages of Love are heard with it. And if, in spite of all, we still undergo through moments of silence from God… know that it is because “there is no occasion for Him to speak furtherâ€; because He has told us already everything.
Merry Christmas and a Blessed Year 2012!
Fr. Javier
ST. DOMINIC’s PRIORY CHRONICLE:
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2011
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OUR VISITORS.- Mons. Dominic, a secular priest brother of Sr. Camino, OP, stayed with us for two brief days and one night. He came to Macau to visit his Dominican sister who was recuperating from a bad fall she had last October 19. Thanks God our sister and friend is recuperating and will be up and about by next December. St. Camino is helping in the pastoral program of St. Paul School. On Nov 9-10, the Provincial of the Irish Province, Fr. Patrick Lucey, OP, and his Companion, Fr. Benedict Moran, OP, visited our Priory. It was a brief and pleasant visit. Frs. Pat and Benedict are stopping in Hong Kong-Macau after visiting India and Australia. They just visited the members of their Irish Province ministering at present in the Dominican provinces of India and Australia, both â€daughters†of the Irish Province. Frs. Pat and Ben visited our Province to see the member of their Province working with us, Fr. Ben Mac Cionaoith, OP, our Director of Postulants in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Our brother the Irish Provincial presided at our concelebrated Mass. He mentioned in his homily the special links of the Irish and Our Lady of the Rosary provinces. During the first week of December 2011, Fr. Fernando Muñoz, OP, who was assigned to Yangon, Myanmar last year, visited us. Fr. Fernando lived with us before being assigned to our first house in Myanmar.
MEETING OF DOMINICAN EDUCATORS.- On November 21-24, the heads or representatives of Dominican Schools run by our Province met at St. Paul School Macau to exchange experiences, propose possible common concerns, objectives and strategies to strengthen and if possible improve the administration and their social, pastoral and Dominican programs. The educational centers and schools represented were. From Venezuela: College of Cristo Rey (San Cristobal), by Fr. Kleyver Jose GarcÃa, OP; Arzobispo Mendez (Barinas), by Oxalide Gonzalez; San Martin (Caracas), by Fr. Jorge Enrique Toloza, OP. From Japan: College of Aiko (Matsuyama), by Fr. Juan Manuel Gonzalo, OP; Kindergarten Schools Tenshi, Iyoshi and Uminohoshi, by Fr. Javier Lechon, OP. From the Philippines: Aquinas College (San Juan, Metro Manila) and San Lorenzo Ruiz School (Binondo, Manila), by Fr. Rafael Carpintero, OP. From Hong Kong: Rosaryhill School, by Fr. Francisco de las Heras, OP. From Macau: St Paul School, by Fr. Alejandro Salcedo, OP. The meeting was recommended by the latest Provincial Chapter of the Province (Hong Kong 2009). It was held in Macau. The Chairman of the meeting was our Prior Fr. Alejandro, Director of the School of Saint Paul, Macau. Our Priory was happy to be the host of our brothers-educators and Miss Oxalide Gonzalez.
REMEMBERING FR. LIONELÂ
November is the Christian month to remember our beloved dead. It is the month of the saints and the month of all the dead. On the last day of the month, November 30, Mr. Dennis Lam came from Canton (he lives in Canada) to pay his last respects to his dear and admired Dominican priest, Fr. Lionel Xavier, who was his High School Principal in Rosaryhill School, Hong Kong and at times served his Mass as acolyte. He visited our Priory and conversed with some of our Fathers. He told us that he was very grateful to Fr. Lionel Xavier, OP, for his kindness, his prayerfulness – and his great skill to play badminton: “He always beat me,†Mr. Lam said. Since the day Fr. Lionel was taken by the Lord to heaven, on October 19, 2011, many friends and former teachers and students have visited St Albert Priory in Hong Kong or our Priory in Macau to tell the Dominican Fathers how grateful they were for having known and being helped by Fr. Lionel. Indeed, he was a serene and lovable person. In his honor there is now the Fr. Lionel Xavier Fund for scholarships that in a few weeks has accumulated a good amount coming mainly from his friends and the Rosaryhill School alumni.
