HONG KONG (SE): On Vocation Sunday, May 3, the Diocesan Vocation Commission, in cooperation with Boiling Point, an online forum for young people, released a music video promoting vocations to the consecrated life with a song: Jesus Christ, you are my life.
The video also carried a message from Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing in which he said that the song encourages everyone to put Jesus Christ at the centre of their lives, as the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has taught us that we can easily lose everything we used to rely on except God.
“May each one of our youngsters be able to hear the inner voice of God and may God and his voice become our life. And this is the meaning of vocation,” he said.
Bishop Ha called on people to pray for their own vocation, vocations for the diocese and vocations for the universal Church.
With the support of the Diocesan Audiovisual Centre, the video brought together 45 consecrated men and women, including John Cardinal Tong Hon, Bishop Ha, 14 priests, 21 sisters, five students from the Holy Spirit Seminary, and three religious brothers.
They sang from where they were due to the restrictions on gatherings during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Father Paul Kam Po-wai, who is presently a missionary in Cambodia, also took part.
Father Dominique Mukonda of the Diocesan Youth Commission told the Sunday Examiner that “This pandemic has taught us of how life can suddenly take serious turns and our plans become obsolete. It helped us to reiterate that our hope is in Jesus who is our life and our comfort, the one who will not forsake us.”
Father Mukonda said, “What do I do to stay connected to this source of true life? This Month of May, which is the vocation month in the diocese, can be an opportunity for the young people to meditate and discern the Lord’s call.” He threw down a challenge to young people and asked: “They said yes to the Lord. Would you?”
Sister Sania Ho Ka-yi of Francisan Missionaries of Mary, executive secretary of the Vocation Commission, said it took two weeks to record the video.
She said that the response from consecrated people was really good as they hoped to encourage young people to respond to their vocation. One sister in the video told her that she lost her voice after singing for the whole day to get the best result but she did not mind if it would encourage someone to join her congregation.
For four consecutive Sundays from May 3 to 24, a programme is to be posted on the Facebook pages of the vocation commission and Boiling Point.
Consecrated people are invited to share about ways of encouraging vocations, difficulties in consecrated life and their determination to respond to vocation.
