by Simeiqi He, Ph.D . Having spent over two decades in China seeking to understand the Chinese soul, the Jesuit scientist and theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote on September 8, 1949, “[w]e wonder…why so few deep conversions are effected in China despite the flood of missionaries.” To such a question, he gave a simple answer, “it is because…our magnificent Christian charity lacks what it needs to make it decisively effective, the sensitizing ingredient of Human faith and hope without which, in reason and in fact, no religion can henceforth appear…other than colorless, cold, and inassimilable.” For Teilhard, China is more than simply a place of exile and misfortune, but a call and a benediction. It served as a source of inspiration and the principal locale for the inception of his most important writings, including The Mass on the World , The Divine Milieu , and The Human Phenomenon . The key ideas of these writings, among others, played a dominate role in shaping the agenda of the Second Vatican Council, especially the drafting of Gaudium et Spes . As the American theologian John F. Haught points out in his Commonweal article, Teilhard has proved in most respects to be a decidedly postconciliar interpreter of the Christian faith. Teilhard’s encounter with Chinese people, landscape, geology, and material cultures opened for him a universal horizon. His life in China demonstrated his profound obedience – and sometimes a painful one – to what he called a “mysterious Affection of the World to serve and to make serve.” What inspired him was the impetus “to discover the new spirit that is struggling to emerge from the ruins of the old … to recognize and reveal that specific and essential element which the East must bring to the West so the Earth will be complete.” Another Jesuit, Pope Francis, is deeply influenced by Teilhard, and has appealed to the latter both in his social encyclical Laudato Si and his homily during his apostolic journey to Mongolia. As part of his message for the World Mission Day, Pope Francis spoke of mission as “a tireless going out to all men and women, in order to invite them to encounter God and enter into communion with him.” The call to encounter and communion is a constant theme in the teachings of Pope Francis, who has been building on the efforts of his predecessors to enliven a civilization of love. In Laudato Si , Pope Francis has evoked a universal horizon of love that invites everyone into a deep communion with all creation, a vision inspired by Teilhard. Further, in Fratelli Tutti , he called for the growth of a culture of encounter fostered through love and capable of building a new world. Thus, the Church must set her missionary gaze on the transformation of the world toward a culture of encounter and civilization of love. It can only be achieved if the Church is continuously transformed by the love of God. More fundamental than “to go out” and “to invite,” there is also a return to what Pope Francis called as the most central, essential, indispensable, beautiful, grand, appealing, and necessary message, that is love, who is God, the beginning and ultimate horizon of mission. This return is a process of absolute openness toward both God and the world, the fruit of which is the creation of an open society and a new culture with inexhaustible creativity and is set ablaze by a living flame. Such is the new civilization of love — so central to Catholic social teaching — whose living core is capable of withstanding even the bitterest of winters. Simeiqi He 何斯美琪 is a theological ethicist and Catholic laywoman from mainland China. She holds a Ph.D. in Christian ethics from Drew University. -------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years  -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org .

On Saturday, October 19, 2024, the USCCA Book Circle gathered to discuss Thomas Merton’s essay “A Christian Looks at Zen,” written as the Introduction to John C. H. Wu’s book The Golden Age of Zen . New and familiar faces from different locations around the world found fertile ground for discussion of comparisons between Zen Buddhism and the Catholic Christianity espoused by Wu and Merton. Much of our discussion followed from Wu’s and Merton’s observations on the complementary nature of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions: The supernatural kerygma and the metaphysical intuition of the ground of being are far from being incompatible. One may be said to prepare the way for the other. They can well complement each other, and for this reason Zen is perfectly compatible with Christian mysticism. (p. 12) Here, Merton challenges the notion of Zen as a “rival system of thought,” or as a “competing ideology” (p. 3). Indeed, as participants discussed Merton’s essay, some shared the ways in which their own understanding of the Catholic faith has been enhanced by Zen Buddhism’s high valuation of personal experience; whereas Western Christianity sometimes emphasizes words and thoughts to the detriment of spiritual experience, Zen can help us appreciate mystical experiences associated with the Eucharist, or experiences such as those recounted by Thérèse of Lisieux. Participants also drew compelling connections between today’s reading and other sources of spiritual wisdom. One participant, for example, observed how Zen can make sense of the flow state necessary to make beautiful art, such as the landscape paintings discussed in last week’s Book Circle reading. Other participants noted connections with topics ranging from the day’s liturgy (Paul’s letter to the Ephesians—“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”) to the spiritual insights of Barbara Holmes , John Vervaeke’s discussions on the meaning crisis, and a recent Word on Fire article about John C. H. Wu . In a world where screens and devices are constant sources of potential distraction, Zen Buddhism challenges us to “pay attention, to become aware, to be mindful, in other words to develop a certain kind of consciousness that is above and beyond deception by verbal formulas” (p. 5). Perhaps, when we do so, we will learn something of the wisdom of the Buddhist patriarchs, deepening our relationship with Catholicism in the same breath. The next Book Circle discussion will be held on November 16, 2024, at 7 am PT / 8 am MT / 9 am CT / 10 am ET / 11 pm China Standard Time. Please sign up for updates if you are interested in participating in the USCCA Book Circle. -------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years  -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org .

