My Christmas homily - บทเทศน์วันคริสต์มาส

Christmas Eve 2009

ในค่ำคืนนี้เป็นอีกครั้งหนึ่งที่เราได้มีโอกาส
ชมการแสดงละครคริสต์มาสของกลุ่มเยาวชนและเด็กๆ
เมื่อพ่อยังเป็นเด็กเล็กอยู่
เวลาที่จะมีการแสดงก็จะมีการคัดเลือกนักแสดงสำหรับบทต่างๆ
และก็รู้สึกว่าเพื่อนๆ ทุกคนก็จะตื่นเต้นมากๆ
ใครจะเป็นมารีย์ หรือ ใครจะได้เป็นโจเซฟ
ใครจะรับบทเป็นคนเลี้ยงแกะ หรือทูตสวรรค์
หรือแม้กระทั่งเป็นสัตว์ต่างๆ
บางทีจะมีการแข่งขันกันอย่างคึกคักมาก
ถ้าไม่ระหว่างเด็กๆ ก็ระหว่างผู้ปกครอง
ที่ต้องการให้ลูกของตนเองมีส่วนสำคัญในการแสดงนั้น

ขอตั้งคำถามนิดหนึ่งว่า
ถ้าเราแต่ละคนถูกคัดเลือกให้เป็นนักแสดง
สำหรับละครคริสตมาสค่ำคืนนี้
คุณอยากที่จะเป็นตัวละครตัวใด ?
เป็นมารีย์ไหม?
เด็กหญิงหลายๆคนอยากที่จะเป็น มารีย์
เพราะจะได้สวมเสื้อคลุมสีฟ้าได้อุ้มเด็กน้อยในมือ
และเป็นจุดสนใจของทุกคน
ยังไงแล้วมารีย์ก็เป็นนางเอก
เป็นคนที่แสดงความเอ็นดูต่อพระกุมารเยซู
ซึ่งมารีย์ก็จะเป็นตัวแทนของพวกเราทุกคนเวลาท่านทำเช่นนี้

และในส่วนของโยเซฟ ผู้ชายบางคนอาจจะสนในบทนี้
เพราะโยเซฟเป็นผู้ชายที่สำคัญที่สุดในละครเรื่องนี้
เขาจะได้แสดงความเอาใจใส่ภรรยาของตน
และจะได้เฝ้าพระกุมารด้วยความรักและความเอ็นดู

แล้วก็จะมีพวกคนเลี้ยงแกะ
เด็กๆ หลายคนชอบเป็นชุมพาบาล เพราะว่ามันง่ายดี
แค่เอาผ้ามาพันบนศรีษะ และสวมอะไรที่เก่าๆ ก็พอได้
ไม่ต้องซ้อมอะไรมากมาย นี่เป็นสิ่งที่พวกผู้ชายชอบ

สำหรับเด็กหญิงเขาอาจจะอยากเป็นทูตสวรรค์
ที่จริงในพระคัมภีร์ทูตสวรรค์จะเป็นผู้ชาย
แต่สำหรับการแสดงละครคริสต์มาส
ไม่มีผู้ชายคนไหนอยากใส่ปีก สวมชุดสีเขาและเต้นหรอก
เอาผ้ามาสวมดีกว่า เพราะฉะนั้นเด็กๆ ผู้หญิงก็เลยต้องเป็นทูตสวรรต์
ที่จะร้องเพลงสรรเสริญพระเจ้า
พร้อมกับสิ่งสร้างทั้งปวง

แล้วมีบทอื่นๆ สำหรับเด็กๆ ที่ค่อนข้าง Active
จำบทไม่ค่อยได้ อยู่เฉยๆไม่ค่อยเป็น
พวกนี้จะเป็นแกะหรือลา ถ้าเด็กคนไหนซนมากๆ
ก็จะได้เป็นส่วนหลังของตัวลา
เพราะตัวลามันใหญ่จะต้องการสองคนด้วยกัน

แล้วคุณอยากเป็นใคร? คุณสนใจบทไหนบ้าง?
สำหรับพ่อแล้ว พ่ออยากเป้นเจ้าของโรงแรม
ที่อยากเป็นไม่ใช่เพราะว่าอยากเป็นนักธุรกิจ
แต่พ่ออยากเป็นคนที่ได้ให้ที่พักที่แรกของพระบุตรของพระเจ้าบนโลกนี้ แม้จะเป็นที่ไม่เลิศหรูและแสนจะธรรมดา
แต่ก็เป็นที่ๆปลอดภัย
อย่างน้อยเมื่อพระเจ้าบังเกิดเป็นมนุษย์และอยู่ท่ามกลางเรา
เจ้าของบ้านพักคนนั้นมิได้ปฏิเสธ
หรือละทิ้งพระองค์หรือปล่อยให้คนอื่นช่วยเหลือแทน
เขาได้ต้อนรับพระองค์

พี่น้อง เราก็เช่นกัน ค่ำคืนนี้
เรามาชุมนุมกันที่นี่ด้วยใจที่เต็มไปด้วยความรักและความชื่นชมยินดี
ทำไมเราถึงมีความสุขอย่างนี้
เพราะว่าพระกุมารได้บังเกิดและประจักษ์แก่ชาวเรา
ค่ำคืนนี้เราสมภชพระคริสตสมภพ
ซึ่งระลึกถึงการเสด็จมาของพระกุมารสู่โกลนี้และเข้าสู่ชีวิตของเราทุกคนคงไม่มีใครคาดคิดว่า 2000 ปีที่แล้วพระเจ้าจะถ่อมพระองค์
ละทิ้งอำนาจที่ยิ่งใหญ่ของพระองค์
และรับสภาพมนุษย์เพื่อที่จะมีส่วนในชีวิตของมนุษย์เรา

ทำไมพระองค์ต้องทำเช่นนี้
นั่นเพราะความรักที่พระองค์ทรงมีต่อสิ่งสร้างของพระองค์นั่นเอง
ถ้าเราหันไปมองที่ถ้ำพระกุมารที่เราได้ตั้งไว้ในวัด
เราสามารถเห็นเหตุการณ์จำลองในวันที่พระองค์บังเกิด
เพราะในโรงแรมไม่มีห้องพัก
พระกุมารจึงต้องบังเกิดในถ้ำแห่งหนึ่ง
ซึ่งปกติจะเป็นที่พักสำหรับสัตว์เลี้ยง


มีใครเคยสงสัยหรือเปล่าว่า
ทำไมพระองค์ถึงเลือกที่จะบังเกิดในเมือง Bethlehem
ซึ่งเป็นเพียงเมืองเลก็ๆอย่างยากจนและขัดสนในค่ำคืนที่หนาวเหน็บ? พระองค์เป็นกษัตริย์ เป็นกษัตริย์เหนือกษัตริย์ทุกองค์
เพราะฉะนั้นพระองค์น่าจะมีอะไรที่ดีกว่านี้
แต่นี่เป็นสิ่งที่พระองค์ต้องการเพราะว่า สิ่งที่พระองค์กระทำนั้น
สอนเราว่า ความศักดิ์สิทธิ์ถูกพบเจอในความยากจน
ความถ่อมตน และความทุกข์ทรมาน
ด้วยการบังเกิดที่ต่ำต้อยอย่างนี้
พระองค์ได้ให้โอกาสพวกคนเลี้ยงแกะเป็นคนแรกที่ได้มาเฝ้าพระองค์ ถ้าหากว่าพระองค์บังเกิดในพระราชวังแล้ว
ก็จะมีแต่คนร่ำรวยและคนที่มีชื่อเสียงที่สามารถมาหาพระองค์ได้
แต่พระเยซูเจ้าไม่ได้เสด็จมาในโลกนี้
เพื่อคนรวยและคนที่มีชื่อเสียงเท่านั้น
พระองค์เสด็จมาเพื่อทุกคนรวมถึงพวกเรา
ที่อาศัยอยู่ในจังหวัดหนองบัวลำภู
ซึ่งเป็นแค่จังหวัดเล็กๆ และธรรมดานี้ด้วย
ที่จริงพ่อคิดว่าถ้าพระองค์มิได้บังเกิดที่ Bethlehem
แต่บังเกิดในเมืองไทย
พระองค์อจาจจะเลือกหนองบัวลำภูก็เป็นไปได้
และแทนที่จะมีคนเลี้ยงแกะมาเฝ้าพระอค์
ก็จะมีคนเลียงวัวเลี้ยงควายและสัตว์ของเขาที่ทำอย่างนี้

