A Basilian in the Far East

The Final Days…

2009-07-01T11:12:00.002+08:00

In a day or so I will be heading back to Toronto to take up my new assignment. I cannot believe that almost a year has gone by living in Hong Kong. It has been quite an adventure and one that I am sort of sad that it is almost over. I thought I was just getting the hang of it saying the Mass in Cantonese and studying the Chinese characters. There is a lot more to learn and I hope I will have the opportunity to continue to study the language when I am back in Canada. Still, it will not be the same or as intensive but I hope I can maintain it in one form or the other at the parish and wherever the next assignments take me.

The year in Hong Kong has been filled with many graces and opportunities to visit different parts of the city, and also to travel to China, Macau and New Caledonia. Each place has its uniqueness, differences and cultural nuances. Also, the amazing diversity of people and the work they do in each part of their respective country. Of course most of my time was in Hong Kong and it has been quite an experience in living in such a vibrant city. The city has changed quite a bit since when I first got to know it as a child and my last visit in 2001. I have enjoyed studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and helping out at the neighbourhood parish, Mother of Christ Church, and also the opportunity to do some high school teaching at Our Lady’s College.

Of course there were lots of people who supported this initiative and I am truly grateful for it. I would like to especially thank the Basilians who decided to send me to Hong Kong to improve my Cantonese, and the Knights of Columbus for their financial support. I especially would like to say thank you to the Little Sisters of the Poor for hosting me at St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged. It definitely has been a worthwhile experience living at the home in Sheung Shui. Also, to have the opportunity in getting to know the work the Sisters do day in and day out, as well as all the seniors in the home.

Hospice and palliative care can be quite daunting and challenging because of the sickness and suffering. Yet, the Sisters, staff, and volunteers give tremendous and heroic witness to the importance of looking after the elderly. The Culture of Life goes from beginning to the end and as stated by Pope John Paul II the emphasis on wanting to “live life to the end” is fundamental to human existence. The residents have been very supportive since my arrival and what I came here to do. One of the main things was looking out for the young priest and making sure he stayed out of trouble. A few of them have now gone to their eternal reward and I hope they are interceding for us in heaven.

The opportunity to study in Hong Kong for the year I hope is not only once in a lifetime experience. I pray that one day I will be able to go back and study more or even the possibility of working in the city. There are many possibilities of different kinds of ministries that can be done and of course there is a need to spread the Good News. Hopefully, soon the borders next door will be open and where faith can be practiced freely. It will be quite an experience to work in China.

As you might have guess this is the last blog entry. Thank you to all of you the readers of the blog for clicking on this link periodically and to check out what was going on in the Far East with a young Basilian priest stationed there. I hope the entries were interesting and not boring. Of course there were the mundane stuff and long periods of absence of not entering or putting anything on the blog. You will have to excuse my sometimes lack of work ethic in that department. I hope overall the blog was enjoyable and that I was able to convey somewhat of my year of experience with oversea studies. I would also like to express my gratitude for all of your prayers and support. I am sure this particular journey would not have been possible without the spiritual efforts of many people. May almighty God bless all of you.

Fr. Andrew

Musings

2009-06-27T15:05:00.003+08:00

Here are a few things that I have been musing about:

1) This past week I have been going to a few farewell dinners invited by those that I have gotten to know in Hong Kong during the year. The year has gone by quickly and I cannot believe that in five days I will be heading back to Canada. I wish I could stay for another year or more and a principal even offered me a job to teach chemistry at a local Catholic school. Tempting offer but there is this vow of obedience issue.

2) I have not started to pack yet, but thinking when I should start and trying to finish a homily for tomorrow's Sunday Masses. I have to preach one in English and the other in Cantonese. Translation is always fun going back and forth from one language to another. Speaking of translation, there have been some significant events that have happened throughout the English speaking world this past week. You know that MJ has transcended culture and language when the residents at my table know his music and dance moves quite well.

3) Yesterday, there was a typhoon alert, thankfully it missed Hong Kong. The typhoon season has started and I can still remember when I first arrived in Hong Kong last year when there were a few typhoons that hit Hong Kong in August.

4) Grandma has settled quite well in the residence. She likes to play Mahjohng but the only problem is finding three other players and for some of the residents to stay awake when playing. The doctors have examined her and she is in relatively good health for 95 years of age. A little bit forgetful but still very aware of her surroundings. She goes to Mass daily at the chapel and yesterday mentioned to me before lunch that it was nice to see me up there being an altar server.

5) Lastly I think I have solved most of the Sisters computer problems. Being the resident IT person was quite interesting. One thing that they were quite happy about was when I showed them how you can merge excel files into a letter format. Now they just have to do some data entry of various names and addresses.

Chinese Theology

2009-06-25T14:00:00.003+08:00

Besides studying the Chinese language during this past year, once in a while I have been able to dwell a little bit in seeing how theology is being taught and understood in the Chinese tradition. Of course due to certain events throughout the centuries Christian theology is not in the forefront at various higher learning institutions in China. Though there a few universities that actually have a Religious Study department and then even fewer that have a focus on Christianity.

I have always been fascinated and interested since taking philosophy (heavy on the Greek side) for the M.Div requirements how would Chinese philosophy and culture be understood from the Christian perspective? Christianity and China has had a long and tumultuous history. Of course there have been some high points of Chinese-Christian interactions. The Jesuits (Matteo Ricci) who came during the 16th century and introduced Christianity to the Imperial Court. Though it is not until the last quarter of the 20 century that there have been increase scholarly work in China with regards to Christianity. A theological journal from the Hong Kong seminary that I was reading recently had an article about Patristic Studies in Contemporary China. It pointed out that the translation into Chinese of the Alexandrian fathers' writings is concerned, some valuable work has already been done, but more needs to be done in the future.

Further the author pointed out: "Even if Origenian studies in the Chinese academic circles are still in their early stage, they are felt as an important research field, not least because they offer a paradigmatic model of assimilation of culture within Christianity. Chinese Christian scholars are eager to show how Origen answered the crucial question of the relationship between Christianity and local culture as a possible source of inspiration for their attempt to develop a Sino-Christian theology." Finally, the article ends off with: "The theology of the fathers and in particular the theological language of the oriental fathers of the Alexandrian, Antiochene, and Cappadocian schools is meaningful and suited to the Chinese mind, which is more intuitive and open to symbolism than rational." It is quite fascinating reading the article and so I wonder how would St. Basil a Cappadocian father fit into this theological paradigm?

Tour Guide and Ocean Park

2009-06-21T10:29:00.003+08:00

On Thursday I had the opportunity to play tour guide. One of the Sisters' nephew came for a visit to the home and so I was asked if I could show him around Hong Kong. He is from Detroit and an English teacher in China. The places we visited were mainly on Lantau Island. We were able to see the big Buddha statue and visit the local Buddha monastery there. In the afternoon we went to Tai O to see the fishing village and then hopped onto a ferry in Mui Wo to go to the Hong Kong Island and visit the Peak and also tour the markets. It was a very hot and sunny day and thankfully it did not rain.

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to go to Ocean Park. Ocean Park is one of two amusement parks in Hong Kong, the other being Disneyland. The last time I visited Ocean Park was twenty years ago. So, things have changed a bit since I was there as a child. The park consists of amusement park rides, but also various displays of marine life, birds, and pandas. We spent the whole day there touring the various sites and then met up with some other friends to go to the "American Restaurant" for dinner. The name is a little bit deceiving because it does not serve Western food rather it specializes in Beijing Cuisine. The reason for the name was that when it opened in the 1940's it was trying to attract American sailors visiting Hong Kong as a port of call. One of the most famous dish there is the Peking Duck. It was quite delicious and a nice way to end off the day.

Corpus Christi

2009-06-15T18:39:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, was the feast day of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ or commonly known as Corpus Christi. The Sisters at the home organized a Corpus Christi procession. Since I was the youngest priest they asked if I would carry the monstrance throughout the procession. I should have realized why the older Fathers respectfully decline the position. Hong Kong's weather on this particular Sunday in June was a balmy 31 degrees Celsius and close to 100% humidity. I had an alb on with a cope and the humeral veil to carry the monstrance. Let's just say that I was glad when we were in the air conditioning chapel and hall but not when were outside.

The procession was quite a display of Catholic tradition with the cross bearer leading the procession, followed by the residents and the Sisters with volunteers pushing the wheelchairs, then the thurifer, priests, eight flower girls, four torch bearers, and six people holding the processional canopy. What was quite impressive was the processional canopy. The canopy could shrink width wise so that the canopy and the person underneath the canopy could fit through the doors. As well some of the Associates of Jeanne Jugan did quite a flower display for one of the stations where the Corpus Christi procession stopped.

The procession reminded me the one in Montreal where I was able to participate in 2003 before I left for my novitiate. It is rarer and rarer to see the procession and of course even in Hong Kong were the Catholic population is small there were various onlookers to see what was going. The Feast of Corpus Christi is a good reminder of the wonderful gift of the Eucharist and its implication for our daily nourishment by God's love in given his Son, Jesus Christ, to and for us. The feast underscores the grand desire on the part of Jesus to remain with us even after his death to be the life-giving presence that we count on.

Scriptural Readings

2009-06-11T00:01:00.002+08:00

To facilitate a better understanding of the Mass various books have been published by the Hong Kong diocese. All the Mass readings for the entire calendar year are contained in these books. They are colour coded depending on the season. Hence, the picture above is a book containing the readings for ordinary time weekday volume two from the 9th week to the 16th week.

Some readers of the blog have wondered how a typical scriptural passage looks like in Chinese. Just recently this was a passage I was working on for a Mass. Thankfully it was one of the shorter ones. Sometimes when they are bit long it takes a while to make sure I am pronouncing each of the characters correctly.

那時候，有一位經師聽見了耶穌與撒杜塞人辯論，覺得耶穌對他們回答得好，便上前來，問他說：「一切誡命中，那一條是第一條呢？」耶穌回答說：「第一條是：『以色列！你要聽！上主我們的天主是唯一的天主。你應當全心、全靈、全意、全力愛上主，你的天主。』第二條是：『你應當愛近人如你自己。』再沒有別的誡命比這兩條更大的了。」那經師對耶穌說：「不錯！師傅說的實在對：他是唯一的，除他以外，再沒有別的：應以全心、全意、全力愛他，並愛近人如自己，遠超過一切全燔祭和犧牲。」耶穌見他回答的明智，便對他說：「你離天主的國不遠了。」從此，沒有人敢再問他。

Does anybody want to guess which scriptural reading this is from? Just a hint that this passage is from one of the gospels and was recently assigned for one of the weekday Masses.

Send Off

2009-06-10T10:33:00.004+08:00

No it is not another funeral. Yesterday, in the evening two of the Sisters, a relative of one of the Sisters, and myself went to the airport to send my aunt and another Sister off to Noumea. It was a nice opportunity to see my aunt one last time before she headed back to the home in New Caledonia. Since the departure was not until midnight we stayed at the check-in counter side until eleven. I even got a chance to send a e-mail via the cell phone to the Sisters in Noumea letting them know the Sisters were just about to depart for their flight and included a picture with it. It is amazing what you can do with technology.

Funerals

2009-06-09T18:53:00.003+08:00

In the past four days at the home we celebrated three funerals. All the deaths occurred three weeks ago. The reason for the wait is to schedule the cremation. Space is at a premium in Hong Kong. The first funeral was a Portuguese man, the second was a woman who was a recent convert, and the third was the sister of a priest. The three of them I have gotten to know quite well throughout the year. Each with their little eccentricities but also amazing witnesses to their faith.

Each funeral of course had a different feel because of different friends and family members but also various cultures and religions played a big part in each of them. There were many elements of East meeting West in each of them. A couple of noticeable difference between funerals over here and in North America is that the casket is opened throughout the Mass. A pall is not place over the casket. At the end of the commendation each person goes to the casket and pay their respect before it is closed. Also, before each person pays their respect there are three bows to the deceased except for the funeral for the Portuguese man. It is a Chinese tradition and the three bows are also done when one visits the grave sites of the deceased. Another thing that is unique with the funerals are the undertakers and funeral directors. They are not dressed in black mourning suits. It is quite casual and the hearse is just a truck with the picture on top of the roof. As the Irish priest who presided at the Portuguese funeral stated it is amazing to see different cultures and traditions at work.

I was asked to go to one of the government centres for cremation and say the final prayers for one of the deceased. It is in Fanling and there are two little chapels where families can say the final prayers before the casket is taken on a conveyor belt for cremation. It is interesting to see how the chapels are setup in the Ancestral, Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian tradition. After the prayers white envelopes are passed out by the family of the deceased which contain a sweet inside. It is to symbolize leaving the bitterness and sadness behind. Finally, in a Chinese funeral traditionally there is a meal after the service and seven dishes are served at it.

Mail

2009-06-06T09:53:00.004+08:00

A couple of days ago I received a package from Toronto. Usually, I do not take too much of a notice with the date since it is roughly 10 business days to get something sent from one side of the ocean to the other. However, this package was post marked February 17, 2009. There is the joke about how slow mail is and the postal system snail mail process but this really took the cake. It took roughly 2 and a half months for the package to get to Hong Kong. It had periodicals dating back to the beginning of January and the year is almost half over. Oh well, I guess it is better late than never to get something sent roughly 8 000 miles away. Speaking of distance today my aunt, uncle and grandma will be arriving in Hong Kong from Toronto. I will be picking them up the airport and grandma will be moving into the residence where I currently reside. Grandma is doing alright though a little bit forgetful. She needs a little bit more care and the Sisters are happy to host her. One of the residence commented that it is remarkable at her age that she is making the 14 hour flight.

Education

2009-06-02T16:33:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I was asked by a Sister to help her write a English letter of recommendation for a student going into elementary school. Yes, 5 year olds now need letter of recommendation in order to go to school. Well to go to some more prestigious schools I guess. Government schools have to accept everybody, but Catholic schools can limit their enrollment due to a point system. Elementary education for parents in Hong Kong are treated as a primer in order to go on to the better high schools and eventually the university of their choosing. It is quite incredible how tense that the child enters into the right school or else their future will be scarred or there will be no or little advancement in the career ladder.

To illustrate the point the 5 year old girl that I was writing the letter of recommendation had a pre-school report card that is more sophisticated then any assessment sheets I ever seen as a high school teacher. It had pie and bar graphs, ranking of student, detail analysis of advancement in language skills, math skills, motor skills, interaction with students, self-interaction, etc... It was almost like a scientific paper but just for a five year old. Also, a resume was included, such as painting at a certain level, playing the piano, extra tutorial math help, skating, dance, proficient in three languages, etc... The resume also had life goals, what to achieve in the next year, it almost seemed like the student is looking for a career right now.

All to point out that education is treated quite seriously by a lot of parents in Hong Kong and it is passed down to the children. There is a lot of pressure to do well and succeed. Competition is intense and cutthroat. When the student reaches high school they are preparing for the matriculation level exams in their last year. There are companies with advertisements on buses, and subways of former students dressed in men in black style to state that they know what possible questions will be on the matriculation exams. Since the government rotates the questions in a certain number of years. These matriculation results determine which university, or colleges a student goes to.

It is amazing to see different pedagogical systems at work. Though I would think being a 5 year old must not be too much fun anymore. When can I just play and not be evaluated by my inter/intra personal skills or even my motor skills? Not to say that I am going to be a star athlete though.

Grandma

2009-05-30T15:33:00.002+08:00

Today, I have been working on some old and new Chinese characters and writing a homily for tomorrow's Mass Pentecost Sudnay. Sort of fitting in celebration of languages and tongues. It has been a quiet day and nice to concentrate on a few things. In a week or so my grandma from my mother side will be moving into the residence. She is 95 years old, in relatively good health and currently resides in Toronto. She will fly back to Hong Kong with my aunt and uncle. It will be nice to have some time to see her and get her settle in a new place. The Sisters are getting the room ready and they are delighted they can host her. They have known my grandma for a long time, since my aunt is a Sister with the community.

A Banquet

2009-05-28T18:37:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, I attended the wedding banquet of a couple who are members of the Chinese bible study group in Toronto. I have known both of them since we were children at the Chinese parish in Calgary. Both the husband and wife attended the same high school as I did. Though I was a few years ahead of them. It is funny how we all ended up in Toronto and Hong Kong after all these years. I had not seen the parents and relatives of the groom for over fifteen years. Somewhat of a surprise for them because half of time they were either trying to say Andrew but changed it to say Father Leung in Chinese. It is a little bit odd since Chinese tradition is that the older adults can address the younger ones in the first name though tradition is defer because of ordination or change of status.

It was a nice gathering and the banquet food was the typical fare. With dishes such as barbecue suckling pig, steamed stuff courgettes with whole canopy, sliced cuttlefish and shrimp with assorted greens, stir-fried vegetables with crab meat, shark fin soap, braised sea slug and goose web with garden greens, steamed fresh whole sea groupa, garlic glazed crispy chicken, fried rice with diced seafood and pineapple, braised noodles with Enoki mushrooms and shrimp roe, red bean delight with lotus seed and lily bulbs, Cantonese petite fours (ie. cookies), and a season fruit platter.