MEETING OF RELIGIOUS MEN AT OUR PRIORY.- On December 9, 2011 (and not on November 25, as earlier programmed), religious men of Macau held their monthly meeting at St. Dominic’s Priory. Eight religious men from different religious Congregations met to continue their informal and important meetings that began last year. It was presided by Fr. Victor Aguilar, MCCJ; Fr. John Ledesma, SVD, acted as secretary. The main point of the agenda was the contemplated pastoral center of the Diocese at the now unused Catholic Center of Macau. A Commission of nine persons (2 secular priests, 2 religious priests, one sister and 4 lay persons) is the one in charge of preparing a renewed pastoral program for the Diocese. It is interesting to note that the three priorities or columns of the pastoral program recommended to the Bishop of Macau, Mons. Jose Lai, are the following: evangelization, formation and hospitality. The religious men and women of Macau will soon be asked how they may help in the implementation of these priorities. After the sharing on those priorities and other points, the religious were informed and asked to inform their respective communities of coming important events. The religious men and women of Macau will celebrate together their feast day, that is February 2, 2012. Another important and relevant future happening will be the series of lectures or conferences to be organized in connection with the celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Vatican II, which will start in October 2012. The University of Saint Joseph and the religious of Macau will jointly sponsor and organize a series of lectures on the documents of Vatican II and their ongoing relevance. Moreover, this year the religious wish to revive an old tradition: their common Christmas Party, which will be held on December 30, 2011.
USJ: CHRISTMAS GREETINGS.- On December 16, 2011, the University of Saint Joseph celebrated from 12:00 noon on “Misa y Mesa†or Mass and Agape as its way to wish to all its constituents – administrators, professors, students, support staff and alumni - a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. The Solemn Concelebrated Mass was presided by Bishop Jose Lai, DD and concelebrated by Frs. Joao Eleuterio, Matthias Christian, SVD, Dionisio Cabezon, OP, and Fausto Gomez OP.
A good number of teaching and administrative staff, and students attended the Holy Eucharist, which was animated by the Dominican students – our brothers and the postulants of the Dominican Missionaries of the Rosary. In his homily, the bishop of Macau underlined the continuing significance of Christmas as the re-birth of Jesus, who comes to us in a special way every Christmas. To prepare for his birth we try to follow the advice of the prophet Isaiah: “Observe what is right and do what is just,†that is, practice the great virtues of justice and love. After Communion, Fr. Eleuterio, Deputy Rector of the University and Coordinator of the School of Christian Studies wished warmly a happy season. He underlined the fact that neither he nor the Rector invited those attending the Mass, but it was Jesus himself. He ended his remarks thus: “We all have accepted his invitation and, therefore, we have accepted him and his incomparable love for us. May you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!†The Mass ended with the Christmas song “Joy to the world,†joy to you and me. After the Eucharist, all those present were invited to an agape: a simple, rich and varied lunch. Indeed, it was a meaningful and enjoyable experience for the body and the soul.
CLOSING WORDS.- The members of our Priory had other invitations to welcome Christmas and the Year 2012, including one with our Fr. Provincial Javier, another with the School of St. Paul and still another with our Bishop Jose and Catholics of Macau. We attended and participated in different varied and wonderful programs to express gratitude, joy and hope. May we all be grateful, joyful and hopeful! To one and all:
BLESSED CHRITMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR
FELIZ NAVIDAD y PROSPERO AÑO NUEVO.
May the Lord Jesus be reborn in our life and may those around us notice it by the way we treat them with kindness and compassion!
