Salesian Youth Day in Hong Kong
Hong Kong, 12 August 2018 -- Taking the opportunity of the 5-day International Taize Meeting, an Salesian Youth Day was organized on 12 August 2018 at Aberdeen Technical School, Hong Kong. The school also provided accommodation and daily Mass for salesian groups. The gathering was attended by 150 participants from the Philippines, Mongolia, Macau, and of course, the host city Hong Kong. Instead of Cantonese the mother tongue, English was the official language. It could be a little challenge for some of the young participants. And yet, the commonality of youthfulness and Salesian spirit broke every language barrier.
The theme was taken from the Strenna of Rector Magor: We are Family. The activity starts at 14:00 with action songs and games. Then participants were divided into small groups. After knowing more about each other in the mixed groups, they departed for Mary Help of Christians Parish for the casket and relics of Don Bosco. This is the only casket in the EAO region, and it is placed in China Province because it is said to be the Mother Province of the region. Adjacent to the parish, the youngsters visited the Discovery Centre, in which the history of China Province was exhibited, and the Salesian Catechetical Centre. They were able to make some religious articles as souvenirs. In order to highlight the local culture, the Salesian Cooperators prepared some "Hong Kong Street food” for the participants.
At the end of the day, participants were gathering around the Eucharist in adoration. Fr Joseph Ng, the Provincial of China Province gave the good night talk. Interestingly, He related his sharing with the slogan: WE ARE FAMILY.
- WE: Though brief and simple, it is a powerful word. It is an antidote to individualism. It reminds us that we are not alone, and someone is always beside us. We are moving forward together toward a certain goal. Coming from different part of Asia, we are witnessing communion.
- ARE: Another simple word and yet it refers to our very existence: we are young; we are optimistic; we are happy. Indeed, we are Salesian youth. We are daughters and sons of God. We are brothers and sisters. We are family.
- FAMILY: This family, where we belong to, is the family of God – family par excellence with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This family embraces all mankind because, as a matter of fact, all living men and women are sustained by Go who wills that each one may be able to know, serve, love and be with the divine forever.
It was an extraordinary experience to host this gathering. Young people from the Salesian Youth Movement were the ones who planned and worked tirelessly for its realization. They even hand-painted the backpacks which were distributed to every participants. The success of the gathering could be attributed to their initiative and hard work.
