Saturday, 27 July 2024Back to Our Roots by 1L Mina Wong Shung Tak’s History and Pilgrimage activity to Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Shui Bin Wai was an afternoon for our newcomers in S1 to learn more about the history of our school and the Catholic Church of Ss. Peter and Paul. The activity arranged on 20th October for our OLE time was one to remember. After walking up the stairs from Castle Peak Road, I stepped into Ss. Peter and Paul Church. The first things I noticed were the statues of Jesus, Holy Mary, St. Peter and St. Paul. I felt like they were standing in front of me and talking to me about what a church is built upon. Later on, I learned about the tabernacle, which is the special place that stores the Eucharist or the Body of Christ on the altar area. It is as important as all the statues I saw.
As I sat down taking in the wonder of this huge, magnificent church, I realized I was surrounded by the 14 mosaics of “The Stations of Cross”. The mosaics were visualizing the pain that Jesus has suffered before He died. I do find that the church and our school shared a lot in common as those stunning mosaics reminded me of the large mosaic of Ss. Peter and Paul in our school hall. We were happy to meet the tour guides from the church who introduced the history of our school (as this was where our school was founded), the exhibitions of the Shroud of Turin and the “Arma Christi” (The Weapon of Christ). The replica of the Shroud of Turin or the Holy Shroud, is a linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a man. It is believed that this cloth is what was used to wrap the body of Jesus after His crucifixion. The original cloth is where it has been kept for over four centuries, at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.
The Arma Christi was also an eye-opener. This display of the ‘weapons’ of Christ, also known as the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus. They are basically the weapons Christ used to achieve his conquest over the devil, Satan. We had the chance to try to lift the cross that Jesus had to carry, and we could not even move it for a tiny bit so we do not know how Christ carried it. Also included in the display, and what stands out in my mind, was the crown of thorns and the thirty pieces of silver that Judas got paid for the betrayal of Christ. Perhaps, what stood out most for many of us, was the sharing of our Chinese teacher Miss Lam, who is an alumna of Shung Tak. She shared her experience as a student in Shung Tak when the school was situated on the lower floors of the church. We understood from since Shung Tak was founded how important it was to use English. All alumni have been working hard to establish and maintain this English-learning environment of our school. She also reminded us to stay grateful and proud to be a Shungtakian as this identity will be part of who we are.
To end the afternoon, we got a chance to walk around the church and finish the activity worksheet. Walking around the church, we found a giant crucifix in a small garden and a statue of the Holy Family. We are thankful to the volunteers at the church and the teachers for sharing with us our founding. The afternoon ended with a prayer and our school song ringing loud. It was a truly inspirational and educational journey. An experience to cherish, let this journey always remind us to stay on course and let faith be the light of our school lives.