H.E. Agostino Borromeo, Governor General of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem of the Holy See, together with Msgr. Hans A.L. Brouwers, Chancellor, came to Taiwan from November 10 to 16, 2010.

The Holy Sepulchre Taiwan Lieutenancy held a Mass at the Holy Family Catholic Church on November 14th, Sunday at 3:00 PM. Paul Cardinal Shan, SJ, Bishop Emeritus of Kaohsiung was the main celebrant. Con-celebrants were Most Rev. Ti-Kang, Archbishop Emeritus of Taipei and Grand Prior, Most Rev. John Hung, SVD, Archbishop of Taipei and President of the Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference, Most Rev. Martin Su, Bishop of Taichung, Most Rev. Thomas Chung, Bishop of Chiayi and Most Rev. James Liu, Vicar General of Hsinchu.

Thirty lay people from the seven dioceses of Taiwan and two clergymen, Msgr. Paul Russell, the Charge d'Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in China and Fr. Giovanni Rizzi, MI, received investiture. During the Investiture Mass, Lieutenant James Liao received the Commander with Star award. Msgr. Hans A. L. Brouwers gave the homily and he reminded everyone especially the new Knights and Ladies of the following:

We are, indeed, a people of the promise! We have heard the warnings and strive daily to overcome our pride, to become people of faithful love in the hope of being worthy of God's promises. We all do so in a variety of ways: through prayer and meditation, reception of the sacraments, living our daily lives in love and performing acts of charity. Through our prayer and meditation, we become more and more aware of God's goodness in our lives and, in gratitude, we want to share his goodness with those around us.

The Order of the Holy Sepulchre invites its members to ever greater holiness and charity. The primary purpose of the Order is "to strengthen in its members the practice of the Christian life, in absolute fidelity to the Supreme Pontiff and according to the teachings of the Church, observing as its foundation the principles of charity." And, aware of the special needs of their fellow Christians in the Holy Land, they extend their charity to them.

Although the Holy Land - which comprises the countries of Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, Egypt and Lebanon - is far from here, it is very important to us Christians because it was in these lands that our Lord Jesus was born, lived, preached and healed, suffered, died and rose from the dead. The temple that our Lord referred to in today's Gospel was located in Jerusalem, the capital of ancient Israel. And, it is from these lands that his first followers spread the Good News that Jesus had proclaimed during his life.

As we come to the end of yet another year in our lives, let us all reflect on how faithful we are to the teachings of the Church, how loving we are and how generous we are in our charity. Let us honestly admit if we have been misled by the promises made by the many false prophets and turn back to the way that our Lord has laid out for us. Then, when the Son of Justice comes, he will recognize us and fulfill the promise of salvation for us - eternal life in the joy of heaven!