There were 12 tables of 12 people at each table and thankfully I was assigned with the other bible study group members. Both the bride and groom were thinking jokingly that I should be with the aunties. I respectfully declined the offer since the talk would have been a little bit draining and not too much fun. The only downside in attending the banquet is the distance. To get to the place takes roughly two hours, with a train trip, and two bus rides. The couple was mentioning that I had the farthest distance to get to the place. Sheung Shui is indeed in the middle of nowhere in Hong Kong.

大排檔

2009-05-26T19:03:00.004+08:00

A few days ago I got a chance to meet up with the Chinese bible study group that I work with in Toronto. Some of the members have moved back to Hong Kong for work so they have setup an alumni division. It was nice to meet up with the group and when the program was over we went out for dinner. This week is also two of the members wedding reception in Hong Kong. The couple had their wedding in Rome and now reside in Toronto. However, they still have lots of friends and relatives in Hong Kong so they are hosting a wedding reception over here. Since some of the other members could not make it to the reception on Wednesday, we all decided to go to a 大排檔. A 大排檔 is literally a street restaurant. Usually the cuisine is quite unique and somewhat cater towards seafood dishes. A lot of the restaurants have disappeared because it is not too comfortable to eat outside in Hong Kong during the summer time because of the heat and the humidity. Some of them have moved up to the top floor or the markets where there is air conditioning. A lot of the 大排檔 are very simple in table arrangement. Even the seats are simple stools. The reason why lots of people like these restaurants is because they are cheap, good food, and lots of people can seat at one table, we had 14 at ours. Some of the dishes that we tried were fried salted egg shrimp, black squid with noodles, sand chicken, ox feet, and fried durian for dessert. Also, to complement the dishes was beer in a rice bowl. Here are some pictures.

It definitely was a uniqe culinary adventure and definitely brings back lots of memories when visiting Hong Kong in the past. Besides meeting up with the bible study group this week I had the opportunity to visit a retreat centre just nearby where I am staying yesterday. It is operated by the Paulist Sisters and the retreat centre is quite unique since there is a lot of area to walk around and see the gardens and manicure grounds. Space is sacred in Hong Kong so that is why lots of people try to make a retreat at the centre because it is quiet, peaceful, and not very crowded. Also, one can see Shenzhen across the Chinese border and all the buildings sprouting up. The reason why I went to the retreat centre was the principal of the school where I sometimes supply teach came for a visit and took me to the retreat place. She asked again if I was interested in a teaching position in the area of chemistry. It is tempting, the pay is much better than in Ontario and the students are a little bit more respectful of the teacher. Though the class size is 45, so lots and lots of marking.

Monsoon Season

2009-05-24T11:11:00.003+08:00

It has been a few rainy days and there is no end in sight to the rain. It is raining so hard that you can barely see outside of the window with all the sheets of rain. Needlessly to say staying indoors is the way to go without getting wet. The monsoon season usually lasts until June. Though I do have to venture out today to meet up with a bible study group. The bible study group is the same one in Toronto except for those who have moved back to Hong Kong. It should be a nice gathering and we are planning to go out for dinner with a couple who recently got married in Rome.

This week is also the Dragon Boat festival which is on May 28. So, yesterday I got a chance to see some Chinese Dumplings on sale for the festival. There are various kinds some with meat, others that are vegetarian, and even ones that are sweet. Here is a picture of the various kinds. you can also get the frozen variety kind as well.
While in the mall taking a look at the Chinese Dumplings, I came across a restaurant that I have not seen in Canada for many years except in Vancouver. Now they have one in Hong Kong at Sha Tin. Quite a surprise to see one across the ocean and offering the same fare as its counterpart in the west coast.

Lastly a couple of days ago I received an offer to teach high school chemistry in Hong Kong. It is a tempting offer and it would be nice to stay in the city for another year. I wonder if the community would let me?

Travels

2009-05-21T06:28:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I arrived back in Hong Kong in the afternoon and trying to get over the time change. It had been a nice visit to Toronto and also to attend the two ordinations in Houston. Also, to see all the Basilians, relatives and friends during my three weeks in North America. Now I am back to Hong Kong for the final month and a bit. I cannot believe that it has almost been a year since I started my studies and now it is almost over. Though there are still a few things I want to do and improve on during this last month. Yesterday, after I arrived in HK I got a chance to see my aunt the Sister from Noumea. She is heading to Canada with my uncle to visit their mother, my grandmother. So, in the evening I was invited to join the Sisters for dinner.

Wedding

2009-05-14T10:42:00.002+08:00

I am now back in Toronto since Monday after my trip to Houston for the ordinations. This week I have been helping out at St. Basil's and just relaxing a little bit before I go back to Hong Kong next week Tuesday. Also, moving a few more things to the scholasticate in preparation for my new posting starting July 2nd.

This evening I got a chance to have dinner with a couple who have asked me to do their wedding in September. It is amazing that even before I take up my new posting a few marriage requests are starting to line up. This couple I met in the evening is part of the Chinese bible study group in Toronto that I have gotten to know during my last stint in Toronto. They have been together for quite some time and so it is great news that they are engaged and plan to settle down in Toronto. Also, joining us for dinner is the sister of the bride who is also part of the bible study group. She is heading back to Hong Kong for a visit and we will probably go to the same reception that is hosted by another couple from the same bible study group whom recently got married in Rome, Italy.

It was a wonderful evening to catch up and also asking about their plans for their wedding. It seems that they want to keep it simple but there is a growing list of family and friends whom they need to invite. We shared a few wedding horror stories and some not so horror stories. They are looking forward to the wedding but still a few things to do. Also, they have to do another reception in Hong Kong since some of the family members will not make it to the ceremonies and reception in Toronto.

Houston

2009-05-09T21:15:00.002+08:00

It has been a wonderful time visiting Houston and saying hi to the Basilian community there. Yesterday, was the Final Profession for one of the Basilian scholastic and today he will be ordained as a deacon joined by a Basilian deacon who will be ordained as a priest. A few Basilians from Toronto have come down from the ordination as well as from Rochester and Detroit. It is a nice gathering and a great way to catch up with what is going on in the community. I have noticed that being 8000 away from the nearest community does have its disadvantages.

One thing that is noticeable in Houston is the weather. It is quite hot and very humid, just like Hong Kong. Another thing is the distance to go from one place to another. It is quite an adventure to go from the airport to Sugarland to downtown Houston. Yesterday, a few of us were able to visit the parents house of one of the Basilians and have a little BBQ and see their puppy dog running around the yard and pool.

Off to Houston

2009-05-07T21:44:00.002+08:00

Today, I head off to Houston for a Basilian Final Profession on Friday, and a diaconal and priesthood ordination on Saturday. It will be a nice trip to go down to Texas to see the Basilian community down there. Also, just to con-celebrate at a community final profession and ordination will be different from not being the one professing or being ordained. One year has already passed by quickly with the ordination to the priesthood. The year as a priest started off as an associate pastor at St. Basil's and then off to Hong Kong in the summer time for Chinese studies. It has been quite an adventure going from one side of the world to the other and getting to know the Churches in different places.

Travels Aboard

2009-05-04T21:20:00.003+08:00

Since last week Thursday I have been in Toronto staying at the community house at the University of St. Michael's College. It has been nice to be back in Toronto and visit the community and friends. Also, I have a chance to help out at St. Basil's and see the parishioners there. Another reason why I am at the university is that I will be coming back to Toronto in the summer time. So, I got a chance this past weekend to move most of my stuff to Frassati House. Also, figuring out which boxes will be going back to the office at St. Basil's. My posting as associate pastor at St. Basil's will start July 1st, but I will not be there until July 2nd coming in from Hong Kong. This Thursday I will be heading to Houston to attend a Final Profession for one of our scholastics and Diaconal and Priesthood ordinations. It should be nice to see the community down there and tour around Houston again.

I also noticed in my blog admin that this is the 100th posting. It is amazing since August 2008 to note where I have been and the many different places I got a chance to see in the Far East and the South Pacific.

Departing

2009-04-29T09:38:00.002+08:00

After a brief stop back in Hong Kong, I am off to Toronto for a few weeks and also to attend a final profession and ordination in Houston. It will be nice to see the Basilians and also to move my stuff for my next assignment. The appointment is to be the associate pastor at St. Basil's starting July 1st.

I will be in Hong Kong from mid-May and June. The plan was to take another semester of Chinese but unfortunately due to lack of enrollment the course is cancelled at the university. Instead, the pastor of the neighbourhood parish where I live has invited me to help out there for the remaining one and a half months I am still inHong Kong. The parish used to have two priests but one got reassigned so the pastor asked if I could fill in the gap before a replacement comes in September. It will be nice to be in a parish setting and see if my Chinese has improved. I know the homily still has a lot of work, so this is a good way to improve on it.

Island Photos

2009-04-24T06:28:00.004+08:00

Here are some photos of the trip to the island. It is half the size of Strawberry Island and of course different vegetation. Plus, sandy beaches and coral reefs.

A view from the light house. You can see how blue the ocean is from here.

Arriving at the island.

We are waiting for the boat. Notice the Sister with the Papaya.

An Outing

2009-04-23T15:22:00.002+08:00

Today my aunt, five of the other Sisters and myself went on a little outing. A tour operator was very generous to give seven tickets to the Sisters. It started with a boat trip the 'Island with the light house.' It is a 45 minute boat ride to the island. The island is loacted on a chain of coral reefs. It is in a impressive location in New Caledonia with various marine life located near the island. When we arrived at the island, some of the Sisters decided to go to the beach and wade through the water. While a group of us figured out which event we would like to participate first. We decided to take a ride on the glass bottom boat to see the various coral reefs and tropical fish. We then took anothe boat to see the sharks, which are located further away from the island. A buffet lunch was served with various tropical dishes. There was a band and local cultural dancing that was showcased. Afterwards some of the Sisters decided to tour around the island, while some of us went up the light house. There were demonstrations as to methods to open, cut and grate a coconut and climb a coconut tree.

What I find interesting is that throughout the outing because the Sisters were in the habits, the tourists will do a double take. It is a nice sign and a good witness for the people to see that Sisters do take a day off to relax and experience the local culture and sightseeing. Hopefully, in a few days I will be able to post some pictures of the excursion.

Diocese of Nouméa

2009-04-21T13:34:00.006+08:00

Here is a picture with the resident chaplain, my aunt and few of the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Today, I was invited for a brief meeting and lunch by the Archbishop of Nouméa. Usually on Tuesday the local clergy gather together at the cathedral rectory for a meal. Archbishop Michel Clavet, S.M. was ordained as a bishop in 1979 at the age of 35. He mentioned to me he still has another 10 years to go before retirement. During his spare time he helps out the Sisters with their computers. He fixes the donated ones and sets them up at the old age home.

The diocese of Nouméa is quite vast because of the islands. To get to the islands is either by plane or by boat. A fast boat ride to one of the islands can take 5 hours. Besides being the Archbishop of Nouméa he is also the diocesian administrator for Port-Vila, which are another group of islands in the South Pacfic. It was nice to meet the local clergy and talk about their experiences in New Caledonia. A few of them are from France, but others are from the islands. The chancellor is from Vietnam and he mentioned to me he knows the Basilians, because he stayed in one of houses in the 1980's during Christmas time. It is indeed a small world.

The Tropics

2009-04-20T13:35:00.004+08:00

It has been a nice couple of days in Nouméa. Yesterday, I was able to tag along with one of the Sisters and check out the local superarket and get some photos developed. Things in Nouméa are a little bit pricey because basically everything has to be imported except nickel. Nickel is the largest resource that Nouméa has. Where the senior's home is located is up on a hill. For the most parts the city is quite hilly. The location of New Caledonia and Nouméa is quite topical. So, con-celebrating at the Sunday Mass in the chapel can be quite hot. I am trying to get used to the hot and humid climate. Since, some of the priests also have Sunday obligations at other parishes, one of the Sisters asked if I can do the afternoon Benediction for them. I think the Sisters are testing my language abilities because it needed to be in Latin and in French. Though I think I survived it except one of the French words I pronounced Mary instead of Mother.

Today my aunt, one of the volunteers and myself went sightseeing to the various churches in the Nouméa area. The first one we went to is 45 minutes away from the home. The first three churches we went to are consider mission churches with quite a local cultural theme going on in the design of the churches, station of the cross, lecterns, and tabernacles. The last church we went to is located at the centre of Nouméa and is consider to be one of the wealtheir ones because of the location and the people who attend Mass there. After the tour of the churches we went back home to pick up one of the Chinese Sisters and to go to lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. Yes, there are Chinese restaurants in such a small place with some very nice Chinese food. After lunch I was asked to take a look at the network system and fix a few computers plus teach one of the older Fathers how to access his e-mail. I am starting to think that I am the resident IT person for the Sisters in whichever home I visit.

Nouméa

2009-04-18T15:44:00.004+08:00

Today I arrived in Nouméa, New Caledonia. The country is a two hour plane ride from Auckland. New Caledonia is a French Procterate. Therefore, everything is in French and I am struggling to type on a French keyboard. Some of the keys are in different places then an English keyboard. So, the reason for my visit to Noumea is to see my aunt who is Mother Superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home. Also, to bring some stuff that the Sisters from Taiwan donated for the home, the stuff are mostly musical instruments for the seniors. I think they want to start a band since it was two suitcases full of various instruments. It is quite interesting to pass through customs in New Zealand and Noumea. They are very strict with any kinds of food, plant and wood products. It does not help when most of the musical instruments like maracas are made of wood. Thankfully, I made it through customs without too many problems. Nouméa's population is roughly 98 000 and is the largest city in New Caledonia. Even when landing at the airport there is only one runway and it is the taxi way too.

My aunt and two members of the Association of Jeanne Jugan picked me up at the airport. The couple was also there to pick up their daughter from the airport also on the sane flight. As well the Superior General of the Marist Sister was on the same flight. The Catholic community is quite close knit. The archbishop of New Caledonia informed my aunt that I am invited for lunch at the bishop's place this coming Tuesday. From the airport to the house is a 45 minute drive and the conversation was quite multi-lingual going from Chinese to English to French and back and forth. I think my head is still spinning in trying to get all the languges straight.

The house is quite nice and is right beside the sea. They have a great coastline view, with sandy beaches and even some very nice reefs further out into the ocean. The weather is quite nice since it is close to the equator. There are lots of tourists that come to Nouméa mostly from Japan. The two largest industry in Nouméa is tourists and nickel mining. After a brief tour and getting settle I said Mass for the Sisters in the afternoon in English.

Auckland

2009-04-17T14:59:00.003+08:00

As the title states I am currently not in Hong Kong. Though I am still on the other side of the Pacific but in a different hemisphere. The reason why I am in Auckland is that I am staying overnight at the Little Sisters of the Poor, St. Joseph's home, before going to Noumea, New Caledonia to visit my aunt who is also a Little Sister of the Poor. It is not easy to get to New Caledonia because of the limited flights. So either one has to go through Sydney or Auckland to get to New Caledonia. Though there are direct flights from Japan that go to Noumea.

From Hong Kong to Auckland is a ten hour flight. It has been a wonderful visit to the city albeit too short of a time. I wish I could have stayed longer. One of the Sisters picked me up at the airport and drove me to the home. In the afternoon the same Sister drove me around Auckland to see the various historic sites. It was a very nice car ride and Auckland is quite a beautiful city. I even got a chance to see cows and many many sheep in the middle of the city. There is a park/farm called One Tree Hill where I saw a few hundred sheep grazing. Also, since it is the fall time, the leaves have already turned orange and brown. Unfortunately, I do not have the capabilities of loading the pictures up yet, but hopefully soon.

Tai O

2009-04-15T21:19:00.003+08:00

Today, I had a chance to visit Tai O with Fr. Dan Chui, CSB, his mother, and sister who is also a religious sister. Tai O is located on Lantau Island. A century ago this mostly Tanka village was an important trading and fishing port, exporting salt and fish to China. Today, there are still a few of the saltpans, but most have been filled in to build high-rise housing. Older people still make their living from duck farming, fishing, making the village's celebrated shrimp paste and processing salt fish and shrimp, which you will see and smell everywhere. It remains a popular place for locals to buy seafood - both fresh and dried.

Tai O is build partly on Lantau and partly on a tiny island about 15 m from the shore. Until the mid-1990's the only way to cross was via a rope-tow ferry pulled by elderly Hakka women. That and the large number of sampans in the small harbour earned Tai O the nickname "the Venice of Hong Kong." Tai O is famous for its excellent seafood restaurants, the food is cooked fresh and is quite delicious and definitely worth a trip to the village.

Dim Sum at the home

2009-04-13T21:19:00.004+08:00

Today, the Sisters decided to host a dim sum party for the elderly during lunch time. As you can see from the picture above people are preparing or organizing the dishes. It is quite a logistical challenge since there are many different dishes that were offer to the elderly. Since, it is Easter Monday a lot of the volunteers still were on holidays, so they were able to come and help out. So, to keep it authentic and make it simple for the seniors. Each of them paid fifty HKD for a packet of ten tickets. Each ticket represents one dish that they will like to have. The collection of the monies was also to do a little bit of fundraising to sponsor pilgrims that will be going to Rome for the canonization of Blessed Jeanne Jugan.

