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Rev. Joseph V. McCabe, M.M., J C.L.

April 2016Volume 17

St. Margaret Mary’s Church

Introducing AMORIS LAETITIA

On 8 April 2016, the long-awaited post-synodal exhortation on marriage and family life in our time was published by Pope Francis, under the title Amoris Laetitia or “The Joy of Love.” From the end of both the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of 2014 and the Fourteenth Ordinary General Assembly of 2015 of the Synod of Bishops.

From the time of the inauguration of the papacy of Francis, one of his constant pastoral con-cerns has been the crisis of marriage and the family in the 21st century, a concern of many of his predecessors, especially Blessed Paul VI, St. John Paul II, and Benedict XVI who all addressed in various ways the erosion of the institution of marriage in many cultures and the challenges that face couples today wishing to marry and raise a family in a pluralistic, often difficult social, economic, and cultural environment that erodes the fundamental moral values upon which the institution of Christian marriage has stood for millenniums.

The synodal process in the Church has been used throughout our history as a means of bringing together theological and pastoral concerns of the community by gathering representatives of every episcopal conference as well as invited experts and representatives to discuss issues of great importance. Marriage and Family Life have already been addressed in past Synods, but the new challenges that have appeared since we crossed into the Third Millennium have called for a fresh review of these two important institutions as a way of encouraging young couples today as they prepare to marry and raise families of their own.

Indeed, as Francis states in the opening paragraph of Amoris Laetitia, “As the Synod Fa-thers noted, for all the many signs of crisis in the institution of marriage, “the desire to marry and form a family remains vibrant, especially among young people, and this is an inspiration to the Church”. As a response to that desire, “the Christian proclamation on the family is good news indeed”.

Before tackling in coming essays in our parish Bulletin the heart of many of the issues in this important document, I would recommend to those interested to read in its entirety the Post-Synodal Exhortation. It is admittedly quite long, but it helps to read with one’s own eyes what Pope Francis has expressed the topic of “love in the family”, rather than depending on short – sometimes critical, oftentimes misleading – comments in the media that are frequently written with some par-ticular bias or point of view they are hoping to push.

Here is a direct link to Amoris Laetitia: [http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia.html]

I would also recommend the following carefully written article by Bishop Robert Barron, a noted theologian, preacher and commentator: http://www.wordonfire.org/resources/article/first-thoughts-on-amoris-laetitia/5134/.

Rejoice for the Lord has Arisen

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This year our English community had its first “Easter Monday Mass” that is found in many cultures throughout Europe, Latin America and other parts of Asia. For many, after the 40—day period of fasting and abstaining from certain types of foods such as sweets and products cooked with butter or fats) Easter is celebrated with large loaves of sweet breads, cakes, buns, and special foods such as the custom of coloring eggs, a symbol of “new life.” These foods are brought to the church for a special Easter Table blessing and then shared by family members and friends. We thank those who joined in the spirit of the day with very little notice and brought freshly-baked Easter buns” or Easter eggs to church for the blessing.

Our Parish, Our Family

We celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday this year with the Baptism of 5 infants and children into our community, and we congratulate their parents and godparents, and welcome their families and friends to St. Margaret’s Church.

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One Faith One Body

I said to my Dad,‘Give me my share.’Papa followed what I said,I took my gold and went elsewhere.

Wine, women, and song,What a splendid time I had,Didn’t realise it was wrong,Till I spent all I possessed.Famine came, and my money gone!All my ‘friends’ deserted me.I had to work to clothe my loin,And tend to pigs my job would be.

I was desolate and starving.The pigs were better fed than I!Dad’s slaves were happy and laughing,In a foreign land would I die?

Then I realised my sins so grave.I must go back to my dearest Dad, And beg Him take me as His slave.So towards home I hastily sped. From the day I left my home for fun,Papa had at the doorway stayed,Watching for his wayward son,To repent and return to His love’s embrace.From afar He saw His little boy,In rags and dust, His prodigal son.He runs to me, so full of joy,His hope and love have finally won.

The Prodigal SonDedicated to Our Heavenly Father

Servant of the Blessed Sacrament

And so my dear wayward friends,If you should one day go astray,Remember this is not the end,Trust our Heavenly Father must you pray.

