China Mission - July 2009

Grassroot Evangelization

Fr. Paul Zeng Haijun is a young Chinese priest. After teaching at the seminary for some years he is now a grass root evangelizer. Three months ago he was assigned to a parish in Heyuan City including 9 sub-stations to take care of. Recently we donated 400 copies of the Chinese Pastoral Bible for his ministry. Let him tell you about his work:

This is Guangdong Province in China. And the colored district is where I work. The main city there is Heyuan with a population of 210,000 people. The majority of the people are Cantonese and Hakka.

The Church at Heyuan, China


These pictures are taken in Heyuan City. I often stay here.

I want to train some leaders who can lead people to pray with the Bible and teach them the essentials of faith.


Everyday I am teaching them songs and help them memorize biblical sentences.


Usually there are about ten old people who pray and sing every day at the church. Often I visit people with some of them.

The following pictures are from Xiazhai Village, Dongyang county.

In this village we have no place for worship.
We gather in the houses of parishioners to pray and celebrate the Mass.

The following pictures are taken at Litian Village, another sub-station of the parish.
We do have a common place to gather and to pray here.

The following pictures are from Zhongxin Town, Liangpin County. Here there is a large place that belongs to the church, but at present is occupied by a grain supplier.

We are trying to recover this place that belongs to the church. We have locked the gate and use the two offices for our celebrations and catechetical formation. We have here about 200 parishioners. We are also trying to recover another two places that belong to the church.

Fr. Paul ends with this letter:

Reverent Fr. Alberto Rossa

I am Fr Paul Zeng Haijun. Thank you for your help. I have already received the four hundred copies of the Muling Bible. Many thanks are from my heart, I could not give anything to you, but I do believe that God will give you more than what you have given to us. My parishioners and I will pray for you and your cause with those bibles.

I could not offer the pictures of my nine places in a short time. I now have a project to improve my parishioners’ faith.

First, I am teaching them songs, and let them know those songs’ meaning. The chosen songs link with the biblical story or pure biblical sentences like the golden rules. I let them sing those songs, slowly, those songs’ meaning will go into their heart, and practice in their lives.

Secondly, I have to tell them biblical stories, these stories tell us some truth for living. And we use songs to let them learn by heart. But I know clearly that the time that I have with my parishioners is not enough. Most of the parishioners who can read the Bible, I want to teach them how to read the Bible and how to pray with the Bible. When they are at home they can read the Bible and pray with them.

Thirdly, it is important to memorize the golden biblical sentences. I teach them songs and one biblical sentence a day. The goal is to train them to have strong faith in Bible and Jesus, because the Word became the Flesh, and lives among us. Gradually they will proclaim the Gospel that they have in their minds and practice in their lives.

Lastly, the most urgent thing is training evangelizers. In fact, it takes me one month to go to all my assigned places. The best way is to teach them how to learn the Bible by themselves. So I am training the people who can be sent. I do believe that there are many people who want to serve the people, they just have no way, and they need a little training only.

In the end, I thank you for your material help, also I need more good ideas and spiritual help to let more people enjoy their lives in faith.

God blesses and loves you always!

Little brother: Zeng haijun

Reinventing Consecrated Life in China

New situations call for new answers. Under the expert guidance of Fr. José Cristo Rey, a group of Chinese religious sisters gathered in our house in Wanzai, China to discern the call of the Spirit for them. The following are some memories of those days:

Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Fr. José Cristo Rey

From one of the sessions ...

Food for thought... and

...Food for the body!

Paricipants of the retreat with Frs. José Cristo Rey & Alberto Rossa

Two Missionary Giants. . .

