Basic Christian Communities

Today is the Feast of the Blessed Trinity. It is also the Sunday of BCC, not blind carbon copy of emails, but Basic Christian Communities. This morning, Deacon Karl Tsang read the Gospel and delivered the homily. It was the first time I heard his homily after he had undergone an operation on his knee. He will go under the knife one more time in mid-July on the other knee. May God bless him. Deacon Tsang was still very humourous and lively. Obviously, the Sacrament of Anointment has worked well and the surgery had not taken any toll on him.

He began his homily by quoting a question from a Protestant friend who asked him what Catholics were doing when they made the Sign of the Cross. Without answering the question, he quickly switched strategy and asked the congregation whether they had seen European footballers making the Sign of the Cross before they began the matches. Why did they do that?
Later, in the homily, Deacon Tsang confessed that he seldom spoke at the 9:30 a.m. Masses. He usually preached to the old ladies at 8:00 a.m. Today, in 9:30 Mass, he saw many young people and gentlemen, perhaps because it was also Father's Day today. Therefore, he quickly changed tactics and asked them something the congregation were supposed to be more familiar with. He even came down with a microphone to ask different people questions, men, women and young people. I think it worked well. There were a lot of interactions. Time and again, Deacon Tsang made use of people's responses to illustrate the teachings of the Blessed Trinity.
He kept his homily short because today, representatives from BCC's shared their experiences and encouraged the congregation to join or to form BCC's.

In this parish, there are 15 Basic Christian Communities. Some of them have a history of more than twenty  years! BCC in Hong Kong started mushrooming with the approach of the 1997 handover. At around the time of Sino-British negotiation in 1984, the Catholic Church in Hong Kong was afraid that the Communist government would expel all the Catholic priests in Hong Kong, just like what she had done in 1952 in mainland China, because these priests were loyal to the Vatican, an alien anti-Communist power. In such a scenario, there would not be any more shepherds to take care of the faithful. They needed to fend for themselves.
Taking cue from the successes of the BCC experiences overseas, the Catholic Diocese in Hong Kong started to prepare for the worst and set up these BCC's in different locations all over Hong Kong wherever they could survive
BCC's in Hong Kong usually meet once a month at the home of one of the members. They do Bible sharing as well as daily life sharing. Of course, there are other social and spiritual activities to bind the community together. Members keep the confidentiality and lend support to each other in their up's and down's. Theoretically, it should work. In reality, I don't know how successful this experiment has been. I know not of any systematic studies or statistics of the current situation of these communities.

I have reasons to be wary. These BCC's began in the rural regions in South America. They faced the problems we would be facing --- there were not enough priests visiting them. Nobody administered them sacraments. To sustain their spiritual life, they met around the Word of God. The situation in Hong Kong is different. We live in a urban area. Most Catholics in Hong Kong belong to the middle-class. Many of them are professionals and spend a lot of their time in their careers, whether they be teachers, doctors, lawyers and accountants etc.Urban life is hectic and religious life is mostly confined to the 1 hour they spend on Sunday masses. For many of them, being a Sunday Catholic is already a good Catholic! A handful of missionary priests are able to inspire some enthusiastic youngsters but not too many. So, when the last missionary priest disappears from Hong Kong, who would inspire the Hong Kong Catholics? Of Course, I should not sound too pessimistic. I should not ignore the power of the Holy Spirit to inspire and to motivate.

People join these BCC's with different expectations. Some look for social networking while others are more evangelical. They want Bible sharing more than anything else. When they are not able to find what they want in the BCC, they vote with their feet. Of course, we should not worry too much with numbers. Even God would not force us to be saved, force us to stay. He invites us to partake in the fullness of His eternal life. Therefore, we only pray that these BCC will continue to grow and develop in the nourishment of the Holy Spirit.

Dear God, You are One, yet a community. May our life bear witness to the Triune communion. Amen.

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Dear All,

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY &
Feast of the BLESSED TRINITY

May I wish all fathers, be they biological or spiritual or both,
a happy & healthy year ahead.
May the Triune God
Shower you with overflowing grace.
Amen.
Yours in the Risen Lord
Alex Kwok
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