The idea of a pilgrimage to Mongolia, when first told by my friend Paul, sounded like an extended retreat in a country full of grass prairie and with sufficient fun! After all, apart from attending masses and perhaps helping out a bit in some local Catholic youth centers or schools, I could have plenty of time to see the beautiful Mongolian prairie and explore the proud history of this very special country which bred the world's greatest hero Chinggis Khan.
I had absolutely no idea how Christianity was being treated by the Mongolian authority, and thought it was like in Hong Kong where freedom of religion can be taken for granted. Before departure, the pilgrimage group met up for a briefing and everyone was given some "kids' stuff" (like stationeries, books, candies, toys, etc.) to be carried to Mongolia. This was the first official task each member was supposed to perform. Clearly, these things must be relatively scarce in Mongolia, and we were the couriers! I happily accepted the task knowing this was the first little good thing I could do for the needy!
Every day in Ulaanbaatar was a surprise! The fathers and sisters there were doing all they could to help the locals, like running special schools and youth centers, but without saying a single word of their religious belief. They were simply prohibited to preach, and could actually get into trouble if they were caught attempting to teach the Bible openly. Parish churches do exist, but they only conduct religious activities within the premises. Every day, we held our own mass within our own group at different churches, chapels and even on the Töv prairie (Gorkhi-Terelj National Park). Churches are simple, and could even be a Mongolian ger!
After a few days in Mongolia, I started to appreciate the power of demonstrating your belief rather than preaching directly. Longer I stayed and more I observed from the work of the Catholic priests and sisters here, more I got convinced that if you live your life as a Catholic, people look at you as a Catholic and judge what you do and how you treat people, and you don't need to hard sell the words of Bible, yet you can touch people's heart and make a difference to the beneficiaries. That's my biggest gain in this pilgrimage! I met a few missionaries who devoted their lives to serving the community here. Though they spoke nothing about Bible, they impressed the Mongolians they served positively by what they did. Their sacrifice, love, and hard work all spoke loud and clear about Catholic belief, and that was million times more effective than reading out the Bible texts to the people!
August 16, 2019
