HONG KONG (SE): “Lord, You win! You can see all my cards. I do not hold anything back… I accept whatever you ask from me!” said Claretian Missionary Father Alberto Santiago Rossa, summarising his 50 years in the priesthood in his homily during a thanksgiving Mass at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Cheung Chau on November 27.
Father Rossa officiated the Jubilee Mass, concelebrated by 10 priests, including Monsignor Javier Herrera Corona from the Holy See Study Mission, Father Stephen Tong Chak-lung, the provincial superior of the Chinese Province of the Jesuits, and parish priest, Father Josekutty Mathew.
In his homily, Father Rossa shared that the call from God to become a missionary came in stages since he entered the seminary at 11 and each stage was full of challenges. He was ordained a priest on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady on 15 August 1971 in Cordoba, Argentina.
His first assignment a few years after his ordination was five years of mission work for in the Philippines. But he ended up starting a publishing house and staying there for 27 years.
He recalled that, at first, he felt helpless as he faced a new culture, new languages and he did not know anybody. “I remember telling the Lord: You win! You can see all my cards. I do not hold anything back… I accept whatever you ask from me,” he said.
Father Rossa founded the Claretian Publications in Manila and Macau, along with the Pastoral Bible Foundation, he also spearheaded the publishing ministry of the Claretians in East Asia [Sunday Examiner, November 28].
Father Rossa recalled attending a contemplative retreat 35 years ago where he started repeating the word that Jesus used to pray: “Abba.”
That has been his prayer for a long time and it helps him cope with the many pressures and challenges of work and ministry.
After establishing Claretian Publications in Macau, he initiated a new translation of the Bible into modern Chinese with a team of Biblical scholars and editors. The New Testament with commentaries and the Lectio Divina in simplified and traditional Chinese was published in 2014. The Old Testament is in the final stage of production.
Winnie Wong Wing-yee, of the editorial team of the translations, explained that the new versions aim at using modern languages and syntax that suit the readers of traditional Chinese as well as simplified Chinese texts.
According to her, “The Chinese text is close to the original with dynamic equivalence whenever necessary, with references to the updated textual archeological studies as well as ecclesial, theological and liturgical concerns. We strive to offer our best for Chinese Catholic communities,” she explained.
