HONG KONG (SE): The congregation of the Sisters of Precious Blood marked the closing its 25th general chapter on August 12 with a thanksgiving Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing of Hong Kong, at the General House chapel in Fanling.
Themed, Let Come Together to Witness Hope, the general chapter began with the election of the new leadership on July 30 [Sunday Examiner, August 8] followed by discussions on important issues related to religious life and their apostolate.
Jesuit Father Beda Liu Chia-chheng was invited to be the spiritual adviser and gave very valuable advice during the whole process of the chapter. He introduced the methodology of Dr. Daniel Siegel’s “Wheel of Awareness” by inviting the sisters to encounter God, the centre of life. Then, in the context of the culture of encounter, discernment can be employed to deal with new situations in a rapid changing world. The result of discernment will be directly affected by the charism of the congregation, the resources and the environment.
He also reminded the sisters that a religious congregation is an organisation of God, while the sisters, being dedicated women, should be mindful of their identity.
Father Liu remarked that Chinese philosophy posits that yin and yang are two elements in every aspect of life—positive and negative. These interlocked. With God’s love, negative can be transformed into positive; there have been many cases in history. Therefore, with the hope and love of God, good days will come through transformation.
In general, the Precious Blood Sisters realise although limited by the decrease in membership, this prompts them to rely on more the grace of God, to more clearly discern his will in this rapid changing world with an uncertain future.
Participants also resolved to invite the whole congregation to hold on to the charism of the founder while they bravely face the future with the spirit of creativity.
During the Mass, Bishop Ha remarked that it was never easy for any congregation to implement chapter resolutions, so he encouraged the sisters to rely on the Word of God, his Divine Love and his Covenant as their help in carrying out their resolve to serve the people of Hong Kong with hope, love and faith.
