HONG KONG (KKP/Agencies): As part of the conclusion of the Ignatian Year in Hong Kong, Bishop Chow Sau Yan, SJ, celebrated a Mass at St Ignatius’ Church, Wah Yan College, Waterloo Road, on the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola, July 31.
The Ignatian Year celebrated the fifth centenary of a traumatic but transforming incident: the cannonball moment of the founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola, during a battle in Pamplona, Spain, in 1521. That incident shattered his right leg and changed the course of his life, it led to the foundation of the Society of Jesus, which in turn resulted in dramatic changes in the Catholic Church.
The Ignatian Year began on 20 May 2021 and ended on the founder’s feast day in 2022. The entire Ignatian family was also celebrating the 400th anniversary of the canonisation of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier.
During the Mass, Bishop Chow said that the Ignatian Year was a reminder for the faithful to learn from the new experiences in their lives and to undergo spiritual conversion in Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Under the theme, See all things new in Christ, the year was meant to lead people closer to God through the transforming experience of St. Ignatius and to help them repent and work for the renewal of life in their search for God through Ignatian spirituality.
During the Mass, Bishop Chow said that the Ignatian Spirituality can help to bring out a culture of “synodality” that requires “spiritual conversation” and “discernment.”
The bishop said, “Through the experience of spiritual conversation and discernment, the brothers and sisters of the Church can have a new and positive experience of their faith,” noting that the Church is now responding more fully to the call of Vatican II while practising the spirit of “synodality.”
Bishop Chow shared the four universal apostolic preferences set by the Society of Jesus from 2019 to 2029 in our journey toward God. They include spiritual exercises and discernment, walking with the poor, the outcasts of the world, and those whose dignity has been violated, and assisting young people in creating hope-filled futures and contributing to the care of our common home.
The Chinese Province of the Society has been promoting programmes to respond to the missions of the Jesuits and the universal Church. During the Year, the Jesuits of Hong Kong launched regular retreats for young people from the end of 2020 to July this year to let young people see journey of St. Ignatius in his conversion.
Jesuit Father Clement Tsui Lap-yan, one of the retreat instructors, told the Kung Kao Po that through the retreats, young people had a chance to be close to God through Ignatian spirituality and to reflect on their own professions as well as the meaning of faith and life. According to him, some young men and women who have joined the retreats have even tried to discern their religious vocations.
A mural depicting St. Ignatius was also painted at the campus of Wah Yan College in Kowloon, by teachers and students. It was set in Manresa where St. Ignatius went into retreat in 1522 and he began to write the Spiritual Exercises.
Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, the superior general of the Society of Jesus, celebrated the closing of the Jubilee Year of Saint Ignatius on July 31 at the Basilica of Loyola in the municipality of Azpeitia, Basque Country, Spain, together with representatives from Jesuit provinces from around the world. The basilica is adjacent to the house where the saint was born and where he began a new life journey after being wounded in Pamplona.
In his homily, Father Sosa emphasised the need to recognise, as Ignatius did, that the love of God in our lives is more robust than any dreams of grandeur. He said that actual conversion leads us to commit to the most vulnerable, to reconciliation, to care for our common home, and to collaborate in creating a more just and authentically fraternal world.
“In living our daily reality, in all our social and cultural responsibilities; in community, at home, in the office, in politics, or in the kitchen; wherever we try to render service to others, we are accompanying Jesus”, he said.
At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, Archbishop Francisco Pérez conveyed greetings from Pope Francis and expressed the Church’s desire to collaborate in the fraternity for peace and justice.
