MANDALAY: 4 January
2013
-- The Good Lord has been blessing
our
little Vice-Province (MYM) throughout 2013 and recently capped
the year
with 2 Priestly Ordinations of Fr Victor Hkun Myat Awng and Fr
Gilbert
Ko Ko Win on 5th and 15th December, respectively.
Deacon Victor was raised to the Priesthood
by His
Grace, Paul Zinghtung Grawng of Mandalay at the Marian Shrine
of
Nazareth, Anisakhan. It was attended by some 40 priests,
parents and
relatives of the Ordinandi and by a good crowd of the faithful
from
Anisakhan, Pyin Oo Lwin and Mandalay. Fr Victor’s
parents and
relatives being Kachins, the Offertory Procession was coloured
by
elaborate Kachin traditional costumes and generous offerings
of gifts
to the various Salesian communities. The altar and sanctuary
were
beautifully decorated by the Salesian Sisters, and the choir
was ably
handled by our Students of Philosophy with the participation
of the
Aspirants, boys and girls, and the Parish youth. The Liturgy
was
meticulously taken care of by Fr
Master and the Novitiate community. The Archbishop was visibly
pleased
and praised the Salesian potential and apostolate on behalf of
the
youth.
Just 10 days later, in another part of
Myanmar, in
Pathein (Bassein) Diocese in lower Burma, another Salesian was
ordained
priest. This time, our heartfelt sentiments go especially to
Bishop
John Hsein Hgyi, the Ordinary of Pathein, who graciously
deigned to
accept our candidate, Gilbert Ko Ko Win, to be ordained along
with
deacon Jeremy (a diocesan candidate) in the Cathedral itself.
The
Bishop’s own 60th Birthday celebrations also added flavour to
the
festivities.
Concelebrating with Bishop John were some 70 priests
(including Fr
Provincial, Maurice Vallence, and 10 Salesian priests).
Pathein is in
the Delta Region where the majority of Catholics are Karens
(Kayins)
--- a simple yet colourful people endowed with strong
faith and
deep-rooted cultures, in whose veins music and dance seem to
flow! Our
sincere gratitude first goes to Our Father in Heaven and to
those
responsible for the Feast -- the Clergy &
Religious,
parents & relatives of the new Levites, the laity and
youth,
friends and well-wishers, town authorities and elders.
Fr Victor Hkun Myat Awng and Fr Gilbert Ko
Ko Win
belong to 2 different ethnic races (Kachin and Karen) that
have
suffered much political and economic discrimination over the
past
decades. They had been nurtured by the Church and
Congregation, by
their own good families and Formation communities, and
intellectually prepared in the Country and abroad (Fr Victor
in the
Philippines, and Fr Gilbert in Italy). These 2 new Salesian
Levites
have struggled through thick and thin and against all odds.
They are
“sicut rosas inter spinas”!
We are proud of them and wish them a Happy Perseverance. AD
MULTOS
ANNOS!
