HONG KONG (SE): The Diocese of Hong Kong will organise activities under the themes of the Year of St. Joseph (8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021) as well as the Year Amoris Laetitia Family (from 19 March 2021 to 26 June 2022) to contribute to parish renewal, Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming, said. The diocese has adopted parish renewal as its pastoral direction for the next three years with Father Chan heading up the task force.
Father Chan said parish renewal must start on the personal level with the renewal of an individual, as they can bring about changes in families, families in parishes and society as a whole. “So family as well as personal renewal are important too,” Father Chan said.
While encouraging people to read the apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (the Joy of Love), the task force will also promote the reading of the apostolic letter, Patris corde (With a Father’s Heart). “The seven virtues of St. Joseph in the letter can set an example for fathers and remind them to keep their courage in the pandemic,” he said. A video to promoting the apostolic letter is in the making.
The task force will also share its plans and organise formation activities in different stages with the eight deaneries of the diocese. While helping the laity to bear witness to God in society, Father Chan said the focus during the coming year is not to organise activities, but to help people to have a personal renewal so that they can help others change.
The diocese is encouraging people to show greater attention and concern for their own families. “If we only care about society, but show no concern for our family members or do not help with household chores, the renewal is incomplete,” Father Chan noted.
If we only care about society, but show no concern for our family members or do not help with household chores, the renewal is incomplete
Father Dominic Chan
Kevin Lai Yuk-ching, executive secretary of the Diocesan Pastoral Commission for Marriage and the Family, said that St. Joseph is a good inspiration for fathers. “Many fathers have ignored family life for the sake of work. The example of St. Joseph reminds men that they need to play different roles,” Lai said.
The commission will organise a programme for fathers to promote the virtues of the saint in cooperation with the Caritas Family Service. He hopes the programme will also help non-Christians to learn from the example of St. Joseph as a father. At the end of March, the commission will also hold a formation course for Catholic husbands to discuss the role of male Catholics as children of God, husbands and citizens.
To help parishes and communities prepare for parish renewal, the Hong Kong Central Council of Catholic Laity has organised a series of talks for the comprehensive formation of parish leaders to show them the important elements of parish life, including the Word of God, leadership skills, worshipping, community spirit, services, stewardship and evangelisation methods. Church groups are also invited to share their experiences in different areas of service.
He believes that young people will be more willing to join parish services if the parish can build up mutual trust with youth groups and give them chances to share their views.
A participant at the talks, William So Sze-wai, chairperson of the parish council of St. Jude’s church, North Point, said they helped him understand the different aspects to consider when preparing for parish activities, such as the necessity of biblical grounding for all the different ministries in the parish. “A reading of the Word of God could be a better way of starting a prayer before a meeting. People in the parish need the inspiration from the Word of God first,” he said.
He hopes the forthcoming talks would help parishioners to address different situations of a parish. One problem, according to him, is the difficulty to recruit new people to a service. He believes that young people will be more willing to join parish services if the parish can build up mutual trust with youth groups and give them chances to share their views.
The council plans to hold the talks online from April to October for members of parish councils, pious associations and parish communities.
Iris Leung Wing-ha, formation officer of the council noted, “People offering services can evangelise better after being enriched by the Word of God.” She added that the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has created a new form of parish life, which is an issue for the laity to think about.
Father Joseph Liu Ah-lun, spiritual director of the council, said the parish renewal programme aims to help the laity to form a joyful, energetic, open and welcoming parish, which cares about the marginalised in society. The series of talks on aspects of parish life can help the laity to look deeply into parish life and encourage them to work hard for renewal.
Father Liu, a member of the diocesan task force for parish renewal, will be a speaker during an online talk on stewardship in August. He pointed out that stewardship skills can help parish priests to discover the talents of the laity which can contribute to parish renewal.
