austraLasia #2808
 
3 for Thanks and 3x3 for Intentions

HONG KONG: 20 February 2011 -- “I thank the Salesian Society for giving me 3 f’s: Faith; Formation; Fervour”. Thus Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, S.D.B., new Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, during the homily at the solemn Votive Mass of Mary Help of Christians which he celebrated Saturday, February 19, for the whole Salesian Family in Hong Kong and Macau.
    Since his return to Hong Kong on Tuesday February 15, these have been busy days for Archbishop Savio. On Thursday morning and afternoon he was in Macau. On Thursday evening, he celebrated Mass in St. Anthony’s Church, Hong Kong, where he had been celebrating Sunday Mass for many years. On Friday evening, he celebrated Mass in St Margaret's Church for the academic community of Holy Spirit Seminary College, where he has been teaching philosophy and theology for 28 years until January this year. Of this Seminary College, aggregated to the Pontifical Urban University, in his capacity as Secretary of CEP he is now the Vice-Chancellor. Answering a last question at the end of an academic family gathering after the Mass (“Reflecting on your experience in these last two months, what words would you like to say to the young?”), Savio said: “In these two months more than ever I have experienced God’s love for me. To the young I say: Whatever may happen in your life, be sure that God loves you, loves you very much, very much!”
    On the evening of Sunday, February 20, the Diocese of Hong Kong gathered around Archbishop Savio during a solemn Sunday Evening Mass in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. At the beginning of the Mass, Bishop John Tong, the Bishop of Hong Kong, presented the new Archbishop (Hong Kong born!) to the packed assembly, who responded with a great applause. In his homily (whose length imitated the wonderful 1/2 hour homily preached by the Holy Father at his ordination on Feb 5 in St. Peter’s, Rome), Archbishop Savio said: “Our Founder St John Bosco encouraged new priests to ask God, during their ordination, for a special grace, sure that God would not refuse it. Ordained a priest, I asked the same grace Don Bosco asked, the gift of preaching well. Ordained a bishop, I asked not one but three graces: peace for our world; the light of the Gospel for China; … the possibility of asking three other graces! Now, the first of these three other graces is the grace that each one of you this evening may wish to ask of God, basking in the grace of my episcopal ordination.’ I hasten to write this before the end of this great day, so that you too, dear reader of Australasia, may enjoy this episcopal “bounty”. (Fr Lanfranco Fedrigotti).
  _________________
 AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific.  It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome.  For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there.  Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org