Saturday, October 4, 2008

The learning journey 学习之旅 (7)

We have the opportunity to share with our Hong Kong and Macao counterparts of experiences, successes and failures in our missionary and pastoral works of the local church. At the same time, we learned from them many knowledge and skill that we can suitably apply to benefit our church back home.

The visit also deepened and broadened our understanding of the vision and characteristics of the Catholic church, that is: we are One, Universal, Holy and Apostolate Church.

In Hong Kong and Macao, we witnessed the highest standard of church volunteerism. We noticed the importance and the need of full time employees in the church vineyard. The idiom you pay peanuts, you get monkeys rang true when we have the opportunity to see the tremendous and fabulous development of the churches in this two region. In this new age, professionalism is not only required in evangelisation and pastoral fields, but also in volunteerism.

While recognising our Local Church is trying its best to continue the mission of Christ, new attitude and renewed effort deemed necessary in order to allow the dynamics and potentials of the people of God be released and allowed to grow in order to achieve the targeted result and goal.

The detailed and moving guided tour by Mrs Anna Lee brought home a very important message for us, that is the preservation of history and heritage of our Church.

When we visited the St. Joseph Seminary, we mourned the loss of our College General in Penang. Apparently our church has chosen money over history. And where is the money now? History and heritage are our common inheritance of generations, money belongs to a few.... Money can be made, history and heritage cannot be bought. It is evil.

We have many churches and buildings more than hundred years old, do we have a common plan of preservation? Not that I know.

It was a journey of learning, a journey to know others and appreciate own self OR to know own self and appreciate others ?!?!

Any which way, it is a journey in communion with the Lord.


我们有机会与香港及澳门的兄弟姐妹们,交换分享了我们本地教会在传教使命和牧灵工作上的经验,包括成功与失败。 我们也从他们那里得到了许多讯息,知识和技巧,能够适当的应用在本地教会。

这次的拜访,也加深了我们对慈母教会的远景和特征,那就是:我们是个唯一,至公,至圣,宗徒传下来的教会。

在香港和澳门,我们目睹了高水准的义务服务。我们也看到了教会必须聘请全职员工服务的重要及需要。有句俗语说:你给花生,得来的就是猴子 就应证了这两地的教会,为什会在好多方面,做到专业,高水准了。在这个新时代,专业水准是非常重要的,它不只可以应用在福传和牧民领域里,还要应用在义务服务(义工)上。

在欣赏我们本地教会的努力及尽职的继续耶稣使命的同时,我认为也必须要有新的态度和革新的努力,才能够把天主子民的力量和潜能释放出来,给予成长的空间,达到最高的收获和效益。

李太太在带领我们参观澳门的教堂古迹时,生动的叙述,使到我们悟觉到历史和文物保护的重要。

当我们拜访澳门圣若瑟修院时,我们为失去槟城大修院而痛心。看来,我们本地教会是选择金钱而放弃历史遗产。但今天,钱到哪里去了呢?历史遗产是我们共有,并且是世代相传的,钱却只是在几个人的手中??!! 钱可以赚回来,但不能买会历史遗产。这是邪魔的活儿。

我们拥有许多百年以上历史的教堂和建筑物,教会有没有一套保护计划呢?我没听说过。

这是一个学习的旅程。我们是去欣赏他人,来认识自己,还是去认识他人,才欣赏自己??

不管我们是那一类,我们这趟,是一个与主共融的旅程。

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