團體名稱：英文團體
"Father, can we have a Mass in English? We cannot understand Chinese." a .Filipino caregiver asked.
"Yes, next Sunday, you will have it .The English Mass Community "Father, can we have a Mass in English? We cannot understand Chinese." a Filipino caregiver asked. "Yes, next Sunday, you will have it here." Fr. Wilfredo Chan said with confidence. When told about this matter, the Parish Priest, Fr. Gino Picca, became worried. Why have another English Mass, when Kuting Sacred Heart parish has already one. But Fr. Picca gave in and called a meeting with Fr. Chen, two members of Notre Dame de Vie Institute Florence Chuang, Belen Sy and Sr. Ascension Lim, to give it a try.
If there were 30 attendees, then they could have the Mass at the small chapel. Otherwise, the matter is closed. There were more than 30 church-goers that Sunday and week after week, the chapel was getting crowded. So, the venue was changed to the right wing of the Church near the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Again, more people were coming; and so, the weekly Sunday English Mass was moved to the main Church. It has become a reality and existed for the past 27 years. What makes the English Mass special? In the first place, it has become an international community of around 22 different nationalities. It is a mixed group of doctors, professionals, students, caregivers, domestic helpers, teachers and businessmen.
Secondly, the weekly coffee break after the 9:45 am Mass at the basement gathers these people to relax and meet new friends. At least three couples got married through their meetings in the coffee break.
Third. Priest celebrants of different nationalities came to celebrate Mass. 54 Several Apostolic Charge d' Affaires of the Holy See also presided over the Holy Eucharist. Fourth. The professionals and students have formed a group called Spiritus, with Rev. Fr. Bernard Treves, MEP to study Church doctrines and the Bible. The group now meets online with the support of Rev. Fr. Wojciech Rybka, SVD. Fifth. The English Mass Community is a missionary launching pad. For instance, the Indonesian students learned how to serve Mass and are now altar servers of their own Masses in Indonesian. PhD students from Academia Sinica started their own Mass in a chapel near the Institute. The Spanish group has started its own Mass in their language.
Sixth. Like any parish, the English Mass Community has had activities like Advent and Lenten recollections, outings, birthday celebrations, child and adult baptisms, Christmas caroling, potlucks. To support spiritual development, the English Mass Community prints out its own weekly Bulletin with the Sunday readings, gospel explanation, lives of saints and teachings of the Church On Christmas Eve Mass, a special feature is having " Mary, with Jesus in her arms and Joseph" walking toward the altar before the Gospel reading. At the end of the Mass, Christmas greetings are said in different languages. And at Pentecost, we hear the prayer of the faithful said in seven different languages.
Like everywhere in the world, Covid 19 has affected the English Mass Community: a drop in the attendance, a reduction of activity and a general fear of gathering. But this is no cause of discouragement. Indeed, it is a time of trial and a time of faith and a season of hope. We believe that God will prevail and the Holy Catholic Church will exist and that the Eucharist will go on until the end of time.ere." Fr. Wilfredo Chan said with
confidence.
When told about this matter, the Parish Priest, Fr. Gino Picca, became
worried. Why have another English Mass, when Kuting Sacred Heart parish has already one. But Fr. Picca gave in and called a meeting with Fr. Chen, two members of Notre Dame de Vie Institute Florence Chuang, Belen Sy and Sr. Ascension Lim, to give it a try. If there were 30 attendees, then they could have the Mass at the small chapel. Otherwise, the matter is closed. There were more than 30 church-goers that Sunday and week after week, the chapel was getting crowded. So, the venue was changed to the right wing of the Church near the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Again, more people were coming; and so, the weekly Sunday English Mass was moved to the main Church. It has become a reality and existed for the past 27 years.
What makes the English Mass special?
In the first place, it has become an international community of around 22
different nationalities. It is a mixed group of doctors, professionals, students, caregivers, domestic helpers, teachers and businessmen.
Secondly, the weekly coffee break after the 9:45 am Mass at the basement gathers these people to relax and meet new friends. At least three couples got married through their meetings in the coffee break.
Third. Priest celebrants of different nationalities came to celebrate Mass.
Several Apostolic Charge d' Affaires of the Holy See also presided over the Holy Eucharist. Fourth. The professionals and students have formed a group called Spiritus, with Rev. Fr. Bernard Treves, MEP to study Church doctrines and the Bible. The group now meets online with the support of Rev. Fr. Wojciech Rybka, SVD.
