On the occasion of Good Shepherd Sunday (7 May, 2017) Saint Dominic Priory in Macau witnessed the solemn profession of our Brother Joseph Tran Van Huong during the Sunday Mass presided by Fr. Provincial.
Among those who attended the celebration were the Fathers from the communities of Saint Joseph House and Saint Albert Priory, in Hong Kong, professors from the University of Saint Joseph, the Dominican family and friends of the community.
A good representation from the local Vietnamese community was also present during the liturgical event.
Although the profession ceremony was simple, its solemnity was not diminished despite the space; and was further enhanced by the beautiful songs and tasteful selections of the repertoire during the Mass. At the end Brother Joseph had some beautiful words of gratitude.
After the celebration, a simple agape was prepared at the social hall the all the friars, sisters, and guests in attendance.
 
Coincidiendo con el Domingo del Buen Pastor (7 de mayo, 2017) nuestro convento de Santo Domingo en Macao fue testigo de la profesión solemne de nuestro hermano vietnamita Joseph Tran Van Huong, durante la Misa presidida por el Prior Provincial.
Entre los presentes en la celebración estaban los Padres de las comunidades de San José y de San Alberto, de Hong Kong, algunos profesores de la Universidad de San José, la Familia dominicana y amigos de la comunidad.
También estaba presente en la celebración una buena representación de la comunidad vietnamita local.
Aunque la ceremonia de la profesión fue sencilla, sin embargo, su solemnidad estuvo enmarcada dentro de la Misa por la buena selección de canciones hecha por nuestros estudiantes. Al final, fray Joseph tuvo unas bonitas palabras de agradecimiento, con un recuerdo especial para sus padres.
Después de la celebración, hubo un ágape en la casa al que asistieron todos los asistentes a la Misa, los hermanos y las hermanas dominicas.
ENHORABUENA A NUESTRO HERMANO JOSÉ.
Jarvis Sy Hao, O.P.
The 800 jubilee celebrations in the Hong Kong Macau-China Area will formally end on 22 December 2016, with a Solemn Thanksgiving Mass at the historic Church of São Domingos in Macau. The Eucharistic celebration will be presided by His Excellency, Stephen Lee Bun San, Bishop of Macau as the Dominican men and women in the region will gather to celebrate, to thank God for the gift of preaching, and to beg strength from  Him, to face the new challenges ahead. At the same time, it wants to be a manifestation of gratitude of the Order to the Church in Macau for her continued support and hospitality to the brethren.
On 7 November 2015, the inauguration of the Jubilee year began the year long celebrations worldwide and at the local level.  The choice of Macau to culminate the celebrations in the region and in the Church of São Domingos, is not only to relive the fact of the many challenges faced by the founders when they came to the Far East, but also our commitment to serve the Church in the missions, specifically the Church in China which is intimately linked in the long and glorious history of the Dominican Province of Our Lady of the Rosary.
The project of Dominic de Guzmán
It should be recalled that a providential trip to Southern France enabled S. Dominic de Guzmán (1170-1221), then a Canon Regular of the Diocese of Osma (Castille), to open his horizon to contemplate the challenge of the Church in his time: the threat of heresy and error, the reform of the clergy and the need of revitalizing the Church through preaching and instruction. Though he collaborated with the preaching work with Papal legates and other clerics, in the end, he was left alone to assume the responsibility in continuing the work of preaching and reconciling sinners and heretics. Thus the idea of a religious institution fully dedicated to the work of preaching. He first organized a community of contemplative women who supported the work of the preachers through their prayers and sacrifices. This would later evolved into the contemplative nuns of the Order. Then he organized the clerics and recruited new members into his project, organizing themselves as clerics living in common and sharing the same mission of preaching. Lastly, lay persons who continue to live in their particular states of life, support and collaborate in the work of the Order. This would later become what is known as the “Lay Dominicansâ€.
On the occasion of the IV Lateran Council (1215), Dominic was able to present his project to the Pontiff, Innocent III, who though giving tacit permission for the foundation, demanded some clarifications and requirements as stipulated by the recently concluded Council.
