By Father Paul Kam Po-wai
Our Church is an outreach Church, we need to go out, spread love, evangelise and bear witness. Parish ministry, educational work and social service are the most basic missionary tasks of the Diocese of Hong Kong. In addition to this, pastoral care is provided in various places, such as hospitals and prisons, but one of the lesser known pastoral care services is believed to be the one carried out in the airport.
Every Friday at 12.45pm, there is a thanksgiving Mass in the prayer room of Terminal 1, which is basically attended by Catholics working there. This past May and June, I visited and celebrated two thanksgiving services, each time with over 10 people attending, all of whom came to pray and give thanks during the lunch hour.
Besides expressing their love for the Lord and their need for the nourishment of the Word of God and the Body of Christ, they come to pray for people and for the world, especially for the staff and passengers at the airport. This is a very meaningful testimony and if you have the opportunity to pass through the airport and time allows, you are welcome to pray together.
In addition to the weekly thanksgiving service, every December there is an annual celebration of the feast day of the airport [in 1920 Pope Benedict XV made Our Lady of Loretto the patron saint of air travellers], and last December I had the pleasure of celebrating with them. One of the sisters was even received as a catechist on that day. Some lay people also organise catechism classes, the gatherings of the Legion of Mary, Taizé prayer meetings and different sharing meetings. So if you or your friends work at the airport, you are welcome to come and participate in these groups.
I visited the Legion of Mary once and attended one of their meetings. I am amazed that they can meet every Wednesday evening after their busy work schedule and do the duties of the Legion of Mary every week. Some of them teach catechism classes and some do contact work in the airport, such as greeting and caring for the workers. Some serve in their own parishes in the Sunday School. I am very grateful and appreciative of these lay people working at the airport who form communities, pray, share their faith and take up the mission of evangelisation in their own areas of work. This is a spirit we should learn from.
Of course, it is not easy to carry out this mission. On the one hand, it requires faith and trust in God. On the other hand, it requires the prayers and support of everyone. If you work at the airport, you are welcome to be part of the team, and bear witness through praying, sharing, serving, as well as evangelising.
Our Lady of Loreto, pray for us!
