THE USE OF MASS MEDIA FOR PREACHING
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)
Posted By paddy On October 15, 2012 (12:00 pm) In Editor’s Choice
Whatever its defects, a synod is always a kind of graduate seminar about the realities of life in a global church, bringing together bishops and other church leaders from every nook and cranny of the planet. The opening week of this one has been devoted largely to surveying what works and what doesn’t in terms of Catholic evangelization in various parts of the world, and some distinctive regional accents have already emerged.
To be sure, a bewildering variety of points are always made in the opening stages, and not all the voices from a given region are singing from the same hymnal. In broad strokes, however, here’s what some leading Catholic voices seem to believe is required to make the church relevant in their neighborhoods:
Asia: humility, simplicity and silence
Africa: ministering to people scarred by poverty and violence
Latin America: taking cues from what’s already working, such as popular piety and small Christian communities (often called “base communitiesâ€)
Europe and the States: sound doctrine and sacramental practice as an antidote to the influence of a largely secular culture
Asia
On this landscape, the Asian voice so far probably has been the most compact as well as the most distinctive. Tuesday morning, Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, widely considered a rising star among the Asian bishops, said for the church to be a place where people meet God, it needs to learn three things from the example of Jesus: humility, respect for others, and silence.
“The church must discover the power of silence,†Tagle said. “Confronted with the sorrows, doubts and uncertainties of people, she cannot pretend to give easy solutions. In Jesus, silence becomes the way of attentive listening, compassion and prayer. It is the way to truth.â€
“The seemingly indifferent and aimless societies of our time are earnestly looking for God,†Tagle said. “The world takes delight in a simple witness to Jesus — meek and humble of heart.â€
Irish Fr. Eamonn Conway, a theologian who’s among the expert advisers to the synod, said Thursday that Tagle’s presentation “had a certain resonance†in the synod hall, meaning people were favorably taken by it. A fellow Filipino, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, made an equally strong plea for humility. “Evangelization has been hurt and continues to be impeded by the arrogance of its messengers,†Villegas said. “The hierarchy must shun arrogance, hypocrisy and bigotry.â€Â “The Gospel cannot thrive in pride,†Villegas said. “When pride seeps into the heart of the church, the Gospel proclamation is harmed.â€
Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi in Bangladesh, meanwhile, stressed the importance of “evangelical poverty†in Asia.
“We must learn not only to renounce worldly goods, but also to appreciate the simplicity and humility of the poor, their happiness with whatever little they have and their concern for others,†Rozario said. “Church leaders must also open their hearts to be evangelized by the evangelical values of the poor.â€
Full Story: An Asian plea for humility at the Synod of Bishops
Source: National Catholic Reporter
Article taken from ucanews.com – http://www.ucanews.com
URL to article: http://www.ucanews.com/2012/10/15/asian-prelates-make-strong-impression-at-synod-of-bishops/
“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me†(Mt 16:24)
The Dominican community of Macau celebrated the renewal of the simple profession of nine brothers. These are: Bro. Peter Phan Ngo Xuan Thoai (Vietnamese), Bro. Sebastian Lee Sang Hoon (Korean), Bro. Joseph Nguyen Ngoc Huy (Vietnamese), Bro. Issac Saw Aye Sei (Burmese), Bro. Mariano Maung (Burmese), Bro. Antonio Lee Hyo Jun (Korean), Bro. Mario Oo Shwe (Burmese), Bro. Matthew Shing Mang Tun (Burmese) and Bro. Alphonso Bo-Bo (Burmese). We all renewed our simple profession in the Dominican Order for one year, except Bro. Alphonso who renewed it for two years. All the brothers are presently studying at the Faculty of Christian Studies, University of Saint Joseph, Macau.
The ceremony of the renewal of the profession was held on October 6 at our St. Dominic’s Priory Chapel during the solemn Evening Prayer in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary. One by one, the nine brothers renewed their simple profession before Fr. Alejandro Salcedo, OP our Prior, who in his sermon spoke of the meaning of our religious vows in key of service to others. The Saturday Vespers closed with the joyful singing of the “Salve Regina†to Our Lady and the “O Spem Miram†to our father St. Dominic.
May the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Rosary, teach us how to be humble, compassionate, obedient, poor and chaste; that is how to be holy!
Congratulations to all the brothers! Â
Bro. Matthew Shing Mang Tun, OP
What is the Synod of Bishops and why is it important?
Posted By paddy On October 8, 2012 (11:57 am) In Editor’s Choice
The principal purpose for the Synod of Bishops, which commenced Oct. 7, is to study how the New Evangelization affects the mission of the Church. The Holy Father has asked the synod to study about “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.†As the theme indicates, the focus is on the “transmission†of the faith. Both Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have identified the New Evangelization as the response to how the Church transmits the Christian faith, considering the challenges confronting believers in today’s world.
Why Does the Holy Father Need to Call a Synod?
The bishops of the Church, in unity with Peter’s successor, and as successors to the apostles, were given a promise by Jesus Christ — I will be with you until the end of time (John 14:16, 26). This promise is given in relationship to the mission entrusted to their care: to teach and baptize all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). When the bishops are assembled by mandate of the pope, amazing things happen. We see this in the Acts of the Apostles, when pastoral questions were raised and answers needed to be given (Acts 15). The apostolic ministry the bishops exercise in the name of Jesus Christ shoulders them with the burdens and joys of shepherding with authority over the flock, with the same love that the Good Shepherd has for the flock — and with the mission to teach and baptize all nations.
We profess our faith in an apostolic Church for a reason. The successors to the apostles, discerning with the ordained and non-ordained the needs of the Church and how to respond to those needs, are the ones who are called to definitively and authentically teach and baptize all nations.
The Synod of Bishops represents a way for the Holy Father to bring bishops together to address matters of the Church in light of the Tradition of the Church and what the word of God has revealed. We should then not look at a synod as a bureaucratic process or a waste of time, but a very important moment in the life of the Church, because the Holy Spirit will bring the bishops the direction, insight and even resolution we need to advance the mission of the Catholic Church.
Do Catholics Understand Evangelization?
Shortly after the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI convened a synod to define what we Catholics mean by “evangelization.†The term, although as ancient as the Church, was ambiguous for many, and even today it does not always speak to a Catholic’s sense of mission. What does evangelization mean? Pope Paul VI’s post-synodal exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (Evangelization in the Modern World) gave the Church sound theological principles that surely guide our understanding of what we mean by evangelization. I would encourage parishes and lay apostolate movements to read through the document as our bishops meet in Rome. This document provides the framework for understanding the principles of evangelization. Now we need to discern “how†evangelization occurs.
Full Story:  The Synod and the New Evangelization: Why It’s Important for U.S. Catholics
Source:Â National Catholic Register
Article taken from ucanews.com - http://www.ucanews.com
URL to article:Â http://www.ucanews.com/2012/10/08/what-is-the-synod-of-bishops-and-why-is-it-important/
