BEIJING (Agenzia Fides): On October 4, the traditional Chinese dedicated to the elderly and ancestors— Chung Yeung, or Double Ninth Festival, was marked by the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception [South Church] in Beijing. With the motto, “Lord, it is good that we are here!” taken from Matthew 17:4, the occasion provided an opportunity to celebrate the beauty of the bond of love that unites so many elderly people to Jesus during the long years of their lives.
The date of the event follows the lunar calendar, and this year it coincided with the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
A large group of elderly people took part in the Eucharistic celebration, during which the sacrament of the anointing was also administered. At the end of the liturgy, everyone silently prayed for all the elderly, and for priests who died due to old age, illness or the pandemic.
Father Zhao Qinglong, the cathedral parish priest, thanked the elderly for being wonderful and precious companions in the journey of all priests, and in the journey of faith of all the baptised.
The parish priest and four assistant parish priests then put on their aprons to attend to the participants gathered at the table for the cutting of the cake and the distribution of flowers and small gifts offered by the parish. The elders expressed their gratitude by singing sacred hymns and reciting poems of faith.
Bishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing also joined in the moment of fraternal sharing, expressing his immense gratitude for those who embraced “the mission of transmitting faith in Christ with their example, with their life of prayer and generous dedication, thus announcing the gospel for the benefit of the entire community, and especially the youngest.”
