Advent takes us into the season of expectant waiting. You can expect a friend’s visit but not be able to meet him. This happens when you are in the wrong place or time for the appointment. It could be our case with God. He has already come many times in human history. He showed the place where he can be met, but perhaps we have not understood well because we end up waiting for him where he does not come.
 

It has been one month since the historic provisional agreement between China and Vatican was signed. The diplomatic ties with ‘pastoral’ motives was met with mixed reactions from observers around the world. Both the Vatican and China have applauded the decision as historic and groundbreaking in spite of the skepticism and reproach raised by many within the Church. 
 

The 2018 Synod of Bishops is celebrated in Rome from October 3 to October 28. The 25-day long Synod of Bishops on the theme, Youth, the Faith and Discernment of Vocation, opened with a Mass presided over by Pope Francis. It is a culmination of 20 months of preparations, which involved a worldwide survey of young people to listen to their voices on issues that affect their lives as Christians in a changing world. 
 

This year’s theme for Education Sunday is, Let the children come to me, (Mark 10:14). Catholic schools account for about 11 per cent of the schools in Hong Kong with their students numbering at around 150,000—about 17 per cent of the total number of in the territory’s schools. A ratio of about one-in-six.
 

IT IS September and many parishes have begun catechism classes for those learning about the faith. In an increasingly complex society, it is no simple task to respond to the signs of the times when teaching about Christianity.
 

In response to Pope Francis designating September 1 as the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation (as the Orthodox Church has done since 1989), local Church organisations are organising a number of activities this month to call the faithful to engage in ecological conversion.
 
In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of environmental protection. However, compared to the speed with which humanity is destroying the environment, our awareness is still in its infancy. 
 

The 500,000 tickets for the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families 2018 on Sunday, August 26, in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, in Ireland, were been sold out within hours of their being made available.  
 

Taizé is a small village in the southern part of France. In August 1940, when the Second World War just broke out, 25-year-old Brother Roger Schütz arrived hoping to set up a community to promote communion among people and to push for reconciliation within the human family. Today, the Taizé Community is composed of about 100 brothers from nearly 30 countries. Among them, there are Protestants and Catholics.
 

AT THIS TIME in its history, Hong Kong couldn’t have asked for anything better! The Catholic Diocese, the Anglican Church and the Hong Kong Christian Council are jointly welcoming the Pilgrimage of Trust organised by the Taizé community, paving a way for building bridges between countries, traditions and cultures. The international meeting of young adults is scheduled to take place in Hong Kong from August 8 to 12.
 

The Diocese of Hong Kong organised a Youth Festival in the second week of July as part of the major activities for the Year of Youth. In support of the youth activities and related endeavours, a second collection is to be taken up at all public Masses on the July 15 (Sunday).
 
The Youth Festival will coincide with the FIFA World Cup. The quadrennial international football tournament has garnered the interest of many people and some parishes have made use of this opportunity to invite the faithful to watch the games together.