(ANS – Hong Kong) – Every year on the feast of Christ the King, the Salesian parish of St. Anthony in Hong Kong organizes a parade or procession called “Jesus loves Western District.” The aim is to spread the Gospel, bring joy and peace and bring God’s blessing on the district through benediction of the Blessed Sacrament given on the streets.

This year, Auxiliary Bishop Michael Yeung was invited to celebrate this important yearly event. After thanksgiving mass, all the faithful joined the procession and escorted Jesus in the Eucharist to visit the people living in Western District. The parade was led by the Chinese traditional Lion Dance team. The dance was performed by young people in order to show Don Bosco’s love for the young. Also, many children and young people joined the parade and distributed leaflets to the people on the streets, inviting them to join the event. The street was closed to traffic for the parade. There were different activities managed by different sodalities of the parish.

The purpose of the procession was to bring the blessing of Jesus to the people on the street. The Lion Dance performance was a major attraction for the people of Hong Kong. They like this tradition a lot because it represents goodness, happiness and celebration. At the end of the Lion Dance performance, a banner saying “God bless you” in Chinese was displayed. This was a true acculturation of local culture and the Church with a sense of familiarity.

Many children and young people became Jesus’ ambassadors, as they sang and danced. The lively and joyful atmosphere represented our life in the church, and we hope that all the people on the street experienced the same. There was a young man who acted as Don Bosco in the performance. He joined the Sunday school when he was three years old. Now, he is a university student and has become a junior instructor for Sunday school. This is how the Salesian charism works among the young people of the parish.

Published 26/11/2014