Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Shi Jia Zhuang (Agenzia Fides) - Living the Year of Faith, following the excellent example of faith given by Abraham and Job: with such conviction the Catholic community of mainland China starts its journey in the Year of Faith which has just begun. This is the invitation that the Chinese Bishops address to the faithful in their exhortations, homilies and pastoral letters, as reported to Fides Agency by the local Church and Faith of He Bei. There are numerous pastoral Letters of the diocesan Bishops or the Chinese Apostolic Administrators published because of the Chinese Year of Faith, which focus on the themes recommended by Pope Benedict XVI.
Mgr. Alios Jin Lu Xian, senior Coadjutor Bishop of Shang Hai, recommends his faithful some concrete ways to live the Year of Faith, stressing the importance of the Eucharist which is the source and peak of faith: the weekly community worship, the recitation of the rosary, the celebration of the sacrament of Reconciliation, evangelism and witness to faith. One must also mention the difficult reality in which some dioceses find themselves in, inviting the faithful to "bear witness to the truth," according to the words of the Gospel of John: "know the truth and the truth shall make you free" (John 8.32 ).
In his Letter, Mgr. Peter Feng Xin Mao, Bishop of the diocese in the province of Jing Xian in the province of He Bei emphasizes the importance of living the Year of Faith in the key of evangelization, because "no one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed, rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light " (Luke 8: 16-18). Mgr. Zhang Huai Xin, Bishop of the Diocese of Wei Hui, Mgr. Paul Pei Jun Min, Bishop of the Diocese of Liao Ning and many other Pastors exhort the faithful to an intense spiritual life, enriched by Marian devotion, adoration and periodic Community commitment of drawing closer the faithful who have fallen away from the Church.
In various dioceses, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the Year of Faith communal reading has been promoted, after Sunday Mass, concerning some articles of the Catechism. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 06/11/2012)