เมื่อครู่นี้เราได้ยิน ทูตสวรรค์พูดกับพวกเลี้ยงแกะว่า
“เรานำข่าวดีมาบอกท่านทั้งหลาย
เป็นข่าวดีจะทำให้ประชาชนทุคนยินดีอย่างยิ่ง
วันนี้ในเมืองของกษัตริย์ดาวิด
พระผู้ไถ่ได้ประสูติเพื่อท่านแล้ว
พระองค์คือพระคริสต์องค์พระผู้เป็นเจ้า “
ความชื่นชมยินดีที่คนเลี้ยงแกะมีนั้น
ก็เป็นความชื่นชมยินดีของเราทุกคน
หากพระเยซูเจ้าไม่ได้บังเกิดเป็นมนุษย์
เราคงไม่ได้รับการไถ่กู้ซึ่งทำให้เราคืนดีกับพระเจ้า
และช่วยให้เราได้รับชีวิตใหม่ในพระองค์

ความชื่นชมยินดีและสันติที่เรามีค่ำคืนนี้ไม่เหมือนทุกๆวัน
วันนี้พิเศษว่าลึกซึ้งกว่า เพราะเราทราบว่า
พระเยซูเจ้าสถิตท่ามกลางเรา พร้อมกับพระแม่มารีย์พระมารดา
นักบุญยอแซฟ บรรดานักบุญทั้งหลาย และบรรดาทูตสวรรค์
ให้เราจดจำความรู้สึกนี้เพื่อให้เป็นกำลังใจให้แก่เราตลอดทั้งปี
โดยเฉพาะในเวลาที่ร็สึกท้อใจและลำบากใจ
อย่าลืมว่าพระเจ้าได้บังเกิดเป็นมนุษย์อย่างยากจน
และได้ทนทุกข์ทรมานถูกประหารชีวิตบนไม้กางเขน
และสิ้นพระชนม์เพื่อเรา
แต่พระองค์ได้ชนะความตายและความชั่วร้าย
หลัง 3 วันพระองค์ได้กลับคืนชีพและเสด็จขึ้นสวรรค์
ถ้าเราทุกคนดำรงชีวิตอย่างซื่อสัตย์อย่างศรัทธา
ด้วยความรักความพรากเพียร ความถ่อมตนเหมือนพระองค์
เราก็จะมีส่วนในชีวิตนิรันดร์กับพระองค์บนสวรรค์ด้วย

พี่น้องในค่ำคืนนี้ ให้เราจดจำว่า
พระกุมารประสูติมาเพื่อเราแล้ว
และพระองค์ต้องการให้พวกเราทุกคนติดตามพระองค์
ขอให้เราทุกคนต้อนรับพระองค์เข้าสู่ในจิตใจของเรา
อาณาจักรของพระองค์จะไม่สมบูรณ์ฃถ้าเราไม่มีส่วนในนั้น เพราะฉะนั้นให้เรามองไปที่รางหญ้านของพระกุมาร
ด้วยความรักและความหวัง
และในชีวิตประจำวันของเรา ขอให้เรายืนหยัดด้วยความอดทน
ไม่หันไปจากองค์พระเยซูคริสตเจ้าเลย
ถ้าพระองค์อยู่ในสายตาของเราตลอดเวลา
ไม่ว่าอะไรจะเกิดขึ้นใทชีวิตของเรา
แต่เราก็จะไม่ท้อแท้ ไม่ผิดหวังกับชีวิต
ขอให้ความชื่นชมยินดีและสันติของพระกุมาร
สทิตอยู่กับพี่น้องทุกท่านตลอดไป

A Beautiful Heart

What does a truly generous and loving heart look like? It is one that looks like that of a poor fisherman named Truong Chi. For those of us who don’t know, Truong Chi is one of the most famous characters in Vietnamese literature. And his story moves us because of his deep and sincere love.

Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful girl named My Nuong, the only daughter of a powerful mandarin. Like all the maidens of her station in life, she met no one and was kept secluded in a high tower in the palace. She spent most of her time reading, knitting or standing by the little window in order to cast her eyes upon the Tieu Tuong River, which passed quietly beneath her.

Gliding along, from time to time, was the small boat of Truong Chi, a poor angler, who would sing songs as he cast his nets on the river. From afar My Nuong could not see his face, but could hear him singing, an enchanting and melancholic voice.

No one knew what feelings this voice produced in My Nuong’s heart. However, one day the boat was not seen on the water and she began to wait. After waiting in vain for many moons, she fell ill. Her anxious father called for doctors to cure her, but even the most famous doctor of the time could not discover the cause of My Nuong’s illness.

One morning, to everyone's joy and surprise, My Nuong suddenly recovered her health. The little boat had returned to the river and the voice of Truong Chi again filled the sky. Based on the words revealed by My Nuong’s maid, the mandarin called the angler in and brought him before the daughter. But after just one glance, she did not wish to see Truong Chi anymore; his face was ugly, completely opposite of what she had pictured in her mind.

Nevertheless, the meeting was a fatal one. It put an end to the love in the bosom of the girl, but gave birth to a desperate one in the heart of the poor fisherman. Worn by a hopeless love, he pined away in solitude and finally drew his last breath one dark autumn evening. Truong Chi took the secret of his unrequited love with him into the next world.

Many years later, Truong Chi’s family exhumed his remains in order to transfer them to the family tomb. In the coffin, they found nothing but a marvellous and sparkling piece of gemstone, which they put on the prow of the boat as a decoration to remember the dead.

One day an old mandarin passed by the place. Taken aback by the splendour of the precious stone, he bought it and ordered a clever turner to make a beautiful teacup from it. It was then that he made a very strange discovery. Every time the cup was filled with tea, there appeared the image of some poor angler rowing his boat around the cup.

My Nuong heard about this strange story and wanted to see it herself. When she poured some tea into the cup, the image of the poor ugly man that she once met appeared and she could again hear the resonance of his enchanting voice that used to mesmerize her soul. Feelings of longing and regret surged in her heart and turned into tears running down the sides of her cheeks. A teardrop fell into the cup, and as this happened, the gemstone cup that My Nuong was holding in her hand melted into pure water.

Perhaps you would not be surprised to see why the story of Truong Chi and My Nuong is one of the most romantic folk tales in Vietnamese literature. As young people, the situation in the story may be unfamiliar to us. In our modern lifestyle, we don’t know anything about mandarins or young maidens being kept up in palaces. We don’t know anything about the life of fishing on the river in order to make a living. We can’t imagine what it’s like listen to someone singing on the river. What we know is fast cars, ADSL internet, and mobile phones. What we know is FM radio and Podcast.

And yet, there is one thing that we know, and it has nothing to do with time, place, or culture. And that’s the quality of a true heart – a really really good heart. We can see from the story that Truong Chi was a poor young man. He had little but his boat and his nets to catch fish to sell at the market. And add to that, he was ugly – so ugly that the moment My Nuong looked at him, she never wanted to see him again.

But while Truong Chi did not have money or good looks, he was blessed with a talent that few had – a beautiful voice. This was a talent that he did not keep to himself but he shared it with everyone. As Truong Chi sang while he was fishing on the river, it probably wasn’t My Nuong alone who was enchanted by his voice and felt less lonely being kept in the palace. Perhaps there were babies lying in the cradle who fell peacefully asleep as Truong Chi’s voice lulled them. Perhaps there were farmers working in the field, having their backs baked under the midday sun, who forgot their tiredness because they heard his songs.

The more I read this folk tale, the more I admire Truong Chi because of his sincere and generous heart. How many of us are blessed with very wonderful talents, but are afraid or unwilling to share them with others? We keep our talents to ourselves because we are afraid to be criticized, afraid to appear in public, or afraid to fail? We’re afraid that people will talk about us and make fun of us.

Truong Chi was poor, and he was ugly. But his voice was beautiful. And he shared his talent with others in the best way that he could. The fact that Truong Chi was brave enough to sing as he worked on the river was because his heart was sincere and true. He wanted to share his gift with others without worrying about being made fun of or being criticized.

But Truong Chi’s story, as we know, is a tragedy, because as sincere and generous as he was, it wasn’t good enough for My Nuong to love him the way he loved her. He was disappointed in love and suffered from heartsick. But despite this, Truong Chi’s heart never changed. That’s why when he died, his body turned into a precious and sparkling gemstone. Even in death, Truong Chi showed everyone how truly beautiful his heart was. In the end, My Nuong herself was filled with regret for having rejected Truong Chi.

