I'm in Hong Kong!
I never thought I would be able to say that
So my last post was during Easter...I apologize for that.
Anyways, wow! I am officially done with my first year of Theology. I had my last exam on the 11th, most of my family arrived the 12th and departed Saturday the 19th. Time flies. I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but in Eschatology, then Cardinal Ratzinger writes that one of the best signs for heaven is the fact that the most joyful times in our life, when we are most content, the times with our friends and loved ones, don't seem to last like they should. That they are often cut short. I think that makes sense. We are always left wanting more.
Let's tie up a few loose ends...
The soccer team here at NAC got second place out of sixteen teams in the Clericus Cup. We lost 1-0 to Redemptoris Mater, the team that has one the tournament three of the four years it has been around. We'll only lose three starters from this year's team. Hopefully we'll have a few new men come who can play the game well. We sometimes joke that when Msgr. Mueggenborg visits college seminaries in the winter we should send one or two of our teammates to recruit the good soccer players from each seminary so to improve our team. Whether a guy is a good soccer player should be one of the criteria on which the seminary assesses an applicant to the college.
Exams went well. I had eight exams total, six of them were oral exams while two were written. I am getting more comfortable taking oral exams. I am getting better at conveying to the professor that I do know the material and that I understand the the main ideas the professor was trying to impart to us. I did a better job this semester of internalizing the material, by reviewing my notes throughout the semester. Hopefully, I can do that even more often next year.
So I'm in Hong Kong at the Maryknoll retreat center. The people have been so generous and kind. Ms. Chan made sure that I had scrambled eggs, bacon, hot coffee, and some english muffins this morning.
Each seminarian is required to do at least a four week apostolate during their summer. This can be living at a parish and helping the pastor, working with a religious order serving the poor, working at a pilgrimage site such as Lourdes in France, or teaching English somewhere. Some guys even study a language which suffices for their four week apostolate.
I will be spending five weeks with Maryknoll missionary priests in the far east. There will be five guys from the NAC including myself. We will break into two groups for the majority of our time there.
June 25th-June 30th
Spend time in Hong Kong, including being a part of Maryknoll's 99th anniversary celebration, with Cardinal Zen, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong.
July 1st-July 6th
Beijing. Myself and two other seminarians will visit the Beijing Major seminary, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and Matteo Ricci's grave. He is one of the first Jesuit China missionaries and concerning his cause of sainthood is a Servant of God.
July 6th-July 14th
We will leave for Jilin City. We will spend some time giving testimonies at rural Catholic parishes and visit the Jilin City Medical College where one of the Maryknoll priests, Fr. Brian Barrons, has been bringing the gospel to the Chinese as he is the head of the English department there.
July 15th-July 19th
We will return to Hong Kong to visit some parishes there and the local mission centers.
July 20th-July 22th
We will visit Southern China to visit the first Maryknoll missions and some leper villages.
July 23rd-July 26th
We will head to Taiwan, where we hopefully get a chance to visit with the Apostolic Nuncio, Monsignor Paul Russell, who we met a few weeks ago here in Rome. The Apostolic Nuncio, is the liaison between the Vatican and the local church that he is the Nuncio to.
July 27th- July 31st
We will finish up with a BBQ and then head back to Rome on the 31st.
This experience will be invaluable to myself and to my ministry. It is another opportunity to experience the universal Church. As you know, China is a communist country and therefore their control of religion is something that I have never seen before. The current situation is complicated and one that can't be stereotyped. We must remember that as everywhere else in the world, there is one Catholic Church which is in China. However for the sake of coming to some understanding of the situation we can recognize two extremes of the Church in China. One side is the so called "Open Church" which is recognized by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA). The other is the so called "Underground Church" which refuses any control from the CCPA, and meets in private homes or buildings. Most of Chinese Catholics are somewhere in the gray area between the two.
In the "Open Church" all bishops and priests are recognized by the Chinese Government. Often times appointed by government officials and then validly ordained by a bishop. On the other hand they may not be recognized by the Holy See and therefore illegitimate. In his letter to the Chinese faithful in 2007, Pope Benedict mentions the three groups of clergy. 1) Those appointed by the Pope, 2) those not appointed by Pope but later on seek to be legitimized by the Pope, and 3) those not appointed by the Pope and not seeking Pope's approval. The Pope prays that all illegitimate clergy will seek Rome's approval
In the "Underground Church" all bishops were appointed by the Pope and priests validly ordained by legitimate bishops. These clergy, however, are not supported by the CCPA.
Whether legitimate or not, the sacraments these bishops and priests celebrate are valid and confer sanctifying and actual grace. Therefore, the Pope has said that where legitimate priests are lacking the faithful may in good conscience receive the sacraments from the illegitimate validly ordained bishops and priests.
In 1980 the CCPA organized a national conference of bishops much like we have in the U.S. This conference like the other national conferences seek to establish pastoral guidelines that would pertain to the faithful of the whole country while not impeding on the authority of the local bishop. However, because this conference includes illegitimate bishops and doesn't include legitimate bishops recognized by Rome, the Pope and Holy See do not recognize The Chinese Conference of Catholic bishops as an Episcopal conference.
As you can see the Church in China is a complicated one, and the people are definitely derserving of our prayers.
I will try to keep you posted more often throughout my time here. I will not always have internet access. God bless you all and pray for me and know that you are in my prayers.
"Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." --1 Peter 1:13
Nick