Fifth. The English Mass Community is a missionary launching pad. For
instance, the Indonesian students learned how to serve Mass and are now altar servers of their own Masses in Indonesian. PhD students from Academia Sinica started their own Mass in a chapel near the Institute. The Spanish group has started its own Mass in their language.
Sixth. Like any parish, the English Mass Community has had activities like
Advent and Lenten recollections, outings, birthday celebrations, child and adult baptisms, Christmas caroling, potlucks. To support spiritual development, the English Mass Community prints out its own weekly Bulletin with the Sunday readings, gospel explanation, lives of saints and teachings of the Church On Christmas Eve Mass, a special feature is having " Mary, with Jesus in her arms and Joseph" walking toward the altar before the Gospel reading. At the end of the Mass, Christmas greetings are said in different languages. And at Pentecost, we hear the prayer of the faithful said in seven different languages.
Like everywhere in the world, Covid 19 has affected the English Mass
Community: a drop in the attendance, a reduction of activity and a general fear of gathering. But this is no cause of discouragement. Indeed, it is a time of trial and a time of faith and a season of hope. We believe that God will prevail and the Holy Catholic Church will exist and that the Eucharist will go on until the end of time.
英文彌撒 「神父，我們可以有英文彌撒嗎？因為我們聽不懂中文。」 一位菲律賓照護員問道。 「好的，下個主日，你們就會有英語彌撒！」陳有海神父滿有信心地 說。 聞及此事，時任聖家堂主任司鐸王秉鈞神父便開始擔心——古亭聖心堂 已經有了，為什麼還要有英語彌撒？但王神父還是從善如流，並召集陳神父 和生命之母在俗團體（Notre Dame de Vie Institute）的莊佩珍與劉淑真姐妹 (Florence Chuang，Belen Sy)和 Sr. Ascension Lim 商討，決議以此一試：如有 30 人參加，那麼他們便可以在小聖堂舉行彌撒；否則作罷。 詎料自那個主日開始，接連數週小聖堂裡都超過 30 名信友參加，變得 愈發擁擠，因此轉用近於耶穌聖心態像的大堂右側。接著，參與者絡繹不 絕，便移至大堂舉行，迄今已歷27 寒暑。
是什麼讓聖家堂英語彌撒如此特別？ 首先，這個團體成員來自22個不同的國家，其中有醫師、上班族、學 生、護理人員、家庭看護、教師和商務人士等各行各業。 其次，每台彌撒結束之後，在地下室有咖啡點心時間，讓大家輕鬆地 結識新朋友。值得一提的是，至少有三對夫婦在此相識相遇而結婚，蔚為佳 話。 第三，邀請許多不同國籍的神父前來舉行彌撒，特別是曾有幾位教廷駐 華代辦也常前來舉祭。 第四，職青及學生們與巴黎外方傳教會白納德神父組成Spiritus 的小 56 組，一起研究教理與聖經，目前仍於Wojciech Rybka神父的帶領下，舉行線 上聚會。 第五，英文彌撒團體是以福傳做為出發點。例如，印尼學生學習禮儀服 務，現在他們也在自己母語的彌撒中參與輔祭。中央研究院的博士生在研究 院附近的一個教堂有了他們自己的彌撒。
此外，西班牙語團體也已經開始了 自己的彌撒。 第六，正如任何堂區團體一樣，英文彌撒團體也會如期舉辦將臨期和四 旬期避靜、郊遊、生日慶祝、兒童洗禮、聖誕報佳音、聚餐等豐富活動。另 為幫助信友的靈修生活，也印行包含讀經、聖人行實和教理的每週讀物。 在聖誕子夜彌撒中，更有一個特色是信友打扮成懷抱著耶穌的聖母與大 聖若瑟，在宣讀福音前走向祭台；感恩祭結束後，大家會用許多不同的語言 彼此祝福聖誕快樂。在聖神降臨節時，我們也用七種語言誦讀信友禱詞。 近年因為新冠疫情之故，英語彌撒也遭遇到參與人數驟降、活動減少、 教友懼於相聚。在面臨這些考驗時，我們不應當沮喪，更要堅定信仰、懷抱 希望，因為我們確信天主終將得勝，神聖的教會與聖體聖事必將永世長存。