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Volume 15 Feb 2016Make Straight His Path

St. Margaret Mary’s Church

What Should You Do for Lent? (Based on Your New Year’s Resolution)The end of February is upon us – how are you doing with your New Year’s Resolutions? Lent allows us to take a look at the things we haven’t been doing well and make an effort to fix them. It’s all about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving! Consider what you will sacrifice this year.

Meditative prayer before dinner time. Going into your meal with a focus on God and how the Holy Spirit can work through you will help you to be more mindful in your eating habits. By purposefully reminding yourself that your body is a Temple of the Lord and part of the Body of Christ, you are more likely to concentrate on what you put into your body and what you use to fuel yourself. Additionally, try using the Charity Miles app as a motivator to give alms while racking up the miles! The app tracks your workout mileage and donates to organizations in need out of the pockets of their corporate sponsors.

Adding an hour of adoration to your week or attending daily mass a few times a week. Making the commitment to increase prayer every day is daunting, but dedicating an additional hour of your week to your relationship with God is sure to be rewarding. Find the nearest parish that offers Eucharistic adoration at after hours. Sign up for an hour long slot to hold yourself accountable and spend that time talking to your Father. The more we practice good habits, the more inclined toward them we become. You already take time out of your week to visit God in the Eucharist, now take the relationship one step further and make additional time for Him.

Adopting a new prayer practice! Ever done a novena? Listened to Gregorian chant? Attempted the Prayer Postures of St. Dominic? Contemplated Lectio Divina? Now is the best time to start! Do some research on Thomistic or Franciscan prayer. Adopt a monastic practice. Begin your day with the Ignatian Examen. The possibilities are endless! There’s probably a reason you aren’t engaging in your prayer life, so shake things up with a new form. Better yet, do some digging into your personality type and see if there is information on which form of prayer best suits your personality.

Offering it up. Lent is about sacrifice. Every time you are tempted to whine about your boss or how little sleep you got last night, instead offer that inconvenience up to the Lord. Yes, I know this is what your mother told you when you didn’t want to go to school as a child, but the advice still holds. Take a minute to offer up your struggle and take a minute of gratitude for all the good in your life.

A spending fast. As you would with a regular fast, pick a day during the week (or perhaps weekend if you are ready for the sacrifice) during which you do not spend any money – no withdrawals, no cash tossed around, no online purchases. Forgo going out to eat on this day and pack your lunch instead. Rather than grabbing drinks out with friend, have everyone over for a board game or movie night. Every time you are tempted to spend, set that money aside. At the end of Lent, donate a portion of what you saved and put the rest in your savings account! If you are feeling really ambitious, try your spending fast two days a week!

Committing to mass with a family member or friend each week, offering mass for a family member or friend each week, or regularly donating to a cause on their behalf. If possible, invite your aunt, cousin, or brother to mass with you on Sunday! The experience grants you the chance to pray with them and an opportunity to catch up over breakfast afterwards. If you are unable to physically spend time with your loved ones for whatever reason, keep them on your heart during mass or daily prayer. Take it one step further by donating to a cause near and dear to your best friend’s heart on his behalf. You don’t even need to tell him you’ve done it, just know that you have put your love in action.

Making a pilgrimage or attending mass in a different language. By attending the Eucharistic celebration with people of a different culture, it can certainly feel as if you’ve entered an exotic new land. A beautiful thing about the mass is that it is universal, so even if you don’t understand the language being spoken, you can still follow along. Alternatively, consider going on a pilgrimage this Lenten season. If a plane ride is out of the question, your pilgrimage can be local. Research churches and parishes around your area which cool patron saints, relics on display, or impressive artwork and pick a day or weekend to make the trek to each one. Consider making an offering or saying a special prayer at each church.

If your resolution was to pray more or to improve your spiritual life, you should try…

If your resolution was to learn something new, you should try…

If your resolution was to stop com-plaining, you should try…

Have a great Lent!

If your resolution was to lose weight or to exercise more, you should try…

If your resolution was to save money, you should try…

If your resolution was to talk to or spend more time with family or friends, you should try...

If your resolution was to travel more, you should try…

(Reference : www.epicpew.com)

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The long awaited Rite of Acceptance Ceremony took place on 10th January, 2016. It was an important event for my Catechumenate classmates and

myself, as this was the day we made our firm decision to learn to live as Catholic Christians. We were delighted that our dear friends and relatives were there to witness this special occasion. To make this day more memorable, a simple yet intimate lunch party was held after the ceremony to celebrate our joy with our loved ones.

