In a sea of World Youth Day pilgrims, dozens from mainland China

SYDNEY (CNS): In brilliant winter sunshine, the old docklands at Barrangaroo, Sydney, became a moving sea of national flags unfurling above the heads of the 150,000 people who had come from different corners of the earth to celebrate one faith and liturgy, including around 60 from mainland China.
Among them were priests from the unofficial Church in China who, for the first time in their lives, were able to openly wear a cleric’s black and white collar.
The Chinese pilgrims said they were ecstatic to be in Sydney. One young woman said that “we can feel the Holy Spirit working among us,” adding that “all our young people feel the hand of God moving on them, healing them and making them stronger.”
The pilgrims agreed to talk to Catholic News Service on July 15, as World Youth Day opened, only if their real names were not used.
Father Li Jinxing recalled that for the first 20 years of his life, he had never met a priest. He said that “priests were heroic figures, heard about but never seen.” He said that the Catholic faith was practised secretly in his home under threat of government persecution, but that “parents and grandparents kept the faith strong.”
Father Li said that, in China today, “things are improving a little,” but much still depends on the tolerance of local and provincial authorities as to whether the Church has a legitimate profile. He spoke of the official and unofficial communities and claimed that “the government allows too few seminaries to train the numbers of priests in the official Church, so the unofficial community is by far the bigger one.”
As a 20-year-old in Hebei province, Father Li attended a hurriedly convened secret Mass. Like all such gatherings, the liturgy was celebrated at lightning speed for fear of discovery. It was then that he met his first priest and there, as he received communion, that he realised his vocation.......

Five years on, building faith life after baptism

HOng Kong (SE): A group of Catholics who were baptised together at St. Jude’s church, North Point, in 2003 have transformed their monthly reunion into a volunteer group under Caritas-Hong Kong. Their aim is to nurture their faith and to show concern for people in need.
Shiu Kwong-to, who heads the group, called Caritas-Hong Kong Ambassadors of Smiles and Love, told the Chinese-language Kung Kao Po on June 25 that their objective is to provide service to the community and carry out evangelical work.
Launched in February 2006, the group is autonomous and self-financing. Twice a month, ten members of the group, which numbers 30, work with special needs children and the elderly. Shiu said that “we hope that we can bring joy and happiness to children and the elderly and let them know that they are cared for.”
Shiu, who was a firefighter for 36 years, retired two years ago. He remarked that the idea of volunteer work is in keeping with the spirit of his work as a firefighter.
When he started his job in the 1970s, he realised the transient nature of life when he witnessed deaths in major disasters. Even then, he hoped to serve the community after he retired.
He observed that “those who have faith, in general, lead a happier life. I hope to bring joy and happiness to others and help them feel God’s grace.”
The group’s volunteer members learned skills such as magic, sleight-of-hand, tricks with balloons and dance in preparation for their work and they also meet regularly for formation and sharing with their spiritual director, Deacon Edwin Ng.
Shum Hui Man-yee, who was the group’s catechist, said that “their volunteer work can help strengthen their faith. Through their social service, they can bring the message of the gospel to those who have not yet embraced the faith and simultaneously bring the message of love and concern to the community at large.”
She explained that “some people, for different reasons, lessened their participation in religious activities about six months after they were baptised while others have difficulty in continuing their personal spiritual growth.”
She encourages people to enrich their personal faith through volunteer work and believes the group’s regular prayer meetings and sharing sessions with the deacon are an impetus to their enthusiasm.
Shum said, “My only asset is my diligence. I attend all their reunions and service sessions and play the part of a peer. I pray for them. When some of them are unhappy, I offer them encouragement and prayer.”

A story of 200 years of dedicated missionary service

St. Magdalene of Canossa is a founder who fell in love with the Lord, not only the one who in heaven but also the one who chose to dwell in the world. She detected his presence and action in the many changing facets of life of her own time. She was ready “to be changed into dust” if that could make present the love of Jesus Christ in every corner of the world.
Born in 1774 in the ancestral palace of the Canossas in Verona, she was the second of five siblings in the family. Active and spontaneous, she was the embodiment of happiness and liveliness. However, misfortune soon struck when her father, away from home on an excursion, suddenly passed away. Magdalene was only five and yet, it was at this early age that she first experienced the call of the Lord to higher things. Two years later, her mother, still in her late twenties, chose to start a new life and remarry. She wanted to take her children with her, but the Canossas did not agree. One can imagine the pain the little one underwent; a pain which remained with her all her life and, in God’s plan, prepared her for her future mission. The five orphans, ranging from two to nine years of age, came under the care of their uncle.