The official written confirmation of the foundation of the Order was published by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216, entitled “Religiosam Vitamâ€, recognizing the establishment of Dominic and his companions as a religious Order with all the rights and privileges it shall assume. Further bulls and Papal letters published henceforth would begin to delineate the charism, specificity and mission of the “new†Order of Preachers. By the Summer of 1217, as he gathered the friars to celebrate the great Marian feast of the Assumption, he dispersed the brethren throughout Christendom, sending them to urban centers and university cities as well as locales of frontier mission. This not only facilitated the friars in the preaching ministry, but also their access to formal education and formation and seek sources for vocational recruitment. And since then, throughout eight hundred years, the Order continues to serve the Church around the world.
Â
Dominicans in Macau
The Order of Preachers arrived in Macau on 1 September, 1587; the founders were part of the first group of Friars who were tasked to found a Province in the Far East in order to evangelize the “Empire of China and surrounding kingdomsâ€.  The three founders were Castillians who came by way of México. On the basis of a donation of some properties near the Chinese bazar, the friars were able to begin conventual life and ministry on 23 October 1587, and the community was officially known as the House of Our Lady of the Rosary, the first house of the Order in Chinese soil. Due to the political climate and the animosity between Spain and Portugal, the founders were ordered to leave the enclave and sent home via Portuguese India; and in their place, the Portuguese Dominicans from India came to assume the foundation and presence till the suppression of the religious Orders in 1835. The beautiful Church of São Domingos (rebuilt few years before the suppression) stands as the mute testament of a florid presence of the friars in Macau.
Macau had to wait till the 1950’s, specifically after the “Liberation†of China, that the Dominican Missionaries of the Holy Rosary came to Macau to work in the Diocese. The sisters began their presence as housekeepers for the Diocesan Seminary and later assumed work in medical aid, education and care for orphans. They were followed by the American Maryknoll Sisters who began to assume interesting ministries in the territory a tradition they continue till this day.
At the invitation of Msgr. Domingos Lam, Bishop of Macau, the Dominican friars returned to the territory a few years prior to the handover. The brethren came to assume the work of administering the Diocesan owned “Escola São Paulo†and collaborate in some parochial ministries. By 2006, it was decided that the Students’ Community and House of Studies be established in Macau and by 2008, the House was raised into the category of a Convent. Today the Macau community is one of the biggest communities of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary in the Far East where future missionaries are being formed.
Â
Looking forward
Despite the many challenges, the Order continues to be optimistic with the future. While various missions in the area need new blood to continue the missionary work as well as reorganization, new presences in other emerging Churches continue: in Myanmar where the Order has three communities and in the recently established presence at Timor Leste.
Jarvis Sy O.P.
The closing of the Jubilee celebrations for the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary took place on 22 December, 2016 at the historic São Domingos Church at the historic center of the city.
There was no other venue more appropriate for the occasion as it was the first Dominican foundation in Chinese soil, despite the fact that the foundation was short lived and was transferred to the Portuguese friars, the historic Church remains as a symbol of the Province’s undying commitment to evangelize the “ancient kingdom of China and its neighbouring kingdomsâ€, the unfinished encounter with the Chinese people, a desiderata that has perdured through centuries.
The thanksgiving mass began at 5:00 pm with Msgr. Stephen Lee Bun San, the Bishop of Macau as main celebrant, assisted by  Fr. Javier González, Prior Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary Province, Fr. Hyacinth He Yousun, Socius of the Provincial and Prior of Saint Albert Priory, (Rosaryhill, HK), Fr. Timoteo Merino, the Master of Novices, Fr. Bonifacio GarcÃa SolÃs, ex Provincial and Syndic of the Province and Fr Manoel Machado, the Vicar General of the Macau Diocese.
Msgr. Stephen Lee Bun San, the Bishop of Macau as main celebrant and the concelebrants
The concelebrants –the brethren from Macau and HK communities- as well as some members of the Diocesan and Religious clergy of Macau, were led in the solemn procession by the huge Dominican cross from the Priory which was carried by the novice Brother Carlos  and the Book of the Gospel by Brother Luigi. They processed through the main nave of the Church as the joint choir of the student brothers, novices, sisters and postulants began to sing the Jubilee Song of the Order.
