EACH YEAR THE Diocese of Hong Kong celebrates the Jubilees of priests and religious serving in the diocese on the occasion of the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Unfortunately this year, with the Covid-19 pandemic showing no sign of let-up 10 months since it first appeared in the region there may not be a celebration. The emergence of a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections towards late November saw the Hong Kong government re-impose strict social distancing rules leading the diocese to suspend public Masses again on December 2 until further notice.
Jubilee is a time of gratefulness and a time for reflection and celebration. The Diocese of Hong Kong remains indebted to these consecrated women and men for the witness of their lives, enriching the life of the Church in this city and in China at large for 70, 60, 50 or 25 years.
We approached a few of the jubilarians to share about their vocation, what led them to make their commitment and what difference they find in their religious commitment today compared with their initial commitment. What sort of struggles did they encounter during their years of consecrated life?
A common factor we found in most was a strong Catholic family that supported them through and through. Parents have an undeniable role in fostering vocation to priestly and religious life because good vocations are result of loving and prayerful families.
Young parents today nurture great hopes and expectations of their children. But how many Catholic parents aspire for their children to grow in love for the Church and its mission? A fresh look at the role of parish communities and the diocese in supporting families with young children is much needed to promote a better relationship between families and the Church, and to promote vocations to priestly and religious life.
In the pastoral letter for Advent, John Cardinal Tong Hon announced the decision of the diocese to adopt “parish renewal” as the pastoral theme for the coming year. In his letter, Cardinal Tong calls for “the Diocese to face the challenges of the contemporary era and reflect on how the Church can more effectively fulfil its evangelising mission and service.”
It would be brilliant if the diocese could devise measures to ensure support for young parents in need of assistance in raising their children in an expensive city like Hong Kong. Such measures would help families; children—especially—would grow up with a sense of belonging in the Church.
Of course, God’s call is totally gratuitous and no one merits it. Why did God choose anyone of these jubilarians to a life of consecrated commitment? Only God has the answers—that’s his choice! But the greatness of these women and men is that they opted to surrender their freedom, choices in life and their free will to the will of God, not just once but continuously for these many decades. They had the courage and determination to surrender themselves to God’s will. It’s this courage and generosity of heart that we admire in them and celebrate on this occasion.
Applauding decades of committed service of the jubilarians is indeed a precious occasion to ignite the fire of love for the gospel and passion for the mission of Christ among young girls and boys of our faith communities.
The Church stands in need of more vocations to adequately serve the faithful in the diocese as well as in other parts of the world. jose CMF
