Feast of St. John the Baptist

According to the two nativity stories in Luke 1, John the Baptist was conceived six months before Jesus. Therefore, the Church celebrates the feast of St. John the Baptist today. Half a year later, it will be Christmas. The Catholic Biblical Institute (CBI for short) has chosen well the day to celebrate the year closing Mass. Had CBI wanted to choose for herself a patron saint among the saints, St. John the Baptist would have been a good candidate. He was the Elijah for the Messiah. His mission was to prepare the hearts of the Jews to receive the Word of God. CBI is carrying out a similar mission among the Catholics in Hong Kong. John the Baptist did not preach to the Gentiles but Jews who had known God to a certain extent. Similarly, CBI does not target non-believers but practising Catholics who want to learn more about the Word of God, to know Jesus better.

Tonight, the chief celebrant was Fr. Placid Wong, OFM., with whom Fr. William Lo, S.J. and Fr. Seán Ó Cearbhalláin S.J. were co-celebrating. Fr. Placid delivered the homily. He reflected on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of CBI. He joked that when CBI began, he was only a minor friar serving drinks and snack to all the big shots present. Twenty years on, it is his turn to call the shot. It took a quarter of a century for the OFM friars to translate the Bible into Chinese. Therefore, CBI still has a couple of years to catch up with her mission.
The Bible is not an easy book to read. The first reading tonight says it well.
But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity (Isaiah 49:4a)
Students of CBI surely have worked very hard to study the books in the Bible for several years. Parallelism, synchronic and diachronic criticisms, Greek and Hebrew etc. But in the end, the Bible remains as challenging as before, if not more challenging. We are still clueless in trying to decipher the meaning of some even familiar passages. Isaiah has more to say. He continues.
yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God (Isaiah 49:4b).
Therefore, when we love the Word of God more, when we become more eager to want to know Jesus after the study, our effort has not been wasted.

Like any other organizations, CBI has to deal with mundane problems constantly. There used to be a benefactor who contributed generously every year. After his demise, CBI has to look for other resources to support its running. The availability of professors is another acute problem for CBI. Personally, I share Fr. Placid's feeling. I wish I had been able to study the CBI courses earlier. Fr. Seán suffers stroke a second time and cannot teach anymore. Some others take up teaching or study assignments elsewhere. At present, only a handful of professors are shouldering the bulk of teaching load in CBI.
Fr. Placid did not announce any grand plan ahead. He did mention that projects to update the Chinese translation of the Bible, to make more references available in Chinese, to promote Biblical studies here in Hong Kong and in Mainland etc. needed to be prioritized. He remains confident. CBI will continue her mission. He and I are sure that God is taking care of CBI. In these twenty years, a hundred odd of diploma course students have graduated. They are working in different capacities in promoting biblical studies. However, the majority of output remains verbal. He wished we can make more use of other media in promoting the study of the Bible.

My Advocate, I thank You for enabling me to finish the diploma course. Together with all CBI members, we pray for the health of the CBI professors, for the mission of CBI. May we be able to continue the promotion of biblical studies among our neighbours. May we ourselves be enriched in turn. Amen.