During the dim sum service there were various trolleys pushed by the volunteers, Sisters, and staff, offering their food items to to the seniors. I even had a trolley of banana marshmallow ice cream dish. Not your typical dim sum dish but it is a nice dessert to have. The seniors had quite a fun time and for dinner we had the remaining left over dishes. Below is a picture at my table where the residents were enjoying their jasmine tea and various food dishes.

復活節星期日 (Easter Sunday)

2009-04-12T22:45:00.004+08:00

Well, the Easter Triduum is now completed and as the hymn goes, "The strife is o’er, the battle done; The victory of life is won; The song of triumph has begun: Alleluia!"

Last night we had a nice vigil with Bishop Tong presiding. No baptisms or confirmations though, so it was a little bit shorter than a typical vigil. I think I survived singing the Exsultet. When we were vesting in the sacristy, Mother Superior came in to talk to the bishop and mentioned that I was going to sing it, but not quite sure if it would be up to par because of the Chinese version. The bishop just said well there is a first time for everything. I was thinking, this is a great vote of confidence, there goes my singing career. Thankfully, I could not worry about it and be nervous about it since I had to direct the altar servers, carry the Paschal Candle, and make sure the bishop used the stylus to write the Alpha, Omega and 2009 on it. It was not until I got to the lectern that I realized I hope I remember all my Chinese characters for this piece of music!!

One thing that I do miss with the Easter Vigil was that were no chocolate Easter eggs or bunnies in sight after the Mass. Oh, well maybe better luck next time. Though there were some very nice muffins and cookies in addition to a coca drink at the reception.

Now that the main Easter liturgies are all done, I can go back to my regular routine in preparing for the Chinese homilies for the weekday Masses. On Tuesday it is my last day of school and then the semester will be over. Thursday, I will be leaving to go to Noumea, New Caledonia to visit my aunt. She is the superior of the old age home there.

To all those who read the blog, blessings, graces and joy as we enter into the Easter season.

Triduum Two-Thirds

2009-04-10T19:34:00.003+08:00

As, I write this entry we are two thirds into the Triduum of 2009. I always enjoy this time of year since there are many different liturgical actions going on throughout the entire Holy Week. Of course it culminates with the Easter Vigil tomorrow. What has been unique with this Holy Week from previous ones recently is the location. It is always nice to see how different dioceses bring forth the elements of the local customs into the Holy Week liturgy. In 2003 I had the opportunity to be in Rome for Palm Sunday and to see the liturgy at work there was quite amazing and moving.

Yesterday, I was able to hitch a ride with the pastor of the neighbourhood parish and go to the cathedral for the Chrism Mass. One of my objectives was to pick up the holy oils for the Sisters. It was nice to see the other priests from around the diocese. I have gotten a chance to know quite a few of them this past year and some of them asked how was my studying coming along and living at the old age home. Some of the students who are also priests, Brothers, and Sisters, that attend the language classes with me were also there. The make up of priests who gathered together for the Chrism Mass is like a mini UN. Granted the largest group were Chinese, but there were priests from Argentina, Mexico, Benin, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, India, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, etc... Sitting right beside me was a priest from Congo who speaks fluent Cantonese. One unique thing that happened in yesterday Chrism's Mass, which I have not seen happened in Canada, is that when all the priests finished renewing our commitment to priestly service, we all go up one by one to give the sign of peace to the bishops.

When the oils were presented to the bishops, it was nice to see that the one carrying the oil for the sick was a Little Sister from the home in Aberdeen, Hong Kong island side. At the end of the Chrism Mass I was approached by a woman who is a volunteer at the home in Sheung Shui, but also assists the diocese when the mainland clergy and Sisters come visiting Hong Kong. She introduced me to four Sisters from China. They had to be discreet when crossing the board and so were not wearing the habits. The reason for their visit was to see how Holy Week is done in Hong Kong, with all the liturgical changes because of the Second Vatican Council.

With the Chrism Mass finished and a brief lunch, I headed back to Sheung Shui to con-celebrate at the Holy Thursday Mass. For Holy Thursday and Good Friday I was asked to give a short homily in English. The chaplain of the house who is an Italian priest,was the main celebrant for both liturgies. The Easter Vigil will be celebrated by the coadjutor bishop. The Sisters have insisted that I do the Exsultet in Chinese, so this should be interesting. The melody for the Chinese Exsultet is very different from the English one. Hopefully, everything is pronounced correctly and so everybody in the chapel can rejoice that "Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!"

English

2009-04-07T19:45:00.003+08:00

Today, I was at Our Lady's College to teach a couple of English courses to Form 3 and Form 4 students, which is equivalent to grades 9 and 10. Usually, when I supply teach it is in the science area, but they were short of English teachers because of district examinations and seminars. It definitely brought back memories when I was a student and learning English. I think this particular subject was probably the least enjoyable course.

So, with a classroom room of 45 girls, which I must say is probably the largest class size that I ever taught in high school, I taught English. The students are very well behaved and they have a designated class prefect, a IT prefect, etc..., it is quite an organize system. The lessons are pretty straight forward. We went through the listening, and comprehension part without too many problems. Though it is interesting to see how the stories are structured. Then we arrived at the writing part where the students were struggling especially with the grammar. I really did have a lot of sympathy for them, since I probably still struggle with it.

Hence this blog probably has lots and lots of grammatical mistakes. The students can convey their ideas but sometimes translating from Chinese to English the meaning is lost a little bit if the verbs, objects, subjects, adverbs, adjectives, etc... are not placed correctly. Also, I think the students were testing my spelling and vocabulary abilities of figuring out how to translate different Chinese words into English words. To end off the school day, in the last period of the Form 4 class was the ethics course, this month they are covering "Sex Education." To make things more interesting the video and discussion questions were in Chinese. Thankfully, the topic was about relationships.

Palms and the Knocking on the Door

2009-04-05T15:19:00.004+08:00

Today, is the beginning of Holy Week and so the palms were out in full force. We had a little procession around the home and made our way to the chapel singing Chinese hymns with a very Roman melodic tone. Quite a few of the Chinese hymns are derived from Italian hymns because of the Italian missionaries who established the Hong Kong diocese. Passion Sunday is a very colorful liturgy with the red vestments and the green palms waving in the air.

One interesting thing that happened before Mass started and a liturgical tradition that is not usually seen now during Palm Sunday is when the celebrant arrives at the front of the church or the chapel, the doors of the church/chapel are closed. The deacon or celebrant then knocks on the door with the staff of the cross, and the doors are opened. Then the final antiphon is sung when the procession proceeds to the altar. It is not stated in the new Roman Missal because it goes directly from No. 17 to No. 21 in the Palm Sunday section, but parts No. 18 to No. 20 are found in the previous Missals. The reason for this little rite comes from Psalm 24. As stated in Pope Benedict XVI's homily during Pam Sunday of 2007:

"Psalm 24, which speaks of the ascent, ends with an entrance liturgy in front of the temple gate: "Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! That the King of glory may come in". In the old liturgy for Palm Sunday, the priest, arriving in front of the church, would knock loudly with the shaft of the processional cross on the door that was still closed; thereupon, it would be opened. This was a beautiful image of the mystery of Jesus Christ himself who, with the wood of his Cross, with the power of his love that is given, knocked from the side of the world at God's door; on the side of a world that was not able to find access to God. With his Cross, Jesus opened God's door, the door between God and men. Now it is open. But the Lord also knocks with his Cross from the other side: he knocks at the door of the world, at the doors of our hearts, so many of which are so frequently closed to God. And he says to us something like this: if the proof that God gives you of his existence in creation does not succeed in opening you to him, if the words of Scripture and the Church's message leave you indifferent, then look at me - the God who let himself suffer for you, who personally suffers with you - and open yourself to me, your Lord and your God. "

Another Week

2009-04-04T07:56:00.003+08:00

Another week has just gone by quickly and soon it will be Holy Week. Today, I am helping out on a Lenten retreat for the volunteers at the senior's home. School is going well and we have our comprehension final exam next week, so a lot of studying. The Chinese writing classes came to a close yesterday and so another exam to prepare for as well. I cannot believe the another semester is over. The Chinese is improving and I more comfortable saying the Mass in Chinese but the homily still needs a bit of work.

On Wednesday, I was able to head over to Wan Chi to the immigration department to pick up my Hong Kong identity card as a "Right to Land" resident. This means that I can live, work, and study in Hong Kong anytime without any restrictions or conditions of stay. I always wanted to get the process done so that I do not need to get the student visa. However, it was just the timing to get all the documents ready.

This past week I also have been helping the Sisters take a look at the computer network, and their various computers. The access to the Internet was fluctuating a bit. So, sometimes you were able to connect to the web while other times there was a denial of service. The problem was due to a computer in the doctor's office, which had some interesting viruses that were downloaded and allowed other computers from the outside access to it. This in turn can affect other computers in the network, plus the infected computer was sending massive random or not so random data packets. Anyway, it is all solved and now I just have to fix one more computer and hopefully all the Sisters' computers will be virus free.

After Holy Week and Easter Sunday, another Basilian will be visiting Hong Kong and staying at the home. Later on that Easter Octave week I will be heading to Noumea, New Caledonia via Auckland, New Zealand to visit my aunt who is the superior of the home down there and bring some stuff down there from the Sisters up here. It is because of my aunt that I got to know the Little Sisters of the Poor and why I am staying at St. Joseph's Home for the Aged in Hong Kong.

Finally, as mentioned in a previous blog a couple of weeks ago, I did receive an appointment from my community at the beginning of March. I guess the word is now out on the street over there that I will be heading back to a parish in Toronto as an associate pastor. Anybody want to guess which parish?

To the Market

2009-03-28T20:29:00.003+08:00

So, as I type in the dark to celebrate Earth Hour, it has been quite a day venturing into the city. Usually, on a Saturday I have some free time to wander around and see what is going on around in the neighborhood. There have been some major renovations going on at an apartment complex that I usually pass through to get to Sheung Shui train station. A few of the stores have started to open up such as a bakery, expanding a grocery store, and a few eateries. Even a McDonald's is going to open up on this side of Sheung Shui.

Today, I headed into Tsim Sha Tsui to meet a friend for lunch. Afterwards, my friend and I decided to walk all the way to Mong Kok to take a look at a few shops and check out a famous bakery near the Gold Fish Market. Usually, I avoid Tsim Sha Tsui and now I remembered why, since there are lots and lots of people all trying to move, shop, and avoid cars entering into the narrow lanes. Plus, the amount of pollution is quite incredible. You can actually see the haze just right above your head. I guess it is not really good for your lungs. In this tiny area thousands and thousands people are crammed in to do their shopping. It is incredible how many stores, shops, street stands there are in this locality.

After the journey past the communities of Jordan, and Yau Ma Tei, we reached Mong Kok and thankfully found a mall to go into. We also did find the bakery and had afternoon tea there. In the mall I was looking for a red Hong Kong model taxi. There are various shops that sell them plus miniature double decker buses and other assorted transportation models that you can find in Hong Kong and beyond. Also, in the mall I spotted a Catholic bookstore, in the midst of all the retail shops. The Catholic bookstore is operated by the Pauline Sisters. One of the Pauline Sisters is studying at the university in the same language program as I am. So, I got a chance to chat with the Sisters and see how they were doing with their little retail outlet.

蘋果公司

2009-03-25T19:41:00.002+08:00

So, it is the middle of the week and it has been the normal routine of saying Mass in the morning, going to school, coming back home, work in the afternoon, and in the evening studying. Also, today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.

One thing that I have been working on is figuring out how to put the Chinese characters on to the computer. Just to see if it will make it easier for me instead of writing them out all the time. One thing that I found out with the apple iPhone is that I can have a screen in the note section switch to a tablet format and input the characters I want on to the computer. It is a nice way to add characters instead of figuring out the different key combination. So, I thought I would try another few characters on the blog and I came up with the title of the "Apple Company" in Chinese as the title suggests.

Besides plugging away with the characters, I have been working on my last presentation of the semester. I will present it to the class tomorrow. Also, as the month comes to an end Holy Week is fast approaching, so getting a few things ready for the Sisters.

當基督進入我的生命

2009-03-22T21:29:00.002+08:00

Today, I was asked to give a talk to a group of RCIA candidates, the topic as the title states, "How does Christ enter into our lives?" It was quite an adventure to get to the retreat centre. The location was at the Salesian House of Studies in Shau Kei Wan. Shau Kei Wan is located on the island side of Hong Kong and it takes roughly an hour and a half to get there from Sheung Sui. The RCIA group was from St. Andrew's Church and is located in Tseung Kwan O. The reason I was asked to give a talk was that they had the November retreat at the senior's home. Mother Superior and the coordinator of the RCIA group thought it was a good idea that I give a talk entirely in Chinese. Just to see if my Chinese has improved a bit. Needless to say that it took me a few weeks of preparations and little sleep yesterday to accomplish the task. The biggest fear I had was that they might not understand what I was saying or I missed a word or there. However, it turned out all right and they were interested as to why I became a priest and the process of becoming a priest.

There were over 120 candidates for the RCIA group at the retreat centre. This was the final retreat in getting ready to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. I am sure it will be quite a beautiful liturgy and a long line to the baptismal font!! However, this is not atypical for such a large class of candidates in a RCIA parish group in Hong Kong. St. Theresa which is a parish in Kowloon will have over 300 candidates ready to be baptized during the Easter Vigil. It is quite a joy to see so many committed adults ready to take the step of conversion and enter into the Catholic family.

The Patron

2009-03-19T19:29:00.002+08:00

It has been a relatively quite week, just the daily routine of saying Mass in the morning, school, studying...

Today, though is the Solemnity of St. Joseph and of course the patron for the universal Church, Canada, workers, many other institutions, and of course the home where I currently live. There was a nice celebration at the home today, but unfortunately I had to go to school. Since it is a feast day the Sisters usually have a few different dishes to try out at breakfast, lunch, and dinner to celebrate the patron.

Also, today the Vatican added the Chinese language as one of the main languages for the website. It is in traditional and simplified format for the characters and currently has most of documents that Pope Benedict XVI has promulgated in his pontificate. I guess it was a good idea to go to Hong Kong to improve on my Chinese. Still, there is a ways to go in learning all the different nuances of the language.

Though I am pleased to report that yesterday, I was at the immigration department to pick up the letter that states that I have the "right to land status" in Hong Kong. This means that I can go to school, work, or reside in Hong Kong without any conditions on my stay. It took a while to get all the paper work through, but I think it is worth it since if I get a chance to come back for further studies or work in the city, I will not need a visa. Maybe setting up a Basilian house in the future... Who knows it is in God's hands.

Finally, only three more weeks of class before exams. So, let the studying begin in earnest. I have also received my appointment from the community after my conclusion of studies in July. It is nice to know where to go after one's adventurous posting in the Far East ends.

Inner Mongolia

2009-03-14T16:17:00.003+08:00

Today, three priests from Inner Mongolia visited the residences and con-celebrated at the Mass of the day. The purpose of the visit was to see how Catholic old age homes were operated. Their week long visit was also to see different Catholic churches in the Hong Kong diocese and also to talk to the various diocesan officials. The three priests belonged to the Government church. These visitations are very useful in helping the churches to come closer together. There have been numerous clerics sent by their bishops to visit the Hong Kong diocese. Either by the official church or the underground church. Though the Chinese government knows about the priests that are from the official church going to the diocese of Hong Kong for their visits. One of the main reasons for these visits is to see the changes with the liturgy after Vatican II. The Catholic Church in China due to the isolation because of politics did not implement the Vatican II reforms. Thought bit by bit they are starting to but of course it will take time.

The three priests from Inner Mongolia took thirty four hours by train to get to Hong Kong. Most of the conversation was in Mandarin but they understood a little bit of Cantonese. They asked why I was here and so I mentioned I was studying Chinese. All three of them exclaimed that instead of studying Cantonese one should also learn Mandarin. The diocese in Inner Mongolia consists of 300 000 Catholics, and the seminary is ordaining 20-30 priests a year for that region. One of the Sisters mentioned to them that I belonged to a religious order that operate schools. So, a little discussion ensue as to who the Basilians were. One of them even asked if the community would like to run a school in their diocese. I thought, well, Inner Mongolia is probably the farthest, remotest part of China, though it does sound interesting and could be quite an exciting adventure for the community.

Retreats

2009-03-10T19:06:00.002+08:00

As it is the season of the Lent there are various retreats going on at the residence. I will also be leading one but for a parish in Po Lam next weekend. At the residence there is one for the seniors and is a three day retreat and is lead by a Salesian priest who's mother also lives in the residence. The other is for the Sisters and is a week long retreat and lead by the Oblate Provincial for China. The Oblate is a priest from San Antonio and knew the Basilians from Oakland. It is indeed a small world.

We got a chance to talk about the various ministries that the Oblates are doing in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and discreetly in China. It is interesting to note that the Oblates and other religious orders are in China but working for various non-governmental organizations or teaching at schools. The government knows that they are priest, and religious but as long as they are discreet and doing social work, the government does not interfere in their affairs. Though one of the difficulties is getting a visa that lasts longer than 30 days or 90 days. The Oblate Provincial did mentioned to me that they are getting candidates from China, and that they send them down to the Philippines for their novitiate and seminary training. It is also like the PIME Fathers and Sisters and as well the Salesians and Jesuits.