The bishop upon approaching the altar began the incensation of the altar and the crucifix and began the liturgy. Clad in heavy red brocade, with the co-concelebrants in more somber red chasubles and stoles, (to mark the festive tone of the celebrations as well as to commemorate the witnessing of the martyrs of the Province!!!) he began to lead the Confiteor. After the recitation of the collect of the day, the assembly proceeded to the Liturgy of the Word.
The first reader was Brother Ben Lei Chi Hang OP, a Macau resident and professed student brother. He read the first reading from the book of Samuel in Cantonese. The responsorial psalm was sung by two postulants from our Sisters community: the Timorese Dionisia Salsiha Maia and the Burmese Sabina Themar whose angelic voices led the chanting of the responsorial psalm. An additional reading on the charism of preaching was read by Sister Julieta da Costa our Timorese Dominican sister working in the diocese. After the joyous singing the Gospel acclamation, Fr. Edmund Eh OP, a Singaporean friar and the Moderator of Studies/ Director of the Center of Studies read the Gospel on the Magnificat.
(The First Reading by Brother Ben Lei Chi Hang OP, The responsorial psalm by two postulants from our Sisters community: the Timorese Dionisia Salsiha Maia and the Burmese Sabina Themar
After the solemn reading of the Gospel, the Bishop took the ambo and preached on the figure of Mary and the role and charism of the Order; making beautiful reference on the Marian canticle.
Fr. Fausto Gómez, the Subprior of Macau and     the Provincial Promoter of the Jubilee
After the homily, Fr. Fausto Gómez, the Subprior of Macau and the Provincial Promoter of the Jubilee, led the congregation for the Act of praise and thanksgiving for the gift of the Dominican vocation. This dialogued special prayer was based on the “act of praise†used during the annual Day of Consecrated Life when men and women religious reaffirm their commitment to the gospel. Four Dominicans were invited to respond: a professed student brother (Brother Joseph Tran Van Huong, a Vietnamese), a novice (Brother Christian Conlon, an Australian), a Maryknoll Sister, American, and a lay Dominican (Janet Choi). After each petition the whole assembly broke into song… After the act of praise we proceeded with the “Te Deum†as the Church reverberated with the Hymn of Holy God we praise thy name!!
Next followed the Prayer of the Faithful… there were eight intentions all in all and four persons were tasked to lead the prayers: A student brother (Brother Albert Liu, a Chinese), a novice brother (Brother Gabriel Khun Ri, a Burmese), a lay Dominican (Sister Rose Pae Alcántara- Filipina) and a woman religious (Sr. Elsamma George OP, Indian).
The next part of the liturgy was the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The offertory procession was led by the two candle bearers who led the offerers from the main door of the Church to the presbytery. The offerers were: Brother Mannes Kim (Korean) bearing the fruit basket; Sister Begoña Abad OP (Spaniard), bearing the basket of flowers; Sister Ann (American) bringing the bread and sister Marian Navarro Yip (Filipina) carrying the cruets of wine and water. They marched through the great nave as the choir sang the “Veni Veni Emmanuelâ€, in Latin.
While the proper prayers for the mass and the readings were taken from the proper liturgy of the day as it was within the Major week of Advent, the Bishop allowed us to use the Proper Preface of the Patronage of Our Lady over the Order which evoked her maternal protection and inspiration in the work of Dominic and the life of the Order.
The Eucharistic Prayer III was chosen for the concelebration and the “Pater noster†was sung in Cantonese by the grand choir with aplomb.
During communion, as the congregation processed into the nave, Brother Bosco deftly played the organ with beautiful rendition of “Jesus, the joy of man’s desireâ€, to create a moment of recollection and prayerfulness.
After communion, the assembly took up to sing King’s “Dominican Magnificat†which was sang with profound emotion by the friars.
After the post communion prayer, Fr. Provincial took the opportunity to thank those who attended and to wrap up the celebration.