To me, the Rite of Acceptance is an important ceremony. As soon as I received the sign of the cross on my forehead, I made my commitment that I would follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

For the longest time, I was too busy with my life. It seemed I was constantly driving on the highway and did t know how to slow down. I prayed to God only in times of need, but had neglected what He needed from me.

From now on, I need to reset my priorities. I need to slowdown my pace, make frequent stops along the way to observe, to pray, to rest with loved ones and most importantly with God. I know it is going to be a lifelong pilgrimage. The more I want to be closer to God, the more I feel inadequate. However, I know as long as I am willing to open up myself to my Heavenly Father, He will be there to help and guide me through.

On February 14th, the 1st Sunday of Lent, 7 members of St. Margaret’s parish English RCIA group were formally inducted into the catechumenate. These men and women will be baptized at Easter of 2017. At the same ceremony, another 5 members of this RCIA group who are already baptized Christians, were presented to the community with their intention to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church hopefully during the coming Easter Season. Meanwhile 3 others who are in the stage of the “Elect” are preparing to be baptized at this year’s Easter Vigil. Congratulations and God’s blessings on each of them in their faith journey! On February 14th, the 1st Sunday of Lent, 7 members of St. Margaret’s parish English RCIA group were formally inducted into the catechumenate. These men and women will be baptized at Easter of 2017. At the same ceremony, another 5 members of this RCIA group who are already baptized Christians, were presented to the community with their intention to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church hopefully during the coming Easter Season. Meanwhile 3 others who are in the stage of the “Elect” are preparing to be baptized at this year’s Easter Vigil. Congratulations and God’s blessings on each of them in their faith journey!

~ Florence ~

One Faith One Body

Last but not least, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to my Catechumenate class tutor and facilitators, Sr. Goretti Chong, Teresa Pang, Susanna Wong, Elizabeth Hui and Lucia Au Yeung . Thank you for your invaluable dedication and making each lesson a joy to attend. I am so privileged and blessed to be in your class.

In Anticipation of New Life

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When Pope Francis recently traveled to Mexico for a pastoral visit, he made a brief stop-over at the airport in Havana, Cuba. The purpose of this visit was not part of the pastoral trip, but something much more historically and theologically important, the first meeting since the 11th century between a leader of the Roman Catholic Church and the Patriarch of the largest of the orthodox churches, the Russian Orthodox Church.

The so-called “East-West Schism” of 1054 that brought about the complete rupture between the Eastern Christian Churches centered at that time in Constantinople (the Byzantine capital) with the Western Christian Church centered in Rome came at the end of a long-simmering theological dispute over – among other topics – the insertion into the Nicene Creed of a word referred to as the filioque clause, [“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son {filioque}…], and the question of the use of leavened or unleavened bread for the Eucharist, the primacy of the Bishop of Rome over the other major Christian Sees, and the position or rank of the Church in Constantinople with the Pentarchy (the often complicated relationship among the five earliest centers of Christianity: Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Rome and Constantinople). By 1053. Michael Cerularius, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, order the closure of Latin churches in Constantinople as a reaction to the earlier closure of Eastern churches in southern Italy. The response of Pope Leo IX was to assert his supremacy over the other Eastern Churches (primes inter pares), whose purpose at that time was to curtail the title of “Ecumenical Patriarch,” that Michael had. The refusal of Michael to accede to the demands of Pope Leo led to a mutual excommunication that led to the full schism. This schism lasted officially until 1965 when Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople,

Athenagoras met and nullified the anathemas or excommunications, and this led to the opening of official ties between the two churches (Catholicism and Orthodoxy). Since 1965, there have been continual meetings and encounters of dialogue to try to heal the wounds of the nearly thousand-year schism and move towards unification of the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity (or as St. John Paul II called them, the two lungs of Christianity). There are annual meetings between the Church in Rome and that in Constantinople on their patronal feasts (Saints Peter and Paul on June 29th for Rome, Saint Andrew on November 30th for Constantinople). But while relations have improved over these last 50 years, the rupture with the larges ecclesial church in Orthodoxy, the Russian Orthodox Church eluded all attempts at mutual recognition, until this past month. On Friday, the 12th of February 2016, after a separation of over 962 years, the two leaders, Francis , Bishop of Rome, and Kyrill of Patriarch of Moscow, met, embraced, and signed a mutual declaration to move forward in dialogue. While centuries of mutual hostility between these two churches cannot be erased with a