Missionary work is indeed alive and well in China and for various religious orders this is a way to spread the Gospel message albeit discreetly and in various ingenious ways. It is impressive to see the amount of sacrifice, determination and hope the missionaries have in bringing the Word of God to those who long for it.

Confessions

2009-03-07T20:47:00.002+08:00

It is already the first week of Lent and as Catholics we are all in the midst of prayer, alms giving and fasting. As stated in the Holy Father's Message for Lent 2009, "May every family and Christian community use well this time of Lent, therefore, in order to cast aside all that distracts the spirit and grow in whatever nourishes the soul, moving it to love of God and neighbor. I am thinking especially of a greater commitment to prayer, lectio divina, recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and active participation in the Eucharist, especially the Holy Sunday Mass."

Before I left for Hong Kong last year, my cousin and I collaborated on a medical journal article titled "Bless me, for I have sinned ... Behaviour change and the confessional." Some of the editing was done in Hong Kong through various e-mails. After some finishing touches, the article was published by the Canadian Family Physician (CFP) magazine for the month of January 2009. Here is the link.

Chiu Chow

2009-03-01T10:16:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, I was in Kowloon City to say a Mass for my 1st aunt's family. My aunt's brother wife died a month ago and so they wanted a memorial Mass in her memory. It was nice to see the family and a different part of the city. The parish where the Mass was held is operated by the Oblate Fathers. After the Mass we all went to a nearby Chiu Chow restaurant for dinner.

The Chiu Chow people hail from the area around the seaport of Shantou in northeast Guangdong province. Although part of that province, Chiu Chow cuisine is distinctive enough to be identified as a regional form of cooking on its own. A lot of Chiu Chow dishes reflect a love a seafood, including shark's fin soup. One dish that we had was pan-fried egg, with oyster and chives. Chiu Chow food puts even more emphasis on accompanying sauces than Cantonese cooking does. Sauces can be on the sweetside, and they often use orange, tangerine, or sweet bean as flavoring agents. One of the dishes we had was Chiu Chow style soyed goose with a wonderful garlic and vinegar dip to accompany it. There is also a sauce like a jam made from kumquats and goes with the deep-fried shrimp/crab balls. A traditional dish to accompany the meal at the end is a pan-fried egg noodles served over chives and the sauces is a dark vinegar or sugar. Below is a picture of the shrimp/crab dish with the kumquat jam on the right side of the dish.

Mid-Term Week

2009-02-26T19:21:00.002+08:00

It has been a busy week, today, was the last of the mid-terms. So, now I can relax a little bit and concentrate on some little projects such as a Lenten presentation for a parish in the New Territories. It is amazing to realize that we are now in the season of Lent. With mid-terms over a group of us went to out to a Japanese restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. The group consisted of myself, the professor and 5 Japanese students. The Japanese students are all young wives who immigrated to Hong Kong because of their husbands. While we were heading from the university to the restaurant one of them asked me how my wife was. I think something was lost in the translation. Since all of them know I am a priest but I guess not the Catholic version. Also, Japan is not your dominant country for Christianity. It was an interesting and somewhat amusing conversation. After I finished explaining that I could not get married and what a priest does in the Catholic tradition we arrived at the restaurant.

I can see why the Japanese ladies like the restaurant, since it has some really good authentic Japanese food in Hong Kong. Uni (sea urchin). O-toro (the fattiest of fatty tuna). If these words make you drool, then one should also make a beeline for Sushi Hiro if you are in Hong Kong. The restaurant is buried within an office building, and quite possibly the best place for raw fish in the city. The minimalist interior stays faithful to Japanese style. But what really draws in the Japanese crowd is the freshness of the fish, which you can watch being filleted in front of you at the sushi bar. It was a nice lunch and below the entry is a picture of a dish there.

Gold Fish Market

2009-02-22T15:24:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, my first aunt, her relatives and my cousin-in-law came for a visit. I got a chance to showed them around the residence. My first aunt is currently in Hong Kong for a month while my first uncle is in China for some meetings. It was nice to see them and after the tour we went to Mong Kok, which is in the Kowloon district and where there are lots of interesting shops. If you ever want to shop cheap, inexpensive and various variety of items the place to be is Mong Kok. It is one of the most crowded places in the city. There are various streets that specialize in certain items and streets are named after it. Such as the flower market, jade market, and the gold fish market.

This time around we took my cousin-in-law to see the Gold Fish Market. It has changed quite a bit from 15 years ago when I was last there. As you can see from the top picture they sell more than gold fish but various tropical fishes as well. There are various stores lining up both sides of the street. In the midst of venturing down Tung Choi Street where the Gold Fish Market is we stopped at a famous cafe that sells hot steaming baked Chinese pineapple buns. They are quite delicious and there is always a line up to get them. Here is a picture of the store.

After going through various stores, stalls, and markets we met up with a few more of my aunt relatives for Japanese style hot pot. The appetizer was a full platter of sushimi, followed by various meats, noodles, seafood, vegetables and finally dessert. One of the best dishes so far that I had during my stay in Hong Kong was the beef from Japan, where it literally melts in your mouth. The reason is that the cows are pampered like royalty, with massages and the highest quality of grain. The picture below is the cart of beef, of course without the cow pulling the cart.

Sainthood

2009-02-17T18:41:00.003+08:00

This Saturday, in the Clementine Hall at 11:00 am Rome time, Pope Benedict XVI in a public consistory is to announce the canonization dates for those who are elevated to the sainthood. One of them is to be Blessed Jeanne Jugan the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor. The Sisters that I stayed with in Hong Kong and who my aunt is also part of the congregation. They are waiting in eager anticipation this Saturday for the announcement as to the canonization date of their foundress. Their Mother General is already in Rome and it looks like it will be in October when Jeanne Jugan will join the family of saints.

It is amazing to witness such a momentous event for a religious congregation, who has done a lot for the elderly in the past 150 years around the world. Almost every year or so since I was little my aunt will send me something of Blessed Jeanne Jugan, either a calendar, bookmark, etc... Her feast day is celebrated on August 30th. Even today since it was the start of the provincial chapter for the Sisters in the Far East province, the homily that I wrote ended with a novena to Jeanne Jugan. The Sisters by their service of simplicity and humility give a strong and powerful witness of love and compassion to all of us in caring for the elderly.

Sunday Work Part II

2009-02-15T20:39:00.003+08:00

It has been really quite an uneventful week. Except going to school, study, saying the morning Mass there has been nothing much going on. This is all going to changed this coming week. I have a speech to prepare for, plus a test and a mid-term. In addition the Sisters are hosting their provincial chapter meeting this week, so I will be saying an English Mass each of the days for the Sisters from the Far East province for a couple of weeks.

However, today was quite an interesting day. This morning I was invited to a neighbourhood parish for a luncheon. The reason was that the parish host the elderly for a lunch and since I lived in an old age home they decided to invite me along. It is really a nice gesture and gives a chance for the seniors to go and visit the nearby parish. There is a eight course meal, with entertainment and prizes. The residents performed for the seniors at the parish. Also, there were various speeches and greetings from the pastor, associate pastor, and even from the visiting priest from Toronto, who happens to be the youngest in the resident.

However, before the festivities started I was talking to the pastor as Mass ended and one of the parishioners came up to greet us. His name was Donald Tsang and he is the Chief Executive for Hong Kong. He was not wearing his famous trademark bow tie though. He is a regular communicant at the church since there is a cottage for the Chief Executive nearby. It was established by the British as the Governor's villa. So, that the Governor or now the Chief Executive can get away from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.

Sunday Work

2009-02-08T18:46:00.002+08:00

Today, I got the opportunity to go back to Sts. Peter and Paul's Church in Yuen Long. The last time I was there was in August for a profession for a Sister. This time was asked to cover a Mass in English. Since the church is undergoing renovations the Mass was held in the hall of the elementary school next door. It is nice to go and visit the different parishes in the New Territories. Also, to see how the different parish dynamics work. At Sts. Peter and Paul there are three English and three Cantonese Masses. Three priests serve the parish but one them is on holidays and the other is attending a meeting in Taiwan, so the sole priest left asked if I could do some coverage for him. It is quite a vibrant parish with lots of families. There are lots of Filipino domestic helpers that attend the English Mass but also some expats living in the area.

This week is a pretty quiet week except of course for school and preparing for exams next week. My uncle and aunt from Kingston have arrived for a visit with their relatives. So, hopefully I will have a chance to visit them. Starting Friday the morning Mass will be in English for a couple of weeks because the Sisters are having their provincial chapter. Their general chapter is in the fall so this is in preparation for it. Sisters from Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines will be attending the meeting.

Macau

2009-02-03T19:11:00.005+08:00

In the midst of the Chinese New Year celebration, myself and two other priests with a deacon went to Macau for a visit. One of the priest who is a Salesian was a former teacher and principal at the various Catholic high schools in Macau. The deacon is assigned to the Chinese parish in Calgary but he is on sabbatical with his family and living in Macau. To get to Macau one takes the hydrofoil from Hong Kong. It is only an hour trip and when we arrived at the Macau ferry terminal one cannot help but notice all the casinos that have popped up. The last time I visited Macau was 15 years ago, so things have changed a bit.

Still, the deacon and the Salesian priest were able to take us to the various churches and some of the famous religious landmarks in Macau. The city was in Portuguese hands for over 400 years until 1999 when it was given back to China. Macau is very different from Hong Kong, for one thing the population is only 500 000 and the main industry is tourism. It used to be that there was one casino and it was control by one person until the government opened it up to the world. Now it is consider the Las Vegas of the Far East.

The government made a commitment to revitalize the tourist industry in the early 2000 and so various churches and civic buildings have been renovated. At the city center it still has the European colonial feeling with the cobbled stone streets and various squares with a fountain in the centre. We were able to visit the diocesan headquarters and seminary. It is like stepping back in time during the colonial days of the 18th century. The buildings are designed as European villas with wide and arching halls to let in the breeze during the hot summer months. One of the most famous landmarks is the ruins of St. Paul's. The church was destroyed by a fire in 1835 and what was left was ony the facade.

Flowers, Food, and Fireworks

2009-01-30T16:36:00.003+08:00

As the holidays are coming to a close for Chinese New Year, it is hard to imagine the many different things that went on throughout the week. At the beginning of the week before CNY I was able to go to the flower market with a few people. There are various flower markets throughout Hong Kong in preparation for the celebrations. Flowers are important and so people go to great lengths to get various kind of floral vegetation. There are literally thousands and thousands of people at these markets and sometimes it is so packed that you cannot move around.

The markets have grown to become more of a carnival atmosphere. There are various booths setup so you can purchase novelty items, and also politicians have booths to promote their message. One interesting booth that I came across was the Catholic booth. It was set-up at the Victoria Park flower market. It is one way for Catholics in Hong Kong to do some subtle evangelization during the New Year. I was looking at their promotional materials when one of the young ladies asked if I was interested in being a Catholic. I replied back that I was actually a priest. She was a little bit embarrassed by it. Below is the picture of the Catholic booth.

After the experience of being in a sea of humanity a few of us decided to sample various food stalls and a restaurant in the Central District since we were on the island anyway. The first place that we stopped by was Mak's Noodle. It is a very small hole in the wall restaurant that has been in existence for over 100 years. The specialy is a very small bowl of wontons with duck egg noodles. Three generations of the family have devoted themselves to ensuring the freshness of their broth and top quality of the wonton skin and fillings. The next place that we went to was Tai Cheong Bakery. Their specialty are egg tarts and a big fan of them was the last British HK governor Chris Patten. The egg tarts have a smooth custard filling in an almond fill pastry. The last place that we visited was Yung Kee and their specialty is the roasted goose. A really nice place dinner.

Besides visiting the flower markets, various food stores in the Central District, I was able to go to the fireworks on the second day of Chinese New Year. It was quite spectacular to see a 25 minute display of pyrotechnics at the Hong Kong harbour near Wan Chai. There were over 500 000 people in attendance but over at Wan Chai the crowds were a little bit less. So, after a week of holidays, it is time to get back to work, school, parish help, and various other things.

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-26T19:51:00.004+08:00

Today is the start of the Chinese/Lunar New Year and it begins the fifteen days of celebration. The star of the animal is the OX as depicted by the picture above with the traditional new year flowers. For Hong Kong the first three days are holidays. It has been a little bit hectic with the preparations for the new year. There are many traditions to observed such as cleaning one's place before the new year, cutting your hair, getting ready the red envelopes etc... The reason is to bring as much luck and prosperity into the new year. Also, the preparation of food is important, fish is needed because it is associated with surplus, chicken, roast pork have to be ready, and for the first day of the new year it is all vegetarian dishes. Do not buy shoes during this time, make sure you do not say anything about death, avoid the number 3 or 4 or any context of it. It does make the mind go crazy a little bit to figure out all the customs. Of course there is also the reunion dinner where all the relatives and family gather for a meal at new year's eve. I got the opportunity to visit my relatives last night in Kwun Tong for a meal.

For Chinese Catholics there is the new year's eve thanksgiving Mass, and the new year's day Mass. Today, Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong came to the residence to celebrate the new year Mass. It is a tradition for the cardinal and the other bishop to come to the residence during the three day festivities. It is called Bi Lihn, which means to visit those who are older than you, ie. the elderly of your relatives. Tomorrow we will have Bishop Tong come to say Mass as well. At the end of Mass there is the giving out of mandarin oranges to the parishioners. Also, we had the Lion Dance with a group of us trying to keep track of the Lion with our drumming, and crashing the cymbals from the ground floor to the 1st floor. In the midst of the drumming and the lion dance the cardinal gives out the red envelopes to the seniors.

It has been a wonderful day of celebration and we still have two more days to go. Tonight there is a parade near the harbor and tomorrow there will be the fireworks. On Wednesday, the Sisters where I taught high school chemistry have invited me for hot pot during lunch. In a subsequent blog I hope to describe some of the various kind of New Year food that we had and also the visit to the flower market at Victoria Park.

School

2009-01-21T19:55:00.002+08:00

Classes are going well, and I have one final test in the written component this Friday before the Chinese New Year holiday. In the midst of going to classes, a Sister who is the sister of Fr. Dan invited me to help out at her school, "Our Lady's College." Sister is the high school principal of the girl's college. I have been to the school a couple of times before doing coverage work. Usually for a meal or to say a Mass for the Sisters. They are part of the Salesian family (Daughters of Mary Help of Christians). The classes that I usually teach are chemistry, but sometimes they throw in Chinese History, which thankfully is only to give a test. Since, I think teaching Chinese History with my Cantonese is still a little bit rusty.

It is interesting to see the similarities and differences in teaching style and pedagogical approaches with the Hong Kong's education system compared to the ones in Canada. There is the usual student socializing that goes on in the classroom from both sides of the ocean, but the students in HK seemed to be more respectful of the teacher or maybe because I am a priest. In HK there are over 40 students in a classroom and a mic is needed for the teacher. The teacher presents the lessons in a style of a lecture. Therefore, the interaction with the student is much less with the question and answer session. It took a while for me to adjust to this kind of style. Since, one of the Canadian pedagogical style is to informally assess a student by asking them questions. When I was asking questions to the students in the chemistry classes they were sort of stunned. I was mentioning this to the principal and she said culture does play an important role as to how children respond to adults. It has been a worthwhile experience to see the HK education system at work. There is no more coverage for while because of Chinese New Year and the chemistry teacher I have been covering will be back from her seminars.

Golden Jubilee

2009-01-18T14:27:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, two Little Sisters at the residents celebrated their 50th Anniversary of Profession. Srs. Jeanne Du Bon Pasteur and Marie Aimee Du St. Esprit. One is French and the other Chinese. There was a Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by the vicar general of the Hong Kong Diocese, Fr. Dominic Chan with eight other priests in attendance. Sr. Marie Aimee Du St. Esprit's family came from the village and there were lots of staff, volunteers, and friends that came for the Mass and festivities. After the Mass there was entrainment at the hall, with various participants from various groups. Such as the volunteers, staff, seniors, and the parishioners from the nearby church. Lots of marching, music, dancing, and various presentations. After an hour worth of entertainment there was a nice buffet lunch.

Countdown to the OX

2009-01-13T19:18:00.005+08:00

As Chinese New Year approaches in a week and a half, one cannot help but notice that the Christmas decorations are replaced by the Lunar New Year ones. Even in the residents the Sisters and the workers have been diligently putting up various good luck sayings, lanterns made of the red envelopes and various figurines to represent good fortune such as a fish.

From my bedroom window a street market has been setup to sell various items for the New Year, food, clothing, etc... Everybody is getting their haircuts, because one is not supposed to cut their hair during the New Year. Also, there is a massive moving party going on next door because a new apartment complex just opened. So, everybody needs to move in before the New Year starts because the workers take a week off and of course there is some impressive cleaning up of rooms, and flats. The reason being if one sweeps during the New Year one sweeps away the good fortune.

Since, it will be the year of the OX there are various sayings using the OX as one of the Chinese characters in a four-character sentence. However, I am quite sure that one of them that will not be used is "pull a ox/cow up a tree." The meaning of the metaphorical statement is to do the impossible. Still, you do not need to use the OX character but the general gist is to wish the person or dwelling good fortune and prosperity. Even on my door there are a few sayings that are put up for the New Year.

