Christmas Celebrations...

Hong Kong 

The Crib in Mui Wo Chapel 

The first Christmas in Mui Wo was indeed a beautiful celebration of love and sharing. We had organised two talks on Infancy Narratives as a preparation for the season of Advent and the Parish Community had an intense preparation of nine days of Novena Masses - Symbangabi - a Filipino tradition -  from 15-23 of December.

Fr. Alberto addressing the gathering of the elderly on the Christmas day in Peng Chau 

From the gathering of the elderly in Peng Chau on the Christmas day!

During the nine days of the Novena, Fr. Alberto guided the faithful focusing on a theme given by Pope Francis to the Claretian Missionaries: To Walk, to Accompany and to Adore.  Pope Francis during an audience given to the Missionaries during the General Chapter in September 2015 invited the congregation to focus on this theme in our Missionary apostolate. We picked that up as our theme for the Christmas Celebrations. Midnight liturgy was conducted both in Chinese and English in Mui Wo Church and Peng Chau mass centre. 

During the Mui Wo Carnival, Fr. Alberto as one of the "three wise men from the East"

Parishioners performing during the Carnival 

A week before Christmas, the local community of Mui Wo celebrated the Mui Wo Carnival - a village festival. Our Parish Community participated in the event staging a play on the Christmas Story and singing carols.

On the way to the Home for the Aged in Mui Wo on the Christmas Day 

Christmas was also a special occasion to reach out to the elderly, especially those in old age homes in Mui Wo and in Peng Chau. A number of parishioners went around Mui Wo downtown on the Christmas Eve, singing Carols and greeting people on the streets the joys of Christmas.

Carols in the Home for the Aged 

On the Christmas day a celebration was organised for the elderly in the Peng Chau chapel, where over 150 elderly persons, most of whom are non-christians, participated. In Mui Wo, the parishioners visited a number of old age homes, singing carols and distributing Christmas gifts to the inmates.

聖誕快樂! Happy Christmas!! 

"Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let all the earth rejoice"

Macau

The Christmas Decorations in Macau 

In the Parish of St. Lawrence, where Fr. Jojo is the parish priest, Nine-day novena mass was held at 5.30 am from 15-23 December. Christmas Eve liturgy in English included an hour of adoration and meditation prior to the midnight mass. The meditation was led by Bro. Sid Ching, CMF and the Concelebrated Mass was presided over by Fr. Francisco Carin, Delegate Superior of the Claretians of the East Asia.