HONG KONG (SE): Bishop Stephen Chow Sau Yan, SJ, invited people to pray for the repose of souls in a video released on April 5, the Ching Ming Festival, to mourn those who lives were lost during the pandemic. The video, released by six religious leaders of Hong Kong, urged people to cherish their relationships with family and friends.
The video was posted on the Facebook page of Hong Kong Social Welfare Sector Joint Action against Covid-19. It included messages from the leaders of the city’s Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, Confucian, Christian and Taoist communities, to comfort those in grief. Bishop Chow’s message can also be found on Catholic Way, the YouTube platform of the Diocesan Audio Visual Centre.
“We all feel very heartbroken, very sorry and helpless,” Bishop Chow said, as he noted that the death toll of the Omicron-driven fifth wave of the pandemic reached tens of thousands, many of them elderly, including people over 100-years-old, while some were as young as three or four-years-old.
“However, we believe that the merciful Lord, who always has great love in his heart, will open his arms to receive them, welcome them back to his eternal embrace and give them rest. We pray every day for the repose of souls, and I do so at Masses. I think the faithful are also doing the same thing,” the bishop said.
Bishop Chow pointed out that the present situation is a reminder for people to cherish the family and friends around them, take the opportunity to communicate with them, share with them, and even make peace with them, for human life is indeed so fragile and impermanent.
However, we believe that the merciful Lord, who always has great love in his heart, will open his arms to receive them, welcome them back to his eternal embrace and give them rest. We pray every day for the repose of souls, and I do so at Masses. I think the faithful are also doing the same thing
He reminded people not to forget those around them who are facing hardships and struggles in their lives because of the pandemic and those troubled by emotional problems.
“Let us spend some time listening to them, journey with them and even give them some material support,” he encouraged, adding, “In the midst of this pandemic, may our city, with the fraternal love from brothers and sisters and from the people of Hong Kong, become a place of love and justice; may the dead rest in peace, and may the living lead a more meaningful life and be more willing to share.”
In the video, Reverend Wong Ka-Fai, chairperson of the Hong Kong Christian Council, said that the death toll is not cold figures, but represents lost lives mourned by bereaved families, giving solace to the living.
On the same day, a Memorial Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing at St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery, Happy Valley, was also posted online.
In his homily, the bishop commented on the love and sadness of the bereaved for their loved ones that brought them together to pray for the departed. At the end of the Mass, Bishop Ha incensed the graves and led prayers for the deceased.
Chief executive, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, in a statement released on the same day, extended her deepest condolences to the families and friends of the over 8,000 Covid-19 patients who had died.
She explained that the pandemic had quickly worsened over the Lunar New Year in early February and had grown beyond the ability of the local government to handle. However, measures had been enhanced with the support of the central government.
