The Salesian Hong Kong-Macau Joint Vocation Camp
Hong Kong, 3 August 2017 -- Our Vocation Director Fr Carlos Cheung together with two young Salesians and three aspirants led 9 young people from the Vocation camp in Hong Kong to Macau to take part in the Salesian Hong Kong-Macau Joint Vocation Camp. This camp is organised by the Vocation Offices of Hong Kong and Macau region. All together 20 young people attended this summer gathering with a theme 'Love and Service’, which fosters the vocation camp participants between Hong Kong and Macau to share their experiences and insights on vocation discernment by knowing the missionary history in Macau. The Hong Kong participants met their counterparts in Macau at Instituto Salesiano, the Mother House of the China Province. The young people from Hong Kong and Macau greeted each other and participated the Eucharist celebrated by Fr Joseph Chow, in-charge of Vocation Office in Macau and Rector at Instituto Salesiano, and concelebrated by Fr Cheung.
In the afternoon, Fr Cheung led the students to visit the St Joseph’s Seminary, where the participants were introduced to the history of the Catholic Diocese of Macau and of the missionaries who served in education at different levels in Macau. Among those missionaries was Fr Guilherme Schrid, a highly respected Salesian as a renowned composer and conductor.
Afterwards Fr Cyril Law, former Salesian aspirant and now Assistant Parish Priest at Cathedral Parish, gave the young people a guide tour of the cathedral of the Macau Catholic Diocese, the Church of the Nativity of Our Lady, and then he took the young to visit the Bishop’s Office. After dinner, the boys recited the rosary and said the night prayer. In the goodnight talk, Fr Chow emphasised the importance of the missionary spirit of service. He highlighted the rules for all missionaries set by St Luís Versiglia which is the devotion of the Eucharist and Mary Help of Christian is the core for the Gospel proclamation in China.
On the next day the young people had an excursion to the boarding school 'Escola D Luís Versiglia' - founded by Fr Gaetano Nicosia. They bought some food as lunch to serve their fellow participants as an experience of serving with love, and then started to hike to the boarding school. At Escola D. Luís Versiglia, Fr. Norbert Tse, Rector warmly welcomed the young people and told them how St Luís became the leader of the first Salesian missionaries to China by Divine Providence. Fr. Tse then led the young to visit the adjacent Associacao de Juventide Lar Salesiano Dom Bosco, which is the dormitory for the students at Escola D Luís Versiglia and, at the same time, a youth centre providing adventure based services to young people. The visit was followed by the Mass celebrated by Fr Cheung at the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, which was built by Fr Nicosia for the lepers in Macau. In his sermon, Fr Cheung related how Fr Nicosia took care of the lepers and provided education for their children, who were neglected and abandoned by the society. Fr. Cheung explained the importance of self-sacrifice and less self-centred by imitating the missionary zeal of St. Versiglia and the simplicity of Fr. Nicosia.
Then, Fr Chow took the young people to visit Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish. Fr Domingos Un, Don Bosco Past Pupil, Parish Priest, shared with the youngsters that constant fervent prayers are central to the discernment of vocation, and the boys joined the recitation of the rosary held there. Having come back to Instituto Salesiano, the Salesians and boys enjoyed basketball games and had the night prayer. In the goodnight talk, Fr Cheung elucidated the relationships between love, service and vocation discernment which is rooted in our Christian identity. These three elements reinforce each other and lead us to listen the will of God and the needs of others.
On the third day, the boys reflected on the experiences of the camp. Fr Chow explained the importance of prayers and guidance by spiritual directors in the proper discernment of one’s vocation. Fr Cheung once more stressed the significance of the first Salesian missionaries’ work to China. Without their sacrifices and hard work, the China Province could not have been established and the Salesian schools in Macau would not have existed. He further explained that the love and service of Don Bosco is not only to be found on the pages of books but at the Salesian Mother House, Instituto Salesiano, which is the continuation of the work of Don Bosco by his spiritual sons. After thoughtful reflection, this joint vocation camp was concluded with a delicious lunch and attended the Inauguration Mass in the Cathdral for the new bishop in Hong Kong.
The Salesian Hong Kong-Macau Joint Vocation Camp marked the successful culmination of the series of vocation camps held in Hong Kong and Macau throughout the school year 2016-2017. A new series of vocation camps is to start in the coming September in the new school year 2017-2018. That will be a great opportunity for young people to deepen their vocation discernment of the unique vocation bestowed upon them by Our Lord Jesus Christ to serve with love in holiness and to foster vocation culture in different Salesian Charism presences.
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