Bishop Zen (white-haired,
in the back, middle left) with his Lamma flock & the Poor Clare Sisters of
the Portiuncula Monastery.
Click to enlarge to 4*
size (269KB). Photo supplied by Sister Sonia (2nd from the right,
standing).
Strolling
through Main Street on Sunday morning, Aug 8, I came across the new,
rainbow-hued signs on the left. Like most people I was wondering: "Portiuncula
Monastery? On Lamma?".
Asking the Lamma-zine
"Official Main Street Correspondent", Nick the Bookman, he announced that
Bishop Zen would visit Lamma that afternoon, holding mass in the "Our Lady
of Lourdes" kindergarten/church. So this sign was a coded message for true
believers of the Catholic faith to find their way to this big celebrity
event! I got ready for another impromptu photo shoot...
At the Our Lady of Lourdes Kindergarten and Chapel in Tai
Yuen Village, just beyond our Primary School, I was introduced to jolly &
friendly Sister Sonia of the Poor Clare Nuns who granted me a
little interview. The visit and Mass by Bishop Zen was in honour of the
birthday of the Patron Saint of their order, St. Clare.
Bishop
Joseph Zen Ze-kiun actually founded this monastery on Dec 10, 2000 (see
story & photos). He's the leader of the Catholic Church in Hong
Kong which has 309 priests and 519 religious Sisters. About a
quarter of a million Hong Kongers are Catholic and the majority of them is
Chinese. However, there are various Catholic national groups, on Lamma
Island mostly Filipinos. On my request, Sister Sonia even emailed me some
of her digital photos and a statement:
"Our Community
belong to the Franciscan family founded by St. Francis of Assisi and
St. Clare of Assisi during the middle ages. We are a community of
praying nuns, wholly devoted to praying of the Liturgy of the hours
and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Being contemplatives, the
Church look up to us as the "heart of the Mystical Body of Christ",
that through our life of prayer, we sustain the spiritual life of
many.
In our small
monastery here, we offer solace and quiet refuge to those who long to
find rest in God. We have our perpetual adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament, daily Mass at 6:00 am, Sunday Masses at 8:45 am (English)
and 10:00 am (Chinese).
People are
welcome to come join us in our daily prayers, spend quiet time of
recollection or retreats."
Editor's Note:
Bishop Zen's visit caused an interesting
discussion on Lamma.com.hk with some funny reasons for the visit.
"The Poor Clare vocation is to be a reminder to
Hong Kong Catholics of humility, patience and perseverance in a
society filled with greed and pride. This was the commission given
to the 3 founding nuns by Bishop Joseph Zen who blessed the
Portiuncula monastery on Dec. 10th 2000.
The Poor Clare nuns follow the Rule of St Clare
of Assisi, and lead a cloistered contemplative life. In Hong
Kong, the Poor Clare monastery is situated on a hill in the village of
Yung Shue Wan (Banyan Bay, Lamma Island), beside the Chapel of Our
Lady of Lourdes. Amid luscious greenery and local wildlife, the
nuns spend most of their time in prayer, penance and manual work in
the garden. There are presently 3 professed nuns (Mother Mary
Anne, Sr Mary Sonia and Sr Mary Bernadette) and one local postulant,
Therese Au. There are also 2 aspirants to the Order and 1 inquirer.
The Poor Clares invite all Catholics in Hong Kong to pray with them
for China. And they welcome prayer intentions from everyone; and to
spend some quiet time with the nuns in order to be still and know
God."
Editor's Note: Bold text has been added
above to highlight the phrases I liked most. Any female readers
tempted to join the Sisters to escape from "a society filled with
greed and pride"?
More info: OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHAPEL/Portiuncula
Monastery:
Religion:
Catholicism
Address: Tai
Yuen Village, DD 3 Lot 1709, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
Mass: Sun:
8:45am (English), 10am (Chinese) / Mon-Fri : 6am (Chinese). Priest: Rev.
Francis G. Elsinger
Last, but
not least, a few photos from Sister Sonia and Lamma-Gung:
(click to enlarge)
Signs all over Yung Shue Wan, guiding the way to Bishop Zen's visit
Sign at the monastery
Worshippers at the square outside Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Kindergarten
Bishop Zen & the Poor Clare Sister (Mother Mary Anne: 2nd from right, Sr Sonia: 2nd from left), (photo from Sr Sonia)
The bishop holding Mass (photo by Sr Sonia)
St Clare, Patron Saint of the nuns (photo by Sr Sonia)
Kindergarten playground
The procession starts, carrying the St Clare statue in circles around the square
A happy & informal procession, religious but fun!
St Clare is changing hands every round
A nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon with friends
Be careful not to drop it!
The nuns singing and cheering on the procession
Backdrop of the altar
Cheerful playground shapes
Not so fast!
Mother Mary Anne knows how to have fun!
Posing with the statue of St Clare
Welcome sign
Doorbell?
Outside the monastery
Sunset view from the Monastery down to the playground and over Lamma
Duty roster for the Monastery. Looks like a busy life!
Goodbye from the Kindergarten
To
send comments, get more info, get high-res files for printing, or to publish
your own Lamma-related photos & galleries on
Lamma.com.hk or in the
Lamma-zine:
email
Lamma-Gung.
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only,
but only with explicit permission from the author, photographer or artist.
Commercial enquiries are most welcome! Last update:
September 29, 2019 11:12 AM
