austraLasia 1389
The Infant of Prague - Sto. Niño - Don Bosco House Suva - The Family
EAO: 13th January 2006 -- A strange collection, you say! Indeed. But let me start with Don Bosco House, Suva (Fiji). When, towards the very end of 1999 the Salesian Community took possession of a sprawling English-style bungalow on the outskirts of Fiji's capital, Suva, the house was emptied of all its previous owners' contents but for three items: a set of furniture consisting of a derelict yellow plastic-upholstered sofa and two armchairs, a black and white photo of several colonial (British) teachers with their Fijian counterparts in the Education Ministry of the 1950's and - a small wooden statue of the Infant of Prague. Given that the house belonged to Hindus, never to Catholics, this was a strange find, though if one rummages around many of the Indian-run market spots in city and 'suburbs' (villages that get too close to the city!), it is common enough to find ghastly pictures of the Sacred Heart and other similar devotional items. The more ghastly, the better, it seems. We were at least lucky with our find. Hopefully the small icon is either where it was where I last left it, on a small mantelpiece, or in some other place in the House where it can continue to be admired and possibly inspire a little devotion.
This coming Sunday happens to be a day in the Philippines particularly given to devotion to Sto. Niño, the Holy Child. Really, they are one and the same, the Infant of Prague and Sto. Niño, though on a per capita basis, one could bet that the Holy Child is more devotionally revered by more people in the Philippines than he is in Prague. I stand to be corrected, of course. It was Magellan himself who presented the small statue to Juana, wife of King Humabon, in a year that escapes me as I write, but it was miraculously retrieved some fifty years later, and ever since has been deeply revered by Filipino families in practically every aspect of their lives. The original, I believe, is in the Cebu Basilica, but you find him, always as a King, gold-embroidered, red-caped in any house or in/on almost any mode of transportation. He is open to rather wonderful devotional transformations and can be found at times in sweater and shorts even! But, He is always a prompt for deep devotion and, one hopes, deep faith.
We Salesians are in a year that gives central focus to The Family as highlighted in the Strenna and by the Rector Major in his recent letter, harking back to the growth of that same Infant, "Jesus increased in wisdom and in years...". It would be good for readers of austraLasia to offer some information about action on behalf of family in their part of the world. Already we are aware of certain things happening and on the move. In the Philippines, for example, the Salesian Cooperators are prominent in Pro life activity - very prominent. It would be nice to hear more of what they do. Fr Michael Court, Australia, until recently was on the World Council of Marriage Encounter, and remains very much active and committed to the support of family life through that medium. In Thailand, Fr Banchong, whose doctoral studies were precisely in this area, is working with a group of priests and lay people to set up a pro-life movement in the country, something much appreciated if not requested, by the Bishops there. And we know that Bishops throughout Oceania and Asia are very much concerned about the state of family life. UCAN, a Catholic news agency in the region, recently ran an article on that.
Hopefully this quick overview will encourage others to offer information about their activity. Bear a thought for the Philippines anyway, this Sunday.
_______________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
The Infant of Prague - Sto. Niño - Don Bosco House Suva - The Family
EAO: 13th January 2006 -- A strange collection, you say! Indeed. But let me start with Don Bosco House, Suva (Fiji). When, towards the very end of 1999 the Salesian Community took possession of a sprawling English-style bungalow on the outskirts of Fiji's capital, Suva, the house was emptied of all its previous owners' contents but for three items: a set of furniture consisting of a derelict yellow plastic-upholstered sofa and two armchairs, a black and white photo of several colonial (British) teachers with their Fijian counterparts in the Education Ministry of the 1950's and - a small wooden statue of the Infant of Prague. Given that the house belonged to Hindus, never to Catholics, this was a strange find, though if one rummages around many of the Indian-run market spots in city and 'suburbs' (villages that get too close to the city!), it is common enough to find ghastly pictures of the Sacred Heart and other similar devotional items. The more ghastly, the better, it seems. We were at least lucky with our find. Hopefully the small icon is either where it was where I last left it, on a small mantelpiece, or in some other place in the House where it can continue to be admired and possibly inspire a little devotion.
This coming Sunday happens to be a day in the Philippines particularly given to devotion to Sto. Niño, the Holy Child. Really, they are one and the same, the Infant of Prague and Sto. Niño, though on a per capita basis, one could bet that the Holy Child is more devotionally revered by more people in the Philippines than he is in Prague. I stand to be corrected, of course. It was Magellan himself who presented the small statue to Juana, wife of King Humabon, in a year that escapes me as I write, but it was miraculously retrieved some fifty years later, and ever since has been deeply revered by Filipino families in practically every aspect of their lives. The original, I believe, is in the Cebu Basilica, but you find him, always as a King, gold-embroidered, red-caped in any house or in/on almost any mode of transportation. He is open to rather wonderful devotional transformations and can be found at times in sweater and shorts even! But, He is always a prompt for deep devotion and, one hopes, deep faith.
We Salesians are in a year that gives central focus to The Family as highlighted in the Strenna and by the Rector Major in his recent letter, harking back to the growth of that same Infant, "Jesus increased in wisdom and in years...". It would be good for readers of austraLasia to offer some information about action on behalf of family in their part of the world. Already we are aware of certain things happening and on the move. In the Philippines, for example, the Salesian Cooperators are prominent in Pro life activity - very prominent. It would be nice to hear more of what they do. Fr Michael Court, Australia, until recently was on the World Council of Marriage Encounter, and remains very much active and committed to the support of family life through that medium. In Thailand, Fr Banchong, whose doctoral studies were precisely in this area, is working with a group of priests and lay people to set up a pro-life movement in the country, something much appreciated if not requested, by the Bishops there. And we know that Bishops throughout Oceania and Asia are very much concerned about the state of family life. UCAN, a Catholic news agency in the region, recently ran an article on that.
Hopefully this quick overview will encourage others to offer information about their activity. Bear a thought for the Philippines anyway, this Sunday.
_______________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
