After the past Christmas period filled with so many challenges, we are invited to begin the liturgical (and existential) Ordinary Time with the security of God’s faithful love and presence in our life. We are not alone in facing this new year. Fortified by the Holy Spirit, may each one of us become, too, a dependable and loving reference person in the life of those whom the Lord will entrust to our care.
It is the message of hope and joy that through the Baptist, John, from the very first page of his gospel, wants to announce to the disciples. Despite the apparent overwhelming power of evil in the world, what awaits humanity is the communion of life “with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” These things—John says—I write “so that our joy may be complete” (1 Jn 1:3-4).
How should we keep Sunday holy? “Christians keep Sunday and other days of obligation holy by participating in the Eucharist of the Lord and by refraining from those activities which impede the worship of God and disturb the joy proper to the day of the Lord or the necessary relaxation of mind and body….” (CCCC 453).
On January 22, the Chinese calendar will enter a new cycle and the Macau Cardinal Newman Center of Cultural and Performance Arts intends to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit with a series of activities and workshops, aimed at children and adults alike. Choi Chun Heng, one of Macau’s most renowned calligraphers, will join the celebrations for the third year in a row.
Pope Benedict’s XVI time as pope was short, but his impact was enormous and his legacy will probably continue to reverberate in the decades to come, Father José Mario Mandía believes. The former director of O Clarim recalls some of Joseph Ratzinger’s most important contributions to the Church, namely the Christ-centeredness of his theological vision and the first official Catholic catechism in more than 400 years. The Pope Emeritus’ profound words will continue to shape philosophy, theology and the life of the Church and the world.
Shy, reserved, but truly erudite. Joseph Ratzinger – the first German pope in almost 500 years – goes down in history as a highly regarded theologian and one of the most influential pontiffs of the last few centuries, say priests and faithful whom O Clarim spoke to. Long before he was elected to the Chair of Peter, Cardinal Ratzinger paid a brief visit to Macau in March 1993. The then head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith urged the bishops of Asia to regard the mission of the Asian Church more in terms of “inter-culturality” instead of “inculturation”.
Like the Magi, after these tough past years, we might also be puzzled about the meaning of what we went through and also about God’s role in our life. The Christmas message is that God who comes to share our sufferings, while not solving them, transforms them from within through the gift of Himself. It’s a mystery which is not easy to understand or accept.
The Magi have become the symbol of people around the world who are led by the light of Christ. They are the image of the church, made up of people of every race, tribe, language, and nation.
When we hear the word “justice,” we often think of what we ought to give to others. But the first “other” is God. The virtue of religion reminds us of our duty of justice towards God – our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sanctifier.
The Catholic Diocese of Macau is preparing to send at least 50 youngsters to Portugal to take part in the 2023 edition of the World Youth Day. The easing of the pandemic-related restrictions decreed by the local authorities, earlier this month, eliminates the requirement of a mandatory quarantine in a designated hotel – one of the aspects that worried the Diocesan curia the most.