HONG KONG (SE): “Today, we are reminded to be an inclusive community, welcoming everybody no matter their background, ethnicity, race, or ability,” said Guadalupe Father Tito Lopez Martin, chairperson of the Diocesan Youth Commission and spiritual advisor of Diocesan English Youth [DEY]. He was addressing the non-Chinese speaking youth of the diocese at the end of the Amazing (G)Race Sports Fest at Tak Sun Secondary School, Ma On Shan, on September 12.
The annual event, formerly called Holympics, was suspended for three years due to social unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The event started with a Mass celebrated by vicar general, Father Paul Kam Po-wai, and concelebrated by Father Martin and Immaculate Heart of Mary Father Dominique Mukonda.
In his homily, Father Kam said that he was happy to see the event reunite the community again after a suspension of three years. He said the sports fest reminds those present that we are all fighting a long battle of faith, which demands our perseverance till the end.
He said it is essential to encourage people to “come and see” the Church, such as by inviting them to join the monthly Eucharistic adoration of the DEY and the retreat in November, and the activities of the parish.
“The most crucial point is that we have to encounter Jesus here first so that we can be empowered to ‘go and tell’ people the Good News,” Father Kam said.
After some warm-up activities, participants joined in games that invited them to understand the feelings of the physically disadvantaged by not allowing them to see, hear, talk or walk.
The over 30 participants from different parishes and communities, including some non-believers, later shared their happy moments and said that they were inspired through the games, which were meant not only for fun. Many said they could strongly feel the hardships of the disadvantaged through the games and, above all, the presence of God in their community.
At the end of the sharing session, Father Miguel Diez, spiritual advisor of the group, said that the games that day reminded people that we all, somehow, have our weaknesses, but we can grow up through acknowledging them and together, we can overcome our weaknesses in faith, with the support of others.
“We are a community of faith, but this community has its own weaknesses. It is a community that is not perfect, is a community of sinners, of sick people; it is the community that needs Jesus to come and heal us all,” Father Diez said.
On the other hand, Father Tito pointed out that the day’s activities imparted a message that we all have something in common as we belong to the family of God, but people who had some physical disadvantages may feel excluded and ignored, in the same way as we feel in our spiritual downturns.
“We are called to help each other even with our spiritual and physical weaknesses, and it is only through such that together, we can be an inclusive community. We have to move from exclusiveness to inclusiveness. The grace we received during the Amazing (G)race was the gift of inclusiveness,” he said.