“Acquire inner peace, and thousands around you will find liberation.† Amen! (FGB)
Catholics commemorated 150 years of evangelization in Wanchin Parish on the Immaculate Conception Minor Basilica’s feast day yesterday. The event was marked by the annual Marian procession. The event in Pingtung county, southern Taiwan also marked the end of 150 years of management of the basilica, one of the oldest churches in Taiwan, by Spanish Dominicans.
In a special ceremony, Archbishop Peter Liu Cheng-chung of Kaohsiung and Father Javier Gonzalez Izquierdo — the Hong Kong-based Dominican prior provincial — witnessed Spanish Fr Ruben Martinez hand over the parish’s baptism records to Chinese confrere Fr Anselm Shu. About 11,000 Catholics from across Taiwan attended the morning Mass presided over by Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi. Archbishop Liu, Monsignor Joseph Chiang, former representative of the Holy See to North America for the Chinese Apostolate, and 54 priests concelebrated the rite. Noting the high turnout, Archbishop Liu said: “Every Catholic is an apostle with a mission to lead 23 million Taiwan people to God.â€Â He encouraged Catholics to learn from the example set by the Spanish Dominicans, who came to Wanchin in 1861 and made friends first with people who did not know God.
In the afternoon, the prelate and other clergy led 12 men carrying a 200-kilogram Marian statue and 11 procession teams from all seven Taiwan dioceses in a march around the Catholic village in rain. Despite being religious in nature, the annual procession has become a tourist draw in recent years. The Pingtung county government is also attaching importance to it by hosting a month-long “Wanchin Christmas Season†and has turned on Christmas lights that will decorate all the streets of the village throughout December.
Article taken from ucanews.com - http://www.ucanews.com
URL to article:Â http://www.ucanews.com/2011/12/12/wenchin-parish-marks-anniversary/
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with the Vatican’s envoy to Myanmar today at celebrations marking the centenary of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Yangon.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino spoke together for several minutes ahead of the celebration, the details of which were not immediately known.
Her visit underscores her call for national conciliation to include all in society no matter their ethnic or religious background.
Speaking ahead of the ceremony the Archbishop of Yangon, Monsignor Charles Maung Bo, told Vatican news agency Fides: “It will be an important moment for the Christian community: for its history and faith, but also for its future, for the role Christians wish to play in a free and democratic country.â€
Also in attendance at the celebration was an official from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, who read out a letter from the minister calling on Christians to “involve themselves in the country’s development as much they can†as they are also good citizens of Myanmar.
The official left following Cardinal Martino’s homily in which he called on local Catholics to work with other faiths for the education, health care and social welfare of the people for the country’s development.
“Catholics in Myanmar must be the light and strength of the country according to the will of God,†the cardinal added.
A priest from Yangon archdiocese also read out a letter from Pope Benedict XVI in which he called on Cardinal Martino to convey his greetings to the clergy, religious and lay Catholics in Yangon archdiocese and to offer his goodwill to members of other faiths and to those who cherish religious freedom and the wellbeing of all people.
Article taken from ucanews.com - http://www.ucanews.com
URL to article:Â http://www.ucanews.com/2011/12/08/suu-kyi-meets-papal-envoy-in-church/
The vestition of the six new novices took place on the evening of November 28, 2011 at the chapel of St. Albert’s Priory in Hong Kong. The ceremony was presided over by Fr. Javier Gonzalez, Prior Provincial. In his homily he took as point of departure the illustration for the invitation which had been previously sent. The fresco recalls thevestition of St. Hyacinth of Poland together with his companions who received the habit from St. Dominic. Fr. Provincial underlined the holiness of those represented in the fresco, the missionary commitment and the international connotation of thevestition. Here, he said, “ we are privilege to enjoy the same atmosphere, the same missionary character and the same desire of unity and holiness”. He added: “I wish you brothers grace, peace and determination in your formation since you are the ones most responsible for your own formation and your spiritual life. The Lord will be faithful to his promise and we shall be faithful until the end of our life.”
