800 Jubilee: Our Lady of the Rosary Province

Jul 17, 2015

JUB 800 / 3

Macau, July 8, 2015

Dear Brothers:      

I wish to continue our fraternal conversation on the Jubilee 800. I concentrate this time on some important coming activities and the book on the Province today. I will add a few concluding remarks.

The last General Chapter of the Order (Trogir, 2013) tells us that the various celebrations of the Jubilee are celebrations of all the branches of the Order and, therefore, as much as possible, ought to be organized and attended by brothers, nuns, sisters, and priestly and lay fraternities.

 

  1. Coming Activities
  • Dominican Family Retreat. Representative groups of members from all the branches of the Dominican Family in Asia and the Pacific Region shall attend this unique spiritual retreat to be held at the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, on October 12-14, 2015. The Master of the Order or his Vicar will participate and also our brother Timothy Radcliffe.
  • Opening of the Jubilee 800. The solemn inauguration of the Dominican Jubilee will take place on November 7, 2015, which is the Feast day of All Saints of the Order. When possible, the inaugural ritual is intended “as a celebration of the whole Dominican Family of the same country or region.” The Opening Rite can be integrated within the Eucharist or the Liturgy of the Hours. The Central Committee of the Jubilee has posted on the web page of the Order The Rite of Opening, which develops the following steps: Opening Song, Message of the Master of the Order, Ritual of the Light, Prayer, Gospel Reading (Mt 10:5-15), Procession, Jubilee Hymn, Lighting of the Candles, Te Deum, Jubilee Prayer, Final Blessing, Salve Regina. (For more details, see web page of the Order: op.org ).
  • Jubilee 800 Celebration in Hong Kong – Macau. With the cooperation of Rosaryhill School, our Province is organizing a Jubilee event consisting of a series of lectures, liturgical celebrations and appropriate exhibits – all focused on the Jubilee theme (“Woe to us if we do not preach the Gospel”). The especial event will be held tentatively on May 24-25, 2016 at Rosaryhill School in Hong Kong. It will be attended by the brothers of the Hong Kong – Macau Dominican communities and other brothers representing other communities of our Province in Asia. Some sisters and lay Dominican will also be invited. The event is being organized by our Provincial Fray Javier González in cooperation with Rosaryhill School, Hong Kong.

 

  1. Book on Missions of the Province Today

Hopefully, an opus magnum of the program of the Province for the Jubilee of the Order will be the publication of a book composed of a chapter per vicariate and mission to focus on the present and immediate past of the different independent units. Each chapter will be of about 25 pages in which to present to all others our passionate and hopeful reality: who we are, what we do and how we walk to our future, and where do we come from.

On May 15, 2015, I wrote a note to the brothers contributing to the book: “In this task, I am helping our Provincial Fray Javier González, OP. I am happy to announce that all the assigned writers have answered positively and are now working on the draft of their respective chapter.” Furthermore, I joyfully inform that the chapter of the Vicariate of Venezuela has already been submitted and the one of Taiwan will be submitted soon. Hopefully the first draft of all the chapters will be in by about December of this year. The task publishing the book is complex: we hope to publish it in English and Spanish. Still everything is tentative, depending on possible suggestions of the writers and of other brothers. You might prefer another title or a different order. Hereafter, I present the TITLE and OUTLINE of the book.

THE DOMINICAN PROVINCE OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY TODAY

(Celebrating Jubilee 800 of the Order)

INTRODUCTION

  1. THE DOMINICANS 400 and 800 YEARS LATER

Missionaries of Our Lady of the Rosary Province Today

Javier Gonzalez

The Dominicans’ Jubilee 800

Fausto Gomez

  1. MISSION PROFILES

     Spain

     C/o Pedro Juan Alonso

Hong Kong

Edmond Eh Kim Chew with Jarvis Sy Hao

Macau

Alejandro Salcedo with Fausto Gomez

Mainland China

Jarvis Sy Hao with Edmond Eh Kim Chew

Philippines

Jesus Prol and Laurentino Garcia

Taiwan

Tomas Miguel Blazquez

Japan

Saturnino Gonzalez with Ildefonso Gonzalez

Venezuela

Benjamin Garcia

Korea

Peter Yu Jong Pill with Javier Arrazola

Singapore

Antonio Gonzalez with Edmond Eh Kim Chew

Myanmar

Fernando Muñoz

East Timor

Ruben Martinez with Javier Gonzalez

 

  1. The Jubilee 800: Journeying to the Future

The Jubilee 800 is a time of grace, a especial kairos: “The celebration of the Jubilee means entering into a dynamic process of renewal (mission, spiritual life, common life, institutions) and not just the celebration of events” (Ibid. 57, 1).

Before closing, let me just mention recent past activities that came to my knowledge: the wonderful and youthful Video prepared by our Convent and Parish of Santa Cruz, in San Juan, Philippines; the significant Video sent by our brothers in Korea who are preparing to celebrate the 25 years of presence of our Province there. I have also received a detailed program for the celebration of the Jubilee from our Vicariate of Venezuela; I understand Korea and Japan have also shared their respective program, and also Spain (I hope to receive the programs of other Vicariates and convents so that I may put them all together and shared them).

On a personal note, I mention the preparation of our brothers and sisters in Timor Leste. I was privileged to share with them some thoughts on the Jubilee and Permanent Formation on June, 9-11, 2015, near Dili. For me it was a life experience that I will never forget, particularly the simple, joyful and hopeful life style of our brothers and sisters ministering there.

Thank you very much for your kind patience, generous attention and cooperation. Pardon my errors!

Fraternally yours

Fray Fausto Gomez, OP

St. Dominic’s Priory, Macau