Keith Ip
This year due to the pandemic, the celebration of the golden and silver jubilee anniversaries of professional vows of the Salesian of Don Bosco and the Salesian Cooperators was rescheduled to 13th November, in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the death of the Rector Major Fr. Albera Paolo.
Hosted by the supervisor of the Instituto Salesiano Fr. Yip Tai Ho, the celebration attended by around 200 people began at 1:30 pm with the launch of Fr. Albera Paolo’s book A Lamp Resplendent and the gathering of the Salesian Family commenced.
As the Salesian Family is serving young people, it was the youth that first performed the song of this year’s pastoral theme “Linked in Adversity,” and then the theme of nurturing was to explore the contribution of Fr. Albera Paolo to the Salesian group and the Church. Fr. Domingos Leong discussed Fr. Albera Paolo’s life during the Hong Kong book Launch.
The Salesian fathers then celebrated the Mass in St. Lawrence’s church, presided by Fr. Yip Tai Ho who was also celebrating his Rector Fr. Chow Pak Fai and six other priests as the concelebrants.
In his homily, Father Yip pointed out that everyone was overflowing with grace and positive enthusiasm when they had their first vows, but as time passed, their first intentions were easily overshadowed by the world. Celebrating the golden and silver anniversaries of professional vows provides an opportunity to reflect on their call and let them go back to the beginning, re-equip, and then continue the journey.
But what does it mean to be “re-equipped”? The original intention of accompanying and nurturing the youth remains the same, but if the understanding, the way and the realization of education and accompaniment remains the same for decades or centuries that would be a catastrophe. The priest mentioned that he remembered the time when he made his first vows, he had just graduated in his teens from the college. The understanding of accompanying young people is to spend a lot of time with them to hold activities, retreat and let them experience the love of God. These are important but it is not all that St. John Bosco’s spirituality is about. The beginning is just a starting point, but the most important thing is how to develop a bigger and broader spirit.
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