Miguel Augusto
The bishop of Macau Most Reverend Stephen Lee, last year brought the Corpus Christi procession back to Macau, which had not been realized for many years and sadly almost “forgotten”. Our bishop has been extolling the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the involvement and union of the faithful with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. This year, the liturgical calendar of Corpus Christi in Macau was invigorated with various activities, such as: lectures for consecrated and lay people, prayers of healing, talk for families and all community, 24-hour Perpetual Eucharistic adoration and culminating with the solemn procession of Corpus Christi, on Sunday, 3rd of June.
On learning of Fr Augustine’s passage through Hong Kong, our bishop invited Fr Augustine to give some talks during the Corpus Christi Celebrations in Macau. The lectures took place on June 1 and 2 in the Sé Cathedral and St Lawrence church. These meetings were always made with the presence of the Eucharistic Jesus. Fr Augustine has often emphasized the importance of our relationship with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and our living and communion with him. Sister Margaret Wong, from the Eucharistic Oblate for the Vulnerable who invited Fr Augustine to come to Hong Kong since 2005, and accompanied him to Macau and providing simultaneous translation told O Clarim: “We have invited Father Augustine to come for Corpus Christi every year. He is a man of God, whose teachings are all based on the Bible and focus on Eucharistic adoration.”
It is important to point out to the community the importance of these moments in which the life of faith and communion go beyond the walls of our house. These meetings allow the Lord to radiate a light that illuminates the soul and heals, and makes us realize that God wants us as a family, uniting and supporting each other: with faith and love, helping as apostles of the Lord, members of His Mystical Body. God calls us in many ways, and sometimes, out of curiosity, out of friendship, there are many of the children of God who come back to the Father’s house by participating in such encounters. For the Catholic community, the talks were a moment of reflection, of union with the Lord, of prayer and of graces given by Jesus to all who were present and contemplating Him in the sacramental bread. Fr Augustine’s words touched each one in a particular way, because the Lord inspires his shepherds and makes Himself present.
Sister Maria Lúcia (FMNS), superior of the Franciscans sisters in Macau, attended the talk for the consecrated and shared with us a few words: “Father Augustine focused mainly on the presence of Jesus hidden in the bread, remembering that our God is always with us. Thus the consecrated person should be a presence of Jesus in their midst, through the witness of their life of faith, love and service, sharing this Jesus with those who are closest to him.”
The word of God proclaimed in the presence of the Most Holy Sacrament, is mystical and sublime, and we remember the words of the apostle Paul and we meditate on them in our hearts: “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” (Phil. 4:13).
Note: Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V. C. is the Director of the Divine Retreat Center in Muringoor, Kerala, India. He has a Masters in Theology and a Doctorate in Philosophy, author of numerous spiritual articles and several books. He is a Professor of Philosophy at the St Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary in Alwaye, Kerala, India.
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