St. Claret Feast - Family Reunion Day!

Concelebrants of the Feast Day Mass with Bishop Jose Lai,
Bishop of Macau, in St. Lawrence Church, Macau 

The Feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret, our founder, on 24 October is becoming an occasion for the friends and well-wishers of Claretians in Macau and Hong Kong to have an annual gathering to share the friendship and joy and to seek the intercession of our Father Founder, St. Claret. 

This year over 300 friends including priests and religious took part in the festal celebrations, hosted in Macau. As the Church concludes the Year of Consecrated Life, we had Mons. Ante Jozic of the "Study Mission of the Holy See" (which serve as 'nuncio' for Hong Kong, Macao and China) to address the gathering on the theme of "Consecrated Life". 

Mons. Ante Jozic, of the "Study Mission of the Holy See",
addressing the gathering on the theme "Consecrated Life"

"The aims of the Year of Consecrated Life are taken by the Holy Father from the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata and I find them very interesting and useful for our reflection today", said Mons. Jozic. Quoting Holy Father Pope Francis he continued, “You have not only a glorious history to remember and to recount, but also a great history still to be accomplished! Look to the future, where the Spirit is sending you in order to do even greater things”. He further reflected on the three aims of the Year of Consecrated Life.

Solemn Procession to the Festal Mass 

1. The first of these aims is to look to the past with gratitude for our religious vocation.  

Reflecting on our history, we reflect on our identity, on our unity as a family and on our common sense of belonging. History is our teacher in the present life. History teaches us how the charism has been lived over the years.

2. The Year of Consecrated Life is also time to live the present with passion

For each community and religious person has received the Holy Spirit’s call to follow Jesus as St. Paul says: “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21). The religious vows should be intended as a concrete expression of this passionate love. The Year of Consecrated Life challenges us to examine our fidelity to the mission that we are entrusted. 

3. The third aim of this Year is to embrace the future with hope and openness 

All our communities today experience many difficulties:  decreasing vocations and aging members, many economic problems, threats posed by relativism etc.

The Festal Meal 

This Year reminds us to put our trust in God because for him “nothing is impossible” (Lk 1:37). This is the hope that enables our consecrated life to look into the future and build our communities on real values, proper dedication, concrete actions and on missionary work.

Friends from St. Benedict's Church, Hong Kong in St. Lawrence Church 

What we have to do to receive graces during the Year of Consecrated life?

1. First of all, the religious are invited to refresh their religious life and vocation within themselves and inside their own communities. 

2. The religious are invited to show more happiness in their religious life. There is a need to live authentic fraternity in our communities. 

Fr. Jijo, Fr. Jojo, and Mons. Ante Jozic during the Celebrations 

3. During this Year there is a need of bearing witness to our faith in the world.

4. The religious are finally invited to share their own love and solidarity in the community, in the Diocese where they life and serve.

Friends from Hong Kong had an extra day of Pilgrimage,
visiting various Marian Shrines in Macau

After the talk by Mons. Ante Jozic, Bishop Jose Lai, Bishop of Macau presided over the Festal Mass, concelebrated by 20 priests