The left saying is "study hard and you will succeed." The right saying is "have a open and happy smile."

Benediction

2009-01-11T21:31:00.002+08:00

At the residents I usually try to help out at dinner time on the 1st floor as mentioned in a previous blog. I would get a chance to visit the various tables and usually stop at the priest table to help with distributing and cutting up the food, or get a glass of hot water. One particular Italian priest I will help with his food. I think I got it down to a ritual that I can notice his little nuances when he likes to be fed or when he likes to do it on his own.

I will also help Fr. Quirino De Ascaniis, PIME with communion during the weekend Masses and even for today's Mass in celebration of the Lord's Baptism. Usually when I say the body and blood of Christ, Fr. De Ascaniis will have a little sparkle in his eyes. He says a little Amen and then I will give him the consecrated host and precious blood. Sometimes when I come from the sanctuary to give him communion he is sleeping and the Sister will give him a nudge. Throughout the time that I got to know him he says very little instead he communicates with his hands and eyes.

At today's adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and during the Benediction in the afternoon at the chapel, Fr. De Ascaniis was called back to God. He lived to the age of 100 years and 5 months, and was a missionary for 75 years. He was a man of faith, fidelity, simplicity, and dedication to his priestly life even to the end.

May eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him.

Cookies, Candy, Egg Rolls...

2009-01-10T17:20:00.004+08:00

As some readers have noticed a theme with regards to food has emerged throughout these pages. Since, I have not done a food related entry lately I thought today I will rectify that omission.

As Chinese New Year comes along one cannot help but notice the change of culinary taste with various local new year specialties being offered. At the train station there are various street vendors selling their delights with numerous different aromas wafting all the way down to the train platform. I have also noticed that various people are starting to give presents in the name of food. As you can sell from the picture below I have been amassing a few things. Some came from the Epiphany party but others have been just offered this week. Plus, one should see the fridge with various fruit, especially snow pears.

There is the "Almond Rock" a gift from Christmas,and the bottom right container with the picture of Jesus, contains egg rolls. The container has an interesting background, for it was a gift from one of the volunteers at the residence who also helps out at the "Catholic Institute for Religion and Society." It is the institution that created the unique container. The container on the top and on the sides have a pictorial description of Jesus sharing a meal. The pictures contribute to one way of spreading Christ's message. The purpose of using these containers is that for the Cantonese pronunciation of "spreading the Gospel message" sounds quite similar when saying "the length of an egg roll." It is also one way the group subtly spreads the Christian message. Since, egg rolls are given during the time of Chinese New Year to friends, and relatives. Finally, if one wonders if I am going to eat all of this, fear not I usually bring most of it to my classmates at the university.

Colloquialisms and Confessions

2009-01-08T20:54:00.002+08:00

With the new semester an additional course that is added to level 4, is called Cantonese Colloquialisms. Each Wednesday of the week our class dwells into the intricacies of colloquialisms that is found in every day life of Hong Kong. This means there are additional vocabulary words to learn and to figure out the nuance of the meaning in terms of the situation when the word is used. It is a lot of work but also interesting to see how the citizens of Hong Kong especially the younger generation have contributed to the evolution of the spoken language even mixing in English words to become Cantonese words.

The nuance of language sometimes even gets mixed into the life of Church. In December and January I have been asked by the local parish to help out. Usually it is to say the English Mass in the evening. However, there was also the request to help out at the penitential service during Advent and the odd parishioner asking to go to confession. One thing that I did not expect because I was asked to help out with the English community was the number of confessions in Chinese. For me it is not a problem to hear the confessions in Chinese except if it is in Mandarin, but since I was taught the absolution prayer in English, I had to quickly learn it in Chinese. As well I realized in learning the prayers for anointing of the sick. It is going to take me a while to get it all translated correctly.

New Semester

2009-01-05T19:13:00.003+08:00

Today, was the first day of class for the new semester and the start of Level 4. It was nice to return to a regular routine with the 7:00 am Mass, breakfast, and then off to school. One thing that I am getting use to again is the number of people on the train. It is always jammed pack and so personal space, well there is no space.

The level 4 class is quite smaller than the level 3 class. Today only 6 of us out of the 8 that are registered for it attended class and 5 of us are returning students. The reason that it is smaller is because it is an advance level and so the professors have more time with the students. It looks like there is going to be a lot of vocabulary to learn and various colloquial expressions to pick up. The first day was not so bad but it looks like it is going to be a lot of studying to get the words correct. Though I could not complain about the weather when going to school. It was 20 degrees Celsius compared to the bitter cold in Canada.

Serenity

2009-01-03T07:45:00.004+08:00

A Little Sister of the Poor from Baltimore asked me to write an article for the English magazine called "Serenity." The topic was on the meaning behind human suffering in context with Pope Benedict XVI's talk to the priests in the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone last year. Below is the text that was submitted to the magazine. A couple of days ago I received their December edition and the article was published modified in the format of an interview with some very nice pictures of the residence in Hong Kong.

"Priesthood and Suffering"

This year my religious community decided to assign me to do Chinese studies in Hong Kong. As a result I needed a place to stay and I asked my aunt Sr. Marie Martha, who belongs to the Little Sisters of the Poor if it was possible to live at St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged in Hong Kong. My aunt told me to contact the superior of the house and Sr. Clare Regina said I could stay there for the year.

When I mentioned that I was moving to Hong Kong and living in a home for the aged, a few friends and parishioners asked me would it not be boring because everybody is much older than you? How would you relate to them and how would you deal with the amount of suffering that is there? These are all good questions and I do sometimes wonder what am I getting into. Yet, as I reflect back after even a month in Hong Kong, that it is through God’s grace, support from my community and the Sisters, who have showing me and giving me an experience of dealing with the elderly and the poor as a young priest.

Being a priest, the lives that we are asked to be part of and to minister to can vary greatly, depending where we are and what we are called to be doing. For me it just happened at this time in my life that I had the opportunity to live at a home for the aged. This past month I have observed that the house is full of joy, and a lot of God’s gifts and graces permeating through the residents and Sisters. Day in and day out I have the opportunity to talk to the residents and they offer their countless advice and suggestions. They are concern about the young priest and they ask if I have enough to eat, and am I studying too hard. Every time I come down from my room there is always a greeting, and a question as to what am I doing. Of course with joy, there is the opposite, which is sadness and suffering. It is all part of the human cycle.

For me as a young priest an experience of witnessing first hand suffering was when I was stationed at St. Basil’s Church, Toronto as an associate pastor. At the beginning of the month of June a call came into the secretary’s office that a couple wanted to see a priest at their home. I received the call and the wife explained to me that her husband had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was afraid. He was afraid that since he had not gone to Church for the past thirty years he could not receive a Christian burial. It brought a lot of distress to him because of this situation. The next day I had the opportunity to visit them in the morning at their home. The husband was lying in bed because of the cancer. He could only open his eyes momentarily and had difficulty breathing. Obviously, he was in distress and suffering but we managed to talk about his situation and I listened to his confession and gave him communion. Through the course of his cancer we were able to meet a few times and I anointed him. Unfortunately, the cancer progressed rapidly and he died a month later. The funeral Mass and Christian burial took place at St. Basil’s. At the end of the funeral the wife came over and pulled me aside and said that before her husband had died, he mentioned that he had found some peace with everything going on.

We do not want to wish any suffering on anybody, yet it is part of our human history. People do suffer and it is difficult and uncomfortable to deal with. We live in a world that stresses the opposite of suffering, to seek pleasure and gratification, which can result in a detrimental cost. Yet as Pope Benedict mentions in his question and answer with Father Willi Fusaro, “We must love those who suffer not only with words but with all our actions and our commitment. I think that only in this way are we truly Christian.”

As I reflect back on the topic of suffering, I am left with a sense of helplessness that we can only do so much. I can only empathize with the person I cannot experience the suffering that the person is enduring. Yet, there needs to be a continuation to help those who are suffering. It can be challenging and difficult but it is also a witness to our fundamental Christian lives and a betterment of our human condition in being understanding and compassionate to others.

A New Year

2009-01-01T23:04:00.003+08:00

Today, for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, I had the opportunity to con-celebrate at the neighborhood parish Mother of Christ Church, where the community is celebrating their 30th anniversary foundation. It was a beautiful liturgy intermixed with English and Chinese prayers and hymns. The Vicar General of the Hong Kong diocese presided at the Mass. Also, there was a Marian procession before the Mass, and since no snow and relatively warm weather the statue was blessed outside and processed around the parking lot. There was also a commissioning ceremonial for the Chinese and English pastoral councils.

Afterward there was a banquet at a nearby restaurant to continue the festivities. Of course it had the traditional 12 course meal and various entertainment activities intersperse between the courses. However, one realizes that the make up of the parish which is predominately Chinese still had a multicultural feel to it. The Filipino ladies had a traditional dancing routine, while the Mexican clergy with their backup seminarians performed various music from their homeland. Also, there were Italian priests regaling their stories and adventures n Hong Kong.

One funny thing that did happen was that when the group picture was taking outside of the church, somebody at the back of the group piped out and said Fr. Andrew. I turned around and it was a family from Calgary that attend the Chinese parish there. Also, the mother is in charge of the Sunday School. They were in Hong Kong for a visit but to also attend this particular Mass, since they were one of the founding families of the parish. The family knew that I was in Hong Kong, but did not realize how close I was living from the former parish.

So, after a long day I am ready to go to bed and hopefully adjust to the time zone change. Tomorrow is the feast day of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen. Since, I am probably the first Basilian West of the International Date Line, I wish all my Basilian confreres a Happy Feast Day from the Far East.

On the way...

2008-12-31T03:17:00.003+08:00

Well, Christmas is over and school is about to start. Today, is traveling day as I just took a flight from Toronto to Vancouver. I am one-fifth closer to my destination as I type at the Vancouver International Airport and waiting for my flight back to Hong Kong. It has been a nice a relaxing visit to Canada. I got a chance to help out at St. Basil's in Toronto and see the Basilians there. Also, I got a chance to go to Calgary to help out at the Chinese parish where my family goes to Mass. Finally, just a couple days ago I baptized my cousin's baby at the Chinese parish in Mississauga.

It has been filled with lots of family and friends visit. I am glad that I got a chance to say a few Masses in Chinese in Calgary, so I can see how much I have improved or how much more I need to work on the Mass parts in Chinese. I am looking forward to going back and staying at St. Joseph's Home for the Aged in Sheung Shui. Hopefully, I can recover from a 12 hour flight. It will be nice to see the Sisters and the residents again. So, as I depart from the North American continent, I hope to add more blog entries as to what interesting things are going on in Hong Kong and the surrounding region.

Pastoral Visits

2008-12-21T08:40:00.002+08:00

These past couple of days I have been helping out at the Chinese parish in Calgary. One of the things that I have been asked to do is to tag along with the pastoral care group. The group visits seniors that cannot go to the Church and these couple of days the group has gone to various retirement and senior homes and have been singing Christmas carols. I have been asked to do a few anointings and also distribute communion and listen to confessions from the elderly. There is only one Chinese Catholic parish in Calgary, so the parish boundary covers the entire city. Yesterday, we went from one end of the city to the other.

It is nice visiting the various people in the different homes. For some of them they have gone to the parish for over 25 years but due to age and health they now reside in the old age homes. Some of them still remembered when I was an altar server and helping out at the youth group. The parish community has changed quite a bit since I last attended Mass there regularly, which would have been 1996. Yet, it still has the small community feel and people love doing various things together and with different groups in the church. A few of the parishioners were quite excited that my Chinese has improved quite a bit and that I can say Mass in Cantonese. However, I am still working on the confession and anointing parts. Hopefully, another six months and I can get most of the wording correct.

Cold, Snow and the Octave

2008-12-18T07:34:00.002+08:00

Coming back to Canada has introduced me to wonderful weather of cold and snow. If the residents in Hong Kong thought it was cold there, they should come over here. I am now in Calgary after spending a week in Toronto, catching up with friends, relatives, and parishioners at St. Basil's. It was a joy and delight to help out at the parish and also to catch up with the Basilians and report to headquarters.

Over here out west the region is in the midst of a deep freeze, well basically most of Canada and the United States. There seems to be an Arctic front that has centred itself squarely on North America and is not moving anytime soon. However, it is nice been back home and to help out with shovelling this snow. This week I will be helping out at the Chinese parish. So, I can see if the four months in Hong Kong has helped or more likely there is going to be some more work to be done. The Octave of Advent is here with cold and snow, but at least it is going to be a white Christmas.

Blessed to Saint...

2008-12-09T14:56:00.003+08:00

Today, Mother Superior came up to me after Mass and said that the Congregation for the Saints had announced on Saturday that the Congregation and the Holy Father had approved another miracle for Blessed Jeanne Jugan. Here is the link from the Vatican, under Beata MARIA DELLA CROCE JUGAN. I was helping Mother translate some of the Italian from the announcement. The Sisters are really quite happy that finally their foundress will be elevated to be a Saint. They are hoping that it will happen sometime in Easter or October of next year.

As I get ready to depart for Hong Kong, right now I am at the airport just waiting for the flight, I thought I would add it to the blog since I have gotten to know Blessed Jeanne Jugan from my aunt throughout the years and also a little bit more these past four months living in the residence. Also, it helps when the Sisters keep on sending me books and brouches of their foundress and working on their website a little bit.

Immaculate Conception

2008-12-08T13:52:00.005+08:00

Today, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the residence chapel we celebrated a high Mass and where all the Sisters renewal their vows. The Sisters processed in two by two and right after the homily each holding a tall candle renewal their vows in French. There was a sort of a monastic tradition to the Mass today and the incense was even brought out. Since it was a feast day at lunch chocolates and Chinese Rice Crispy squares were brought out.

It is also the last Mass in Hong Kong for me as the celebrant until I come back from my visit to Canada. I am getting use to saying the Mass entirely in Chinese even with the homily. Still, there is a lot of work to do to build up the character vocabulary repertoire. I noticed yesterday when I was celebrating a Mass in English at the neighbourhood parish at Mother of Christ Church that my mind is still in Chinese mode and that the pronunciation of words had a Chinese feel to it.

I am looking forward to going back home for a little while, though I am not quite sure if I will adjust back to the cold. So, blogging will probably be a little sparse since the blog is about a Basilian in the Far East and now I am heading back to the near West or is that East...

Evangelization

2008-12-06T15:11:00.006+08:00

Yesterday, a group of Sisters and myself made our way to the Diocesan Centre at the cathedral in the afternoon. All the religious priests, brothers, and sisters were invited to hear the archbishop secretary for the Congregation for the Evangelization of People give a talk. The Congregation is more commonly known as the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. Archbishop Robert Sarah from Guinea gave a very informative talk as to what the Congregation does. They only have a staff of a hundred and they are in charge of over 1100 dioceses, including Hong Kong. The talk mainly focused on what the congregation can do for the mission dioceses, especially if seminarians and sisters need training they can be sent to Rome to take courses there. Of course one of the focus of discussion was on the current status of China. The archbishop talked of Hong Kong being the bridge between Rome and the mainland but also the need to find good bishops. The hardest part right now is to choose priests that are acceptable both to Rome and China to become bishops. Plus since there are two Churches in China to see how they can be reconciled.

It is interesting to note that a lot of the priests, brothers, and sisters at the conference are from around the world waiting for that day when they can go the mainland to do evangelization. The Cardinal of Hong Kong also explained how Rome wanted five bishops from China to participate in the Synod in October, but because of disagreement as to which five, China insisted on six but one is not recognized by Rome, therefore there was a stalemate and none came to the Synod. The interesting part is the perceived willingness of China to send bishops but also to test how far Rome will accept bishops that were appointed by the Chinese government.

Overall, it was a very informative presentation and question and answer period as well. One thing that I really enjoy with these gatherings is catching up with various priests, and sisters that I have gotten to know in the four months. Also, to talk about what their religious order or congregation is doing in Hong Kong and hopefully in China.

Carols the Chinese Version

2008-12-05T07:59:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I was eating lunch with the residence and there is a CD player right beside our table piping out Christmas carols. Yes, it is that time of the year and only twenty days left before Christ is born. I was not paying too much attention to the carols until one Chinese version of "O Come All Ye Faithful." In the English refrain the words are: "O Come let us adore Him..." well in the Chinese Cantonese version if I heard it correctly was: "O Let Santa Claus Come with presents." I think there was some mixed up with the translation or maybe the carol is going secular. Anyway, it was amusing because after that carol the next one was "Joy to the World" but a different interpretation in the Chinese version. I will leave it another day to explain it.

Visits

2008-12-01T20:07:00.003+08:00

Well, the start of this week has started a little bit slower then the last one. Most of my relatives who have been visiting Hong Kong have left and my parents will be leaving tomorrow. I still have a third uncle and aunt on my father side who just arrived in Hong Kong for a wedding, so I will probably see them sometime this week. It was nice seeing my mother and father for the week with my brother. We were able to visit the graves of grandfather on my mother side, and great-grandfather on my father side. They are located in the same Catholic cemetery in Cheung Sha Wan. My father also had a chance to show us a little bit of where he used to live in Cheung Sha Wan and Sham Shui Po. There are some very cheap markets in Sham Shui Po and some really good places to get fresh Dim Sum.