In Luke 11:1, Jesus was praying and his disciples came to him and seeing him at prayer, asked: “Lord, teach us how to pray.” It seems like a simple enough request. After all, if we were privileged to have lived at the time of Jesus, and had witnessed him at deep prayer, communion, with the Father, would we not also be tempted to ask for insight and help on how to pray? For prayer is not something that comes to us easily or by instinct. Rather, as most spiritual directors, mentors and guides have taught for centuries, prayer is a discipline that one has to learn carefully, and practice. It involved at times both a place (whether alone or with others, in the privacy of a room or while walking around, in a tiny chapel or sacred space or in the immensity of a glorious basilica) and a structure, and it is this latter part, structure, that becomes critical. In both the Gospels of Matthew (6: 5-9a, 9b-13) and Luke (11: 2-4) we can clearly make out a structure that Jesus teaches to his disciples that can be best seen with four key words: YOU WHO DO THROUGHYOU – Our FatherWHO – who art in heavenDO - Thy Kingdom come They will be done on earth as in heaven Give us this day our daily bread Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us Lead us not into temptation Deliver us from evilTHROUGH – (a close or doxology) – For the Kingdom, the power and glory are yours. or “through Christ our Lord.” YOU WHO DO THROUGH Four simple words that provide for us a simple, yet sure structure for all prayer. You – who are you addressing in prayer? God the Father? God, the Creator? Almighty God? Or Christ? Or the Holy Spirit? Or Mary? Or a patron saint? Prayer begin by orienting ourselves towards and placing ourselves in the presence of the person we are addressing. YOU. Who – we address God, or a member of the Trinity, or Mary or a saint because of our faith and trust in their divine intervention and help. “Who” – denotes who that person is for us, or how we approach that person, or why we tur to that individual now in prayer. WHO. Do – Petition, prayer, request, plea. Often we turn to God and pray because we are seeking his help. Most prayers, admittedly, carry a plea or petition asking God or Christ, or through intercession Mary or a Saint to hear our plea or take our plea before God. DO. Through – The closing part of most prayers is a simply doxology or blessing calling on Divine assistance to hear and receive our prayer. We close most prayers at Mass with a phrase “through Christ, Our Lord” or “through the Holy Spirit” etc. But we also should see doxology as a blessing – blessing and thanking God or Mary or the saint we are addressing. THROUGH. YOU WHO DO THROUGHFour words that can help each of us learn to pray, or can help parents to teach their children how to pray. “Lord, teach us how to pray!”

“Lord, Teach us how to pray!”

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Wo r d s f r o m G o s p e l r e a d i n g s i n Ap r i l 2 0 1 6

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.

By post: St. Margaret’s Church (Newsletter)2A Broadwood Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong. Tel: 25762801 Fax: 25769764 Email: smc@catholic.org.hk

The celebrations of Holy Week and Easter this year brought us all together for days of prayerful contemplation and liturgical celebrations of the passion death and resurrection of the Lord, the core of our Catholic faith and traditions. Thanks to the cooperation and coordination of many in the parish, including the close collaboration of our community at Christ the King Chapel in Causeway Bay, the work of our choirs, our readers and commentators, our Mass servers and the parish staff and sacristans helped to draw all of us into a deeper prayerful time of Holy Week in this special “Year of Mercy.” In our sector of the wider parish community, we welcomed 5 new adults into the Church, witnessed one other receive confirmation, and on Divine Mercy Sunday welcomed 5 new infants into the Church. To the Elect who were baptized at the Easter Vigil and to the families of the 5 children baptized on 4 April 2016, we welcome you into the Church and into our faith community here at St. Margaret’s Church.

Gospel verses

Around Our parish for Holy Week

Second Sunday of Easter “Sunday of Divine Mercy” John 20:19-31Jesus said to Thomas, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Third Sunday of Easter John 21:1-19And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord.

Fourth Sunday of Easter John 10:27-30Jesus answered them, “My Father, who has given [my sheep] to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of my Father’s hand.”

Fifth Sunday of Easter John 13:31-35Jesus said, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Holy Thursday

Singing the Exultet

Newly Baptized and families

Good Friday

Holy Thursday

The Light of Christ

Holy Thursday

Easter Sunday congregationOur choir