Finding God’s will
When Magdalene was seventeen, she decided to discern her vocation by spending some time in two contemplative monasteries in the Carmelite tradition. However, it became clear to her that this was not what God had in store for her. She understood that he wanted her to serve the poor in the world. Her spiritual director, Don Luigi Libera, guided her in her search for God’s will in intense prayer and by walking close to him in daily life.
Seventeen years were to pass before she clearly saw God’s will for her. In 1808, when she was 34, she founded an apostolic religious institute for women in Verona, which was the first experiment of this type in northern Italy.

Education for all
Education in the 19th century was the sole right of noble families. Though born into a noble family herself, Magdalene realised the need of education for all, to uplift human dignity and to improve conditions in society. She started free schools for children of poor people, to teach them skills that would enable them to earn a decent living.

Training of country teachers
In 1822, to promote educational opportunities in villages, she opened what today we would call training schools for teachers, to prepare young women, coming from the country, to reach out to poor girls in rural areas. It was a bold endeavour. These “Rural Teachers” as she called them, would do in country what her spiritual daughters did in towns, not even governments did that at the time!

Founding of the women’s and men’s branches of the religious congregation, and the tertiaries
Magdalene’s desire to bring the love of Jesus to all corners of the world prompted her to involve more people in this holy enterprise. In 1808, she founded the Religious Congregation of the Canossian Daughters of Charity, in 1831 she founded the Canossian Sons of Charity and in 1823, the Church approved the Rules for the Canossian Tertiaries.

Contemplatives in action
The secret to the success of St. Magdalene’s apostolic zeal sprang from her constant contemplation of the unconditional love, faithfulness, forgiving Heart of the Crucified Jesus and from the courageous persevering love of Mary, his mother, whom she called “the Mother of Love at the Foot of the Cross.” She allowed herself to be owned, transformed and urged on by these two models, Jesus Crucified and Mary Mother of Sorrows. And here lay the secret of her success. She exhorted the young women who chose to follow her to be “Anchorites-Apostles” in their daily life.

‘Walk with the times’
St. Magdalene of Canossa urges her sisters to walk with the times, always faithful to the original inspiration and to be sensitive to the needs of the society in which they are living at present, serving it as circumstances require. Above all, she wants them “to make Jesus known and loved” as they dedicate themselves to their fellow human beings.

Indian Church officials shocked as some of their World Youth Day delegates go to ground

NEW DELHI (UCAN): Church officials in India have expressed shock and dismay over news that some Indian delegates to the World Youth Day (WYD) celebration in Australia went missing in New Zealand during their Days in the Diocese experience.
Divine Word Father Babu Joseph, spokesperson for Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), said on July 15, “We are shocked to hear the news of pilgrims absconding. It is a matter of great embarrassment for the Church.”
News from New Zealand on the previous day said 32 Indian young people had gone missing, but Indian news channels reported on July 15 that the number stood at 35.
Father Joseph said the CBCI headquarters in New Delhi was not able to contact officials of the Indian delegation to verify the details. But he expressed regrets if the mistakes of a few people creates problems for the whole delegation as well as their country.
India sent a 510-member delegation, the largest group from the country to attend an international Church event.
They left in different batches on July 5, 6 and 7 from Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. They were scheduled to stay with families in Auckland, New Zealand, and Bathurst, Australia, before heading for Sydney on July 14.
However, news reports said 32 of the group went missing four to five days before the trip to Sydney. They had visas for Australia and New Zealand valid for a month, but their passports were supposed to be with their coordinators.
The news reports quoted Lyndsay Freer, spokesperson of the Catholic Church in New Zealand, as telling the media no one had any inkling such a thing would happen. Reports also said New Zealand’s labour department was working with the Auckland diocese to trace the missing Indians.
Father Jose Vattakuzhy, secretary of the CBCI’s labour commission, had no comment on the matter except to say proper screening is necessary before selecting people for such international events.
Father Paul Thelakkat, spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church, one of two Oriental Catholic rites based in the southern Indian state of Kerala, termed the incident “a matter of disgrace for the Indian Church.”
Father Thelakkat said, “It seems those missing have apparently travelled to find some greener pastures for their life than (with) the holy intention of participating in functions with the pope.” He added that the Church needs to make sure it weeds out such malpractices in the future.
Thomas John, a travel agent in New Delhi, said the incident would likely create visa problems for Indians in general.
Bernard D’Sami, who teaches history at Loyola College in Chennai, southern India, and is former national coordinator of the All India Catholic University Federation, agreed. He said it would have “serious repercussions both in India and abroad.” Church authorities would be forced to adopt “a better selection procedure and the government may look at such travel plans by Catholic groups with suspicion.”
However, he was not surprised and observed that young people aspire to go to “greener pastures” in developed countries for jobs and education. He warned that Indian Catholic groups may face “tougher visa regulations” (in future) if foreign governments take this incident seriously.