meeting, the historical importance of the encounter in Havana cannot be underestimated. I was privileged to be a missionary in the Russian Federation during a period that initially was marked by tremendous hostility and deeply-seeded suspicion over what was termed “Catholic proselytizing” or “poaching” for converts, and long-standing bitterness over property disputes (the nationalization of church properties and institutions on both sides of the dispute). But in the last two years as pastor of the Catholic community in the capital of the Russian Far East, Khabarovsk, a genuine and sincere thaw occurred in relations between our two churches. Under the gentle guidance and support of the then-Vatican Nuncio to Russia, Archbishop Antonio Mennini (who also built bridges of mutual respect and cordial relations with the autocephalous Orthodox Church in Bulgaria where he previously served as Nuncio, as did historically, St. John XXIII), and his many connections with members of the hierarchy and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, contacts both official and unofficial opened. In September of 2006, I was invited to address an All-Eastern-Pacific Conference of Russian Orthodox hierarchs both in the name of the Nuncio and in my position as pastor in Khabarovsk, followed by an official visit of Archbishop Mennini to our city a few months later. This led to the recognition and acceptance of Archbishop Mark (Tuzhikov) of Khabarovsk of our church in his city. Archbishop Mark became a courageous supporter of our small community and encouraged continual contacts between our two churches. Today he is Archbishop of the Eparchy of Vyatka and Slobodskoy in Kirov Oblast. Like so many other small steps, the work of unification of our Christian churches, often depends on the courageous and respectful actions of people of faith. It is hoped that the date of 12 February 2016 opens a new era of such mutual respect and dialogue, so that we can fulfill the prayer of Christ, “That they all be one.” (John 17:21).

Fr. Joseph McCabe

Pastoral CornerRe-Building Bridges towards Unity

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Words from Gospel readings in February 2016Thanksgiving Mass on Chinese New Year’s Eve Luke 12 : 22-23Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

Misa de Acción de Gracias en la víspera de Año Nuevo Chino San Lucas 12 : 22-23Luego dijo Jesús a sus discípulos: — Por eso les digo: No se preocupen por su vida, qué comerán; ni por su cuerpo, con qué se vestirán. La vida tiene más valor que la comida, y el cuerpo más que la ropa.

Fifth Sunday of the Ordinary Time Luke 5 : 8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, ‘Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.’

Quinto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario San Lucas 5 : 8Al ver esto, Simón Pedro cayó de rodillas delante de Jesús y le dijo:—¡Apártate de mí, Señor; soy un pecador

Thanksgiving Mass on first day of Chinese New Year John 1 : 11-12He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who accept him, he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name.

Misa de Acción de Gracias en el primer día del Año Nuevo Chino San Juan 1 : 11-12Vino a lo que era suyo, pero los suyos no lo recibieron. Mas a cuantos lo recibieron, a los que creen en su nombre, les dio el dere-cho de ser hijos de Dios.

First Sunday of Lent – Rite of Election Luke 4 : 12Jesus said him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”

Primer Domingo de Cuaresma - Rito de Elección San Lucas 4 :12—También está escrito: “No pongas a prueba al Señor tu Dios” —le replicó Jesús.

Second Sunday of Lent Luke 9 : 35Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my chosen Son, listen to him!’

Segundo Domingo de Cuaresma San Lucas 9 :35Entonces salió de la nube una voz que dijo: «Éste es mi Hijo, mi escogido; escúchenlo.»

Third Sunday of Lent – First Scrutiny John 4 : 23Jesus said to her, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.”

Tercer Domingo de Cuaresma - En primer lugar Escrutinio San Juan 4 : 23Pero se acerca la hora, y ha llegado ya, en que los verdaderos adoradores rendirán culto al Padre en espíritu y en verdad, porque así quiere el Padre que sean los que le adoren.

By post: St. Margaret’s Church (Newsletter) 2A Broadwood Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong. Fax: 25769764 Email: smc@catholic.org.hk

Article Contributions Welcome

The newsletter is in many ways a ‘family letter’, facilitating the communication and sharing of ideas between different groups in our parish. Therefore you will be most welcome to share with us your

spiritual life and insights, parish activities and pilgrimage experience, etc. Text should be close to a full-A4 page length or half of it, with high resolution photos for print quality where relevant. We also welcome a simpler photo journal format with titles for the photos and may be a few lines to describe an event you have participated; it would be great to see different members of our family. Please send your contributions by email if possible; in case of handwritten manuscripts, please give it to the counter staff at the amenities building next to St. Margaret’s Church. Originals will not be returned so please make copies if necessary.