In Athens, Greece, you can find statues of Socrates and Confucius facing each other, signifying a kinship between the quests for wisdom celebrated in the East and the West. These statues inspired Tom McGuire, USCCA Director Emeritus, to invite us to reflect on John C. H. Wu's words in Beyond East and West : Mencius had a wonderful insight into the workings of providence. He said, "Whenever Heaven wants to confer a great work on anyone, it first drenches his heart with bitterness, submits his nerves and his bones to weariness, delivers his members and his whole body to hunger, reduces him to the most extreme indigence, thwarts and upsets all his enterprises. By this means, it wakens in him good sentiments, fortifies his patience, and communicates to him what was still lacking in him." He illustrated this principle with the events of history. "From these things," he concluded, "we see how life springs from sorrow and tribulations, while death results from ease and pleasure." One can hardly imagine how deeply this philosophy of suffering has influenced the Chinese outlook on life. During the last war, the most popular poster seen on the walls in China was: "When you hear of victory, don't be elated. When you hear of defeats, don't be disheartened." This, I submit, is the secret magic that has pulled China through so many national crises. Any philosophy that keeps one humble in prosperity and hopeful in adversity cannot be very far from the spirit of Christianity. (emphasis added) Do you see parallels between Christian teachings, Western philosophy, and these Eastern teachings of Mencius as described by John C. H. Wu? Wu continues: Perhaps the most celebrated aphorism of Mencius was: "The great man is one who has not lost the heart he had as a child." This prepared my mind to appreciate the words of Christ: "Believe me, unless you become like little children again, you shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven." Indeed, both Jesus and Mencius teach on the importance of a childlike heart in the spiritual life. What could they mean by these sayings? Wu further discusses the thought of Mencius on virtuous character: On the cultivation of the interior life, Mencius has said something which has influenced me profoundly: What belongs to the superior man cannot be increased by the largeness of his sphere of action, not diminished by his dwelling in poverty and retirement...What belongs to his nature are love, justice, propriety and knowledge. These are rooted in the heart; they manifest themselves as a mild harmony appearing in countenance, a rich fullness in his back. They spread even to the four limbs; and the four limbs seem to understand without being told. This tallies very well with the spiritual doctrine of St. Benedict and St. John of the Cross. Whenever I think of Confucius and Mencius, Buddha and Lao Tse, I am inclined to call them—as St. Justin Martyr called Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle— "Pedagogues to lead men to Christ." Could Christ be the Truth towards which Confucius and Mencius, Socrates and Plato were striving? Could these figures help us to understand the Catholic faith in a deeper way? With his experience of coming to Christianity from a background of Eastern thought, John C.H. Wu can help us make sense of why statues of Confucius and Socrates appear as friends in the Agora of Athens. -------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years  -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org .

