On January 28, 2013, the St. Dominic Center of Studies, Macau, celebrated the Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas at St. Paul’s School. The morning celebration consisted of three consecutive parts: St. Thomas Lecture, Holy Eucharist and fraternal agape. About ninety people graced the celebration, including Dominican student brothers and priests of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary, postulants and sisters of the Dominican Missionaries of the Rosary, professors and teachers from the University of Saint Joseph and St. Paul’s School, and religious men and women of different religious congregations.
The solemn academic program of the second St. Thomas Lecture began with a prayer-song followed by the Invocation delivered by Brother Mariano Maung, OP, coordinator of the students. Fr. Fausto Gomez, OP, Regent of Studies, delivered the Opening Address which focused on the continuing importance and relevance of St. Thomas Aquinas today. Fr. Jose Luis de Miguel, OP, Moderator of the St. Dominic Center of Studies pronounced the formal lecture on “The New Evangelization: Recent Developments and Challenges.†Fr. Jose Luis divided his excellent lecture in three parts: the teachings of the Church on evangelization and new evangelization; the new evangelization in the 2012 Synod of Bishops, and some serious challenges for the future. The speaker made pertinent references to the meeting of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences in Ho-chi-min, Vietnam in December 2012. Christ, the speaker stressed, continues to be the evangelizer and calls us today to be new evangelizers attuned to the world in which we live. An interesting open forum closed the event.
The Holy Mass was presided by the Most Rev Bishop of Macau Joseph Lai, DD, and concelebrated by about twenty priests. The Bishop underlined in his homily the significance of St. Thomas, the great teacher of truth, for the Church and as Patron of Catholic Schools. He pointed out the importance of inculturating the Christian faith in the cultures of Asia, in particular the Chinese cultures for we live in Macau, which is part of China. After communion, Fr. Alejandro Salcedo, OP, Principal of St. Paul’s School and Prior of St. Dominic’s Priory expressed the gratitude of the Dominicans of Macao and Hong Kong to Bishop Lai and all those who graciously accompanied us in this celebration of our Brother Thomas Aquinas.
After the celebration of the Eucharist, a simple agape followed. There was plenty of food and drinks and some bottles of excellent Portuguese wine. The participants were happy for having been invited and grateful for the singular academic and liturgical celebration they witnessed. The Dominican student brothers and the postulants of the Dominican Sisters animated the whole celebration with appropriate songs and prayers. Fr. Jarvis Sy, OP, acted as Master of Ceremonies.
In this Year of faith, may St. Thomas, the Angelic Doctor aid us to deepen our faith and practice it in love. (FG)
  After several months breaking the ice and building friendly relationships with the aged at the Nursing Home for the Mothers, our Brothers have now felt good to spare their Saturday afternoons visiting them and offering them some spiritual comforts. As of today, the weekly Mass celebrated by Fr. Lancelot will be even uplifted with some music and, afterwards, many more.
This Nursing Home for the Mothers offers services to approximately fifty residents, of whom the youngest is already over seventy years old and the eldest far exceeds a century. Most of them are already frail. About one-fifth of them are Catholics, who, though mainly speak Cantonese daily, say Mass in Portuguese. Different human languages seem to be a barrier that may not allow  the brothers communication with them.
Working with senior citizens, especially with those not sharing the same cultural background and language with them, is definitely a both challenging and rewarding experience. The brothers know that it requires them being generous, patient and, more importantly, “always listening, always understanding!†Yet, what could make the missionaries happier than the happiness of those who receive them and regard their presence as “glad tidings� Indeed, just with a piece of out-of-tune music already the brothers made them stand up and dance with their wheelchair; listening to their nostalgic memories, or simply sitting with them for a while in silence already the brothers brought some comfort or feeling released to them. “I have been living here for seventeen years,†gratefully said Mary Johnson – a 99-year-old lady who is simply known as “Lulu,†“but no one comes visit me.†Such moving words may have touched the brothers! More thrilling for them is Mimi – a 98-year-old Portuguese lady whose real name is Maria – who always looks forwards to seeing the brothers coming back and, of course, sadly says goodbye when they have to go home.
Language is any longer a barrier in our communication if we have a heart for each other. It is the language of the human heart rather than human language itself that communicates and connects common human concerns and unites human beings. If we realize that what we are given by God today is to give back those who have given back to God in their due time, our baptism into one body of Christ begins to take in us. If we are able to see the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among those lonely aged, it is the time when the Good News of our Lord becomes fulfilled. May this be true in our hearing today (cf. Luke 4:14-21)! Amen.
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                                                   Bro. Peter Thoai, OP
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.
Bro. Paul Win Aung Myint
St. Dominic’s Priory, Macau
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€
This article from: http://www.ucanews.com/news/translator-says-52-year-project-was-easier-than-it-sounds/67024
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)