Fr. Javier González, Prior Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of   the Rosary Province
After the solemn blessing proper of the Advent season, Fr. Hyacinth He was asked to lead the solemn Salve with the chanting of the solemn tone of Salve Regina complete with candle bearers and bearer of the holy water vat. In the middle of the hymn, Fr. Hyacinth began to sprinkle holy water to the congregation.
The recessional began as the friars began to chant the antiphon “O Spem miram…†The commentator and liturgist was Fr Jarvis Sy and the conductor was the cantor mayor of the priory, Brother Abraham Ning Ki Gei.
Souvenirs were handed out to those who attended. They were a commemorative fan and a book on the life of S. Dominic. After the celebrations, the guests were brought to the Banquet Hall of Sintra Hotel where the guests were served with a buffet. It was about 8:30 when the dinner ended and those who had to return to HK on the same day left for the Ferry Terminal.
We thank the collaborative effort of all the brethren in the region, especially those of Macau for the preparations as well as the many details to make the celebration unforgettable.
The impressive presence of the friars in formation who were clad with the black and white habit filling the baroque Church was a great marvel to behold; not to mention the solemn Salve… It had been more than a century when this chant was sung by a great number of friars with such intense depth and emotion.
Â
We, the Dominican Brothers of Saint Dominic Priory, would like to invite you to share with us our Lenten journey at our Priory.
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of peace, joy and salvation (Is 52:7)
On 22 December 1216, Pope Honorius III signed the first papal Bull which approved the foundation of St Dominic’s community in Toulouse and took the brethren under papal protection. However, St. Dominic was not fully satisfied with the first approval and asked the Pope for a second Bull that would approve the universality of the Order and in particular its identity name, the then revolutionary name of “Order of Preachers.†On 21 January 1217, St. Dominic received a second Bull from Pope Honorius III that “crowned the first and completed the confirmation of the Order†(www.op.org – Dec 25, 2016). This fact is the reason why the anniversary of the second papal Bull was chosen as the closing date for the Dominican Jubilee 800 that is today, January 21, 2017. This evening, joining all the Dominicans throughout the world, we are gratefully and joyfully and hopefully celebrating with this Solemn Votive Mass of our Father St. Dominic the closing of the Jubilee 800!
It is beautiful to celebrate together as the Dominican Family
in Macau the closing of the Jubilee. The end closes the curtains of the glorious Dominican Jubilee! Dominic’s adventure of preaching, however, continues! We sisters, brothers and sisters of our lay fraternity continue the awesome adventure of preaching the Good news, of proclaiming the message (II Tim 4:2) – counting always with the permanent presence of Jesus, the Preacher (Mt 28:19-20).
Through the celebration of the Jubilee 800, we Dominicans recalled our birth to rejoice, to give thanks, to be sorry, to renew ourselves, and above all, to revive our passionate love for our unique mission of preaching. Indeed, the Jubilee was a wonderful year to praise God and rejoice: laudare, benedicere et praedicare! Our different activities within the umbrella of the Jubilee 800 were prayerful stops that helped us make of our celebration a path to joyful renewal for each one of us and for our communities. Usually, a simple but significant agape followed our religious or academic celebrations.