The story of Truong Chi and My Nuong reminds us that in any time and place, what is on the inside is far more important than what is on the outside. Love is something that comes from the heart, and we have to feel other’s love with our heart as well. If we try to look for love with only our eyes, chances are we might overlook something very precious and true.
The story of Truong Chi and My Nuong also reminds us that we should let our heart help direct our actions. If we have a heart of generosity and openness, we are able to overcome things that hold us back such as shyness and insecurity. When we do things from the heart, we can change the lives of people around us in ways that even we are not aware of.

Today, we don’t make a living casting fish nets on the river like Truong Chi. We don’t sing the same kind of songs that Truong Chi sang. But definitely, we can be generous like Truong Chi was generous. And we can love like Truong Chi loved.

Making the Right Choice

It was a normal high school lunch break in sunny Southern California. In the flag pole area by the administration building, the popular guys and girls were hanging out with each other. Over by the arts building was the more withdrawn group of students, usually dressed in black T-shirts of various rock or heavy metal bands. And towards the history building was the hang out for Asian American students. I had just come out of a school club meeting, and on my way to the restroom. I was a senior, my last year of high school.

As I made my way between the crowds of people, I bumped into Jenny, a Vietnamese friend in the 11th grade. She was crying.

“Hey, what’s up? Why are you crying?” I asked.

She hugged me tightly, then said, “I need someone to talk to?”

“Yeah, what’s the matter? You can talk to me. Do you want to go somewhere?” I tried my best to sound sympathetic and supportive.

“Can we go in the back of the science building?”

“Ok, let’s go,” I said forgetting that I needed to go to the bathroom.

As Jenny and I found a quiet place away from the crowd and sat down on the grass, I asked again, “Tell me what’s going on with you. It must be something serious because I’ve never seen you like this.”

“Tony, it’s serious. Promise me that you wouldn’t tell anybody,” Jenny said in between sobs.

“Of course, just tell me, maybe I can help,” I reassured her.

“Tony, I think…I think I’m pregnant,” Jenny told me at last.

“What? Are you positive? How do you know?” I was no longer so sure about what I could do to help.

“I’m not definite. I’m a few days late with my period.”

“But that doesn’t mean you’re pregnant, does it?” I wasn’t so much of an expert myself in terms of female biological issues. And in fact, Jenny didn’t know all that much either.

“I don’t really know, but I’m just so scared right now. I don’t know what to do.”

“When did this happen?”

“Just last week. My parents were away. David came over after school, and he convinced me into doing it. It was our first time,” Jenny told me how it came about.

Lunch break was now over, but Jenny was in no mood to go to fifth period. So, we both asked our teachers to let us go home early because of an emergency. Jenny and I found our way to a health center in the city. It was the only place we knew where pregnancy testing took place, even though we also knew that it was a place where abortion procedures were done. A staff member talked to us, but told us that it was still a little too early to check whether Jenny was pregnant or not, and to wait for a few more days.

The following days were very stressful for us, especially for Jenny who would have a heavy price to pay if she were really pregnant. We could not concentrate on our studies. All we could do was get on the phone to talk to each other about what to do if what we feared came true. We were both Catholic, and we knew that abortion was forbidden by the church. But if Jenny were to have the baby, what would happen to her future? As teenagers, the way to solve this issue seemed like something that neither of us had the ability to think of for ourselves. But we were also afraid to ask our parents because we didn’t think they would understand us. We were desperate.
Fortunately for Jenny, all the worries and anxieties were finally put to rest, when a few days later, she happily came to tell me that she was not pregnant after all. She finally had her period.

I was relieved that the decision of whether to abort or not abort a baby never had to be made by Jenny. However, as a teenager, I am not sure how I would have advised my friend at that time.
Now, as an adult, and as a priest, when thinking back on this event, I often wonder what I would have said then if our fears came true. Would I have given Jenny the right advice such as finding adults to help us sort out the issue? To think about the innocent baby that had no role in the fact that it was conceived? To try her best to handle the consequences of her action? Or to think about how she would feel if she did really kill a life?

I am not sure that I could have helped my friend to do these things because as a teenager, I was probably not mature enough to think of the right things to do. Perhaps the lack of maturity and wisdom that Jenny and I had could have led to the action that is being done by millions and millions of young people all over the world every year, and that’s resorting to abortion to solve the problem of unwanted pregnancy. From poor countries to rich countries, from big cities to small towns, teenagers are finding their ways to hospitals and clinics to have abortions done in order to put an end to their troubles. At least that’s what they think.

Troubles don’t end with abortions. Putting aside the fact that you’re killing a life; putting aside the fact that many of the abortion procedures are dangerous to your health; and putting aside the fact that you’re running away from your responsibility by getting rid of something sacred, the act of abortion will haunt you because you know in your heart and soul that you’re doing something really really immoral.

Recently, a young man came to me for confession. He said that he and his girlfriend had aborted their baby two years ago because at that time, they were not married and not ready to have a baby.

“Is this the first time you confess about this?” I asked.

“No father, I’ve already confessed this sin several times before,” he replied.

“When you confessed during those times, what did the priest tell you?”

“Father told me that I can be forgiven if I am truly sorry for what I have done. But for some reason, I still don’t feel like I am forgiven. My girlfriend and I always think about what we did, and it’s always on our mind. Even though it’s been two years, we still cannot forget about it. That’s why I wanted to confess again.”

The experience of this young man and his girlfriend is a very common experience with people who have aborted their babies. God made all of us to be good people. And because we are good people, if we do something terribly wrong, our conscience tells us right away. That is why there are so many people who struggle constantly in their heart because of the mistake they did in having an abortion. Having a baby unplanned can be very difficult and the price is definitely high, but perhaps nothing is as high as the feeling of guilt and pain that we carry within ourselves for having violated God’s law forbidding us to take away a helpless, innocent human life, especially when that human life is a part of our own flesh and blood.

It is true that God can forgive anything, even the gravest sin. God can forgive when we are truly sorry for what we have done, and we promise and do our best to repent for the sin that we have committed. But sometimes, it is easier for God to forgive us than for us to forgive ourselves. That’s why many people who have committed abortion face such grave emotional and spiritual troubles in their lives.

Dear friends, life is a series of decisions that we have to make everyday and every minute. We started to make decisions since we were just a few years old. Some decisions are a piece of cake; we can make them in a split second without giving a second thought. But not all decisions are this easy. Some have great implications for our life. As we live in this modern age, the issue of unplanned pregnancy is no longer something unfamiliar to us. Either we ourselves have encountered it, or someone we know like a friend or family member has had to face this experience.

Whatever we do, I believe that we cannot go wrong when we make the decision for life instead of against life; make the decision for accepting the responsibility instead of running away from responsibility; and most importantly, make the decision for abstinence so that we don’t have to make the choice of abortion in the first place!

Do nice guys always finish last?

Having fun and enjoying life is part of being a young person. Meeting people, finding someone you like and perhaps fall in love with is also part of the plan. But for many people, this is no easy task. Recently, I received an email from Hoang, a Vietnamese American in his 20s. Hoang is what many people would describe as a “nice guy”. In his email, Hoang asked me for advice. He said:

“Father, I scored over 133 on my super IQ test, I was ranked in the top 98% of people taking the test. But only 70 on my sex IQ tes; it ranks me in the low 10% of people who took the test. Following the guidelines of the church makes me so dumb. Father, I've been missing out a lot in life because my parents didn't want me to have the fun they had when they were young.”

In a second email, Hoang expressed more frustrations about his experience in meeting girls. He said:

“What I find out is that girls seem to like bad boy, the one who is tough and demanding...Ever since I show my toughnesss, many girls seem to like me... Even with the girl I'm with now, I still have to hide a lot from her. I wonder when will I be able to live with the real me. Of course, if you're too nice, they are going to think you're cheap and weak. Have you heard that nice guys always sleep alone, Father? I want to change that man, I'm tired of my life. Every cute girl that I run into always go after your pocket and how slavishly you live your life. So what do you think about that?”

I am sure that there are many people out there who can sympathize with what Hoang is going though in trying to find that girl or guy who really appreciates you for who you are. As young people growing up in a modern society, we are trying to balance between having fun, fitting in, but also keeping the moral guidelines that our parents and our church teach us. Sometimes, it is not easy to do. And without thorough understanding of the church teachings, many of us end up blaming the church for keeping us from having the fun that we think we should be having.
However, let me put something straight at the very start. Yes, if we follow the church teachings, we should not be having sex before marriage; we shouldn’t be using alcohol irresponsibly or using drugs illegally; we shouldn’t cheat, steal, or do physical or mental harm to others. We should be going to church every Sunday and praying everyday. But there is nothing in church teachings that restricts us or prevents us from having fun, and finding joy in being a cheerful, healthy, outgoing, and caring person that makes us a magnet attracting others to come to us.

