Fr. Marazzi: 'My mission in Hong Kong in old age'.
The Christmas greeting of the dean of PIME missionaries in Hong Kong: 'In the assembly of nations China should not be a threat, but play a role in promoting peace. I work in my room like a scribe, I meet fewer people, but I always feel inclined towards the people who are waiting for the Good News of Jesus".
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - "Even though I am closed within the walls of my room, with desire and prayer I feel myself reaching out to the people outside who are waiting for the Good News of Jesus to be announced". Mario Marazzi, a PIME missionary in Hong Kong, was 93 years old last May. From his room he continues to carry China and its people in his heart. Below we publish his Christmas letter, sent in good time as he does every year to his friends, in which he tdescribes the form of his mission is today, lived above all through prayer of intercession.
I was a child and now I am old (Psalm 37:25)
I am finishing this letter from a place very close to the border with China where I am taking part in the annual spiritual exercises with other priests. From my window I can see the skyscrapers of Shenzhen, the metropolis that has risen from nothing next to Hong Kong. What I see is somewhat of a symbol of China, which in just a few decades has become a superpower. It is only to be hoped that it will not be a threat to the international community, but will play a role in promoting peace.
I am glad that once again I am able to put down a few thoughts for the annual letter to you my friends. As I scrolled through your names and addresses, I saw your faces again. In the meantime, some have left us and others have joined introduced by mutual friends.
I feel affection and gratitude for all of you. That is why I remember to pray for you. It is the prayer for others, the prayer of intercession. In Latin inter-cedere means to take a step so as to place oneself in the middle of a situation. Even if I am far away, as I pray I think of you in the circumstances of your life and I feel in solidarity with you.
In the past I had more to share because I was always out, in contact with people. Now that I am getting on in years I am more often in my room at the PIME missionaries' house. In spite of my age, thanks to God and the doctors, I am quite well. I have been doing acupuncture for years. Although I don't see the results immediately, I think that in the long run this mysterious oriental therapy does me good.
One of the small jobs I had the opportunity to do was proofreading a book. I felt like an amanuensis, one of those monks whose job it was to transcribe texts. Even though I was closed within the walls of my room, with desire and prayer I felt myself reaching out to the people outside who were waiting for the Good News of Jesus to be announced.
After almost three years of waiting, at the beginning of December we had the ordination of the new bishop, Jesuit Fr Stephen Chau. With him at the helm, our Church feels more confident in facing the future. Now that China has imposed the National Security Act on Hong Kong, the future is full of unknowns. I ask you to feel united with us in prayer to understand the signs of the times.
Now that I am freer, I love reading books. One of them was Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos. It's the story of a young, sickly priest who, after having spent all of himself for his community, dies saying: "What does it matter? Everything is grace. Now that I am old, looking back on my life, I feel I am repeating the same words. The sufferings, failures, humiliations and whatever else seemed negative have had their value; everything has been grace, that is, a gift from God received through the goodness and generosity of the women and men I have met in my life in Italy and here.
"May the Lord make you grow and abound in love for one another and for all". (First Letter of Paul the Apostle to the Christians of Thessalonica, 3:12). Hoping that the pandemic will leave us calm, I wish you a Merry Christmas.
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19/04/2007
19/06/2020 15:09
