"The Finger of God" behind the Divine Mercy Congress in Macau

In response to Pope Francis' announcement of the Year of Mercy, Claretian Missionaries together with lay collaborators organised Divine Mercy Congress in St. Lawrence Parish, Macao from January 22 to 25, 2016. The main theme of the Congress was "Jesus Christ- the face of the Merciful Father ". There were nearly eighty participants from Mainland. Macao, Hongkong and Taiwan.

The congress began with the opening mass presided by Fr. Stephan Rothlin, SJ. In his homily he showed how social teaching of the church springs from the fount of Divine Mercy. There were four speakers from Mainland, Hongkong, the Philippines and India leading the  sessions of the Congress. 

Aside from six biblical talks showing God’s mercy in the Old and New Testament, the participants also experienced Divine Mercy in the sacrament of reconciliation and through prayer. During the entire events priests were available for the sacrament of reconciliation. Fr. Joy Pulickal, CMF conducted a healing service with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and prayer for inner and physical healing. Each day, many participants gave their testimonies - the stories of conversions and forgiveness, of healing and transformation. The Gospel was alive again and all realised that God’s mercy is something real, concrete, and experiential.

Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang, Bishop of Macau presiding over
the Concluding Eucharistic celebration of the Divine Mercy Congress.

The last day of the event was graced with the presence of the newly appointed shepherd of the diocese of Macao, bishop Stephen Lee who presided over the concluding Eucharist. After the Holy Mass, he spent an hour with the participants sharing his life and experience, and answering their questions. It was truly a time of God’s mercy and -as one of the participants said- one could see ‘the finger of God’ behind the event. 

Year Of Mercy Bread! 

Joyously joining hands in preparing the "Mercy Bread"! 

Fr. Jojo and St. Lawrence Parish have taken up numerous programmes for celebrating the Jubilee year of Mercy. The parishioners join hands to prepare a bread for the needy. They prepare it twice a week and distributed freely. The project is run with the help of many generous contributors. 

T-Shirts, Jackets, Coffee-cups and medallions are also prepared as souvenirs of the Jubilee Year