The East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) is known not only for forming pastoral leaders and missionaries for a renewed Church. It is also notable for its enriching multicultural residential programs with students from all parts of the globe. The diversity of nations and languages in EAPI is seen most profoundly at our monthly cultural Masses. During this time we are encouraged to wear our traditional clothing as a way of glorifying God and honoring our heritage.
Our Eucharistic celebration in November centered around the theme, “The Signs of the Times”. We recited the Prayers of the Faithful using our local languages or of the countries where some of us have been missioned. We included in our petitions the recommendations and proposals we discerned during our lessons for the salvation and future of the world.
The peoples of the Pacific prayed especially for the leaders of the Church, while our Indonesian companions prayed for better ecumenism and interreligious dialogue among the faithful. The prayer for seeing God and discovering Him in the combined efforts of mystics and prophets was made in one of the languages of India. The petitions for the youth and the family whose values are being challenged by what we see in contemporary media were said in Mongolian.
Our Filipino friends led the prayer for the poor and the sick, while a prayer for the environment, particularly the occurrence of certain phenomena that are sometimes difficult to explain or caused by our sin, was said in Italian. Finally, a prayer for all our departed brothers and sisters was said in the Cambodian language.
There were some other peculiarities: the First Reading was read in one of the Myanmar languages, and the Gospel was read in Mandarin. The offertory procession involved a dance that is part of the traditional rite of the Fiji Islands, which transported us all. We chanted the great Amen to the sound of a Vietnamese gong.
After almost two hours of very rich, colorful, and beautiful liturgy, the Mass ended with a community dance and group photos of us in our traditional ceremonial outfits. The spiritual joy that shone in each of our faces spoke volumes about the consolation we received from the Lord.
Fr. Kuafa Lontsi Herve, CICM is a participant from Cameroon.