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
Fr. Luis Ruiz seen seated and Fr. Thomas Peyton in the extreme right
These are Fr. Luis Ruiz, 97 years old; andFr. 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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
Today we share a jewel of Faith and Trust from a person who is very close to us: Martin Chung.
Martin Chung is Chinese, born in Macau. Martin and Queenie Leong were married two and a half years ago. Both are Catholics. I baptized Martin in 1999. He is now in pursuit of his PhD in Political Sciences at the University of Hong Kong. They have a small daughter, Tin Yin.
Two years ago, while waiting at a bus stop, a truck went out of its way, hit a post and the post hit Queenie on the head. She was 5 month pregnant. She underwent open head operation and many trials. A few months later their daughter was born with “holes in her heart”. Thus the following testimony of Martin.
- - - - - - - - Others see a chain of bad luck and suffering, we see a test of faith – and a blessing awaiting blossoming.
In less than two years, between my wife and my 1.5-year-old daughter, there have been 5 surgeries, on the head if not in the heart. And more are still on the horizon, as there are still holes in my little daughter’s even littler heart to be fixed, some in a most complicated chamber that even the best surgeon in Hong Kong (and Asia) hesitates to venture.
Why me? Why us? I imagine others would have long begun questioning their Fung Shui, their birthday’s compatibility with the year’s celestial dignitaries, the potency of their patron gods that are gathering dust somewhere on some shelf – or the darker part of their past that may be responsible for the karma.
But no, this is not the way we take it. As Christians – that is, trying-to-be followers of Christ – we have long been prepared to shoulder our share of the Cross. Sometimes it means persecution for our beliefs, like the ordeals of Stephen’s (Acts 6-7) and Paul’s (Acts 21-28), sometimes it means simply being close to somebody special, like Mary as the mother of a suffering son, like parents like us having a “special” child.
Looking at our daughter as a special – rather than a sick – child helps. For what is “sick” or what is “normal” are but human categories. We’re all “sick” in some way – just that some are more obvious, and some less. As parents to a special child, we are called to walk a special path – one that is particularly onerous, to be sure, but also, just because of that, particularly rewarding. I remember listening to a friend feeling some sort of loss because both her birth-giving and child-rearing had been “too uneventful” – thanks to the marvels of “painless birth” and “hands-free mothering”, which are not at all unaffordable nowadays.
Ask Mary, knowing full well what would happen to Jesus and how much pain it would cause her (i.e. what the greeting actually meant), if God granted her a second chance, would she choose to retract her “let it be done” in Luke 1:38?
Ask us, if God now appears, a “perfectly normal” baby on his left hand, will we surrender our less-than-perfectly-normal daughter in exchange?
Ask again, God willing, we can go back in time to less than a few weeks of pregnancy, knowing full well her future heart problems, will we go for abortion?
Ask finally, Heaven forbids, if our daughter should ultimately reunite with God ahead of us (now I can hear my Chinese within me shouting: Dai Gut Lai Si! – or something like How dare you utter such misfortune! – as if mere utterance will bring it about), despite all our efforts and tears and prayers, will we wish that she had never been born?
Our answer to all these: a resounding No.
No. No. No.
Like all tests, the test of faith has its questions. Some are fairly easy to answer. Some we don’t even dare to ponder. But unlike the tests of fate, its passing brings peace amid fear, a bit of light above an ocean of darkness. Fear and doubt are there still, menacing as ever, but they no longer look the same.
After all, it is not a mean-spirited, man-playing God that we believe in, as many self-proclaimed rationalist Chinese do – as when they say: Tin Yi Nung Yen, or the Will of Heaven is but to make fun of Man. It is our creed and our bread: There is one God, with him everything is possible, and he loves us like no other.
Do we need miracles to “prove” his existence and his power, so the “success” of Christians can help gain converts? Never.
Like Jeremiah says, or something to that effect: God is. That is enough.
And a family we are, here at this moment, and forever in eternity as well.
Below is a typical letter that the Pastoral Bible Foundation receives. Because of our contacts in China and because of the generosity of some benefactors from abroad, we can supply bibles and books to poor parishes. After making sure that instruction and seminars on the Word of God will accompany the distribution of the bibles, we sent Fr. Zen 400 Chinese Pastoral Bibles.
Here is the email we received from Fr. Zeng Hijun:
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zeng haijun Dear Fr. Alberto RossaI am Heyuan parish priest, Zeng haijun. I would like to teach some biblical knowledge for Heyuan Christians and unbelievers. I have received information that you can help so I dare to ask for your help. In our parish there are just some magazines from different seminaries, few bibles and religious books. This is developing parish, this parish still owes the debts for 2003 building the church, so we could not buy the materials for the growth of Faith, many believers are new in this church. Without Bibles and books I do not know how to do, now under your help I think we can grow together with the Holy Word, who can guide us to the Eternal life.Thanks again! We are praying for you the benefactor and all benefactors.
Heyuan is at the North of Guangdong Province in China
Archbishop Ramon Arguelles from the Philippines, and his cousin Dr. Tess Arguelles visited the Diocesan Pastoral Center and later on spent some time with us in Macau and in Zhuhai where we invited them for a “taste of China”.
It was also the opportunity to share with them our work, especially the biblical apostolate and the project of the special subsidized Pastoral Bible that has arrived in the Philippines. Archbishop Arguelles is in charge of CFC (Couples for Christ)
Claretian Superiors representing the countries of East Asia
(Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Macau, China), the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia gathered in Macau in preparation for the Claretian General Chapter to be held in August. We were happy to have them with us for a few days and learn firsthand on the challenges and projects of the Claretians in these Asian countries.
They are (left to right)Fr. Sabu George,CMF, Fr. Marcelino Fonts,CMF, and Fr. Renato Manubag,CMF.
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 
