Earlier this month, the Catholic Diocese of Macau played host to a delegation from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore which visited Macau’s Historical Archives. Later, the delegation held a discussion with Bishop D. Stephen Lee that covered Church affairs and an exchange of ideas. The visit also encompassed explorations of significant sites in Macau, emphasizing the cultural and historical ties between the two regions.
In the fourth and final column of his series titled ‘Praxis of Peace: Peacemaking in our World’, Fr Fausto Gomez OP writes that in Christian perspective, peace is a gift of God and a task for his children. Here is his recipe for peacemaking through a summary of the previous columns on peace and peacemaking in our troubled world.
The church, also known as the “Cathedral of the Desert”, witnesses hundreds of people attending daily masses celebrated in different rites – Latin, Maronite, Syro Malabar and Syro Malankara – and in different languages: English, Arabic, Tagalog, Malayalam and Konkani.
Everything depends on pure and free hearts. Therefore, the fight against evil must first be waged within us, in our hearts. There lies the origin of pride and wars. It is there where the deception of the evil one wreaks havoc.
Jesus casts out the evil from the person, not the person himself. We need Christian ways of dealing with members of our community, to expel the evil but welcome the person. Saving the person who is in sin while denouncing the evil is possible only with great love.
In the third column of his series titled ‘Praxis of Peace: Peacemaking in our World’, Fr Fausto Gomez OP concludes the recipe for peace with two remaining requirements: sharing something with the poor and praying for peace.
Gnosticism wanted a Christianity that conformed to the world, fitted into the culture of the time, absorbed myths and Greek philosophy, and gave little room for Revelation. Montanism, on the other hand, taught that Christians should flee from the world.
In the second column of his series titled ‘Praxis of Peace: Peacemaking in our World’, Fr Fausto Gomez OP shares two more requirements for peacemaking: being a builder of peace in our communities and being at peace with the whole creation.
Traditionally observed every third Sunday of January in the Philippines, the feast of the Santo Niño (Holy Child Jesus) is special for the Filipinos. The devotion is also extended to Macau. It is for this reason that the Sunday masses after Epiphany are devoted to Santo Niño.
Our task for peace in the world and in our respective country and region is peacemaking! The theory of peace urges us to the practice – or praxis – of peace, that is, to peacemaking in our world.
In his series titled ‘Praxis of Peace: Peacemaking in our World’, Fr Fausto Gomez OP shares a simple recipe to achieve the task.
In his first column, he presents the first two requirements for peacemaking in our world today: focusing on Self and God, and Family and Community.