The preparation of the Jubilee started officially on November 7 (Feast of All Saints of the Order), 2014 and ended on November 6, 2015. At our St. Dominic’s Priory in Macau, we began to recite the Jubilee Prayer on September 20, 2014 and we end it this evening of January 21, 2017. The daily recitation of the Jubilee Prayer put us on the “Jubilee Mode,†that is, a dynamic process of renewal: “We ask you, Lord, to pour again into us the Spirit of the Risen Lord, that we might faithfully and joyfully proclaim the Gospel of peace.â€
On December 22, 2014, we commemorated together the 798 Anniversary of the first Confirmation of the Order by Pope Honorius III, with the common reading with intermittent songs of Chapter II of the Acts of the Brethren’s General Chapter of Trogir (2013), focused on the charism of preaching and our Dominican style of life.  “Our style of life flows from the personal and communal balancing of study, contemplation, and liturgical prayer, each element enlivening the others.â€
Throughout the year of preparation and the year of celebration of Jubilee 800, the Dominican Family in Macau celebrated also the saints of the Order with the flavor of the Jubilee. A highlight of our Jubilee 800 was the celebration of the Feast of Saint Catherine of Siena. On April 25, 2015, the Dominican brothers of St. Dominic’s Priory went to Taipa to celebrate with our Dominican sisters the Feast of St. Catherine at the sisters’ community of Our Lady of the Rosary. The young Dominican sisters with the assistance of our brothers presented movingly and even passionately the life and works of the great Dominican mystic and apostle, to whom God said: “I Am He Who Is, you are she who is not.â€
The Dominican Family of nuns, brothers, sisters, and lay and priestly fraternities throughout the world opened formally the Jubilee 800 on November 7, 2015, which is – as we all know – the Feast-day of All the Dominican Saints. The Dominican Family in Macau opened the Jubilee’s year-long celebration at the Chapel of St. Dominic Priory with Solemn Evening Prayer. A deeply meaningful part of the Rite of Opening was the Ritual of the Light that is the lighting of a large Dominican Candle which has illumined our chapel up to today – its last day -, January 21, 2017: “As St. Dominic de Guzman enshrined and shared the fire of your love may we, O God, through our preaching and ministry, share that same love with others.â€
Another significant event for all Dominican convents and communities in the world was a Common Lenten Penitential Celebration. The Macau Dominican Family join the Dominican Family of the world with its own Communal Penitential Rite Celebration which was held here on March 21, 2016. For all of us – sinners – this celebration was an act of continuing conversion, which was the main objective of the Jubilee 800 and also of the Jubilee of Mercy the whole Church was then celebrating. We, Preachers of Truth and Preachers of Mercy, remember the words addressed to us then: “Asking for forgiveness and forgiving make the world new every day.â€
Another activity connected with the Jubilee 800 was an outstanding morning lecture on The Dominican Presence in Macau pronounced by Fr. Jarvis Sy, OP on October 1, at 10:00 AM at St. Paul School. It was followed by the celebration of the Mass in honor of St. Therese of the Child Jesus presided over by Bishop Stephen Lee. The relevant words of the first missionaries of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary come to mind: “We must preach, moreover, through our life style so that if our teaching of the doctrine does not move hearts our lives will move all those who see us: this is the best way of teaching.â€
The most solemn celebration of the Jubilee 800 in Macau was the Thanksgiving Mass sponsored by the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary and organized and carried out by Macao’s St. Dominic Priory with the help of our Dominican sisters in Taipa. It took place on the day of the 800 anniversary of the first approval of the Order by Pope Honorius III: December 22, 2016. The place of the grateful celebration gave incredible historical luster and mystery to it: San Domingos Church. The first San Domingos church or chapel was constructed under the supervision of the first three Dominicans, who had arrived in Macau on September 1, 1587; in this place they started their ministry. The Solemn Mass was presided over by Bishop Stephen Lee, with twenty seven priests – mostly Dominicans – concelebrating, and the Dominican sisters, and some other brothers, sisters and lay faithful participating. Fr. Provincial, Javier Gonzalez OP expressed the deep gratitude of the Dominicans to the authorities and people of Macau. One remembers the petition of one of our brothers: “Thank you, Father, for the grace of preaching you bestowed upon us; we reiterate our commitment to live our calling in fidelity and love, in the spirit of our predecessors, of our holy martyrs and confessors; we reaffirm once again our willingness to be sent wherever there is need to serve the people.â€
Our brother Yves Congar says that Christian tradition may be symbolized by a person walking. Likewise, I suggest, this symbol for our Dominican adventure of preaching today. The person walking – every preacher – has one foot on the ground of the living past, and the other foot in the air, open to change and renewal, and ready to stride forward. When we started our Jubilee journey together, we were told that the Jubilee meant looking at the past with gratitude, embracing the future with hope, and living the present with passion (Pope Francis). Grateful to our glorious past, hopeful towards our future, we try to live our present faithfully, joyfully, and creatively, with passion for Jesus and compassion for all the people, preferentially the oppressed, the poor and the excluded. Saint Paul advises us: “Let us go forward on the road that has brought us to where we are†(Phil 3:16).