Fr. Luis Ruiz seen seated and Fr. Thomas Peyton in the extreme right

These are Fr. Luis Ruiz, 97 years old; and Fr. Thomas Peyton.
I am copying from one of the many blogs about Fr. Luis Ruiz:
“In China, thousands of lepers and their families are being cared for, and are finding hope and love, through the work of a remarkable man. He is Father Luis Ruiz, a Jesuit priest, who treks about the Chinese mainland finding colonies of lepers eking out an existence without the most basic necessities.
“Statistics are cold-blooded counters that say nothing of the love that is the stock in trade of the men and women committed to caring for these least of our brethren. Nonetheless the statistics are impressive:
• Over 8000 patients cared for in 139 centers; the families and children of many of the lepers are also ministered to;
• Fifteen roads built, 17 schools, 5 bridges;
• Seven mobile clinics manned and operated;
• Twenty-five systems for clean drinking water established; 21 systems for electricity.”

“Angels Live in the Villages of China”

China expedition of Jojo Ancheril

Jojo Ancheril, true to his adventurous nature, undertook yet another adventurous journey in to the interiors of the mainland China. He visited the Ngjau region in the Guangdong province of China from 20 – 24 July. Excerpts from the interaction with Jojo on his Chinese Expedition: - How was this visit to China different from your previous visits?
I have visited a number of big cities in China in the past. But this time I had the opportunity to go into the interiors of a few remote villages in the province of Guangdong. And it was the first time that someone dared to take me to some of the remote areas of that place.
Tell us more about these villages
I was in a region called Ngjau. The villages were over five hours drive away from Ngjau. Some of the villages were of mountainous terrain. What touched my heart most was the simple and poor people of that area.

And how are the people of the area?
The people are very generous and humble. Most of them are farmers and from morning till very late in the evening they work hard in the fields. They
share whatever they have with one another.
Hope, you had a wonderful time, attracting the children with your magic
Well, I did show a few tricks and it was fascinating to have so many children around. In most of the families there are eight to nine members. We visited around 35 to 40 families and in all places they came together to share their joys and sorrows. The children came around and played with us. I was very much at home with them with my broken Cantonese.
And what do you cherish most from this China Trip?
We spent four days with them and all these days we prayed together, played together, ate together, walked together, etc. I consider these days as the most beautiful and joyful days that I spent in China. Well, if I get a chance to go there again I will be happy to go there in spite of the long journey and other difficulties that await us. This trip helped me to understand the fact that Angels live in the remotest areas of China.

New Assignment: China Mission

Welcome Fr. Jose Cherukara

Fr. Jose on Arrival to Macau

Macau – the name was deep in me from the days of my catechism classes! Of course, not because I ever imagined that one day I would come to this blessed land for the cause of the Gospel. St Francis Xavier, the 2nd Apostle of India had come to this land and after his death, bones of one of his arms was brought here and was preserved in the St. Paul’s Cathedral. The relic was later shifted to St. Joseph's Seminary and the Sacred Art Museum. Hence, the name Macau was familiar to me. And when I reached this land, the initial feelings were one of pilgrimage!

In front of the facade of St. Paul's Cathedral

It is a beautiful place, fast obtaining the status of a cosmopolitan city. Fast growing Casinos and Tourism sector and the textile and electronic toys industries make Macau one of the richest cities in the world. The island is just 29.2 sq. kms in area and has a population of 5,46,200 as per the I quarter assessment of 2009. But what is more amazing is, this small tourist island is visited by over 27 million people every year. I believe that the missionary zeal of St Francis Xavier and Love for the Word of God of St Antony Mary Claret continues to enthuse the Missionaries of the present in their missionary endeavours in China.


With Frs. Rossa and Jojo

OTHER NEWS:

From Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, Archbishop of Manila:

Good News about the Pinoys and Pinays in Macau! May they always be a Blessing to those they work with and for. May they remain a Blessing to themselves by remaining faithful and true to their faith and love for God in Jesus.

+ GBRosales

We all need a HUG!

Polar Bear: I come in Peace

Norbert Rosing ' s striking images of a wild polar bearcoming upon tethered sled dogs in the wilds of Canada ' s Hudson Bay.

The photographer was sure that he was going to see the end of his dogs when the polar bear wandered in.
It ' s hard to believe that this polar bear only needed to hug someone!


The Polar Bear returned every night that week to play with the dogs.

May you always have love to share,

Health to spare,

And friends that care