In February 1933, St. Josemaría Escrivá began to teach catechism to university students. He brought an image of Mary to class which he had found on the floor of an anti-religious place, ripped from a catechism textbook. In a spirit of love and reparation, he dubbed it “Our Lady of the Catechism” and framed it. After class, he took his three students to a chapel for Benediction – ten years later, he described feeling that God was blessing not just those students, but innumerable people of all races. More students came and they began to teach children themselves. In June, he founded a college in a small apartment – there were two classrooms, a reading room, a guest room, a living room, a kitchen, and his own office. He taught law, architecture, math, physics, and languages. While studying a doctorate in law himself, he still found time to teach, correspond by mail, hear Confessions, provide spiritual direction, visit the sick, and pray three Rosaries a day.

In 1931, St. Josemaría Escrivá served as spiritual director to some Augustinian nuns and would carry their statue of the Child Jesus in his arms. In 1932, the anti-religious Spanish government banned the Jesuit order and the teaching of religion in government schools. Many parents begged St. Josemaría to teach their children catechesis. One of his students, a girl who later became a nun, remembered that he would come twice a week and use pictures as teaching aids. In January, he met a prostitute who repented on her death bed. After giving her Last Rites, he whispered, “Suffering is blessed. Suffering is beloved. Suffering is sanctified. Suffering is glorified.” She repeated these words and died. A month later, he found a stabbed man who wanted to say his confession and on receiving a Rosary, kissed it reverently. Later that year, St. Josemaría visited some Catholic students in prison from an uprising. He exhorted them to continue studying and working, and to frequent Mass and venerate the Blessed Virgin. He also told them to act kindly to the irreligious prisoners and transform them with their good example.

When it comes to prayers, many people tend to think of rote prayers. But many aspects in our lives can also be tied to prayers. Fountain of Grace invites Br. William Ng, OFM to share with us the Franciscan tradition of prayer, as well as how he integrates prayers with his daily life.

St. Josemaría started to focus on the matters at Opus Dei. He also started to write down his meditation and issued reflection books. One of the books he has written is called 'The Way'. He also later recruited the first woman member of Opus Dei. St. Josemaría continued to care for the sick people and the needy, and his work has gained many support.

Br. William Ng, OFM grew up in a Protestant family. He came into contact with the Catholic faith through a chance encounter and eventually joined the Order of Friars Minor. He seeks to live out the values of St. Francis of Assisi, which focus on fraternity and the minority. Fountain of Grace invites him to share his vocation journey.

Isidoro Zorzano, an Argentine, was one of the first members of Opus Dei. In 1930, he was unable to find St. Josemaría at home in Madrid and decided to take the streetcar. Suddenly, a force moved him to walk to another street. When he did so, he ran into St. Josemaría. He confessed that he felt God calling him, that he liked working in engineering but that he wasn’t called to be a religious. St. Josemaría explained his work teaching people to sanctify themselves in regular work. Isidoro joined Opus Dei and worked diligently as an engineer. During the Spanish Civil War, Isidoro was able to freely enter and leave Madrid to provide spiritual and material help. He grew sick and surprised many by his patient and joyful endurance until he died in 1943. During the Civil War, bandits attacked religious institutions and newspapers criticized the Church, but St. Josemaría would secret away the Blessed Sacrament in disguise and pray a Rosary for their souls.

In 1928, God finally answered St. Josemaría Escrivá’s prayer and revealed his mission while he was on retreat. A nearby church bell rang and he clearly saw himself teaching all nationalities and races to attain holiness amidst everyday life. St. Josemaría immediately thanked God despite thinking that, other than the grace of God and a sense of humour, he had nothing. He knew that the best reparation for sin was to do his best in all things. He also practiced self-denial: keeping silent to deny his curiosity, not complaining, not indulging his appetite. In 1930, he realized his mission was also to women and invited women to join Opus Dei. St. Josemaría thought himself useless, so he constantly asked for others’ prayers that he might complete his God-given mission. He also had a bad temper, so he kept a funny picture of his own angry face as a reminder.

Fr. Franco Mella, an Italian priest, has been journeying with the most marginalized and vulnerable in Hong Kong. What sustains him in his relentless fight for the persecuted?