The two-year long celebration of the Jubilee 800 has strengthened us and empowered us to go on more determined, more enthusiastic, more fired up: to go on with our marvelous preaching adventure which our Father started. With our Father Dominic’s help (“imple Pater quod dixisti), we continue the adventure. And when it is time to walk through the desert of life, we try not to be discouraged or disheartened: “What makes the desert beautiful is that in some place there is hidden a well of water†(Antoine Saint-Exupery). Like our brothers and sisters through 800 years, like pilgrims with a thousand hopes plus One, you and I are sent: we are sent to proclaim grace and to preach peace! Yes, our journey continues!
How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim peace and who bring good news (Rom 10:15).
Fray Fausto Gomez OP
St. Dominic Priory
Macau, January 21, 2017
September
On 5 Sep was the Orientation Day for the Faculty of Religious Studies (FRS) of the University of Saint Joseph (USJ). Prof. Arnold Monera gave the Welcome Address while Fr. Franz Gassner, SVD conducted the Orientation for the new students. Bishop Stephen Lee delivered an inspirational message to the staff and students present. The session ended with Closing Prayer and Lunch.
On 20 Sep Pope Francis held an Inter-religious Prayer Meeting at Assisi. The FRS organised a special Prayer Service for Peace to coincide with the pope’s meeting. The service took place in the Saint Joseph Seminary Chapel at 3:00 pm. Fr. Franz Gassner presided over the service while Fr. Peter Stilwell delivered the sharing. Fr. Stilwell is the Rector of USJ.
The first religious profession of seven novices of the Missionary Dominican Sisters of the Rosary took place on 24 Sep at 11:00 am in the Saint Joseph Seminary Chapel. The Mass was presided by His Excellency Stephen Lee, Bishop of Macau. The newly professed are: Nelia Soares Da Silva Pinheriro, Leonarda Da C. Evangelista, Mariana Dos Santos Barreto, Roberta Moniz Soares, Beatrix Thomasia Pias Kahlasi, Maria and Cherropihtun. They are all alumnae of USJ.
October
To commemorate the month of the Rosary, the Priory Chapel displayed the statue of Our Lady of the Visitation of Piat during the whole of October. The statue was brought to Macau from the Philippines. A Rite of Welcome was conducted on 30 Sep at 9:00 pm.
As part of the celebrations of the 800th Jubilee of the Order of Preachers, Saint Dominic’s Priory presented a lecture titled “The Dominican Presence in Macau (1587-1216).†The lecture was delivered by Fr. Jarvis Sy on 1 Oct 2016, 10:00 am at Saint Paul School. A Mass in honour of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus was celebrated in the school chapel at 11:30 am and it was presided by Bishop Stephen Lee. This was followed by lunch in the school hall.
December
On 1 Dec USJ held its annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony. Br. Francis Nge Nge from our community received a scholarship this year. He is a fourth year student of USJ.
On 2 Dec FRS held its annual Faculty Day. This year the faculty celebrated its 10th anniversary with the theme “A Decade of Commitment to Mission.†In the morning Holy Mass was celebrated at 09:00 am in the Seminary Chapel. Cultural presentations took place at 11:00 am, followed by community lunch at 12:30 pm. In the afternoon parlour games were played at 2:30 pm, followed by sports at 3:00 pm.
On 22 Dec at 5:00 pm in Saint Dominic’s Church, a Thanksgiving Mass was celebrated on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the confirmation of the Order of Preachers. It was presided by Most Reverend Stephen Lee, Bishop of Macau. A banquet took place after the Mass at 7:15 pm in Hotel Sintra. In attendance were representatives of the entire Dominican family from Hong Kong and Macau, including friars, sisters and laity. The event concluded the celebrations for the Jubilee Year in the province.
Also in December Saint Paul School held its regular end of year celebrations:
On 16 Dec a festive dinner took place at the Fisherman’s Wharf. Staff, students and members of the community attended.
On 22 Dec a morning Mass was celebrated in the school compound. This was followed by the usual Christmas gala.
