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Saint Josemaria Escriva in Macau
July 23, 2011
This is the 22nd year for Opus Dei in Macau. It was good to meet old friends and new acquaintances at the Solemn Mass in honor of St. Josemaria, held on June 28 (Tuesday) at 6:30 PM in the Cathedral of Macau. The main celebrant was His Excellency, Most Reverend Jose Lai, Bishop of Macau. There were other priests concelebrating in the Mass that was held in Chinese, English and Portuguese. Friends and cooperators attended, and among them, some helped in the preparations.
That Tuesday morning was greeted by a heavy downpour of rain. Several of us resorted to saying prayer cards to St. Josemaria as THE solution for better weather. And true enough, it improved in the afternoon, especially before the Mass .
What is interesting are the preparations for this occasion. Maria Augusta has been a cooperator of Opus Dei for many years. She is retired and does voluntary work at the Cathedral, by helping keep recollection, seeing to it that visitors maintain silence and respect as they go in and out of the Cathedral.
She speaks Portuguese and Chinese. She said, “I am happy to know that many of the tourists I met know Opus Dei and they are even happier to know that Opus Dei is in Macau; they see prayer cards of St. Josemaria and Don Alvaro on the Notice Boards at the entrance of the Cathedral”. She has a stack of prayer cards to give out. For the Mass of St. Josemaria, she was giving out invitation cards. She said, “I asked the tourists until when they will stay in Macau, and when some have replied only until June 27 (Monday), I would say – Oh, what a pity.” Having aroused their curiosity, she then explains that June 28 is an important day here because of the Solemn Mass for St. Josemaria. She speaks to the people she wants to invite, as she did not want the well-printed invitation cards for the Mass in Macau to go to waste if taken by anyone.
On her own initiative, she gave a contribution for the expenses for the Mass preparations. A few days later, we went to the Cathedral for rehearsals of the Readers and the Lector, and Maria Augusta handed an envelope with more contributions, which she asked from several friends, also for the Mass expenses.
On another point, it was also so good to see the initiative of the staff members of Jingdou, a Language Centre in Macau. They were going to attend the Mass of St Josemaria and some were involved in the Readings and in the Offertory. Yet, they understood the need to raise funds. One of them is Maria, a cooperator, who gave a donation for this purpose. She volunteered to be the “spokeswoman” and explained the need for funds to the other staffmembers. One by one, the staff came into the Principal’s office, giving their contribution wholeheartedly.
The following day, Fandy, Jingdou’s receptionist and a Catholic, had a nice surprise for the Principal. Fandy’s two children are also Catholic. She handed a good amount that came from her children. She explained, “ Last night, I told my children that I will go the Mass of St. Josemaria. My daughter (15 years old) could not go, but my son (11 yrs old) will attend. But I also told them that I had given a contribution for the expenses in preparing for the Mass. I asked them if they wanted to give. They asked me how much I gave and I told them the amount, yet it is up to them if they want to give and how much they wish”.
Then the two children went into their rooms, and on their own, they gave the same generous amount as their mother gave. Fandy explained, “They are very willing and would rather give for the purpose of the Mass, than spend their money on other things”.
Ayra, a mother of 3 children, was also invited to attend the Mass. She did not commit to go due to her work schedule, but she said that she will invite her friends and the rest of her family to attend in her behalf.
But plans changed ! She was able to attend the Mass together with her family and friends.
In the end, she left very happy and was very thankful that she was invited to this special occasion.
For those who have attended the Mass in honor of St Josemaria some years ago, and had the opportunity to attend again this year, noticed that it has become better and with more people present. It was such an encouragement also to know that the Bishop of Macau mentioned that he noticed there were also non-Catholics present in the Mass and that he could see they were there due to the personal apostolate and friendship with the members of the Work. He was thankful for all of these. And we thank God and St Josemaria for being with us in our efforts in Macau.
What is interesting are the preparations for this occasion. Maria Augusta has been a cooperator of Opus Dei for many years. She is retired and does voluntary work at the Cathedral, by helping keep recollection, seeing to it that visitors maintain silence and respect as they go in and out of the Cathedral.
The invitation card
On her own initiative, she gave a contribution for the expenses for the Mass preparations. A few days later, we went to the Cathedral for rehearsals of the Readers and the Lector, and Maria Augusta handed an envelope with more contributions, which she asked from several friends, also for the Mass expenses.
On another point, it was also so good to see the initiative of the staff members of Jingdou, a Language Centre in Macau. They were going to attend the Mass of St Josemaria and some were involved in the Readings and in the Offertory. Yet, they understood the need to raise funds. One of them is Maria, a cooperator, who gave a donation for this purpose. She volunteered to be the “spokeswoman” and explained the need for funds to the other staffmembers. One by one, the staff came into the Principal’s office, giving their contribution wholeheartedly.
The following day, Fandy, Jingdou’s receptionist and a Catholic, had a nice surprise for the Principal. Fandy’s two children are also Catholic. She handed a good amount that came from her children. She explained, “ Last night, I told my children that I will go the Mass of St. Josemaria. My daughter (15 years old) could not go, but my son (11 yrs old) will attend. But I also told them that I had given a contribution for the expenses in preparing for the Mass. I asked them if they wanted to give. They asked me how much I gave and I told them the amount, yet it is up to them if they want to give and how much they wish”.
The Solemn Mass in honor of St. Josemaria, held on June 28 in the Cathedral of Macau.
Ayra, a mother of 3 children, was also invited to attend the Mass. She did not commit to go due to her work schedule, but she said that she will invite her friends and the rest of her family to attend in her behalf.
But plans changed ! She was able to attend the Mass together with her family and friends.
In the end, she left very happy and was very thankful that she was invited to this special occasion.
For those who have attended the Mass in honor of St Josemaria some years ago, and had the opportunity to attend again this year, noticed that it has become better and with more people present. It was such an encouragement also to know that the Bishop of Macau mentioned that he noticed there were also non-Catholics present in the Mass and that he could see they were there due to the personal apostolate and friendship with the members of the Work. He was thankful for all of these. And we thank God and St Josemaria for being with us in our efforts in Macau.
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