In 1924, St. Josemaría Escrivá was ordained a deacon and was struck with awe when he first touched the Eucharist, praying that he would not get used to it. In 1925, he was ordained a priest and his family members moved to Saragossa as well. He was sent to serve at a local parish and he prayed with the parishioners, taught catechesis, visited the sick, and heard confession. When he returned to Saragossa, he was given no pay, so he had to find other means of finding money. However, his uncle, a priest, wanted him to disobey his father’s wish that he study law and take up a priestly position to support his family. He was transferred to Madrid in 1927, where he obtained his doctorate in law of Law and administered the Sacraments to local nuns and convincing the most obstinate to repent. That year, his family members joined him in Madrid. In order to support them, he took up a job teaching law. When the other professor told the students that St. Josemaría spent much time helping the poor, the disbelieving students followed him around the poor districts comforting and administering the Sacraments to the poor and sick.

St. Josemaría Escrivá knew that God was calling him to the diocesan priesthood, so he attended minor seminary as a day student in 1918. In 1920, he attended major seminary in Saragossa. St. Josemaría loved to pray at the chapel and the shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar. But seminary life was not easy – he was made fun of by other seminarians for bathing so often, calling him a “little gentleman”, and that he didn’t smell like a man. Despite all the teasing, he believed that if one cannot praise another, it is best to keep silent. And he later always spoke highly of the virtues of his fellow seminarians, many of whom were martyred in the Spanish Civil War. Once, some girls tried to get his attention, and rumours spread, but he brought the matter to his superior. Before he was ordained a priest, his father died and, lacking the money to bury him, a relative, Fr. Daniel, lent him money. After he became a priest and Fr. Daniel too died, St. Josemaría would pray for him at every Mass.

When St. Josemaría Escrivá was 12, his father’s business collapsed and he insisted on repaying all his creditors even while not legally required to. His family became impoverished and he took a job as a clothing shop assistant. His father would go to Mass every morning, was very polite, and respected by all his co-workers. His mother was an excellent housewife who took careful care of the household. From his parents, Josemaría learned to do all things attentively. At school, he got good grades, especially in literature and mathematics. At the time, he did not feel called to the priesthood and wanted to become an architect. His mother taught him how to choose a wife: she should be neither too pretty nor too ugly, or else she would either mislead or scare him. When he was 15, he loved to read the news and pray for religious freedom in Ireland. Before his 16th birthday, he saw some barefoot prints in the snow – they were those of a Carmelite priest. His heart was disturbed – if someone can sacrifice for God, why shouldn’t I do the same? God had chosen him to do something, Josemaría just didn’t know what yet. He began to increase his prayer, attend daily Mass, and receive spiritual direction. He wanted to enter the Carmelite Order but discerned it was not God’s will – he decided to become a diocesan priest. But his father had other plans, so when he told his father, his father wept and said, “You must think this through carefully. But whatever you decide, I will not oppose.” After Josemaría confirmed his decision, his father became worried that no-one would remain to support the family, so Josemaría prayed and soon after, his mother revealed that she was pregnant. In 1919, his little brother was born.

The parents of St. Josemaría Escrivá taught him how to pray, and he used these methods all his life – he would make his Morning Offering every day to Jesus through Mary and was devoted to his Guardian Angel. In 1912, he received his First Communion and an elderly priest taught him a spiritual communion prayer: “I am willing, my Lord”. When he was younger, St. Josemaría Escrivá was very stubborn – once, he refused to come out of his room because he thought his new suit looked ugly. After his father forced him out, his mother told him, “The only thing to be ashamed of is sin.” He was aware of his stubbornness, but also knew that it could be a good thing too – in spiritual matters, we need to constantly persevere. His parents loved and cared for St. Josemaría Escrivá like friends. But between the ages of eight and twelve, his three younger sisters passed away from youngest to oldest. He cried for his sisters, but his mother told him to be happy, because his sisters were in heaven. He worried that he would die next, but his parents consoled him, saying that they had consecrated him to Mary when he was 18 months old. His mother said, “Before you recovered, you looked more dead than alive. You will certainly do great things.”

St. Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, loved the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary, and exhorted people to live out their vocations to holiness and evangelization. Born in 1902 in Spain, he was baptized four days later; his name, Josemaría, honours St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary. Aged 18 months, he fell gravely ill and the doctor said he was on the verge of death. His mother prayed to Mary, pledging that if her son was healed, she would bring him to the pilgrimage site of Our Lady of Torreciudad. Little Josemaría recovered quickly and when the doctor returned, thinking to ask the parents about the baby’s time of death, he was shocked to find the baby alive and playing. True to their promise, his parents brought him to Torreciudad, which had housed a statue of Our Lady since the 11th century. When St. Josemaría was an elderly priest, he made the treacherous journey back to Torreciudad to thank the Virgin Mary for her healing and donated his surplus earnings to build a chapel there. In 1970, since the statue was temporarily moved to Madrid, St. Josemaría finally saw the statue again. He saw himself as a pitiful person, but he whole-heartedly loved the Virgin Mary. St. Josemaría Escrivá died in 1975, and the Shrine of Torreciudad was completed not long after.

Fr. Richard Ho Lung is a Chinese priest from Jamaica. He is the first Chinese to have founded a religious order. More than three decades ago, together with two other priests who shared his vision, he started living among the poor, ministering to them. Fountain of Grace invited him to share how he founded the Missionaries of the Poor, as well as his spiritual journey of serving the poor.

St. Dominic Savio was born in Italy in 1842, the second of ten children. He learned to serve Mass at age five and received First Communion at age seven, despite the customary age being twelve, since he grasped catechesis so well. If he arrived at church before it was unlocked, he would kneel outside the doors in prayer. On the day of his First Communion, he wrote down some promises: (1) to go to Confession and receive the Eucharist as often as possible, (2) to sanctify Sundays and feast days, (3) to be friends with Jesus and Mary, and (4) to rather die than sin. In 1854, 12-year-old Dominic met 38-year-old St. John Bosco and joined his Oratory. That year, Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and Dominic renewed his First Communion vows before a statue of Mary. He loved to teach catechesis and once, a boy retorted, “Why are you doing this?” Dominic replied, “Because Jesus died for us, and hence we are all brothers and ought to love each others’ souls.” At New Year, he received many prizes and over the holidays, he gifted them to children who had answered correctly at catechesis class or gone to Mass willingly. Every day, he would bring children to adore the Blessed Sacrament. In order to increase spiritual fruits and retain his zeal, he would keep a series of dedications and prayer intentions: Sundays were for the Holy Trinity, Monday for spiritual benefactors, Tuesdays for his patron St. Dominic and his guardian angel, Wednesdays for the conversion of sinners and for Our Lady of Sorrows, Thursdays for the souls in purgatory, Fridays for the Passion of Jesus, and Saturdays for Mary and her protection at the hour of death. In 1857, 14-year-old Dominic Savio died – his last words were “Oh, what wonderful things I see …”.

Irene held her first solo art exhibition in 2017. Behind this exhibition lies a dream that Irene spent ten years to actualize. Through making abstract art, Irene gets closer to God.

St. Geltrude Caterina Comensoli was born in Italy in 1847 and received her First Communion at age 7, experiencing such a heavenly feeling that she henceforth became more contemplative at the thought of Jesus. Her motto, “Jesus, loving You and making others love You” became the programme of her life. At age 15, she entered the Sisters of Charity, where everyone had high hopes for her, but she fell seriously ill and was dismissed from the convent. To earn a living, she became a domestic servant. In 1878, she made her perpetual vow of chastity and maintained her prayer life as a servant, even teaching catechesis to local children. Freed from family responsibilities after her parents died, she desired to start a religious institution devoted to the adoration of the Eucharist. When her bishop visited the Countess Fé-Vitali, her employer, and heard her request, he agreed. In 1880, Geltrude went to visit Pope Leo XIII in Rome with the Countess and obtained the support of the Pope, who invited her to educate young female factory workers as well. In 1882, she formed the Congregation of the Sacramentine Sisters of Bergamo, and two years later took the name Sister Geltrude of the Blessed Sacrament. After overcoming innumerable difficulties, the Institute received canonoical recognition. The nuns' mission was to promote 24-hour-old Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist and leave the convent to help the needy. In 1903, St. Geltrude died and was canonized in 2009.