Today, for the first time I said the Mass completely in Chinese. Since it is the beginning of Advent and the start of the new church's calendar, I thought this could be a good way to force myself to improve on my Chinese. There are still a few pronunciations or tonal errors, so there is still some work to be done. But I am glad that I can say all the prayers and the gospel in Chinese. It will make constructing the homily in Chinese a little bit easier. Also, I have to cover the main Mass at the residence this week since the priest who usually celebrates it, is sick and needs a little bit of time to recover. This Sunday I have also been invited by the neighbourhood church to give a talk for their annual Advent retreat. The topic is "The goodness of God leads you to repentance." (Romans 2:14). The talk will be in English so it will be a little bit easier.

Finally, in a week I will be leaving for Toronto for a few weeks and then off to Calgary to help out at the Chinese parish there for Christmas. It will be nice to see Basilians, my relatives, family, and friends in both cities. Also, to see some snow. It is a little bit strange not to see snow just before Christmas and that the weather here is still nice with the grass and trees still green.

Ancestral Place

2008-11-27T09:12:00.008+08:00

Yesterday, I had a chance to visit the ancestral place (the house) where 21 generations of Leung's lived when they came from the north. It seems that my generation is the 23rd from the village called Longtan. The village is located in the Guangdong province, Foshan prefecture, Shunde district, Xingtan town. Longtan means "dragon pond." The village is located north of Xingtan, about 6 kilometers to the central urban area of the town, the whole area is 7.2 sq. km. It is in the Pearl Delta of the Guandong province. The population right now is 8 237. Where 80% of the residents has a Leung surname. Longtan is part of Xingtan watery regions, there is a scenic spot called Dragon Mother's Temple which was established in the first year of Xianchun, the Song Dynasty (1265), Five-dragon Temple that was still built in the first year of Xianfeng, the Qing Dynasty (1851) and Ai'ri Bridge, which is a single hole stone arch bridge built in the Ming Dynasty. It is a very nice place for tourist to see a typical traditional village in Southern China.

Longtan and the surrounding region is famous for fish framing and silk. Just 50 feet away from my ancestral home is a fish pond. Therefore, most of my ancestors were probably fish farmers and there are still some that continue to raise fish but less and less because of better paying jobs in the nearby towns and cities. For us to get to Longtan we needed to take a bus from Hong Kong and cross the border at Shenzhen, and then two hours to Shunde. From Shunde we took a 45 minute taxi to Longtan. At Longtan the roads are very narrow so we had to walk for 5 minutes before reaching the house.

There we met the village elder who is sort of like the mayor of the village and is a distant cousin of my father's generation. He showed us around and we also got a chance to take a look of the books that have recorded every generation of Leung's in the village. Afterwards, we went to see the house where my grandfather lived. It is one of the oldest houses in the village, roughly 200 to 300 years old. The house cannot be demolished because of its historical value. However, nobody has lived there for at least 40 years. The key is still kept by a neighbour who knew my grandmother and grandfather generation.

Longtan still has the village feel to it. Various bridges cutting across the small streams connecting to the various ponds. There are the farmers cultivating the fish, grandmothers watching over the grandchildren, aunties playing mahjong, and elders sitting right beside the river chatting away. Here are a few pictures of the visit to Longtan:

(Village elder talking to my father)

(The record books)

(The community hall)

(The ancestral house)

Cousin's Wedding

2008-11-24T07:47:00.004+08:00

Blogging has been a little bit slow because my parents and brother are in Hong Kong. They arrived last Thursday for my cousin's wedding yesterday. He is the son of my third uncle on my mother's side. It was a nice day for a get together with friends and relatives. The wedding took place at St. Jude's Parish in North Point. Since the bride's family is not Catholic it was just the exchange of vows and rings and no Mass. One thing that is different from a Catholic wedding in North America is the presider's vestments. Instead of wearing white the presider wears red. This is due to the fact that white is associated with death in the Chinese culture. However, I am not quite sure how the culture reconciles itself with the western bridal dress.

In the evening we attended the tea ceremony and the banquet. In Hong Kong most wedding banquet's start around 8:30 pm while guests start to arrive around 4:00 pm. In those four hours there are the photographs and 5 or 6 tables of mahjohng that are set-up. This is quite typical in a Chinese style wedding banquet. There is the 12 traditional course meal with each dish associated as a metaphor for a good, prosperous, and life long marriage. So, as some people have mentioned in this blog that there is a theme on food here are the dishes:

1) Barbecued Whole Suckling Pig
2) Sauteed Scallops and Clams with Vegetables
3) Baked Whole Sea Whelk with Assorted Meats in a Portuguese Sauce
4) Braised Assorted Vegetables with Crabmeat
5) Braised Shark's Fin Soup with Shredded Chicken and Bamboo Fungus
6) Simmered Sliced Abalone with Vegetables
7) Steam Fresh Green Garoupa
8) Deep-Fried Crispy Chicken flavored with Garlic
9) Fried Rice with Minced Seafood and Spring Onions
10) Braised E-Fu Noodles with Conpoy and Enoki Mushrooms
11) Sweetened Walnut Cream with Dumplings
12) Chinese Petits Fours

After the eleventh course I had to call it quits since it was getting late and the banquet was held in the Wan Chai district. It took me an hour just to get back to Sheung Shui. Today, a Basilian comes in for a visit for a few days and then on Wednesday I am going to visit the ancesteral house in China with my family before third uncle and aunt on my father's side come for a visit this Friday from Canada. It is quite a busy time of the year.

Character Change

2008-11-18T14:55:00.003+08:00

Today, I finished the written component of the Chinese course with an early final exam after my classes in the morning. It has been an interesting three months to get to know additional characters and how they all work out in the written and spoken form. The reason for the early final exam is that my parents and my brother are coming for my cousin's wedding this week. So, this gives me a little bit of a breather without worrying about exams during their visit.

Throughout the past week I have been putting in a few hours of studying 200 new Chinese characters, and all its wonderful combinations. So, I thought I was well prepared for the exam. The exam did go smoothly and when I was out the door and boarding the train, I realized that a character I put down as an answer, which has roughly the same pronunciation as another character was the wrong one. Instead of saying "Open Up" in Chinese, I wrote "Big Opening." Oh well, at least I will remembered next time when the question comes up which one is the correct answer.

I have a few more days of classes for the speaking component before school is done. The head of the department has granted me a continuation to proceed to level 4 without taking the level 3 exam, so I am glad I do not have to struggle with the Romanization until next year.

Ordinations

2008-11-16T20:46:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I was able to attend the diocesan ordinations at the cathedral. Before the ordinations I met up with a Sister and her family for lunch at Wan Chi. When I arrived at the ordination there were a few priests already vested. One of them recognized me since I was doing my novitiate at St. Mark's in Vancouver he was a seminarian at that time. The reason why he was in Hong Kong was that he was visiting his family. After a few minutes of chatting another person came by and he was the permanent deacon from my parish in Calgary who currently is doing a sabbatical in Macau. After another a few minutes of conversation two more priests came by who have families in Toronto and I have met them at the various Chinese parishes. So, altogether five Canadians were at the ordinations, what a small world that we had to cross the ocean to have a get together.

The ordination Mass was quite moving and the cardinal spoke very well. One of the readers is a professor at the Chinese University who I have gotten to know because of the Chinese writing course. After the ordination one of the priests who is also the assistant rector at the seminary invited me to dinner with the seminarians, and priests from the seminary, the newly ordained priests, plus the bishop, and cardinal for dinner. Before dinner I was approached by the vicar general to inquire if I could help out in the diocese starting next year. He heard that I was living in Sheung Shui and improving on my Chinese. He said that it will probably be mostly Chinese Masses but I might need to cover some of the English Masses depending which priest is away. Overall, it was quite a full day but I was glad to have a chance to catch up with some of the local and not so local clergy.

Term is almost over...

2008-11-14T19:32:00.002+08:00

Blogging has been a bit sparodic these past couple of weeks. Due to school and studies taking priority right now. Anyway, the weekend is here and so I have a few minutes to blog a bit.

Today, we finished the last chapter for the Chinese writing course. Next week Wednesday, I will have the final exam for it. It has been an adventure in getting to know 200 new characters and the various combinations that you can get from it. I am glad that the course is coming to the end, since I think my head is spinning a little bit from going back and forth with translation and proper pronunciation. Plus today I had a little adventure in the afternoon with getting my Chinese VISA. I had to go to the Hong Kong Immigration Department to get an extension for my VISA to continue on with my studies. So, I picked up the VISA today and then proceeded to walk a couple of blocks to the Hong Kong Chinese Consulate to register for a Chinese VISA, plus they needed to check on my Hong Kong Identity Card. Anyway, everything is solved and I should be able to pick it up next Wednesday. The reason for the Chinese VISA is that my parents are coming to Hong Kong for a wedding next week and there is a plan to visit the ancestral village.

Besides school, and applying for the VISAS, I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend and concentrating on studies. Tomorrow, I have been invited by at least three religious orders and the parish priests next door for the diocesan ordinations at the cathedral. It has been a while since the Hong Kong diocese has ordained three deacons to the priesthood. What a blessing and joy for the local church.

Update

2008-11-09T20:02:00.003+08:00

It has been almost a week since I have last updated the blog. Things have been a little bit busy with school and starting in a week or so final exams are coming up. I have been working on my last speech of the term and tonight I just finished it. I still have one more but it is for the speaking component of the exam and we will be receiving the topic in a couple of days so we can prepare for it. Another thing that I have been studying are the Chinese characters. There is only 200 of them but it takes a while to get all the correct writing strokes in order and to remember what each character means in the written form and in the speaking form. It is the wonderful world of the Cantonese language.

I also had to push up one of the exams because of a family visit. My parents and brother are coming in two weeks time for a cousin's wedding. It should be an exciting time but the unfortunate part is that it is situated right in the middle of exam week. I should survive but there is going to be a lot of studying the next couple of weeks. I will be glad when I finish my last exam and I can get a breather before the next term. I have been working on the Masses and prayers so that I can have a better grasp with them in Chinese. It is working out well but slowly since there are a lot of additional characters to know.

Life in the residence is the same. I had to visit a senior who has cancer in the bones and she is a little bit forgetful. The weather is cooling a bit and the seniors are starting to wear their sweaters, for me the weather is just right. It is not too cold and not too hot and I do not have to start the air conditioner. Anyway, that is all for now.

Nan Lian Garden

2008-11-03T19:50:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, I had a chance to meet up with Fr. Daniel Chui's sister who is a Sister with the Daughters of Help of Christians. She gave me a tour of the Nan Lian Garden and the Chi Lin Nunnery. Both the Buddhist garden and nunnery are located at Diamond Hill in Kowloon. The present-day buildings have been rebuilt and their style is of Tang dynasty architecture. The buildings are the only ones to be built with wooden rooftops in modern Hong Kong, and without the use of a single nail in its construction. This is based on an unique architectural style from the Tang Dynasty which uses special interlocking systems cut into the wood for construction. The gardens have great emphasis on the shape of the trees, rocks, and ponds. These categories are essential in a traditional Chinese garden. Here are some pictures of the visit to both of the places.

After the tour Sister took me on a tour of the school that she is the principal of. When we got closer to the school I noticed that it was the same school that I had visited with my mother in 2001. The school is called Our Lady's College and my mother graduated from there in the 1960's. The Sisters had asked that I celebrate a Mass for them in the afternoon and some of them recognized me. Talk about a small world, I met a Sister who is now the Provincial and taught my mother in high school. It was nice to be given a tour of the school and to share a nice meal with the Sisters.

A Crowning

2008-11-01T18:54:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, evening the seniors and the Sisters had an October crowning for Our Lady. October is the month of Mary and the seniors have been saying the rosary diligently every day at 4:30 pm in the garden. The seniors are quite involved in various church activities throughout the year at the house. A lot participate at the daily Mass, bible study, meditation, etc... So, last night was no exception, everybody was at the chapel and each of the seniors was given a rose to place at the Our Lady's statue. Between each decade of the rosary I played a verse of a Chinese hymn. To end off the celebration the hymn of "Hail Holy Queen" was played when the crowning took place. As I got to the end of the first verse, the seniors had almost placed the crown on Mary. There is even a mobile staircase to give the seniors some extra help. So, the crown was on Mary's head and I was moving on to the second verse when the crown dropped to the ground!! There was a gasp but a Sister picked it up and placed it on Mary's head a little bit more secured.

It was a nice ending to a lovely evening and now we are celebrating All Saints Day and tomorrow it is All Souls Day. Since, there is a relatively young priest living in the house the Sisters requested a Mass tomorrow at 7:00 am so that all three Masses for the Dead can be scheduled appropriately. Plus I have been requested to go to another convent to do another Mass for the Sisters in the afternoon. It is going to be a pack day. Does anybody know why we have three Masses at All Soul's Day? I will give a hint it has to do with intentions.

Hong Kong Island

2008-10-29T19:54:00.004+08:00

This past weekend I had a chance with a friend to tour a little bit more on the Hong Kong island side. We started at the Central district's Statue Square. Which is right in the region's financial, political, and historical location. Among the steel and glass of skyscrapers surrounding the square are a few colonial remnants. One of them is the legislative council building which was built during the colonial era in a Neo-Classical motif. It used to house the Supreme Court, but now serves as Hong Kong's legislative assembly.

After a tour around the square we decided to go to Stanley which is on the other side of the island. Originally a sleepy fishing haven, Stanley was the largest settlement on Hong Kong island before the British moved in. Now the town is still a peaceful, pleasant escape from the bustle of the city. There are lots of good beaches, market and a variety of places to eat different regional and international cuisine. It has become a tourist area. A unique feature of Stanley is the Tin Hau Temple. Tin Hau is the sea goddess and the temple is one of the oldest in the region dating back to 1767. As you can see from the picture there is a process of praying to Tin Hau.

Finishing off our visit of Hong Kong island we decided to go to Aberdeen. Aberdeen still has a harbour for small and large fishing vessels, and the traditional sampans.

A Visit

2008-10-26T20:52:00.004+08:00

Today, I was invited by Mother Superior and another Sister to go to Hung Hau a New Town to attend a vocation conference for religious working in Hong Kong. The parish there is named St. Andrew and was built in 2003. It is quite a beautiful church with some impressive stain glass windows but also a very artistic liturgical interior. The design of the interior of the church weaves a beautiful mosaic from the baptismal font to the main altar.

Before we attended the conference, Mother Superior had to visit a senior in Po Lam another New Town. Po Lam is the next station after Hang Hau. The reason for the visit was that the senior had requested that the Sisters take her in at the place in Sheung Shui. However, there is quite a vetting process before the applicant is accepted. Mother Superior has to make sure that the senior is in financial and medical need and would benefit with the assistance of the nursing home. Also, the motive for the move. Sometimes, it is the children who want to put the mother, father or both in a nursing home to safe money, or to kick them out of the flat, or that they cannot take care of the parents. There are many reasons and sometimes it is really disheartening to hear how children treat their parents when they get to a certain age. Inheritance becomes a major issue and unfortunately it seems that money dictates the motive of those who are supposed to care for their elders.

When we got to the flat the senior invited us in to her place. She shares the space not larger than an average bedroom in Canada with three other seniors. This average bedroom is divided into four rooms, one each for the seniors, with a common bathroom, and kitchen. Her room is the size of a closet and has a small fridge, bed, a small drawer, and a small television. It is amazing how creative one has to get in leaving in such a small and crowded space. The reason for such a small space is that it is a government apartment (equivalent to social housing) for seniors.

It was a very nice visit and she offered us mango pudding pastries that she got from a bakery nearby. Mother Superior asked her why she has decided to request coming to the house. She mentioned that she was about to turn 90 and it was getting harder to take care of herself with cleaning and cooking. After the visit I asked Mother Superior when she requested to come to the home and the process was started two years ago. It is due to the number of requests, capacity, the income situation of the person, and medical attention. Those with dire needs are taken first.

Victoria Peak

2008-10-24T18:59:00.004+08:00

When I was visiting the cathedral this past Tuesday, I also had the opportunity to go up to Victoria Peak before dinner. The last time I was up there was 1986, so it has been a while and a few things have changed. The Peak offers some incredible views and is quite popular with tourists. Also, for those who are super rich in Hong Kong they usually have occupied the most exclusive properties clinging to its high slopes. Located near the Peak is one of the world's most expensive house. It was sold for $900 million HKD in 1997 which translates to $129 million CAD.

To get up to the Peak one can take the Peak Tram. The tram was built by the British specifically to get away from the crowded conditions at the foot of the mountain where the ports were. It started in 1888 as a funicular railway. It takes roughly 5 minutes if there is no stoppage at 3 local stations. The tram runs on a single railway but when the two trains meet in the middle of the route there is a double track. Part of the route has a incline of 48 degrees, while the track gradient varies from 4 to 27 degrees. At the top you can see quite a bit of Hong Kong and Kowloon, while at the Peak there are also some quite impressive Chinese and modern gardens. As well as a few tourist shops and markets.

Cathedral and Former Parishioners

2008-10-22T19:35:00.006+08:00

Yesterday, was quite a full day. After school in the morning I had to go to the Hong Kong Diocese Centre to meet with the director of the Audio and Visual department. The chancery is located on the Hong Kong island side and is near central centre. The chancery offices are right beside the cathedral. When I arrived there I had a bit of time before the appointment so I got a chance to see the cathedral.

