CREM – Catholic Renewal Experience for Migrants (Macau)

February 22 marked the second CREM seminar in Macau. CREM is a spiritual renewal program, offering Filipino migrants an avenue for spiritual enrichment as a community.

Ian and Divine, our two lay collaborators, are involved with CREM. Says Divine:

“We now have 60 participants, we have more plans, more ideas.... they want me to create a plan to present to the pastoral team... like ongoing adult formation, make a mini library, meet the different leaders of orgs & movements, ministries – and brainstorm with them to see the needs… but with a set agenda already of ongoing formation… adult catechism… inviting people to use the chapel for meditation – have available materials for reading/prayers, plan a 1-hour or 2-hour weekly (Sunday) seminars – different topics (follow-up) for the CREM...

“PLAN – 3 to 4 months activities and formation...

“So, I’m caught… me and my big mouth... It is doable anyway.”

Congratulations Divine and Ian!

The Claretian Novitiate, Philippines

Fr. Marcelino Fonts, CMF, the superior of the East Asian Delegation, and I went to the novitiate house of the Philippine Province in Ormoc, Leyte, one of the central islands in the Philippines. We arrived late Sunday afternoon, 22 February 2009. Fr. Marcelino was scheduled to facilitate a seminar on prayer for two weeks, so I went with him to see the place for the first time.

Fr. Leo Dalmao, CMF, the director of novices, picked us up at Ormoc airport, and told us that we were lucky, since the flight of the incoming novices were diverted to Tacloban City instead of their flying direct to Ormoc due to the strong wind the previous day. There are five incoming novices – all Filipinos – who will be formally accepted into the novitiate on March 2, and three senior novices – two Vietnamese and a Filipino – who will make their first profession sometime in May.

The novitiate is situated, or rather, nestled in the midst of lush green rolling hills in Barangay Milagro, some kilometers away from the city proper. At the foot of the hill is the Claretian Mission Center, with two Claretians: a priest and a brother. The people speak Bisaya (Cebuano), so the novices, including the Vietnamese, who are involved in pastoral ministry, have to learn the language of the people.

The place is really conducive to prayer and rest. The air is fresh and cool, the surrounding green and budding with life, and the people are friendly and warmhearted. The place offers a pollution-free space for relaxation and reflection, as the novitiate house also welcomes guests for retreats and recollections.

Habal Habal is a single motorcycle without sidecar carrying two, three, sometimes four passengers on its pillion seat used as a form of public transportation especially in places that jeepneys or tricycles cannot reach and where roads are mostly narrow and unpaved.

Philippines a country beyond my imagination

My visit to Philippines was a fulfillment of another long cherished dream. When I was in the seminary I heard a lot about Philippines especially about Claretian Publications and other ministries that Claretians are being involved there. This time I could see something beyond which I have heard of and thought about Philippines. The rich catholic faith that they have and the rich culture and hospitality of the people.

I was invited to attend a seminar where there were 177 priests, 3 Bishops and around 50 lay people who participated in the 3 day seminar. The most inspiring part of the seminar was that we had a Holy Mass presided over by Cardinal Vidal and the fatherly love, care and concern that he showed towards the priests and the faithful touched me. On that day there were around 200 priests and 3 Bishops to concelebrate the Mass with Cardinal Vidal. For me it was the first time that I join for a Mass with so many priests, Bishops and Cardinal.

After the seminar I visited Manila where many Claretians live and work. I was really impressed by the work done by our missionaries. I was very much at home in Philippines and visited many houses and Institutions that we have there. I sincerely Thank all those who helped me to have this wonderful and marvelous experience in the Philippines.

Fr. Jojo (lower right) in Cebu, Philippines, with a group of participants
to the seminar from Hong Kong

The WORD of GOD:

Almost every month we share with you some news

related to the Bible since promoting the Word of God
is one of our main ministries.

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New edition of the Chinese Pastoral Bible

The preparation of a new edition of the Chinese Pastoral Bible has been underway for several years. The concept of having more than “one” Catholic bible translation is new for many Chinese. Recently we received the backing of the most prominent Chinese biblical scholar, Fr. Mark Fang, S.J.

Fr. Sergio Edwards writes from Taipei on February 28:

“Yesterday I went to Fu Jen University and I visited Fr. Mark Fang. He supports the reprinting or new edition of the Pastoral Bible. He feels that Chinese Catholics should have access to more than one Bible translation. He always encourages his students to have also Protestant Bibles in order to compare with the Sigao Catholic Bible [the most widely used Chinese Catholic Bible] because sometimes the meaning is clearer in other versions. All the more he feels that another Catholic Bible would be of help for Catholics to better understand things that are not clear in the Sigao Bible….”

We have several teams working on the final preparation of this totally new edition of the Chinese Pastoral Bible and you will hear more about this project in the coming issues.

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Catholic Prayer Bible…

The Catholic Prayer Bible
Lectio Divina Edition
New American Bible

The Pastoral Bible Foundation, a Claretian ministry, is working with Paulist Press (USA) in the preparation of the Catholic Prayer Bible.

To introduce this Bible we have prepared the book of Acts of the Apostles taken from the forthcoming Catholic Prayer Bible: Lectio Divina Edition, which contains meditations for every passage in Holy Scripture. It is an ideal Bible for anyone who desires to reflect on the individual stories and chapters of just one, or even all, of the biblical books, while being led to prayer through meditation on that biblical passage.

Here is a sample page from the book of Acts of the Apostles:
click image below to enlarge

The Catholic Prayer Bible: Lectio Divina Edition will be available from Paulist Press and Pastoral Bible Foundation in the fall of 2010. Reasonably priced, it will be a true treasure for every household, encouraging both deeper knowledge and love of Scripture and, for every Christian, a rich and fulfilling new way of praying.