Did you know that Dr. Naomi Thurston, author of Studying Christianity in China: Constructions of an Emerging Discourse , presented the closing keynote speech at the 29th USCCA International Conference? We invite you to watch the video of her presentation, "Echoes of Hope: Chinese-Christian Debates in Republican and Post-Reform-Era China": Naomi Thurston, Ph.D. teaches and researches the history of Christianity in China and contemporary Chinese Christianities at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her recent research traces the theological reception of the German Reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann in Chinese scholarship. She has translated the writings of contemporary Chinese scholars and introduced the emerging discourse of “Sino- Christian studies” in Chinese academic discourse today. She is the sole author of the book Studying Christianity in China: Constructions of an Emerging Discourse (Brill, 2018) and co-editor with Jason Lam of Moltmann in China: Theological Encounters from Hong Kong to Beijing (Brill, 2023). Dr. Thurston received her Ph.D. from University of Wales Trinity Saint David. -------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years  -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org .

Models of Sanctity, from Martyrdom to Dying to Oneself By Chiaretto Kin Sheung Yan On All Saints Day, we venerate saints, those who have been recognized (canonized by the Church), and those known only to God, whose life is a source of inspiration for us to live a meaningful life and not to settle for a mediocre existence. Those holy persons known only by God are like seeds, similar to the martyrs, buried in the ground and to bear fruits in due time.  On the Feast of All Saints, I think of my friends, parents, and relatives who lived simple Christian lives, now gone before us to eternal life. I think of Matteo Ricci and Paulus Xu Guangqi, whose friendship has contributed to the appreciation and exchanges between the cultures of East and West, between Chinese humanism and Christian spirituality. Source of Photo:  A saint could be crowned with a red crown, symbolizing martyrdom for their faith, or a white crown, symbolizing a life of heroic virtue. I remember the martyrs of China who offered their lives for Christ, their faith, and the Gospel. I also remember those who are witnesses to the world around them. For example, Fr. Josef Freinademetz, a missionary to China with heroic virtues, a living witness for Christ and to the people he served, living as he said, “I have come to love my Chinese… I would die for them a thousand times over.” It is relevant today that Pope Francis canonized fourteen new saints on October 20, 2024, three nineteenth-century founders of religious orders, and the eleven Martyrs of Damascus who in 1860 refused to renounce their Christian faith in the Holy Land. Their testimony is especially meaningful to people who are suffering due to the ongoing war and violence in the Middle East.  Thinking of the many divides, hatred, and egoism in the world today, we need all the more testimonies of mutual understanding and friendship. Holiness without self-interest, dying to self, and sometimes losing one’s ideas for the love of others in living a daily Christian life. On the Feast of All Saints, I think of my friends, parents, and relatives who lived simple Christian lives, now gone before us to eternal life. I think of Matteo Ricci and Paulus Xu Guangqi, whose friendship has contributed to the appreciation and exchanges between the cultures of East and West, between Chinese humanism and Christian spirituality. Let’s pray that they will be recognized as saints. They are a gift to the world today, a symbol of mutual friendship and dialogical relationships among peoples and cultures. -------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org . Source of Photo:  https://www.custodia.org/en/news/martyrs-damascus-image-canonization/

As Mission Sunday approaches, the USCCA invites you to an upcoming free public lecture on November 9 featuring Dr. Lian Xi, David C. Steinmetz Distinguished Professor of World Christianity at Duke University, who will speak about Lin Zhao and on what her story reveals about Christianity in twentieth-century China. Dr. Lian Xi is the author of Blood Letters: The Untold Story of Lin Zhao, A Martyr in Mao's China . We invite you to fill out the public lecture interest form to indicate your interest in attending or in viewing a recorded video of the lecture. This lecture will be hosted by the China Academic Consortium, ChinaSource, and the USCCA. It will be held on November 9 from 5–8pm PT in the Calvin Room of First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, 2407 Dana St., Berkeley, CA. A free light meal and beverages will be served from 5–6pm, followed by the lecture and Q&A session from 6–7:30pm; the premise will close at 8pm. For more information, please contact operations@errchina.com by November 4.