There are plenty of young people who participate in the church choir, in youth groups, and in other clubs and activities that help them to meet people who also enjoy doing the same things that they do. A lot of those people live according to the church guidelines, end up getting married to someone they met, and build for themselves a happy family. The test of our true success in relationship is whether we meet and build a loving relationship with that person, and not how many points we get on some sex IQ test, which only gives us points if we do certain things.

The way I see it, being a faithful and religious person has nothing to do with the fact that you can’t meet the right girl or guy. It’s how you are as a person that determines whether you are attractive to others. Have you wondered how some people just seem to exude charm and confidence that draw people to them, while others just drive people away?

Now comes the million dollar question: Is it true that the bad boy gets the girl and the nice guy always finishes last?

Like I said before, Hoang is what people often label a “nice guy”. And I think from Hoang’s email, he also thinks of himself as that. But for some reason, being nice has gotten him nowhere in the girl department. He feels like he has to turn into a “bad boy” with a hard exterior in order to get the girl because being “sensitive” just doesn’t work.

But in my opinion, a lot of people are a little bit confused between being “nice” and being a bunch other other things. For example, some people equate “insecurity” with “niceness”. Let’s say a girl sees a guy who’s decent looking. But he’s really shy. He goes to a party and just sort of stands to one corner and is afraid to go around talking to people, or is afraid to strike up a conversation with a girl because he’s afraid of being rejected. If you look at the guy, perhaps you can say that he’s nice; or in fact, he’s just very insecure, which makes him not very attractive.
Some people confuse being “sappy” with being “nice”. One time, I was awaken at three in the morning by a friend name Tuan. Tuan is another so called “nice guy” who has tried for years to find a girl that suits him. But no matter how much he tries, he can’t find anyone. This time, Tuan called me to complain about a girl he has recently met. He sent her a big bouquet of flowers and other gifts, but didn’t hear anything back from her. I asked him when did he meet her? He said only over a week ago. I told him, “She’s probably scared of you. If you keep sending her stuff like that, she’d probably think you’re a weirdo. Take it easy, man.”

Some people confuse being clingy with being nice. Yes, it’s that guy who always wants to be with the girl, who always calls her, and wants to know what she’s doing; that’s the guy that thinks he’s being nice by showing how much he cares and pays attention to the girl. But in fact, he’s just afraid to lose her. Or he’s trying to make her fall in love with him right away.

Some people confuse being depressed with being nice. It seems that it’s only the so called nice guys that lament about the terrible fate of being nice. Why does no one recognize his niceness? Why do girls reject his niceness? Why do they take advantage of his niceness? If you take a second look, maybe he’s not so nice, but just very depressed about who he is.

The truth is, being insecure, clingy, overly romantic, sappy, or self-pitying does not make you a nice person. It makes you an unattractive person, one that is no fun to be around. Also, if you are someone who ends up hating women because all they want is your money (something that my friend Tuan unceasingly told me, and Hoang also complained about in his email), it doesn’t make you a nice guy.

What then is my advice to Hoang? Stop calling yourself a “nice guy”. Stop labeling yourself, and stop labeling others. I believe that really nice guys don’t go around calling themselves “I’m a nice guy”, just like bad boys don’t go around introducing themselves “I’m a bad boy”, or humble people don’t tell others “I’m a humble person.” They just do what they do, and be who they are.
“Nice guys” don’t get the girl, or have a lot of friends because, a lot of times, that’s just a positive label we put on pretty unattractive characteristics in a person. In fact, attracting to others doesn’t have much to do with being “nice” or being “bad”. Rather, it has to do with feeling good about ourselves, accepting ourselves for who we are, and being confident in our ability to relate to others.

Feeling good about ourselves comes about when we live a healthy life style. We eat well, get enough exercise, have fun hobbies, and are interested in the world around us. Accepting ourselves for who we are comes from being realistic and at peace with our strengths and weaknesses. We are accepting of our quirks, our imperfections, but also take pride in the things that we can do well. Being confident comes about when we practice taking risks in our life, whether it is starting a new project, entering into a new relationship, or doing something that we have never done before. The success and failures that we experience along the way help us to be stronger, more sturdy, and more aware of where our potential lies. Some people try to be “tough” in order to portray to others their confidence, like Hoang is trying to do. But true self confidence doesn’t mean being “tough” and trying to hide who you really are. Rather, true self confidence is the ability to know your self-worth, and what you are able to do, and what you are willing to try. If we “act tough” just because we don’t want to “look weak”, it’s pretty much faking and deceiving ourselves as well as others. Eventually, the act will break down and others will see who we really are.

The thing that determines whether people will swarm around us is whether they see that we are filled with positive energy; what drives them away is their fear to be infected by our negativity if they come too close. If we feel good about ourself, chances are, others will also feel good about us. If we are confident in ourself, chances are, others will feel confident about us as well.

Being an attractive person to others and living a “fun” life should not prevent anyone from following church moral guidelines. Being an attractive person also is not related to being “nice” or being “bad”. Being attractive, having fun, and enjoying life comes from living healthy, being self-confident and self-accepting, and willing to take charge of your own destiny in life. In conclusion, truly nice guys probably don’t finish last, only people who lament about their life finish last.

7 years of grace

This year, St. Michael Archangel Church celebrated its church feast on 8 August 2009 to commemorate seven years since the church was consecrated as the first and only Catholic church in the entire Nong Bua Lamphu province. This was indeed a special occasion for us and was worthy of celebration.

A church feast is not simply a party where people gather to meet each other to eat and drink. It is first and foremost an occasion to offer thanks to God for every blessing that He has bestowed on His people. Second, it is an opportunity for the church community to celebrate itself and share the Christian joy with guests – both Catholics and non-Catholics – who come to join in the festivity. Third, it is an opportunity for the church community to evaluate its work in carrying out the Christian mission bestowed upon it by Jesus Christ and plan for the future.

It was with these multiple purposes that St. Michael Archangel Church organized its church feast this year. As the newly appointed pastor of this parish, I am pleased to share with you that in the past seven years, the church members, including The Divine Word brothers, the Sisters of Charity, and the laity, have been active in witnessing to the Good News among the people of Nong Bua Lamphu as well as people far and wide who are acquainted with the Catholic Church here. Whether it is the ministry of helping people with HIV/AIDS, youth education, or other pastoral work in the parish, the members of the local church have carried out their work with the purpose of making God’s love known to others.

By any standards, St. Michael Archangel Church is a small parish. But we are proud of our Catholic identity, and we are learning to live out our Christian calling with increasingly greater zeal. We have faith that with our humble efforts, God will continue to bless us and guide us so that with each day, we can discover new ways of proclaiming the Good News within our community and to the greater community around us, and therefore contribute to the mission of making God known to all the ends of the earth.

Unity in faith

Rising up on the side of one of Nong Bua Lamphu’s newest roads is St. Michael Archangel Church. With its dark red roof and egg shell colored walls, the Church is a tidy structure placed in a well maintained surrounding with trees, flowers, and lawn. Although neither the church nor the land space around it is large, few come into the place without noticing its cleanliness and simple attractiveness. With a full time gardener and assistants, both the church and the adjacent Mother of Perpetual Help Center are kept beautiful throughout the year.

While St. Michael’s Church is often “mistaken” as the HIV/AIDS Center for obvious reason (being so closely connected to the Mother of Perpetual Help Center and the Mother Teresa Children’s Home), few know that this is a place of a variety of activities with the participation of a variety of ethnic groups. It is perhaps the location of greatest diversity in Nong Bua Lamphu province.

St. Michael’s Church is the only church in the entire province that has both male and female religious working side by side in their respective ministries. The SVD brothers come from the U.S. while the Charity Sisters come from the Philippines and India. The pastor is a Vietnamese American who often gets mistaken for being Thai. As for the parish population, there are Thai, Vietnamese-Thai, Chinese-Thai and people from a whole host of countries including the Phillippines, Vietnam, the U.S., England, and Germany.

