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Sacred Space 神圣的空间

Inspired by the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Sacred Spaces offers daily meditations on Holy Scripture and personal reflections aimed at helping us get in touch with God and experience his presence in our lives. 

• January 14, 2015 •

My Experience with Chinese Sisters

Ms. Yang spent two weeks in China on a retreat with religious sisters from the Catholic Church. Many of these Chinese sisters were facing struggles with a variety of issues including the lack of proper formation, community, opportunity for growth, and resources to provide for their educational, personal, and spiritual needs. While not representative of the Catholic Church in its entirety, her experience still provides helpful insights and fuels suggestions for nurturing these sisters.

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Experiencing World Youth Day as a Chinese Catholic

A young, Chinese woman shares her thoughts and experiences from World Youth Day which she attended in Madrid, in 2011. Included in her account are her reflections on several places her group visited as pilgrims as they journeyed to Madrid. She also shares the life-changing impact this event had for her as she dealt with issues of sin and forgiveness.

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Finding Faith and Purpose

China’s young adults are searching for meaning in their lives. The Catholic Church is working to help them realize their God-given potential and allow them to discover their special calling in Christ. One obstacle to this is that many Catholics lack a strong belief in a personal God who loves them and created them for a special purpose. The author examines how the Catholic Church is dealing with these issues.

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A Place to Grow in Faith:

Often missing in China is a regular opportunity for Chinese Catholics to grow in the knowledge of their faith in a structured setting. In recent years, however, there has been a gradual rise of home-grown initiatives and program models adopted from overseas that are starting to change this situation. Nevertheless, challenges remain and the author looks at a number of reasons (beyond the more obvious political challenges) why the deepening of faith has been difficult.

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The Changing Face of Urban Mission

In recent months I have been delighted by the exposure Chinese Church Voices has provided to indigenous perspectives on faith and mission.  The simple blog provides an important window for non-Chinese speakers into questions Chinese Christians are raising.  In turn, it provides those of us in the West with an opportunity for greater dialogue and understanding.

• January 13, 2015 •

Cross-Cultural Ministry in the Chinese Church

In recent years, some churches in China have begun to think about and become more involved in cross-cultural ministry among China’s ethnic minorities. In August the Mainland site Gospel Times published an article about efforts by some churches in eastern and northeastern China to establish churches in minority areas. 

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Worshiping in Chinese

This series of blog entries refers primarily to the question of expatriate Christians attending Chinese services at registered—or at least publicly "open"—local churches. It is assumed that in most cases, the risks to local believers (and to the expat workers as well) are such that it would be irresponsible to participate regularly in unregistered church services. Part one deals with some of the common objections to attending Chinese church services. In part two some of the main reasons why I have chosen to attend Chinese church services will be given. Part three will list some of the ways I have been blessed by my attendance at Chinese church services.

• January 9, 2015 •