In his Easter message this year, Bishop Stephen Lee Bun Sang has declared that from 30th April 2023 (Good Shepherd/Vocations Sunday) to 8th December 2024 (Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception), the Diocese of Macau will celebrate the “Diocesan Year of Vocations”.
The Church in China held a special place in the heart of Pope Benedict. He visited the Diocese of Macau when he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Bishop Stephen Lee asks the faithful to offer prayers in suffrage for the soul of our beloved Shepherd Pope Benedict.
On behalf of all the faithful of the Diocese of Macau, Bishop Stephen Lee expresses our gratefulness to our late Holy Father for his pastoral care and exemplary service to the Church.
“Finally, let us meditate upon the Gospel, on the manger, on the love of Jesus, and of Mary, Joseph, the angels and the shepherds beside him, that is the joy of Christmas. In this Christmas and New Year, through the love and hope that the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ brings, we hope that the Diocese of Macau, together with Macau society, as well as our neighbors and the rest of the world, will recover economic prosperity, stability and happiness in people’s lives.”
The new Diocesan Youth Center is focused on drawing youth to discover the best in themselves, develop it and offer it to the world. In doing so, they will also evolve in their spiritual life and learn to become better persons.
From honouring St Joseph the Worker on his feast day at the church named for him and celebrating the sacramental progression of young Catholics; the recognition that sainthood can be achieved through any myriad of vocations on the World Day of Prayer for Vocations; remembering the admonishing yet hope-filled message of Fatima on Our Lady’s feast; to the Confirmation students of St Francis Xavier parish receiving appropriate guidance to grow in faith, the month of May was an eventful one, yielding spiritual blooms and representing a Catholic time of spring. O Clarim recalls…
The Bishop Domingos Lam Centre for Research in Education was created three years ago with the purpose of fostering research focused on education and educational development in Macau, but the Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation or suspension of several of the projects in which the organization was involved. Restructured one year after it was founded, the Centre elected inclusive education as one of its main focus of research. O Clarim spoke with Ana Correia, an expert in special and inclusive education and current director of the Bishop Domingos Lam Centre for Research in Education.
While new members of the Diocesan Commission for Life focus on assignments, education about pro-life laws and understanding the fullness of human dignity take the forefront in Macau.
The Macau Cardinal Newman Center of Culture and Performing Arts’ prolife fortnight includes various programs to cultivate a culture of protecting the sanctity of life, among which are an art exhibition and three round-table discussions. The initiative – the second of its kind – is part of the Pro-life Programme, which will run until May 23rd.
The Catholic Church worldwide will celebrate next Sunday as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. In Macau, the annual celebration will be commemorated with a solemn Mass at Saint Lazarus’ Church and with a tribute to a dozen jubilarian priests and nuns.