3 Dominican brothers from Myanmar make solemn profession

Three Dominican brothers from Myanmar — Stephen Saw Lej Kapaw Htoo, Marko Thoe Reh, and Francis Bu Ling — made their solemn profession at St. Joseph’s House in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, on August 8.

In the presence of community members, the brothers professed to dedicate their life to God by the way of life and the charism of the Order of Preachers. 

The celebration took place at seven o’clock in the morning during the conventual Mass incorporated with the Morning Prayer.

Fray Bonifacio García Solis, Prior Provincial, presided over the Eucharistic Celebration for the feast of St. Dominic de Guzmán, founder of the Order of Preachers. 

He congratulated Brothers Stephen, Marko, and Francis for their generous response to God's call and their generosity in answering the invitation received. 

He also extended his greetings and gratitude to the parents of the newly professed Brothers, for having supported their important decision. 

“We should thank God for calling you and supporting you with his continuous grace, inspiration, and support through the years of formation. He is the one who has called you, therefore, I encourage you to trust in his unfailing help through your life of service and consecration,” said Father Solis.

“I ask you to be men of prayer and community, these are two important elements of our Dominican Life, belong to the community which is your true family and do ways with individualism. Involve in personal can community prayer as your great responsibility. Try to serve without seeking reward and be also prepared for sufferings and disappointments, but never allow yourselves to be hurt,” he added.

“Today you are about to make a solemn pledge to conform your life to the Constitutions of the Order without any restriction, therefore, whatever they contented it will not be a demand on you but rather your own personal and free choice. No conditional profession could validly be accepted and thus you have solemnly declared that you have not restrictions and that you are prepared to live in faithfulness to the demands of your Dominican vocation. 

“But do not forget that in the words of St. Thomas Aquinas your profession is like a martyrdom because, in this act of consecration, you entrust your whole life to the Lord and you resolve never ever to separate from Him. I assure you that if this resolution is never positively and willingly removed from your minds, then, you have the certainty of not separating from Him.

“Finally, be attentive to the needs of your brothers and be ready to listen, to assist, to support them in their way of life, and never get tired of forgiving them as the Lord will never refuse to welcome us back, whenever we turn to Him as we continuously say in the prayer of the Our Father.”