St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868) went to Eucharistic Adoration daily with his mother as a child, and one of his first memories were of the golden monstrance. Once, he heard from a Carmelite that friends never pass one another without speaking. Peter Julian felt it rude to pass by the Blessed Sacrament without stopping to pray. His path to the priesthood was not easy – his father was only convinced to give his consent after hearing a preacher of the Oblates of Mary. Peter Julian found Latin difficult and fell gravely sick after studying too hard. He prayed to God that he be able to offer at least one Mass as a priest before dying. God let him recover and in 1834, he was ordained a priest. He was known for spending as much time in church as in the rectory. He obtained permission from his bishop to become a religious in the Marist congregation and eventually served as provincial. He promoted Eucharistic devotions with success, especially the Forty Hour Devotion. Fr. Eymard knew that every mystery of the Faith had a congregation dedicated to it, except for the Real Presence. With the permission of the Pope and his Marist superiors, he founded a new congregation to adore the Blessed Sacrament. The order faced many problems, but Fr. Eymard had faith that if this was God’s work, it would be done, and the congregation began to flourish with orders for male and female religious, parish priests, and lay people. Fr. Eymard died in 1869, was beatified in 1925, and was canonized in 1962.

Blessed Manuel González García was born in Spain in 1877, the fourth of five children, to a well-off family. He loved to make reparations for Jesus, forgotten in the Eucharist, and entered the seminary with his parents’ support, but he had to work to support himself. In 1901, he was ordained a priest and in his newly-appointed church was told about the poor state of the administration. Manuel prayed before the Tabernacle and felt Jesus tell him about the many issues he would face, and the even more things demanded of him. Three years later, Blessed Manuel was transferred to another parish to combat the indifference of the parishioners. In 1910, he invited a group of women to imitate Mary and the other few companions of Jesus at His Crucifixion, and console Jesus in the Tabernacle. Over time, the group grew into male and female religious orders. In 1915, he was consecrated a titular bishop and was consecrated a diocesan bishop of Málaga in 1920. He built many diocesan schools and seminaries. In 1931, he was attacked by revolutionaries who lit his episcopal palace on fire and was moved in 1932 to administer from Madrid until 1935, when he was appointed bishop to another diocese. His wrote about prayer, the Eucharist, and pastoral work. In later years, his health worsened but through patience and sacrifice maintained his joyful spirit. In 1940, he died and requested to be buried in the Cathedral. His wish was: “I ask to be buried next to a tabernacle, so that my bones, after death, as my tongue and my pen in life, are saying to those who pass: there is Jesus! There it is! Do not leave him abandoned!” In life and death, Blessed Manuel brought people before the Tabernacle to be united with God.

Pope Pius X was known as the Pope of the Eucharist for his devotion to the Eucharist, and his promotion of proper Confession to dispose people to receive the Eucharist. Born in 1835 as the second of ten children, his father was a mailman and his mother worked part-time mending clothes. Aged ten, he felt a religious calling and he was ordained in 1858. He frequently visited his parishioner’s homes and taught them catechesis. In 1884, he was consecrated Bishop of Mantua, wrote “The Catechism of St. Pius X” in a question-answer format, and built schools. As bishop he visited his parishes, listening to Confessions and altar serving. In 1893, he was consecrated Patriarch of Venice and in 1903, elected Pope, taking the motto “To restore all things in Christ”. Once, he encountered a boy who asked him, “Bishop, sir, why do you not give Jesus to me?” He was moved, and as Pope, he reduced the minimum age of First Communion to seven, having seen the boy able to differentiate the Body of Christ from ordinary bread. In his words, “Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to Heaven”.

