On behalf of the French-speaking Catholic community of Hong Kong, for several years, I address my wishes to all our partners and collaborators who have participated in various actions and projects which affect our community, the Diocese of Hong Kong and all of other Hong Kong societies and communities and everywhere we have links with.
Where there is peace, let there be more.
Where there is discord, that there are fewer of them.
Where there are bridges, they are more and more solid.
Where there are walls, that we know how to avoid them.
Where there is human and economic growth, hoping in age and wisdom,
let there be a little disorder, but just what creativity requires.
Where there is creativity, if goodness takes precedence over truth, and truth over interest, beauty will then be preserved.
Where the norm is to be outside the norm, let common sense about good proportions patiently take over.
Where everything is very clear, there is little doubt about the quality of our views and the lighting.
Where there is darkness, the interior light illuminates them with an intimate, subdued intensity, enough to reassure and let us know where to go and what to do.
Where words and images create violence and darken the picture of the individual and social life, that there is at least a little detergent to apply to neutralize them, even if it is for a while.
Where religion merges with political ideology, that the angels of good grace dig, mark, and impose a clear separation between the strength of religious conviction and the sometimes inconsistent or self-interested intransigence of human convictions.
Where we feel that our heart is too hard, or too soft, that we put a little gentleness into it, a little ordinary love to relax it and make it invigorating.
Wherever there is sadness, let the consolation be of impeccable quality.
Where separations, always painful, tear hearts and everything that belongs to them, may God’s mercy be a final medicine.
May children be able to live their lives as children and adults with them for a long time.
These wishes, with a very minimalist appearance, are a program within everyone’s reach. Before taking off towards the sky, as we practice at every mass, we must walk on the earth which is given to us like an extraordinary garden to cultivate, even in winter.
The radicality of the Gospel passes through all of this. It passes through grey areas of our existence and pulls us towards spaces of freedom by putting us green, where hope reigns.
Happy 2024 New Year to you and your loved ones, families and colleagues.
2024 is the 70th anniversary of CCFHK.
Together let us give thanks to God for all the blessings.