With the main purpose of meeting the Students, Fr. Pablo Sicouly, Socius of the Master of the Order for the Intellectual Life, paid a three-day visit (5 to 7 of January) to our Priory in Macau. The occasion was also propitious for him to meet the entire Dominican Family in Macau (Friars, Sisters and Laity). And so it happened: An extraordinary gathering was convoked at St Paul School in the afternoon of January 6, Epiphany Sunday.
           The program consisted of three parts. In the first one, we listened to a lecture on “The Challenges of Dominican Study†delivered by Fr Pablo. He based the talk on the first part of the Ratio Studiorum Generalis. Then a friendly dialogue followed between the Socius and the participants. Some student brothers and some Sisters, too, had the opportunity to share with the socius about their institutional study. Fr Pablo answered from his own experience and current position, to the points in questions; and he ended up encouraging all the Students to cultivate the habit of study, something essential for a Dominican.
           After the academic part, the participants moved to the School Chapel where we prayed Vespers together. It was indeed meaningful that the Dominican Family in Macau prayed together. The singing of the Salve Regina and the O Lumen was the crowned those liturgical moments.
           The last part of the program took the form of agape. Having dinner together is another way of sharing. In blessing the food we prayed that “partaking from the same table may help us grow always in brotherhood.†Indeed the agape dinner was the way for us, Dominicans, to share our brotherly and sisterly love as one family in Christ Jesus.
Fr Pablo left for Hong Kong in the afternoon of January 7. Since it was his first time in Macau, he treasured a lot of memories of persons and places. One thing that impressed him was the joyful and harmonious community life lived at St Dominic’s Priory. He enjoyed also his visit to the University of St Joseph, to St Dominic’s church and the other emblematic places Macau offers to visitors. We thanked Fr Pablo for his visit
By:Brs Stehen Saw Lej Kapaw Htoo and Andre Pereira