Sister Consolata Betrone was born in Italy in 1903; when she was 13, she devoutly prayed, “My God, I love You!” and consecrated herself to the Virgin Mary. That day, after receiving the Eucharist, she heard a voice, “Are you willing to belong to me?” She tearfully replied, “I am,” and offered herself totally to Jesus. Over time, she felt God’s calling grow stronger but still felt doubts and spiritual dryness. Aged 21, she realized her calling to the religious life and, after being rejected three times by different convents, was accepted to the Capuchin Order’s Convent of the Poor Clares in 1929. In 1934, she professed her religious vows and was assigned to work as a portress, kitchen helper, secretary, and nurse. At this time, Jesus revealed a special ejaculatory prayer to her: “Jesus, Mary, I love you! Save souls!” He explained that the “souls” included those in Purgatory, those in the Church Militant, even those of atheists. Each prayer, when said all day long, would save one soul. Jesus also told her, “The souls I love most are those who love Me most.” And again, “The more you love Me, the happier you will be.” He told Sister Consolata, “Do not limit your trust in Me, and I will not limit My graces to you. Once suffering is accepted with love, it is no longer suffering, but joy.” In 1945, Sister Consolata fell sick and passed away – she had dedicated her life to praying for sinners.

Escola Stella Matutina (Morning Star School), a school for girls from underprivileged families in Macau, was started by Sr Rozalia Ellerik, FMM. The school ran from 1953 to 1975. For over forty years since then, students still have not forgotten their school. They hold alumni reunions and, together with teachers and nuns that taught them, reminisce about the good old days at the school. The spirit of the school is one that is based on the love of Christ.

Marie Rose Ferron used the pains of her illness to pray for the salvation of souls. Once, when asked about her pain, she said, “Use a patient and pure heart to grind up your suffering. The fire of your love with naturally burn it.” Physically, “Little Rose” suffered paralysis. Spiritually, she suffered darkness and humiliation. Many misunderstood her and said mean things to her. She said to her siblings once, “Jesus was dragged in mud. I do not want to be better treated than Him.” One person asked her, “How is it that Jesus whom you love so much permits you to suffer?” But Little Rose replied, “The caresses of Heaven are not like those of earth.” Once, a woman saw Little Rose and cried out, “Poor girl, you are gravely ill!” But Little Rose said, “Do not cry for me, you are even more ill – you have left Jesus for 35 years now!” The woman cried again and repented. At age 22, Little Rose fell gravely ill after eating some bread, and from then on could not eat solid food. In 1931, the Holy Wounds of Christ began to appear on Little Rose’s body – the Five Wounds, those of the Crown of Thorns, those of the Scourging, and those on the shoulder. She would also experience ecstasies on Fridays and sing hymns and pray for the reparation of sins. In 1936, Little Rose died; around 15,000 people came to pay respects, and 4,000 attended her funeral Mass. She once wrote, “I am willing to offer myself as a sacrifice, so as to live in eternal love. O my Jesus, I beseech You, make me a martyr for Your love.”

In the 1950s, a Polish nun, Sr Rozalia Ellerik, FMM, came to Macau to start a school for girls from underprivileged families. Throughout the years, Escola Stella Matutina (Morning Star School) survived entirely on donations solicited by Sr. Rozalia. From humble beginnings, using straw sheds as classrooms, converting pig pens into dormitories, and relying on food aids, Escola Stella Matutina gradually transformed into a school with proper facilities, enjoying a good reputation.

In 1902, Marie Rose Ferron, called the Little Rose, was born in Quebec. Her mother gave birth to her in a manger, just like Jesus, after feeling birthing pains while working in the fields. Her mother dedicated each of her fifteen children to the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary: as the youngest, Little Rose was dedicated to the Crucifixion. At age 3, as her family prepared to move to Massachusetts, she had a special devotion to St. Anthony, the patron of lost items. Her father, wanting to teach her a lesson, placed his boots on the other side of the railway tracks near their house. At dinner, her father asked her for his boots. Little did he expect his daughter to run outside and retrieve them! He never questioned again her special relationship with St. Anthony. At age 6, she saw a sorrowful Child Jesus carrying a cross. As an adolescent, she wanted to be a nun, but was confined to bed because of sickness. One day, aged 17, she heard her sisters and friends going happily to church. A priest taught her to offer her sufferings to God. She accepted reality: her vocation was to suffer with Jesus. In the 1920s, the bishop of Providence was forced to tearfully excommunicate a group of recalcitrant laity. He asked Little Rose, “My girl, are you willing to suffer for the diocese, for the priests, for those excommunicated?” She was, and her prayers were efficacious – every single one of the 56 excommunicated repented and returned to the Church.