It was a day filled with joy and honour for the Myanmar Catholic Community in Macau that Fr. Lawerece Thereh O.P., a Burmese brother of our Priory, and the Chaplain for Myanmar Catholics was conferred PhD in Education on 6th July 2024. The community made a surprise celebration and was integrated with the gathering after the monthly Myanmar Mass. Some of our student brothers from Myanmar joined in the ceremony. Celebrating achievement was accompanied by songs and delicious traditional cuisines.
Today, on the memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, thirteen student brothers renew their religious vows in the Priory’s chapel of St. Dominic. Conventual Prior, Fr. Javier González Izquierdo, OP presides over the solemn Eucharistic celebration and receives the professions of the brothers. In his homily, Fr. Javier reminds us that the renewing of vows should not be just a symbol but the renewing of persons. Thirteen brothers are from different countries; one from Korea, six from Myanmar and six from Timor-Leste. Let us continue praying for them to be faithful and persevere in their Dominican vocation!
May 24 is something special for the Dominican Order. This day commemorates the first translation of the remains of Saint Dominic who had been buried in the
Church of Saint Nicholas of the Vineyards at Bologna. When the tomb’s stone was removed, a pleasant odour emanated from the aperture, surprising all present. Many people saw this phenomenon. This year, the Priory decided to celebrate mass at St. Paul School. Student brothers also joined in this eucharistic celebration.
The traditional Procession of Our Lady of Fatima is held every year on the evening of May 13th in Macao and it has by now become part of the city’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. This year also, the procession started from St Dominic’s Church after the celebration of a Mass presided over by the Bishop, and journeyed through the streets of the city to the hill Chapel of Our Lady of Penha. Along the way, thousands of devotees accompanied the image of Our Lady of Fatima, while singing and praying the Rosary in three alternating languages (Portuguese, English and Chinese). Three children (two young girls and a boy), donned in Portuguese costumes, walked just behind the image: they represent the three sheep-tending children who witnessed the apparitions of the Virgin in Fatima in 1917. Close to the image also were the Bishop, some priests, and our Dominican community with the student brothers wearing their habits. The procession ended at Penha Chapel with the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a prayer of consecration to Our Lady and the solemn blessing from that suggestive hill overlooking Macao peninsula and Mainland China. Truly inspiring was to see the vast crowd of pilgrims engrossed in meditative silence and prayer while walking in the procession. Worth praising, too, was the excellent organization of the whole event, with the traffic order and safety of the participants ensured by the local police. May Our Lady of Fatima continue keeping under her maternal care the city of Macau, the entire Church and, needless to say, our Dominican community, which invokes her as their main Patroness.
Pictures: courtesy of Antonius Photoscript
The Priory recently celebrated the birthday of Br. Mendonça Mouzinho Filipe, O.P.
The community greeted him with the warmest wishes.
It was a joyous occasion that brought everyone together in celebration of community life and fraternity.