On Saturday, August 3, 2024, at the 29th USCCA International Conference, we were glad to learn from Dr. Anthony E. Clark, Dr. Xiaoxin Wu, and Fr. Rob Carbonneau about "Understanding China's Past and Present Realities as a Foundation for Future USCCA Relationships." The video of this presentation is now available via our YouTube channel: About the Speakers Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D., FRHistS, FRAS Anthony E. Clark 柯學斌 is the Edward B. Lindaman Endowed Chair at Whitworth University, the Distinguished Combe Trust Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, and an elected Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society. He is regarded as one of the most influential scholars of China’s Catholic culture and history, and he has published dozens of books, articles, and reviews related to China’s long exchange with Christianity. Xiaoxin Wu, Ed.D. Dr. Wu Xiaoxin, Ed. D., Director of Research at the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at Boston College. He has had relationship with the USCCA since its beginning, especially as understood through the personal relationship of Father Edward Malatesta, founder of the Ricci Institute and an early board member of the USCCA. The Ricci Institute is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024. Fr. Rob Carbonneau, C.P., Ph.D. Since 2023, Fr. Carbonneau has been an Archival Specialist at the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at Boston College. His research concentrates on the Passionist China Collection in Hunan, China, documenting the Republican era (1911-1949).

On Saturday, August 3, 2024, at the 29th USCCA International Conference, Dr. Michel Chambon, Dr. Jin Lu, and Dr. Qi Zeng presented on the topic of "Chinese Culture, Context, and Catholicism." We are glad to share the video of this conference session below: About the Speakers Dr. Michel Chambon Dr. Michel Chambon is a Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. He has a PhD in Anthropology from Boston University and a Canonical License in Theology from the Catholic University of Paris. In addition to his monograph, Making Christ Present in China , he has published papers on the agency of Christian buildings, Chinese Pentecostalism, and Chinese Catholic nuns. He is a coordinator of the Initiative for the Study of Asian Catholics – ISAC – an academic consortium designed to foster social scientific research on Asian Catholics: www.isac-research.org Dr. Jin Lu Dr. Lu received her PhD in French Literature from Boston College. As a trilingual writer, she has authored a monograph on the concept of philosophe in French Enlightenment (Laval University Press, 2005), served as an editor, contributor and co-translator for a book on the images of France during the Qing dynasty (Laval University Press, 2009) and co-authored a book (with Benoît Vermander) on intercultural dialogue (Peking University Press, 2016). Her forthcoming monograph from the University of Notre Dame Press is entitled Translingual Catholics: Chinese Theologians before Vatican II . Dr. Qi Zeng Dr. Qi Zeng was professionally involved for many years in the U.S. pharmaceutical and financial industries. She holds a Doctor of Science degree from Harvard School of Public Health, as well as dual MA degrees in philosophy and theology from Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in theological ethics in Boston college working on her dissertation titled “Toward a Chinese universal ethic.”

We are glad to announce the subject of our next Book Circle discussion: "A Christian Looks at Zen," by Thomas Merton. This essay was written as Merton's Introduction to The Golden Age of Zen , a book by John C. H. Wu. In previous Book Circle discussions, we have explored the friendship between Merton and Wu as it unfolded in letters across cultures and continents. The next Book Circle meeting will be held on October 19, 2024 at 7 am PT / 8 am MT / 9 am CT / 10 am ET / 10 pm China Standard Time. For updates and the Zoom link, please sign up via the Book Circle interest form .

On Saturday, August 3, 2024, at the 29th USCCA International Conference, Dr. Georges Enderle, Dr. Brent Fulton, and Andrea Lee presented on the topic of "Social Service Outreach in China." We are glad to share the video of this conference session below: About the Speakers Dr. Georges Enderle Georges Enderle is Professor Emeritus in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. Before joining Notre Dame in 1992, he was doing research and teaching business ethics in Europe over ten years. Since 1994, he has been involved in numerous research and teaching activities in China. His research interests lie in the ethics of globalization, wealth creation, business and human rights, and corporate responsibilities of large and small companies, with a view on developments in China. His most recent book is Corporate Responsibility for Wealth Creation and Human Rights (2021; in Chinese 2023). His website can be found at sites.nd.edu/georges-enderle . Dr. Brent Fulton Dr. Brent Fulton is Founder of ChinaSource, which serves as a platform for facilitating informed discussion around critical issues facing China and its church. An avid China watcher, Dr. Fulton has written and taught extensively on the church in China and on Chinese social and political phenomena. His publications include China’s Urban Christians: A Light That Cannot Be Hidden (Pickwick, 2015). Dr. Fulton holds MA and PhD degrees in political science from the University of Southern California and a BA in radio-TV-film from Messiah College. Dr. Fulton and his wife, Jasmine, previously lived in Hong Kong from 2006 to 2017. They currently reside in northern California. Andrea Lee Andrea Lee is Content Manager at ChinaSource. Holding a B.A. in Chinese Language and Literature from Tunghai University and an M.A. in Comparative Literature from SOAS, UK, she has a profound understanding of cultural narratives, which she applied in academic and editorial contexts before joining ChinaSource. Originally from Taiwan, Andrea's career spans significant contributions to Chinese Christian ministries and extensive editorial work. Her fluency in Mandarin and expertise in content management make her a vital member of the ChinaSource team. Andrea resides in southern California with her family. She continues to promote the dialogue around Christianity in China through her participation in international conferences and collaborative projects.

