The Igreja de S. Francisco Xavier Mong-Há celebrated their Feast Day on the 5th December of the 2nd Sunday of Advent. On the same day, fifteen candidates for the catechumenate attended the Rite of Acceptance to the Order of Catechumens.
Bishop Lee Bun-Sang was the main celebrant at Mass, held at 6 PM, with Parish Priest Fr Chong Chi Kin, Fr Rafael Gemelli Vigolo, Fr Paolo Consonni and Fr. Lee Yick Kiu concelebrating..
In his homily, Bishop Lee pointed out that our life has valleys, mountains, twists and turns, but we can fill the valleys, level the mountains, straighten the twists and turns if we have the Lord.
What are our catechumens looking for? Baptism is a commitment, a promise, a call from God. We are honored to be chosen by God, and we are to respond by committing ourselves, by relying on Him, by following Him, so that our valleys will be filled, and the crooked paths will be straightened.
In the Advent readings, we learn about “promise”, “salvation” and “hope”.
St Francis Xavier also show “promise”, “salvation” and “hope” in his life. The saint worked to bring salvation to mankind, traveling to India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China to preach. He was full of passion to preach the gospel. The number of those he baptized was so great.
The Bishop asked the catechumens to reflect on what they are seeking and encouraged them to follow the example of St Francis Xavier in bringing the “promise,” “salvation” and “hope” to others, including our schools, workplace, and society, and to live a life of joy as a witness of faith.
After the homily, came the rite of the catechumen. Bishop Lee, the concelebrants, and Sister Lau Sok Chun drew the sign of the Cross of Jesus Christ on their foreheads. The Bishop then gave each one a cross
Towards the end of the Mass, Fr Chong showed the parish report to the Bishop and the faithful. He spoke about the pastoral care service and announced that there would be a big exhibition in January which had taken a year to plan.
After the Mass, a celebration was held in the adjacent playground of the Saint John De Brito School. Bishop Lee praised the hard work of Fr Chong, Fr Rafael, Sister Lau and the faithful and cited the results, especially the large number of students and instructors in the Sunday School.
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