Prayers for Hong Kong

These last weeks have been incredibly emotional for me. Not only am I leaving Rome, a beautiful city that gave me a great career opportunity, new experience and new friends for life, I was able to do nothing while I watch my home city being destroyed (figuratively speaking).

After work has finished, I spent a good few days being a tourist around Rome, and this means visiting as many sights (mostly churches) around the city. The few that I went to on Thursday and Friday were:

Santa Maria in Vittoria

Santa Maria Maggiore

Santa Prassede

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

San Giovanni in Laterno

San Clemente

San Pietro in Vincoli

Santa Maria in Cosmedin

Chiesa dei Cappuccini

San Carlino alle Quattro Fontane

Basilica di San Marco

Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri

I am not Catholic, though my mother is, but when I visited the Sistine Chapel in Vatican I felt extremely emotional. I have never read the Bible extensively though I do believe there is a greater force. This might have been the reason as to why when I was present in the magnificent room, hearing a prayer spoken by a priest I teared up. There was a strong feeling, an unexplainable overwhelming sense of being. My heart fluttered, and emotions took over. I looked around and there were others who seemed to have similar experience.

So I prayed. I prayed for my family and friends. There was presence of serenity, and calmness and I really appreciated it, before ushered out and back onto the busy, tourists-filled streets of Rome. 

Since that day, I have taken up more interests of the religion and its teaching. I want to understand more. So I made it my goal to read the Bible once I am back in London with one. My parents have always told me, 'Believing in a greater force other than yourself is a great way to build your personality' and I think I am finally ready to understand that.

Then the problems in Hong Kong happened a month later.

I feel so helpless, being thousands of miles away from Hong Kong, not able to do a thing. Only to receive informations from media outlets and from friends, experiencing the chaos from these points of views. So it was only fitting that when I visited the churches, I prayed again. This time, I prayed for Hong Kong.

As I said, I am no Catholic and therefore I don't know what the whole proper procedure for praying should be, I might have looked like a fool, kneeling, hands together, eyes closed and muttering words. But these actions once again brought tears to my eyes.

I asked for guidance for those in Hong Kong. I asked for light. I asked for wisdom and I asked for the conflict to stop, for anger to disappear and problems to be resolved. And every single time I went to a church, 10 times in total, and said the exact same prayer, I get choked up. My emotions took over my mind. 

It is such a difficult emotion to explain. Although I cried, but I feel lighter. Everyday as I read more about what is happening in Hong Kong, I feel heavier, worse and more lost about the future for my home city. I guess I didn't know what else to do, apart from pray and hopefully my prayer is heard.

Sorry about such a heavy post, there has been so much emotion and weight lately that writing it out helps soothe this unsettling feeling.