Our Blessed Mother is well loved and in the morning, before Mass begins at 6.30 at St Joseph’s Church (Wangfujing, Beijing) a group of Catholic men and women would be there to pray the rosary. On the two mornings that I was there to attend mass, I heard not only the chanting of prayers in unison but also heard the litany to the Sacred Heart being chanted. Indeed, there is a strong devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart. In more than ten churches that I had been blessed to visit, I found the familiar images of our Lord and our Lady.
How did the Church in China and Inner Mongolia remain constant? One part of the answer must be the fervent prayers made each morning. Not only do my fellow Catholics pray before mass, but they also make an act of thanksgiving after mass each time. Nothing slip shod or hurried but proper thanksgiving including the Lord’s Prayer, a Hail Mary and the Glory Be. I say, there is much we can learn from our fellow Catholics in a land where total freedom of worship, though not fully granted, cannot dampen their joy of being in the presence of the Lord. I was truly edified. One church had Eucharistic adoration on a Friday afternoon, and each time I attended Mass, I heard the voices of each person lifted up loudly and clearly in praise of God. A five member choir could fill the entire church. Praise God!