The cathedral is celebrating their 12oth anniversary and so they commissioned a new crucifix, which is in the form of an icon. Also, near the sanctuary there was a big bowl which when tapped has a ringing and gong effect. For Chinese churches this is the traditional way of signifying the consecration, and it replaces the bell. At my church in Calgary we have just a little bit smaller version of it. Below is a picture of the bowl at the cathedral.

After my meeting I headed back down the hill and met up with two former parishioners from St. Basil's for dinner. Both of them were visiting China and were on the way backing to Canada via Hong Kong. It was nice to see them and they took me to dinner at Luk Yu Tea House. It is a traditional tea house dating back to 1933. It still has the authentic furnishing from that period with waiters that are a little bit curt when ordering and serving dishes. Even the cups, and bowls have the traditional patterns seen in the 1930's. The food was excellent and the menu selection is the typical Cantonese cuisine that my mother or grandmothers or aunts will make at their homes. Here is a picture of two traditional homemade dishes, one with fish and a corn cream sauce while the other is glazed shrimp with peanuts.

A Day of Reflection

2008-10-19T21:26:00.006+08:00

Today, a group of twelve ladies and four sisters from the two houses in Hong Kong went for a day of reflection. For the Little Sisters of the Poor this is one way to promote vocations to religious life and for the ladies to know the Sisters a little bit more. Mother Superior invited me along because they needed a priest to say Mass and survive a hike from one side of the mountain to the other side. The day of reflection took place at the Trappist Monastery on Lantau Island at Tai Shui Hang. To get to the place we had to take a bus, train, another bus, a kai-to ferry (small ferries that go to various islands), and finally walk for fifteen minutes up a hill.

From the dock to the monastery there is a path for the Station of the Cross. The abbey is called Our Lady of Joy and the monks belong to the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance. One of the monks that we got a chance to meet mentioned to me that he had visited the abbey in Genesee, New York. The abbey's main source of income is milk from the cows that they raise. It is apparently quite famous in Hong Kong. How the abbey got started was that the community was initially founded in China in the nineteenth century. However, due to the revolution in 1949 the monks left their place and came down to Hong Kong. When they got to Hong Kong they needed a place to setup and the Little Sisters of the Poor let them used a plot of land at their place before moving to Lantau Island. The Sisters also donated the first cow, so there is quite a bit of connection between the Trappist and the Little Sisters of the Poor in Hong Kong.

After the group had finished the Stations of the Cross, I said Mass at the abbey's chapel and we had our picnic at the guest retreat centre. There one of the monks showed us some magic tricks before we started the hike up the remaining part of the mountain and to Mui Wo. Before we left the monastery, we took a group photo at the shrine of Our Lady.

The picture below was taken from the top of the mountain before descending to Mui Wo. You can notice the haze that is surrounding Hong Kong island. On the left side is Kowloon and in the middle is Victoria Peak.

Life in the Residence

2008-10-18T16:19:00.002+08:00

Just a view vignettes of life in the residence:

A couple day ago I was working on my computer in the evening and trying to figure out an input keyboard that will work well with the Romanization text because of all the accents marking. Usually, I go to bed around ten so that I could get a good night sleep and be ready to say the morning Mass at seven. However, I was caught up in entering the input codes for the program and typing away when I heard a knock on the door around ten-thirty. I thought it was strange that somebody would knock at that late of an hour since usually most of the residence go to bed by eight. However, it was Mother Superior who asked that I come to one of the rooms since a residence had a mild stroke. At the residence two people are in a room and the roommate noticed that she was on the floor and not responding to any of her actions. I anointed her (I realized I better start learning the anointing prayer in Chinese) and we waited for the paramedics. When they came they took her to the hospital. Her breathing, blood pressure, and pulse were normal. She was just not responding to any questions. One of the paramedics thought she was just being grumpy or stubborn. The next day she was brought back from the hospital and seemed to have made a full recovery.

Life in the residence is like a religious house with a set routine. There is Mass daily, prayers and the rosary are said at appointed times, recreation, arts and crafts are scheduled in, and of course set time for meals. For those who are mobile and live on the third and second floor the meals are served at the ground floor. I am usually at a table with five other residence. In a later blog I will talk about my fellow diners. On the first floor there is also a place for the residence that are less mobile and usually in wheelchairs or in need of special assistance. A lot of the residence here need some kind of help in eating their meal. Yesterday, I was talking to a grandma who lives on the first floor but goes to Mass daily. In the midst of our conversation it was dinner time so I took her to the dinning room. There the Sisters asked if I could help feed one of the residence. I said not a problem since I have done it many times before. It is interesting to know in one's life that somebody helps feed you when you are young and the cycle come back in your later years.

Tomorrow a group of Sisters, volunteers, and myself will be going to Lantau Island to visit the Trappist Monastery for a day of reflection. It should be interesting to visit the Fathers and Brothers there.

Salted Fish

2008-10-16T19:00:00.002+08:00

Today, was the last day of mid-terms, the final part was a 10 minute conversation test with the teacher. Overall, I think the week went alright but it was a little bit stressful trying to remember all the correct pronunciation with the tones and the dreaded Romanization. I hope I have survived it and that the next section is a little bit easier, but I have feeling they are going to give us a lot more vocabulary characters to work with. I am looking forward to the weekend to catch up on some work and if the weather is good hopefully to wander a little bit around Hong Kong.

This evening at the residence we ate a dish called salted fish. It is a common household cuisine in Hong Kong. However, it is not an usual dish at the residence because of the high salt content. The fish has to be marinated with salt and then dried in the sun, then marinated with salt again. Just taking a very small bit of the fish raises the sodium calcium intake quite high. It goes well with rice and the residence love the dish. I do too, but unfortunately I am not quite use to the high content of salt. It was my first time that I had the dish in Hong Kong and it is quite good with mince pork meat.

Fruits

2008-10-14T16:43:00.003+08:00

These past couple of days have been quite hectic with mid-terms and another one coming along the way on Thursday. So, it has been quite a few days and nights studying and memorizing characters. A couple of friends and relatives have invited me to go over to Hong Kong island for a dinner party, but I had to decline because of the exams. Hopefully, I will have a chance this weekend to visit them. Yesterday, was also Thanksgiving Day in Canada. It was the first time in many years where I did not see a turkey or pumpkin pie floating around, even mashed potato or stuffing. You can get turkeys in Hong Kong but I have not seen a pumpkin at the markets yet.

It has also been a busy time at the residence. The air-conditioners are being cleaned in the chapel and so the Masses have been moved to the auditorium. The Sisters have also asked me to start saying some prayers at the beginning of the meal in Chinese and the priest in charge of the Masses at the residence asked me to give little homilies in English every Sunday. So, there are lots of things to do and work in both the Chinese and English language realm.

One funny thing that happened last night was that I was in my room studying, but I decided to go out into the residence lounge to eat my orange and some tofu dessert that a Sister gave me. In the process of eating some of the residence noticed that I was in the lounge. One person brought me an apple, another a pear, followed by a couple of oranges, and last but not least a full bag of Japanese strawberry cookies. It was very nice of them and I am quite thankful for their thoughtfulness. Yet, I am beginning to realize that it is sort of deadly coming out of the room because I think the residence feel the young priest is hungry. Anyway, after the procession of food I think I have enough fruit to last me for a couple of weeks.

Languages

2008-10-11T19:33:00.004+08:00

After quite an intense week and next week not looking so good because of mid-terms, I decided to take things a little bit easy today and just concentrate on remembering vocabulary words in the Romanization format. Usually, I can get an early start in the morning but there were a few things going on that I did not get to the studying part until after breakfast. Before breakfast I will say my morning prayers in English, then it is off to converse in Cantonese with the seniors during breakfast. I got back to room after breakfast and realized that there was a funeral today at the chapel so got things ready, study a bit, and went to the chapel for the funeral Mass for Mr. Wong. Mr. Wong was a Hakka person so, there were lots of relatives and friends throughout Hong Kong who came to the funeral. Before the British took over Hong Kong in the 1800's the people that originally lived in Hong Kong were Hakka. Hakka is a distinct ethnic group in the Southern part of China with unique culture, cuisines, and dialect. Therefore, at the Funeral Mass it was a visiting priest who was also Hakka and spoke both in Cantonese and Hakkanese.

A Chinese funeral is a little bit different from one in Canada. For the priests we all wore purple stoles instead of white because the colour white is reserved for the relatives. Second, the coffin was open throughout the Mass without a pall being covered. Third, at the end of the Mass the custom is to bow three times to the coffin to pay respect to the decease person. When my family and relatives go to visit the graves we also bow three times. After the Mass there was a lunch and the relatives of the decease brought in a roasted pig as a thank you. Traditionally, there is a meal to thank everybody. The meal consists of seven dishes, one is the roast pork to symbolize a happy send off for the decease, chicken, a vegetarian dish, and something that is sweet and sour, because of the sadness of the person dying.

In the afternoon I was able to do some studying and then I went down to the chapel to play the organ for adoration which is in Cantonese. Finally, the Sisters invited me to stay after adoration to chant the evening prayers with them in French. This evening one of the Sisters instructed me that I will be leading the prayer for grace in Cantonese for breakfast on Sunday. So, after finishing blogging I will be brushing up on a few prayers. Therefore, in the span of a day, in one house, four languages were covered, English, Cantonese, Hakkanese, and French. I think my head is still spinning a little bit after today. I did get a chance to walk in the garden and take some pictures to clear my head. Here is one where the residence can play Chinese Chess.

Mid-Terms

2008-10-09T21:20:00.004+08:00

Blogging has been a little bit slow for the past week and will probably continue to be for another week because of mid-terms. Tomorrow, I have the written portion to write and then next week will be the comprehension and the oral part of the exams. There is a lot of work, studying, figuring out all the different character combination, and trying to remember the stroke pattern for each character. One thing that is still bothering me is trying to learn the Romanization for the exam. When there was a quiz the professor spoke each question in Chinese and we had to answer in Romanization. Yet, for me I could have answer as quickly just speaking instead of writing the Romanization answer, plus I got every Romanization word wrong. So, it has been on my mind for while how to quickly remedy the situation. In addtion, today, a group of us had to give a speech on a particular topic of the week. The speech had to be written in Romanization. Mine was on the difference and similarities between a Chinese and Western wedding. I think I survived the Romanization part.

After the speeches two of the teachers and the class decided to go up the hill of the campus to have lunch at the University Guest House. It is a quite a beautiful place and the food that was offered at the restaurant was a mix of Western and Chinese dishes. I had the roast duck with green curry sauce and rice. It was quite delicious. Throughout the course of lunch the conversation turned to the mid-term tests coming up. The two professors realized that it might be better for me with the written portion of the mid-term to speak each of the Chinese sentences that needed Romanization. This format change will definitely make my life easier. After lunch we wandered outside the restaurant to see the spectacular view of the university campus.

College and Curtains

2008-10-07T19:12:00.004+08:00

Today, is a holiday because of the Chung Yeung Festival, "Grave Cleaning". Behind the convent and the chapel there is a worshiping ancestors cemetery. So, quite a bit of incense was wafting in the air.

When, I was coming down for the 11:00 am Mass today, I met up with a couple of Salesian Fathers. They were there because one of the priest's mother is a residence, and she was celebrating her 95th birthday. The other Father asked me where I was from and I mentioned coming from Toronto. He said he was going to visit there next year and then continue to ask which community I belonged to. Usually, this is where I have to give a long explanation as to who the Basilian Fathers are.

I explained I am with the Basilians and he instantly recognized the community. For Fr. Lau was stationed in the Chinese parish in Edmonton in the 1980's. He mentioned that he would visit St. Joseph's College at the University of Alberta, because he was the spiritual advisor for the Chinese Catholics at the university. This is where he got to know the Basilians. It is indeed a small world for 15 years later I was actually one of the members of the Chinese Catholic community at the University of Alberta.

In the afternoon Mother Superior asked me to help out with putting the stage-curtains back up in the auditorium. The auditorium was getting the air conditioners clean and so the curtains which have been up for five years since the new residence was opened, needed their five year vacuuming. It is quite a feat to take the curtains down and put them up. A portable scaffolding is needed to be setup and also a little cherry picker lift is brought in. So, I spent a good portion of the afternoon rolling the scaffolding and riding the lift around to the different areas to bring up the curtains to the workers so that they could re-hang the curtains on the stage. Now, it is back to studies and preparing for a mid-term this Friday and two others to follow next week.

Rain

2008-10-05T21:30:00.002+08:00

The past couple of days has been quite wet. A typhoon was supposed to skirt around Hong Kong put instead it became a tropical depression, which resulted in a lot of rain. This means one does not venture outside unless they want to get wet. So, I have been working on a speech to present to my class this Thursday and study for a mid-term exam in my writing course. Things are going well with school except the Romanization part which is essentially ping-yin. How to pronounce the characters properly with English spelling. Since, I have already a background in Chinese, it is a little hard to think in English Romanization. So, it is learning another language and trying to figure the structure.

Besides studying I have been doing little odds and ends for the Sisters at the residence. Today, I was leading a bible study class for a group of volunteers that come every Sunday to help out at the residence. At lunch time for something different we had pizza and macaroni with cheese. It was the first time I think for myself that I was using chopsticks to eat pizza and macaroni. In the evening just before dinner there is evening prayer during adoration. For a few weeks now I have been playing the organ for evening prayer on Sunday. The Sisters chant everything with evening prayer and it takes a little use of what the order of the music is. One of the Sisters was surprised that in my community we usually do not chant the prayers. So, the weekend was uneventful. I had to cancel a meeting with a group of young professionals who I got to know in Toronto but moved back to Hong Kong to work. It is now back to school on Monday, but Tuesday there is another holiday called the Chung Yeung Festival, "Grave Cleaning". It is also called the "Double Ninth Festival," because the festival is on the ninth month of the ninth day in the Chinese calendar. The day is for people to pay respect to their ancestors and go to their graves.

National Day

2008-10-02T17:09:00.004+08:00

Yesterday, was National Day in China, which means in Hong Kong people get a day off, and for the Mainland it is an entire week off. The day is to commemorate the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. For Hong Kong the day starts off with a flag raising ceremony at 8:00 am at the front of the Golden Bauhinia Square (Bauhinia is the official flower of Hong Kong and is seen on the Hong Kong flag), which is located at Wan Chai. A famous landmark near the square is the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. What is interesting about the flag raising ceremony is that there are still some British colonial traditions that can be seen and heard with the marching of the police officers and the British tunes that are played by the police band. Various dignitaries are there for the National Day with the Chief Excutive Officer, Donald Tsang and even the Catholic bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Zen attending the ceremony.

The day ends off with a spectacular fireworks display at the harbour. I was able to go to Causeway Bay to meet up with a few friends for dinner before catching the firework display. Causeway Bay is one of the main areas for shopping on Hong Kong Island. Also, located at the bay is Victoria Park, which is a huge park with various football (soccer) fields. Since, it was a holiday, lots of domestic workers from the Philippines or Indonesia will congregate at the park. Also, located near Causeway Bay is the Noon Day Gun. Below are some pictures of the very crowded conditions of Causeway Bay and an old fashion electric rail tram.

Below is a picture of an apartment and office building near Causeway Bay with big neon Chinese characters stating Jesus Christ is Lord.

Wedding Banquet

2008-09-30T22:07:00.004+08:00

A few readers of the blog have been wondering what I have been studying at the Chinese University. I thought since a month has passed by I will give a little synopsis as to what goes on in my class. To better understand the Chinese language and culture the curriculum takes a look at situations that occur in the family, interaction with friends, and with the broader community. This week in my class we have been focused on a Chinese wedding, but more specifically with the nuances of a tradition Chinese wedding banquet. Yes, food has made it to the blog again. However, before getting to the food part, the class shared about the different wedding experiences with the various cultures that were represented in the classroom. The professor also mentioned to the young Japanese girl sitting right beside me that since I was a priest I could marry her and her boyfriend. She was quite excited about the prospect, I did point out that one of them has to be Catholic though (Both are Shinto). Also, somebody was wondering if I could do a shotgun wedding if they met after three months of dating. Alas, I had to decline the offer because of Church policies, well maybe also the policy that one needs to know the person a little bit better before jumping into a life of permanency.

One thing that was discussed was how in the Chinese culture, friends and relatives receive wedding invitations. There are two invitations one is called a "chengtip," which is the invitation card itself. It is usually all red with gilded characters announcing the marriage. I mentioned that a nickname for the "chengtip," is "huhng jadaan," which literary means a red bomb or grenade. The reason is that when one receives a wedding invitation, the invitee has to fork out money, and so if one receives a lot of wedding invitation one has to be quite generous.

The second card is a "bengkaat," which is a cake card and with which you can get a dozen of assorted cakes in a bakery. These cakes are actually pieces of bread specifically baked as wedding bread. They are quite expensive. The tradition comes when a groom before the marriage occurs will go the bride's house with these traditional wedding baked goods to give to the bride's family and friends. This is to show that the groom is well off. The baked goods only went to the female side of the bride's family and friends. The tradition has continued on but instead of lugging around the bread the groom can now use these gift certificate cake cards.