One of the greatest witnesses to the richness of the small St. Michael’s parish is the social diversity in the church community. In the Sunday pews, one can find religious, government employees, professionals, as well as students, manual laborers and children. Sitting side by side are families in the community, patients from the HIV/AIDS hospice and HIV orphans. Listening to the Scriptures together are both people who are Catholic and Buddhists.

In some ways it is remarkable that in a rather small church in a small province of Thailand, one can find such lively signs of God’s love and unity among the people. In this respect, St. Michael’s Church is a beautiful witness to God’s presence and His love as lived out by the people from various countries and backgrounds who come together to form this very distinct and special community.

A community of witness

Though it may come as a surprise to some, St. Michael Archangel Church is the first and the only Catholic church in the entire Nong Bua Lamphu province, NE Thailand. Nong Bua Lamphu is a relatively new province, less than 20 years old. It is also one of the smallest and least developed provinces in the country.

The church was consecrated in 2002. However, it was not until October 2008 that the parish had a full time pastor assigned for a period of five years. Previously, priests assigned to the parish could only stay for a short span of time, the longest staying two years. A total of six priests have passed through St. Michael. Fr. Anthony Duc Le, SVD the present pastor, is the seventh priest.

Needless to say having a full time pastor assigned for a significant period of time is essential to the development of the parish. Not only the pastor, knowing that he will be at the parish for a while, feels comfortable to start pastoral programs and initiate parish activities that have long term goals in mind, but parishioners also have more opportunities to join hands with the pastor to accomplish the various goals set forth.

Any church development can’t be done without the presence of a parish council. Moreover, a Catholic parish cannot go without essential activities such as various liturgical celebrations and feasts, catechism programs, youth groups and faith sharing activities. At St. Michael’s Church, parishioner participation is most visibly seen in such activities as families taking turns donating flowers to the church throughout the year, parishioners heading and contributing to fund raising efforts to finance activities, and the youth having a visible role in the actitivities of the church through their enthusiasm in serving in Mass. The faith and community life is further nourished by monthly gathering at parishioners’ homes for praying, scripture sharing, and food sharing. During advent, gatherings take place on a weekly basis.

In the beginning of 2009, the parish council adopted a year-long multi-pronged pastoral plan aimed at developing parish life as well as helping to make the Catholic Church an instrument for development and change in the larger community. As a result, a sense of mission awareness is gradually being instilled in the heart of mind of the church members as they try to become better witnesses to God among the overwhelmingly Buddhist environment in Nong Bua Lamphu. With grace and guidance from the Holy Spirit, development will certainly continue to take place at this Catholic parish, which though small in size, is performing a very important Christian mission in the community.

สาสน์ 7 ปี แห่งพระหรรษทาน (7 years of grace)

a Buddhist monk, a Muslim, and me

I went to Vietnam recently to visit my relatives. On my flight back to Bangkok, in the boarding line, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk stood next to me. We struck up a conversation. He said this was the first time he went abroad. His final destination was Myamar, the country to the west of Thailand. He was a little apprehensive about the trip since it required an overnight layover in Thailand and he didn’t know where he was going to rest. He also didn’t speak Thai.

I told him that once we get to Bangkok, which was about 7:30 p.m., I would ask the airport workers to see if there were a place reserved for Buddhist monks to rest in the airport since Buddhist monks often receive special treatments in public places. This is understandable since Thailand is an overwhelmingly Buddhist nation that has over 40,000 temples. Buddhism or rather the Buddhist way of life is ingrained in Thai people’s consciousness. I stayed with the Buddhist monk at the baggage claim carrousel until he finally got his suitcase. He was one of the last ones to receive his bag. Afterward, we made our way through customs. Unlike the last time I came through this airport, the customs official did not call me for a radom check of my luggage. I assume it was because I was walking and talking with a man dressed in an orange robe.

We went out the door and through the lines of family, friends, hotel and company employees waiting for international passengers and into the elevator going up to the 4th floor. Here, I showed him where he would check in the next morning in order to fly to Rangoon, his final destination. I also approached an airport official to inquire about where the monk might be able to rest. The woman quickly went off to look into the matter. Seeing such a brisk response to our request, I was confident that this would be a simple matter. However, when she returned a few minutes later, she said that the place where our Buddhist monk could rest was inside the waiting area. This meant that he had to check in first. Unfortunately, his flight on AirAsia being the next morning, it was impossible for him to do so. We found that out after I went over the AirAsia counter to inquire. The airport official told us that he might be able to rest in the prayer room on the third floor. So I led the monk downstairs to find this room. Along the way, we bumped into some airport guards and I asked for further directions. They pointed out the way. I asked them one more time just to make sure if the monk could rest there. The guards said yes.

Walking about 50 meters, I saw the sign for the prayer room. However, it turned out to be the Muslim prayer room. I imagined this would be a big room with not a lot of people inside. The monk could find some quiet corner to sit and rest. However, once we got inside, it turned out that the room was not too large. The monk proceeded to walk into an area behind separators. A man in his thirties who was sitting on a chair in the outside area saw us, stood up and proceeded to ask us where we were going. I explained to him the situation and how we were directed to come here by the airport officials. The man who was a Muslim even though he did not wear the usual Muslim attire, told us that we could not come inside. I asked him if he were the one taking care of this prayer room. He said he was just a Muslim faithful coming there to pray. He explained to us that if we came in, we had to have the proper attire, had to do purity rituals, and to have the Muslim faith.

Since I was not a great scholar of the Muslim religion, I asked him if it wasn’t possible for the tired monk to just come in for a while for a bit of quiet rest since he was going to have an extremely long layover. He said no since it was against the rules of the religion. I insisted that perhaps some exceptions could be made to help someone who was in need. He said no. He asked me if he were to come into the Christian church wearing his Muslim attire, would it be possible? My answer was not what he was expecting. I told him he would be most welcome to come into my church wearing the things he described.

After the exchange, it was clear that it would be impossible for our tired Buddhist monk to have his rest in the Muslim prayer room. It was also clear to me that I had expected too much in thinking that a man don in Buddhist garbs could enter into a Muslim worship area and sit. It would certainly be difficult for other Muslims who come in to pray to not be distracted by this sight. Muslims are good people, willing to help those in need like any other, but they have strict rules about their worship space, and one has to accept their beliefs. Although at the time, I was quite displeased that a stranger in need would not be received, even if he came from a different religion, as I thought more about the situation, I realized that every religion has some rules that it holds onto steadfastly and those outside of the religion will find it difficult to grasp or even to agree with. The Catholic Church itself holds on to a number of tenets that many can’t fully understand or appreciate. This incident is not going to be the incident that leads me to conclude that the Muslims are unwelcoming people or that the Muslim religion is an unwelcoming religion. Rather it tells me that I have a lot to learn about the Muslim and people of all religions need to look into themselves to see how they can learn to be faithful to their beliefs but at the same time welcome others into their midst.

In the end, I did find a place where our Buddhist monk could rest. After more inquiries, it turned out that a little beyond the Muslim prayer room, there was a number of CIP rooms (Commercially Important Persons). Next to these rooms was a smaller room reserved for monks and their novices. I led him there. No one was inside the carpeted room. There was a table with some chairs, no sofa. There was no furniture there that one could use for lying down. However, it was clean and quiet. Our monk was happy to have his rest there. Afterward, I bid him farewell since I had to catch a taxi into the city where I would rest at the Holy Redeemer Church in Bangkok. I handed the monk some Thai money since he said he didn’t have any of the local currency. The old monk thanked me for my good and blessed me. I arrived to the church at half past 9 p.m. It was one of the more interesting experiences I had at the airport.

Bangkok, 15 November 2009

Life from the mission field

“What do you want to do when you grow up?” In almost every young person’s life, sooner or later you will encounter this all important question from someone you know. It could be your teacher, your uncle or your parents’ friends who ask. And how you answer the question probably depends on what you are interested in at the time.

When I was in junior high school, I answered that I wanted to be an astronaut because at that time I was really into learning about the solar system. A few years later, I said I wanted to be a writer because by then I got into reading literature. When I was in high school, I thought about being a psychologist. Once I entered college, I set out to be a doctor. But in the end, I became none of those things.

I became a missionary.

Being a missionary is probably not on the list of careers choices for most of you out there. But it is probably one of the most challenging, rewarding, and adventurous things that one can do in life.

Every year, in October the Church celebrates Mission Sunday. This year, Mission Sunday takes place on October 19. On this occasion, I would like to share with you a little bit about what it is like to be a missionary. Hopefully, through this sharing, some of you will also think about this path for your own life.