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Chinese Daily Gospel 2009

Publishers know that dated materials are a complicated business. In publishing the Chinese Daily Gospel, we have to be careful with the print run… We are pleased to share with you that the Chinese Daily Gospel in its edition for Mainland China has been reprinted three times and still copies were not enough. We reached 20,000 copies for this year 2009.

Meanwhile our team is working on the Chinese edition for 2010. You may know that we are also coordinating the printing of the Spanish edition called “Diario Bíblico” and the book is at the press in China already soon to be sent to 20 international ports – the 80,000 copies already presold mainly to Claretians in Latin America. As we say in our motto: “missionaries without borders… from China to the rest of the world.”

Praying the Psalms with the Church

Here is a link you may find useful. You can listen to the reading of the Psalms of the Breviary with a click of the mouse:

www.podfeed.net/podcast/Praystation+Portable-Catholic+Liturgy+of+the+Hours/2034#

The Bible (on one sheet of paper)

This is how it is described:
THIS IS REALLY NEAT,
SOMEONE SURE WAS DEDICATED TO THIS.

(God Bless all those who contributed).

The Bible at your fingertips. Click on any chapter.
I have never seen anything like this.
This is by far the best email I have received
and the best one that I will ever forward.
You can now read the Bible at the click of a button.....

http://www.jrsbible.info/bible.htm
And from the bottom of that page we get the following

Emergency Telephone Numbers

These are more effective than 911

When -
You are SAD, phone John 14
You have SIINED, phone Psalm 51
You are facing DANGER, phone Psalm 91
People have FAILED you, phone Psalm 27
If feels as though GOD is FAR from you, phone Psalm 139
Your faith needs STIMULATION , phone Hebrews 11
You are ALONE and SCARED, phone Psalm 23
You are WORRIED, phone Matthew 8:19-34
You are HURT and CRITICAL, phone 1 Corinthians 13
You wonder about Christianity, phone 2 Corinthians 5:15-18
You feel like an OUTCAST, phone Romans 8:31-39
You are seeking PEACE, phone Matthew 11:25-30
It feels as if the world is bigger than God, phone Psalm 90
You need Christ like insurance, phone Romans 8:1-30
You are leaving home for a trip , phone Psalm 121
You are praying for yourself, phone Psalm 87
You require courage for a task, phone Joshua 1
Inflation's and investments are hogging your thoughts, phone Mark 10:17-31
You are DEPRESSIVE, phone Psalm 27
Your bank account is empty, phone Psalm 37
You lose faith in mankind, phone 1 Corinthians 13
It looks like people are unfriendly, phone John 15
You are LOSING HOPE, phone Psalm 126
You feel the world is small comp ared to you, phone Psalm 19
You want to carry fruit, phone John 15
Paul's secret for happiness, phone Colossians 3:12-17
With big opportunity/ discovery, phone Isaiah 55
To get along with other people, phone Romans 12

ALTERNATE NUMBERS
For dealing with FEAR, call Psalm 47
For SECURITY, call Psalm 121:3
For ASSURANCE, call Mark 8:35
For REASSURANCE, call Psalm 145:18

ALL THESE NUMBERS MAY BE PHONED DIRECTLY.
NO OPERATOR ASSISTANCE IS NECESSARY.
ALL LINES TO HEAVEN ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY.
FEED YOUR FAITH, AND DOUBT WILL STARVE TO DEATH

Visitors

On February 15 we met Bishop Peter Feng Xinmao, Jingxian Diocese, Jingxian, Hebei. I was at ICLA (Institute for Consecrated Life in Asia) in the Philippines for some meetings. The Institute has about 120 students from different Asian countries and 49 of them are Chinese priests and sisters.

He gave a good homily telling us something about his diocese: 4 million people; only 25,000 Catholics; located 250 klms. from Beijing; he has a minor seminary with 95 students and about 80 belong to his diocese; other major seminarians are in several seminaries: National Seminary in Beijing; Shaniang and Sija zhuan. He also has 10 seminarians studying in Manila and one of his priests stays with them as spiritual director. He was made bishop at the age of 39 about 7 years ago. He mentioned that of all the Chinese martyrs canonized by John Paul II, most of them belonged to his diocese and he said that that is the reason for having many vocations. Then, talking about the gospel of the day, the cure of the man with leprosy, he said that we are all wounded and in need of Jesus healing; he mentioned particularly the Church in China as a wounded Church, having suffered so much in the past and that the Church, all the members, need the healing of Jesus.

Hebei Province

Jingxian is close to Shijiazhuang, where is the major seminary.

A blessed Lent to all!

Welcome to our January 2009 Newsletter

CHINESE NEW YEAR

On January 26 began the Chinese year 4707.
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar.

Why New Year on January 26?

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-year cycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community.

And we are now on the Year of the Ox

Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality.

How is the Ox? They are stable, fearless, obstinate, hard-working and friendly (….like Fr. Josep Abella born on the year of the Ox… Welcome to your 60th birthday!).

And here is a short Chinese story:

History of Chopsticks
How did the Asian food utensils originate?

In much of Asia, especially the so-called "rice bowl" cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, food is usually eaten with chopsticks.

Chopsticks are two long, thin, usually tapered, pieces of wood. Bamboo is the most common material, but they are also be made of various types of wood, as well as plastic, porcelain, animal bone, ivory, metal, coral, agate, and jade.

Some people think that the great scholar Confucius, who lived from roughly 551 to 479 B.C., influenced the development of chopsticks. A vegetarian, Confucius believed knives would remind people of slaughterhouses and were too violent for use at the table!