Finally, a further discussion ensued as to the dishes that are offered in a Chinese wedding banquet, such as chaau hakauh, ja jigai, jing sehkbaan, tihmban yauh: guhk boudin, jindeuijai tuhng tonhgseui. Translated into English the dishes are: Stir-fry shrimp ball, deep fried chicken with sesame, steam fish, and various desserts such as baked pudding, small sesame seeds ball, and dessert soups. With the mentioning of all that wonderful food, the class decided to go to the faculty restaurant, which is a few minutes away from the classroom to have dim sum. So, as you can see with the picture a few of us enjoying lunch.

A Hymnal

2008-09-28T20:22:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, was my birthday and the Sisters hosted a little surprise celebration. It was a nice gathering and a chance to share stories about religious life and my experiences so far at the resident. Before, the celebration, I had a chance to play the electric organ in the chapel. It is a Rogers two manual organ and it contains some pretty good registry. Throughout the course of playing different musical pieces, I had a chance to see what pieces of music that the Sisters had in storage. Throughout their 80 years of being in Hong Kong the Sisters had accumulated quite a few musical books. After a while I discovered to my surprise a "New St. Basil's Hymnal" and not just a pew addition but an accompaniment edition. I used to have one of the accompaniment edition, but unfortunately I lent it to a person who never returned it. So, this was quite a find. I showed it to Mother Superior and explained that the hymnal was complied by the Basilian Fathers, the religious congregation that I belong to, also mentioning that my novice master is in the forward section of the hymnal with a few other confers that I know. Mother Superior mentioned that it had not been used for a while. The assistant provincial also said that they used the hymnals during their novitiate. What a small world to find a St. Basil's Hymnal on the other side of the world. Since the hymnal is not been used anymore Mother Superior said that I could keep it and take it back to Toronto. A very nice little birthday present. Tomorrow is the feast day of St. Michael, Saint Gabriel, and Saint Raphael, maybe I can get somebody to play the hymnal "St. Michael's," since I have heard it many many times as a teacher at the high school during the school wide Masses and graduations. The picture below shows that the hymnal was purchased in Australia before it was sent to the Hong Kong residence.

Daaishik Wui

2008-09-27T19:37:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, my 6th uncle invited me to dinner with some of his fellow parishioners and the pastor of the church (St. John's). The area where my uncle lives is called Kwun Tong. Kwun Tong is one of the most densely populated communities in the world, with 570 000 people living in a 11 square kilometres. Kwun Tong used to have lots of factories because of the inexpensive labour in Hong Kong. However, most factories have moved to the mainland and so the buildings are being converted to commercial offices or apartments. To get to Kwun Tong from Sheung Shui takes roughly an hour by train and subway.

The meal that we had on Friday evening is called "hoi daaishik wui," which means hold a gathering which has lots of food to eat. Equivalent to the English meaning of "potluck." If you have not noticed with some of the past blog articles, people in Hong Kong love to eat. From morning to night you can always find a restaurant open with various culinary cuisines. So, last night was no different. The reastaurant we went to is called Foo Lam and it specializes in seafood and hot pots. So, for "daaishik wui" we had an eight course meal, mainly with seafood but some meats as well. To finish it off we had Chinese steam buns and various dessert soups.

It was a nice evening and a chance to talk about parish life and the various things going on in the church. Tonight the young people of the church in Kwun Tong are hosting an evangelization concert.

Shenzhou 7

2008-09-24T19:05:00.007+08:00

One cannot help but notice on television the excitement from the Chinese Space Agency and of course from the Chinese government. Since, tomorrow at 9:10 pm China will be launching Shenzhou 7 into space. Shenzhou means literally in Chinese a "Divine Craft." Three Chinese astronauts will be in the spacecraft which resembles like the Russian Soyuz spacecraft with modifications. This will be the first mission where a spacewalk will be taking place.

In Hong Kong the coverage has been immense and a lot of hype of Chinese advancement into space technology. There have been interviews of the astronaut families at their homes and a school has been renamed in honour of the astronaut doing the first spacewalk. Of course this will have been the same scenario in the United States 40 years ago during the space race with the Soviets. The launch of the spacecraft at this time is no mere coincidence, for it comes right after the Olympics and right before National Day, which is October 1st.

Another thing that is a little bit different on television compared to Canada is the promotion of national pride. Granted that the Canadian government sponsor various commercials about government services and vignettes of Canadian history. Here in Hong Kong, the Chinese national anthem is play right before the 6:30 pm news. At the bottom of the blog is the current video montage that is being play. Notice the theme of space exploration, Olympics, industrial and technological progress, the environment, the arts, workers united in the common good, upstanding citizens at the beginning of the video to promote better government, and of course a friendly military who like children. All of this is to encourage the Hong Kong people a better and more cooperative understanding with Beijing.

Typhoon Part II

2008-09-23T13:47:00.002+08:00

With very warm weather in Hong Kong usually what comes after is a typhoon and so Typhoon Hagupit is chugging along and coming nearer to the South China coast. Right now Hong Kong is on strong wind signal number 3 and should move to strong wind signal number 8 around 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. These signals tell the people either to prepare not to come to work or if it is just windy. A number 8 means work has to cease and people should be in their homes. One does not want the signal to go to a 9 or 10 or else things start flying. The typhoon should miss Hong Kong since right now it is heading west of it.

Weather

2008-09-22T18:56:00.004+08:00

As September progresses one realizes that the fall season in Hong Kong is a little bit different then in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, or Toronto. The grass is still green, the leaves on the trees have not changed colour, another possible typhoon is coming, and the day time high today in Sheung Shui was 37 degrees Celsius with a relative humidity of 60%.

The dog days of summer are still here in Hong Kong. Except I do not think any dogs were venturing out into the bright beam of sunlight. It was so hot that the seniors who usually sit on the shaded marble bench decided to be in their rooms. For the benches were a little bit warm because of the radiant heat energy. Since, Hong Kong is in the tropics this weather is pretty normal until October, however, the range of temperatures is usually in the high 20's and to mid or high 30's. Anyway, tomorrow, it should be a little bit cooler with a temperature of 33 degrees.

Dim Sum

2008-09-21T19:29:00.005+08:00

Adjusting to life in Hong Kong one cannot but notice the change in culinary cuisine. This past week I had the opportunity to go for Dim Sum not once but twice. When I was in Toronto maybe once every 4 months or so or even rarer. Here the university even has a restaurant right beside the school that serves Dim Sum for lunch to the students. Dim Sum comes from the southern part of China but predominately the cuisine is popular in Hong Kong. Dim Sum means literally "little heart" because of the small steam dishes. A more common phrase that is used is Yum Chi, "drink tea," because of the various teas that will be drunk throughout the course of the meal. Typically, some people will go early in the morning around 7:00 am and sit around reading the newspaper, drinking tea and in very old customs tending to the little birds in bamboo cages.

Yesterday, I met up with a friend in Sha Tin and we went to a banquet restaurant to have dim sum. As you can see by the picture we had Har Gow (Shrimp wrapped in rice flour casing), Lohr Bahk Goh (Mashed turnip, pan-fried with chives, dried shrimp, and Chinese sussage), Cheung Fun (Rolls of rice pastry, filled with shrimp and in a sweet soy sauce), Chiu Chow Fun Gohr (Soft, pastry-style dumplings filled with choped nuts, minced port and pickled vegetables), Chin Yeung Laht Jiu (Green pepper stuffed with minced fish an prawns and served in black bean sauce), and Ma Lai Goh (Light steamed sponged cake, made with eggs and walnuts), Chi-Siu Bau (BBQ roast pork in a steam bun). Not in the picture were dishes of Seen Juk Guen (Soy pastry, crisp fried with a vegetable filling), and Gai Jaht (Chicken and ham wrapped in soy bean sheets served in a rice sauce).

Catholic Center

2008-09-19T21:23:00.004+08:00

This past Wednesday afternoon, I had a chance to go to Hong Kong Island. The reason was that I was supposed to meet up with the director of the Hong Kong Catholic Audio Visual department. His office is located at the Diocesan Chancery and Caritas headquarters on Caine Road. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication and I was not able to meet with him. We will try again next week. So, I headed back to Central station and on the way visited the Hong Kong Catholic Diocesan Center. It has a Catholic book and gift store. The nice thing about the Catholic Diocesan Center is that it has some English theological and spiritual books with of course also Chinese liturgical and spiritual books. I wanted to see if there was a simple biblical terminology book in Chinese and English. I have been gradually moving the Mass at 7:00 am from all English, to English/Chinese, to hopefully all Chinese. The problem is with the homily because of the Chinese biblical terminology. Unfortunately, no book was available to be purchased. I might resort to creating a list and having the residents help me with it. What is interesting about the center is that the building seems to be out of place. It is squished between two newer constructed buildings. As with everything in that area, old buildings are being replaced by newer buildings. Central station is near the heart of the financial district of Hong Kong. Also, it is located near the Airport Express station.

Mid-Autumn Festival

2008-09-17T16:19:00.004+08:00

This past Sunday was the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the Chinese calendar the two biggest feast days are Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival. I had the opportunity to go and visit my uncle and cousins at their home for dinner. Later on in the evening when going back by train it was nice to see people bringing out their lanterns. I even noticed throughout the evening when walking around the neighbourhood "Power Ranger" lanterns. If they did not have lanterns some buildings had Christmas lights on their fence.

The tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival is about Houyi a great archer who returned to his home and found that Emperor Yao had an urgent request for him, and he made haste to respond. Houyi made a vital mistake by not taking the elixirs of immortality immediately, and leaving them unguarded. While Houyi was hunting monstrous wild boars and dragons terrorizing the land, his wife stayed at home, and for months, she had no news of home. In her boredom, Chang'e found the elixirs that her husband had left behind, and out of curiosity drank them both. At this moment, Houyi returned and to his surprise found his wife ascending to the moon. Houyi heard his wife's cry for help, tried to seize her but she was already beyond his reach. Chang'e would gain immortality and forever live alone on the moon with only white hares (Jade rabbits). There are many different versions to the story but this is a prècis of the general myth.

To celebrate the festival as mentioned in the previous blog moon cakes are eaten. Also, there are lanterns built to celebrate the full moon. For the residents the celebration of the Mid-Autumn festival took place Monday night because of family gatherings on Sunday. The day after the Mid-Autumn festival is called chasing the moon. Some residents or a group of them built lanterns out of household material and a few of us judge how creative they were. The lanterns also had to be lit by a candle inside and see if it effected the lantern glow. For some of the lanterns because of the candle location and materials use went up in flames. The residents were quite creative with the lanterns, some followed the theme of the Mid-Autumn festival, while others chose the Olympics, and others a religious theme, one person even built the boat of St. Paul because of the Pauline year.

After the judging of the lanterns there was the traditional folk music sung and of course Houyi and Princess Chang'e made an appearance. Unfortunately we could not find a white rabbit to be the jade rabbit. No rabbit was willing to turn a little bit green for the festivities.

Of course one cannot complete the festival without welcoming the bright full moon into the midst of the night.

Moon Cakes

2008-09-15T16:12:00.004+08:00

A tradition with the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival is to eat moon cakes. Moon cakes are usually made of a wheat pastry and inside the pastry is lotus paste. The pastry is quite elaborate with Chinese characters written on top of the moon cake. Traditionally, inside the louts paste is a dry preserved egg. However, nowadays there are various different kinds of moon cakes and they come in different shapes and sizes. As you can see with the photo below the most expensive kind of moon cakes is called the “seven stars moon cake set.” This company specifically makes this kind of version to symbolize the stars around the moon. Each moon cake is a different kind and the middle one is especially hand made.

Also, there are frozen moon cakes. These moon cakes have a dough that does not need to be baked and comes in a variety of assorted flavors. Usually not in the traditional lotus seed paste but green tea, chocolate, red bean, and black sesame paste. It is only made by the “Taipan” bakery in Hong Kong. Below is a picture of different kinds of frozen moon cake.

Tonight, is the judging of the lanterns that the residents have made. The contest is based on the name of the lantern, creativity, originality with materials, and does it light. The Sisters have already mentioned to the seniors not to bribe the young priest.

First Profession

2008-09-14T22:54:00.005+08:00

Today, besides being the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and the Mid-Autumn Festival, I had a chance to attend a profession of first vows for a religious sister in Yuen Long. She took the name Sr. Maria Mother & Empress of China.

Three years ago I was in Cologne, Germany for World Youth Day coordinating the International Liturgy Group. There I remembered one of the tasks on Thursday to welecome the Holy Father down the Rhine was that I had to choose 20 young people to be around the Pope during the boat ride. It was an unique request and a bit overwhelming since there were many other things going on that day. I just randomly picked people from the group and remembered choosing a young woman from Hong Kong because later on she asked me about the process of religous life.

For that same young woman entered a religious congregation a year ago and just professed first vows today at Saints Peter and Paul parish in Yuen Long. She wrote an e-mail to me a week ago saying that she was being professed today on September 14th and that if I was in the vicinity of Hong Kong to drop by. It is indeed a small world. I replied back that I was in Hong Kong and that I would be delighted to come and attend her profession. I concelebrated the Mass today with three other priests today of the same religious order, "The Institute Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara."

It was a beautiful Mass and was nice to see her professed first vows and take the blue veil. At this particular parish in the past five years 10 young women have entered religious life. After the Mass there was a reception and some entertainment. The pastor and provincial mentioned to me that the newly professed met the Holy Father at World Youth Day in Cologne and that it was really big news at the church. The priest said that it changed her life and that partly because of that she started considering religious life.

A Religious Outing

2008-09-13T19:41:00.004+08:00

Today, a group of the residents and Sisters went to the other side of Hong Kong island to visit the other home for the aged called St. Mary's. It is located in Aberdeen. I also tagged along for the bus ride to see the home but also to visit the diocesan seminary called "Holy Spirit." The Sisters arranged for me to meet the coadjutor bishop of Hong Kong in the afternoon.

It was a nice bus ride to see Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, and Hong Kong island. Mother Superior was telling me about all the different religious order's buildings we were passing by. We arrived at St. Mary's home for the aged just right before lunch time and I had a chance to meet a few of the Sisters before I was whisked away to the seminary. I was met by the priest formation director and we had a lovely chat about the programs that were offer at the seminary. Currently there are 11 seminarians studying for the Diocese of Hong Kong. However, there are others studying for the Jesuits, Salesians, etc... The seminary was built in the 1920's but in the same manner as the Beijing University. So, as you can see from the picture it definitely has a unique architectural style for a seminary.

It was established as a regional seminary for Southern China, but in the 1960's when no more seminarians were coming from the mainland, the seminary was changed to service the needs of the Hong Kong diocese specifically. It is also a pontifical college and there are lots of laity who take courses at the college. I was invited to lunch so I got a chance to talk to a few of the seminarians. Most were excited that it was the long weekend and they could see their families because of the Mid-Autumn festival. After lunch the head seminarian and another seminarian gave me a tour of the place. The seminary is located on its own island. The island was given to the Hong Kong diocese by the government in the 1920's. There is a beautiful chapel with a very unique circular altar and tabernacle. These designs are consider classical style Chinese furniture.

Since it is located on an island it gives a very unique vantage point with the famous floating restaurants in Aberdeen. Also, located right below the seminary is the Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club where the ex-pats, and tourists gather for their celebrations in their huge pleasure boats and yachts.
After the tour I had a chance to visit the library and dwell into Chinese and English theological books before meeting with Bishop Tong, coadjutor bishop of Hong Kong, who is also the rector of the seminary. We had a nice chat for 45 minutes. He was quite interested in the Basilian order and how my Chinese was progressing. He also overseas the Holy Spirit Centre which documents and gives resources to the Catholic Church in mainland China. It is a delicate balance because one has to be careful with the central government.

Mahjong

2008-09-11T19:28:00.004+08:00

Besides studying, more studying, saying Mass, helping the Sisters with little odds and ends, I had the opportunity today to play some mahjong with the residents. Mahjong is a Chinese tile game and is quite popular in China. In Hong Kong you can sometimes go down the street and hear the clacking of the tiles as people play day and night in their apartments. The game consists of a group of tiles played by four people. Traditionally, they were made out of ivory. Typically, Hong Kong style mahjong consists of playing with 144 tiles. Sometimes there can be less tiles due to the variation of the game. The tiles in Mahjong consists of the four winds, three dragons, a set of bamboos, a set of dots, a set of characters that represent ten thousands. There are also two sets of four flowers. Each player receives 13 tiles and the object of the game is to build sets until a completed set is done and you win!! It is usually 80% strategy and 20% luck. Now with the seniors playing some of them have done this for years and the throwing away of tiles and collecting them went pretty quickly. It was a nice way to get out of the room and instead of staring at various Chinese characters, at least these ones had some animation. For the residents this is one way of keeping their mind active. As you can see with the picture below the seniors that were playing mahjong. If you noticed on the bottom centre of the picture, this is the hand that I have with the 13 tiles. I am not doing so well and definitely not building up the the three lessar or greater scholars, the four small or great blessings, the nine gates, or even the 13 terminal hand.

Mahjong can get very competitive, but for the residents this is one way to spend a relaxing afternoon in the hot, very hot and humid climate of Hong Kong. They even let the young priest win a game.