HONG KONG (SE): On October 24, John Cardinal Tong Hon, the apostolic administrator of Hong Kong, officiated at a celebration at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception on Caine Road, marking the conclusion of an eight-month-long series of programmes designed to empower the laity with the Word of God and Eucharist Adoration, to encourage them to be better evangelists.
Since February this year, the Ad Hoc Committee for the Diocesan Mission Sunday Celebration has organised a number of formation activities including arts and spirituality workshops, meditation and prayer sessions as well as talks on evangelisation skills with which to equip the laity to better spread the Word of God.
This year the diocese chose the theme, Emmanuel, to remind the people that Christ is with them every day until the end of the world [Matthew 28:20].
The event began with a slide presentation of the various Mission Sunday activities this year and a recitation of the rosary for the missions. During the Eucharistic adoration that followed, participants were guided to encounter Jesus through the Word of God and the testimonies of participants. A reading from 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 stressed St. Paul’s exhortation to preach the gospel as it is an obligation.
Sin Kai-chi, a Sunday school catechist at Transfiguration Chapel, North Point, shared that he was only an ordinary layperson with limitations, but his small service helps to show that evangelisation is the duty of all. He thanked his brother for inviting him to the Legion of Mary while he was in secondary school, leading him to practise his faith seriously and evangelise through weekly services.
When his mother passed away from illness, the members of the Legion of Mary became the angels who cared for and encouraged him. He felt empowered and determined to serve the Church. He considers it the duty of the laity to be aware of the needs of others and to support them.
Father Benedict Lam 
Sin Kai-chi
In his homily, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing encouraged people to be united and complement one another while serving the Church.
As the diocese has already kicked off the initial consultation process for the 2023 Synod of Bishops [Sunday Examiner, October 31], Bishop Ha invited people to respond to the appeal for a synodal Church by being open for discussions in unity within the Church.
He said that we must let those outside the Church feel hopeful through our life’s testimony, charity services, as well as our care and concern.
Eucharistic benediction followed the bishop’s homily.
The third part of the celebration was a commissioning that began with a message from Father Benedict Lam Cho-ming, the chairperson of the ad hoc committee, who invited people to evangelise all the more during the Covid-19 pandemic and in different types of adversity so that people can see the presence of Jesus Christ who promised to be with us always.
He expressed his hope that the ceremony would be a testament to the unity of the Church in Christ.
Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming, chairperson for Diocesan Task Force on Parish Renewal then introduced Pope Francis’ Instruction, The pastoral conversion of the Parish community in the service of the evangelising mission of the Church, issued in July last year.
Father Chan said the instruction reminds parishes that they are the basis for preaching and that their acts of charity can show the love of God in our society. He encouraged the laity to respond to the pope’s appeal and spend more time caring for the marginalised. “Bring Jesus to the poor and then bring the poor to Jesus,” he said.
Representatives of the eight deaneries in Hong Kong accepted copies of the Instruction from Cardinal Tong and will bring these to parishes to support the implementation of the Instruction.
The ad hoc committee also provided sign language interpretation for the livestreamed celebration.