On Saturday, August 3, 2024, at the 29th USCCA International Conference, Fr. Peter Shen, Dr. John Worthley, and Fr. Qiulin Zhang presented on the topic of "Social Services in Rural and Urban China." We are glad to share the video of this conference session below: About the Speakers Fr. Peter Shen Fr. Peter Shen is from Xingtai Diocese of Hebei Province, China. He graduated from Jilin Catholic Major Seminary in 2012. He was ordained to the priesthood in China in 2016. He worked at Hebei Faith Press which is a Chinese Catholic Newspaper from 2013 to 2019. He received a master's degree in Pastoral Theology at National Catholic Seminary in China in 2023. He is currently sponsored by the Maryknoll China Project and is studying for a master’s degree in International Communications at St. John’s University in New York City. Dr. John Worthley Prof. John A. Worthley first went to China in 1983 to teach at Wuhan University as visiting professor of public administration from Seton Hall University. He returned every year after teaching at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade and Hainan University. In 1993 he facilitated Mother Teresa’s visit to Sheshan and in 2004 he brought her successor, Sr. Nirmala, to Qingdao. He authored the first article on Chinese public administration in Western literature in Public Administration Review (1984) and has published three articles in America magazine on the church in China. He is a (retired) University Professor of Public Administration of Seton Hall University. His time is divided among the East Coast, the Midwest and China. Fr. Qiulin Zhang From May 1992 to October 1994, Fr. Qiulin Zhang studied theology and philosophy at the National Catholic Seminary. From February 1995 to May 1999, he studied theology at the Theological Seminary of St. John's University in Minnesota, USA, and received a Master's degree in Liturgical Studies and Master’s degree in Divinity (M.Div). From September 1999 to May 2007, he studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and obtained a PhD in Liturgical Studies. Since September 2007, he has been teaching at the National Catholic Seminary in China. From 2008 to 2011, he served as director of the Spirituality Department of the Seminary; from 2011 to 2012, he served as director of the Discipline Department; and from 2012 to present, he serves as director of the religious affairs department.

On Saturday, September 21, 2024, the USCCA Book Circle discussed  a series of talks presented by Thomas Merton on the subject of Confucianism. These talks, presented to novice monks of the Abbey of Gethsemani in 1965, drew connections between Confucian aesthetics and morality with the Christian monastic life. We delighted in seeing and hearing how Merton, perhaps the greatest mystic of the 20th century, taught with such depth, down-to-earthness, simplicity and humor. Lay and religious participants from multiple time zones joined us for this discussion, including friends from the Merton Society and the John C.H. Wu Institute. We discussed the legacy of John C.H. Wu, the role of contemplative spirituality in becoming a person of integrity, the ways in which the Trinity can be understood through the lens of Chinese philosophies, and parallels in Axial Age thought across the East and West. We also discussed Merton's appreciation of Chinese landscape paintings, such as this 18th century piece by Hua Yan: Merton detected a profound spirituality in the fullness of empty space used in paintings like this. The next Book Circle meeting will be held on October 19, 2024 at 7 am PT / 8 am MT / 9 am CT / 10 am ET / 10 pm China Standard Time. For updates and the Zoom link, please sign up via the Book Circle interest form .