After I was ordained as a priest in 2006 in Chicago, I was sent to my first mission assignment in Thailand. When friends and family heard that I would be serving in Thailand, they said to me, “How are you going to learn to read that weird language? They don’t even write with ABCs. The words are all swirly.”

I didn’t really know myself. But, what the heck. Why not give it a shot?

I stepped off the plane to a steamy, traffic-congested, and bustling Bangkok in early 2007 to begin Thai language studies. As it turned out, learning Thai wasn’t all that bad. The more I got into the language and able to speak and understand, the more I began to admire the beauty of the new language. I loved the way men used “khrap” and women used “kha” to politely end their sentences.

The more I understood the language the more I began to understand Thai culture and society. OK. I still don’t understand why Thai people so often show up late for appointments or put like 50 red chillies in all their food, but that’s beside the point. I appreciate the respectful way that Thai people put their hands in front of them to “wai” when greeting one another. I also understand how religion, superstition, and traditions are all woven into the people’s way of thinking. I also came to understand why so many of the Thai movies are of the scary genre.

After I finished my Thai language study, I began to venture into the mission field in a small province in the northeast of Thailand called Nong Bua Lamphu. This province has only one Catholic Church. It was built 6 years ago by another Divine Word Missionary named Br. Damien Lunders. Br. Damien also built the Mother of Perpetual Help AIDS Center next to the church.

In the six years that the church has been opened, there have been six priests working here. I’m the seventh. Everyone is hoping that I would serve here long enough to create stability for the small Catholic community here and help it to develop. In Thailand, out of 65 million people, there are only 300,000 Catholics – not even 0.5 percent of the population. In Nong Bua Lamphu province, we only have about 20 families who are Catholic. So I guess you can say the mission field is wide open.

I came to Nong Bua Lamphu on a hot April afternoon to take over the position of pastor here. I lived in a house next to an orphanage for children with HIV, ran by the sisters from Mother Teresa’s congregation. There are 21 children in the orphanage, 19 boys and 2 girls ranging in age from about 5 to 15. Recently, I moved to a new rectory built next to the church so that my work for the parish would be more convenient.

Next to the church is the Mother of Perpetual Help AIDS center and hospice. The center is run by Br. Damien. In the short time that I’ve began my mission work in this province, I have to say that it has made me realize that my decision to follow the missionary vocation, and choosing Thailand as the first country to which I would serve after taking my final vows and priestly ordination was a decision that must have occurred with God’s providence.

Here, I see what it is like for missionaries – Br. Damien, the Charity Sisters, and myself – to work serving our brothers and sisters who are suffering from HIV/AIDS. It is a highly challenging but ultimately worthwhile work. We missionaries know in our heart, that the work of caring for people who are poor, who are often left out of society, and are feared by others, is exactly the kind of work that we as Christians, and as missionaries should be doing.

In fact, it’s not just missionaries who feel this way, but all those who collaborate in this work feel the same. One woman named Wasana, who has the duty to take care of the patients in the hospice, which this year has been short of beds for all those who want to come for treatment, shared with me: “Right now, I am fully committed to serving the patients. I am proud to be able to help them regain their health and strength, so that they can return to live happily in society, in their family, and in the community. The smile of the patients is the source of strength for me to carry out my work.”

I understand what she means. When I first came to Nong Bua Lamphu, I saw Tum. He was also recently admitted to the hospice. He had lost use of his legs and they were very thin. He used his arms to move about. I said to Br. Damien, “Wow, he’s in a really bad shape.”

Br. Damien replied, “You should have seen him when he first came. He couldn’t even feed himself. We had to feed him ourselves. Now he’s eating on his own and moving about on his own. That’s already a great improvement.”

Through encouragement, a little pushing, and medical treatment, Tum began to gradually gain more strength. At first, he started training himself using a walker. Now he is able to walk on his own. As he becomes stronger and more confident, the smiles also appear more often as well. I think it is these smiles that provide the energy for people like Wasana.

Wasana, by the way, is not a Catholic. But almost everyday, late at night, she goes into church to pray, and always recommends other patients, whoever they are, to go to church to pray and ask for blessings.

Beside hospice work, the Mother of Perpetual Help Center continues to expand its other outreach programs in the province. Every week, there are HIV/AIDS meetings taking place with support groups. The center assists families with HIV/AIDS to have a means to make a living through the cattle project, through food assistance program, and education funds. At the beginning of every school year, children from HIV/AIDS families receive school uniforms. In May, 400 uniforms were distributed by the center throughout the province. And the HIV/AIDS education program that attempts to reach 40 different schools each year continues to be carried out in an active manner with the hope the this effort will contribute to a decrease in the rate of infection among the youth in the future. It takes five years to go to all the schools in the province.

As the pastor of St. Michael’s Church, which is so closely connected with the Mother of Perpetual Help Center and the orphan’s home, the issue of HIV/AIDS play an important part in the pastoral work of the church. I myself feel a tremendous sense of happiness when I see that nowadays, we have people who used to did not come to Mass on Sunday because they were afraid of being in the same vicinity as people with HIV, now come to church regularly.

I give God thanks when a young girl with HIV from the orphan’s home asked to learn catechism, to be baptized, and now comes up to read the Sunday Readings or serve at the altar without being afraid that others will make fun of her.

I give God thanks when teenagers in the parish declare that they are not afraid of people with HIV, and they don’t mind sitting and eating with their friends who are HIV positive.

I feel a great sense of gratefulness to God when I see in the church, people with HIV and without HIV sitting together, praying together, and coming up to receive Holy Communion or blessings together.

I feel amazed when a Buddhist man in the hospice said to me, “Father, on weekdays, if you don’t have anyone to do the readings in Mass, I can come do the readings for you.”

And another man, named Chai from Nong Khai province. He became infected with HIV because he spent many evenings looking for fun in the bars and brothels. But now, almost every afternoon, he would go to Mass. When it came time for communion, he would come up to receive a special blessing because he wasn’t Catholic. Recently, he left the center to return to his home in Nong Khai because he felt strong again. He came to say good bye to me, and I blessed him again to send him off. As I walked back into the retctory, I looked back and saw Chai standing in front of the statue of Jesus in front of the church to pray one last time before leaving. This man never became Catholic, but I feel that as a result of his stay in the hospice, he came to have faith in God, and felt that he could come to God for help and blessings.

As a priest and a missionary, it gives me a great joy to see that in so many ways, our small Catholic community in Nong Bua Lamphu is learning how to get over our fears and reluctances in order to live out our call as Christians to become true witnesses to the love and unity of God to our fellow Christians as well as to the larger community. In demonstating our love and acceptance for all people, I think there is no better way than to show to others the true meaning of being believers of Jesus Christ.

For me that is the real essence of being a missionary – making Christ known to others by our words and by our actions. In the end, most of the people I encounter in my missionary life will not become Catholic or even think about becoming Catholic. But I hope that in some ways, I have helped to make them know who Jesus Christ is and that I do what I do because of Him.

October 2008

Log out of the chatroom and login to reality

It’s probably disturbing to hear, but nowadays many of us are having relationships not with people, but with machines! Sounds weird right? Well, you might be one of them. No, you say? Let me ask you this, when was the last time you yelled at your computer when it froze on you? Or when was the last time you thanked your computer because it did what you wanted it to do? I bet some of you even talk to your computer from time to time. No, I don’t mean using your computer to talk to a friend living in another city or country, but actually talking to your machine like it can really hear, understand, and sympathize with what you’re saying. The experts are finding out that many people relate to their computer like it has feelings, and are even afraid to make their computer upset!

Nowadays, it’s not at all uncommon that the computer is the one thing in our life that we spend the most time with. Forget about mothers, brothers, or friends, the computer has replaced our parents, our siblings, and our pals. Have a problem? Go on the internet and google an answer. Bored? Turn on the computer and play games. Need a friend to talk to? Join a chat room and talk to countless anonymous people all over the world.

The computer has become the main gateway to happiness and fun for so many of us. With that much time spent with something, it’s inevitable that we begin to form a bond with the machine. But of course, we don’t just have relationships with computers alone. There are plenty of other machines that we pay attention to as well. I mean, when you’re riding on the bus or the subway, you gotta leave the computer at home. So, now comes the Ipod. Ever since this little machine was invented, lots of things have changed. You get on the train for a ride and you’ll see about half of the people have their ears tuned in to what’s playing on their Ipod or some other MP3 player. The Ipod makes sure that no matter where we go, we’ll never be bored because we’ve got our favorite tunes playing at the press of a button. You can be sitting in a crowded bus for an hour ride and see that no one really talks to each other, but many have got their ears attached to headsets. And the ones who aren’t listening to music are staring unconsciously at signboards along the sides of the road.

