HONG KONG (UCAN): In an online talk for Mission Sunday on March 13, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing urged people to draw inspiration from the virtues of St. Joseph to help in sharing the faith. He stressed that, while the faithful may have different experiences with God, it is important to reflect on these, organise their thoughts and express them.
The talk was among a series of activities organised by the diocese for Mission Sunday and in response to the Year of St. Joseph, which began on 8 December 2020 and will continue until December 8 this year.
Bishop Ha said a close relationship with God is the foundational and that St. Joseph, a righteous man, is a good example in this as he always sought God’s will and followed it as seen by his acceptance of the Blessed Virgin Mary immediately after the angel’s vision and message (Matthew 1:24). He later protected Jesus from the Massacre of the Innocents by Herod by bringing the Holy Family to Egypt.
The bishop said, however that doing will of God does not mean we will not encounter trials; even St. Joseph had his own doubts about the safety of Jesus when he was told to return from Egypt to Israel when the son of Herod ruled over Judea (Matthew 2:22). “It is through trials that we can experience God. We have to look back at these experiences, think deeply about them and arrange our reflections so that we can share it with others.”
He added that trials can be big or small, but they are all worth sharing. Such experiences can be hard to fully express as they are quite personal, but we need to share and allow the listener decide how to receive them.
Bishop Ha noted that St. Joseph was obedient to God and was willing to do all for Christ— important prerequisites for evangelisation. He added that said sharing the gospel is, in fact, a command, as Jesus told his disciples to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). “If we do not evangelise, this can mean our lives are not transformed by our faith.”
Furthermore, evangelisation has to be done with creatively, which means tailoring the gospel to the audience without contradicting the teaching of God.
One example can be found in the preaching of St. Paul to Athenians in the Areopagus, which had the shrines for different idols. There was a shrine with the inscription, “To an unknown god.” St. Paul began his preaching by saying he respected the Athenians for being religious. And he made use of the shrine of the “Unknown God” to reveal to them the good news of Jesus (Acts 17:22-23).
During the question and answer session, Bishop Ha was asked how to witness to people who criticise the Church.
He noted that criticism shows people have expectations of the Church, which is not a bad thing and that we have to admit that the Church is made up of imperfect people which is why we have to keep looking up to God.
