Messengers of Hope

Messengers of Hope

by Deacon Alex

Dear brethren in OLMC,
Peace be with you all!

First and foremost, may the Lord God be praised because He is merciful (Luke 6:36). I learnt of His mercy only one year after my ordination and thus, knew more about the meaning of being a genuine permanent deacon. It was during the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016 that I suddenly realized that I had been assigned a prison ministry on top of labour affairs. To be an authentic deacon, I should serve and manifest Christ as the one not to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28, John 13:14). Visiting inmates and serving out-sourced janitors have been both challenging and enriching.

I have made a lot of mistakes in my diaconate and God has been patient with me. He allows me plenty of time to repent and to rely less on my own strength so that I am able to actualize my true self. It came to pass I was assigned to the Mother of Christ Church in Sheung Shui. Besides praising God for His mercy, I also thank the BVM for her motherly care of my body and soul. This parish is closer home and transportation time is reduced. The number of Sunday masses is halved and I am less stressed.

This parish is in the New Territories and the atmosphere is very country-side. Whenever I greet the parishioners coming to attend mass on Sundays, I see grandparents coming along with their grandchildren. The second generation have returned earlier and are working in different capacities: choirs, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, lectors, Sunday School and Sunday Café etc. I’m glad that I could preside over the Paschal Meal; did meditations on the Stations of the Cross, Eucharistic Adoration/Benediction, retreats for the elderly group as well as members of the Lay Prison Evangelization Organization etc. I feel very much at home quickly in this Marian parish.

The most significant of all, I learn the virtue of hope from my new boss. He is stable like a mountain, his namesake! While parishioners love to call him fondly “Slow Papa” which rhymes with his surname in Chinese, I see the virtue in his name: “Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practises it will have neighbour” (Analects, Li Ren). I have been ambitious and wanted to serve the English community immediately on arrival. Wait! I am eager to assist in masses because serving the altar is a deacon’s ministry. Wait! Gradually, I understand and I thank my boss for his training because I cannot be a messenger of hope if I do not practise patience myself! Without patience, my endurance suffices not to cheer up the desperate! St. Paul says well, “… knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:3b-5a)!

Beloved brethren in OLMC! In 2026, the Catholic Diocese will celebrate her 80th Anniversary. We are blessed to enjoy yet another Jubilee. It shall be an extension of our endurance. Let us invoke the Holy Spirit to reinvigorate the virtue of hope in us so that all of us may become genuine messengers of hope. Amen. God bless!

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p.s.
My blog: https://alex-kwok.blogspot.com/
My Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kwokalex2009
Picture Credit: moc.org.hk, grok.com