I know. Some of you may argue that the computer and the internet “connect” people because you can send out an email to a friend on some remote island on the other side of the world in mere seconds, and you can Skype your pals in Europe for free, or get to know total strangers from Africa without having to ever set foot outside of your bedroom. All that’s true. And I grant you the internet is reaaaallly wonderful. I don’t know what I would do without it.

But let me ask you this. When was the last time you sat down and chat with your dad for an hour, even though you’d spend hours and hours at a time chatting with some total stranger who plays the same online game as you? When was the last time you played ball with your little brother, and used actual balls instead of the mouse or the joystick? When was the last time you made friends with a real person outside that you can see their whole face, body, and can shake hands with?

True. People on the internet are people too, even though a lot of times, they lie about their gender, their age, their height, where they live, and whether they’re axe murderers or not. But the way I see it, if you can’t see someone’s face and smell their perfume/cologne or their breath, then it’s still not the real thing. Maybe some of us prefer it that way. When we spend time with the computer and the people on the internet, we do it the way we like it. If we don’t like some one in chat room A, we click on to chat room B. We can be 15 years old and tell the other person we’re 25, and they’ll still believe us. We can do and say all sorts of things and get away with it. And if we don’t feel like talking anymore, just log out.

Spending time with the computer is way easier than spending time with our family or even our friends outside. When we talk to people that we know, we can’t be saying things that are obviously false. Outside, we deal with real people with real issues. We see them and they see us. We know them and they know us. When there’s something difficult, we can’t just log out and shut down. But that’s what life is about. That’s what’s real.

Unfortunately, nowadays too many of us don’t like the real thing. We prefer the artificial, uncomplicated, made up world on the internet. We laugh, cry, get angry, hug, and even give kisses to people online, using the various “emotion” icons on the computer. But at the end of the day, none of those things leave us a warm feeling inside that’s hard to describe as when two people are actually laughing with one another, hugging one another, and kissing one another. Poets write poems about a gentle hug or a romantic kiss, but you’ll never see them extolling the beauty of an online laugh, hug, or kiss. The fact is giving someone an online hug has sentimental value less than giving someone a piece of old chewing gum.

You’re probably saying you know this and you can separate the real world from the fake world. Still, the way I see it, most of us are really great at avoid having relationships with the people around us. When we’re at home, we lock ourselves in the bedroom, most likely doing something on the computer. When we’re in the car, we’ve got music blasting on the stereo. When we’re on the metro, we have our ears glued to Ipod.

But when we do this, we’re really missing out because we don’t let ourselves have the opportunity to enjoy the people all around us, and the random friendliness that may occur. Let’s say you ride on a bus and see a girl or guy that you think is really really cute. But if that person’s got his/her ears attached to headseats, how could you ever strike up a conversation and let that person know you like them? And if you happen to be the cute one, how can anyone tell you if you’re too busy listening to music. In the end, you might even miss out on a great boy/girlfriend. You’ll never get any of those feelings that come from holding hands or a hug, or a gentle kiss. All you have left are those silly Yahoo Messenger icons that represent supposedly what your emotions are.

If you don’t know by now, life is about having relationships with real people, the ones who live with you, who you see at school, on the street, in your neighborhoods, and at your work. If you cannot have good relationships with these people, then it’s useless to try having good relationships with people who live faraway or who you cannot even see. The peoples close to you should be the ones you invest your time and emotions in first. You find love and friendship through these people because you can get to know them the best and they also know you the best. They are the ones who make you feel the most pain, but also the greatest love. The people around you show real emotions with their face. And they also want to see the same from you. Life is not found in chat rooms. Friendship is not just about sharing an interest in the same online game. And love is not about YM icons.

There is much for all of us to discover. We can do it on the computer. Through the internet, we can go many places far and wide. But don’t forget that all around us, there are still so many things we have yet to see and understand, and there are many people for us to get to know. So you have to decide. Do you want to have real relationships with real people or are you happy spending your days and nights with just online games, chatrooms, and artificial hugs and kisses?

Returning to Thailand

My preaching trip to Lafayette was the very last stint I had in the U.S. on my home leave before I returned back to Thailand to take up my mission work that I had left behind the last two and a half months.

What a blessed time it was for me to come back for this visit after three years away from home. I came back and saw my parents had grown a bit older and weaker, and I love them more than ever. I came back and saw my nephews and nieces had gotten bigger and older, and there were even some new additions to the family. I came back and presided at my sister's wedding, the last wedding in the family. I came back and found my friends still cared about me and the distance and time away from them did not make them become less good to me. I came back and found that there were so many people who felt touched by what I do in the mission field and were willing to support me in truly unexpected ways. I also came back and found that I had a message about mission to share with those who were willing to listen.

On the way to the airport today, my brother in law, Trieu asked me, "So did you do everything you wanted to do on your homeleave?"

"Yes," I told him. "I was able to do all that I wanted to do. I managed to spend time with the family, saw my friends, reconnect with my SVD confreres, preach about mission, and do some fundraising for my future work. I had a truly blessed time."

Now I return to Thailand, to my mission work, to trying to experiment with activities that may or may not bear fruit, but one simply has to try. I return to my small Catholic congregation in Thailand and try to figure out how to make this congregation grow and develop in faith and in numbers. I return to my work with people suffering from HIV/AIDS and have to figure out how to help them in ways that will really benefit them and make them feel the sense of integrity and value that they have lost. And I return to my work with the youth, teaching them, designing activities for them, and giving them directions in life. There is a lot of work waiting for me. I feel excited at the possibilities ahead, at the same time apprehension because it's not always easy to know what is the right thing to do.

And at this prospect, I realize that I need to pray - pray for strength, pray for guidance, pray for courage, and pray for wisdom. I pray that I may know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. I pray that whatever it is that I do, I do it for others and not for myself. I pray that when I fail, I will not be discouraged or angry. I pray that when I am successful, I will not become arrogant. I pray that when I don't have enough means to do it one way, I will become creative to do it in other ways. I pray that will I use love and faith more than time and money in my work.

Taipei, Taiwan 27.10.2009

My weekend in Lafayette, LA

Last weekend, I was invited to do mission preaching at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Lafayette, Louisiana. The pastor of this church is Fr. Thomas James, SVD and the associate pastor is Fr. Michael Long Vu, SVD. Fr. Michael is my ordination classmate. There were ten people in our class. The rest of our classmates are working in other places in the world. Michael ended up in the south and I ended up in Thailand.

I didn't intend to go to LA at first, but when I called Michael, he invited me to come. He said the parishioners at his church are generous to missionaries and they are very welcoming. So was Fr. James. When Michael asked Fr. James if I could come to do mission preaching at his church, he didn't hesitate to agree.

Fr. James is an African American priest. He's a good hearted man, and his demeanor is always cheerful. We didn't talk too much when I was there because Fr. James decided to take the weekend off, going fishing, watching football, and doing other things. But I never felt that I was not welcomed. I just had to make myself at home, and I had no trouble doing that since this was an SVD parish.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Church has a lot of history to it. Next month, it's celebrating 75 years anniversary. It started just as a small chapel headed by 4 African American SVD priests. These were the first African American priests to be ordained. At that time, due to segregation in the South, our SVD priests could integrate into the diocese like the rest of the white priests. So they started this chapel. Now 75 years later, IHM is a vibrant African American parish. There are 5 Masses on the weekends and 2 Masses on Monday. Michael told me that the weekday morning mass has about 100 attendants, which is not bad.

When I was at Lafayette, I had to "work for my money" so to speak. Fr. James let me preside and preach at all the weekend masses. Fr. Michael was always by my side to make sure I didn't feel uncomfortable in front of the congregation. But at no point did I feel uncomfortable because this was one of the most welcoming bunch of people I have ever met. They were also good hearted people who were always aware that they were blessed.

They were blessed with a good pastor, a good church, and good parishioners. On Sunday, I celebrated 4 masses from 6 a.m. until noon, but I remained surprisingly strong by the time I finished. No doubt the people's cheerful and welcoming attidue had something to do with it. They even made me forget that I had come down with a flu on Friday and had barely begun to subside by Sunday.

I felt good preaching to the congregation. Even though this was the first time I celebrated Mass with a predominantly African-American congregation, I really felt at home. I didn't feel like I needed to change my style to be like the "Baptist minister" to appeal to African Americans. I simply preached what I knew and what I felt based on the Scripture reading and my missionary experience. As usual, before I begin the Gospel reading, I stand in front of the altar and pray that God sends the Spirit upon me in order to direct and transform my mouth so I can preach the Word with conviction. I never begin preaching without asking for the Holy Spirit to descend upon me and work in me. And the congregation responded well.

I guess this is the beauty of the Catholic Church. No matter where we go, Vietnam, Thailand, or the U.S., there is always some commonalities that we can find. It makes us comfortable in new situation because we believe in the same God and speak from the same faith. And it's the working of the same Holy Spirit.

I was truly grateful for last weekend. I got to know a whole new congregation that I did not know before. It is certainly a place that I will come back to visit the next chance I get to return to the U.S.

Costa Mesa, CA 26.10.2009

World Mission Sunday 2009 Homily

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is really an honor and a joy for me to be able to have a part in this year’s Mission Sunday celebration at Divine Word College. When I was in Chicago for novitiate and theology studies, I managed to make it back to Epworth almost every year for this celebration. The reason I came back was because I think Mission Sunday celebration at Epworth was the one celebration we had that made me feel very connected to what The SVDs was about, what Epworth was about, and what I’m about. When I was discerning religious vocations, there were a lot of things that I was uncertain of, but the one thing I was never uncertain about was that if I were to be in religious life, I had to be a missionary.

The other reason I came back was of course for….the international foodfest with all the delicious food made by the students. You should have seen the scene in the kitchen last night. Father Khien Luu counter a total of 24 priests, sisters, and seminarians joining together just to make one simple dish of Vietnamese dumplings. And with nearly 50 people in the kitchen, it was pretty amazing that the stove only caught fire once. Fortunately, Fr. Thang was there to the rescue and nobody’s eyebrows got burnt.

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been back for a home visit from my mission work in the northeast of Thailand. And it’s been almost 4 years since I’ve been to Epworth. So it’s nice to come back here again on this special occasion. I’m glad to see that there are new changes, and there are somethings that haven’t changed. The most obvious and impressive change is that DWC seems to have gotten more beautiful (referring to the presence of sisters now studying at the college). And I’m not talking about the buildings. But it’s comforting to know that Fr. Mike is still the college president, the Pour House is still selling coffee at ten cents a cup, and philosophy still doesn’t make sense to most of the students.

You know, if you’ve been away on trips, especially to an exotic place like Thailand where you have to learn about the language, food, and culture, when you come back, you always want to tell people about what you did, where you went, and what you saw. Family and friends pretend to be interested for about 5 minutes, then they’re like: OK, let’s get back to Fantasy Football. So I’ll just spend a few minutes telling you about Thailand. When I first came to Thailand, the first thing I had to do was learn the language. Now the thing about Thai language is that it doesn’t use the Latin alphabet, but its own alphabet. There are 44 consonants and 32 vowels. It’s also a tonal language, so making low sounds or high sounds does matter to the meaning of the word.

When I first came to Thailand, I stayed with the Redemptorists in Bangkok. That’s where I did my language training. One of the priests there gave me some warnings about the language. He said making some simple mistakes can lead to very dangerous changes in meanings. For example, If you said: พระเป็นเจ้าเป็นผู้ขี้ให้, it means: God is One who likes to give, to bless. It is a very beautiful characterization of God. However, if you were nervous when you speak, and you accidentally changed the order of the word ขี้ and the word ให้, you end up saying: พระเป็นเจ้าเป็นผู้ให้ขี้, which translates: God is One who gives…..excrement. And this is not a flattering description of God at all!

As you can see, learning the intricacies of the language, the traditions, and the culture of the country where we work is all part of the missionary experience. It can be a source of great adventure as well as frustration. However, without this part of it, missionary work is hopeless.

At Epworth, the SVDs are charged with a great responsibility of training future missionaries. And what does it mean to be a missionary? I think the Gospel reading today gives us some very good explanations. If we model our mission work on Jesus’ own mission, we discover the following: First and foremost, the missionary must be someone filled with the Spirit of the Lord, who sends us and guides us. Without the Spirit, the source of all our strength, courage, wisdom, and hope, the missionary is totally clueless.

The Gospel passage also tells us that the missionary is sent to preach the Good News. That’s right, preach the Good News. We’re not sent to condemn cultures and civilizations. We’re not sent to topple political systems. We’re not sent to develop local economies. We’re sent to preach the Good News, which is that we are loved by God, called to enter into God’s embrace, and be a part of God’s life and God’s vision for the world. The Good News has to be at the center of whatever we do.

And of course, the people to whom we preach this Good News are those who are most in need of hearing the Good News: The poor, the captive, the oppressed, and the outcast. The missionary works with the people and for the people to make God’s Good News a reality in their life. All over the world, SVD missionaries with the help of local people and the supporters of mission I call them the “stay at home” missionaries, are engaged in a myriad of activities that aim to achieve this. In Thailand, one of the main SVD work is caring for and supporting people with HIV/AIDS at our center, at the church where I’m the pastor, as well as in the village. For us, bringing the Good News to people suffering from AIDS defines greatly our presence in this country.

One thing that we can clearly see in Jesus’ declaration is the clarity of intent and purpose in carrying out his mission. As we celebrate Mission Sunday today, each of us is called to reflect on our own mission with that same clarity. We, whether it’s priests and religious, seminarians, or lay people, have to examine our Christian life to ask ourselves: How much commitment have we made to this work? No matter who we are, when it comes to the Christian mission, all of us have our work cut out for us, and no one is off the hook.

In some ways, the fact that we have a “Mission Sunday Mass” is rather ironic, isn’t it? In reality, every Mass, every Eucharistic celebration is mission in character. We can see this most clearly when at the end of every mass, we are told to go to love and serve the Lord. Sometimes the celebrant wants to make it real specific by adding the phrase “and one another” in case people forget that you can’t love and serve God without loving and serving your fellow human beings too. Either way, the celebrant doesn’t tell you: “The Mass is ended, go home and enjoy Sunday football.” Or, “The Mass is ended, go back to bed.” Sure, many people will probably go home from Mass to watch Sunday football, but hopefully, they’ll also remember to love and serve the Lord and one another the rest of the time as well.

You know, coming back to California from the mission field only after three years, I was quite surprised to see how much things have changed. People are now using Iphones and Blackberries. There’s luxury cars all over the roads – and that’s when our economy is going through difficult times. We’re always trying to improve and upgrade the quality of our material life. That’s understandable. However, the same can’t always be said of our spiritual life.

In fact, how we handle our spiritual life is very different. We attempt to find every possible way to keep our spiritual activities to a minimum requirement – one hour of Mass on Sunday, don’t cheat, don’t steal, don’t harm others, go to confession once a year. We do this with the hope that it’ll somehow keep us out of hell. Some of us are more than happy to get purgatory. Hey, it’ll be painful for a while, but at least it’s not permanent. We live just enough so as not to fall into hell, but don’t necessarily strive for heaven.

I think Mission Sunday reminds each of us that we not only need to upgrade our spiritual life on a personal level, but also for the sake of others as well. Recently, a high school student in Chicago was beaten to death by a mob. This incident was witnessed by numerous bystanders. I believe as much as we should be outraged at the individuals who picked up the wooden planks to beat the victim, we ought to be equally outraged at the individuals who simply stood by to watch and let it happen.

Brothers and sisters, the mission field has no place for workers who simply stand idly by to watch weeds grow up, choking the crops and destroying the harvest. More than ever, the mission field needs people who don’t just observe apathetically from the bank while others immerse themselves knee deep in the mud. We need people who don’t just “Come and See,” but also people who are willing to make that “Yes” response.

YES, I’m going to do something about social injustice in society.
YES, I’m going to do something about spiritual poverty among my friends and family.
YES, I’m going to do something about the fact that my children aren’t going to church anymore and the pews in churces are increasingly empty on Sunday.
YES, I’m going to do something about mission work overseas and at home that need my prayer and support.
YES, I’m going to do something about the lack of people responding to the call to religious vocations.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Mission Sunday reminds us that we cannot take the minimum as the standard for our Christian life. Rather, it is about living out this life intently, purposefully, and enthusiastically. It is about saying “YES” to be part of God’s mission to preach the Good News to the world. It is about joining together as a community to do the task that we have been asked to do according to our vocation to the best of our ability knowing that the Spirit of the Lord is with us, knowing that the hope of the poor and the marginalized drive us, and knowing that joy and peace in serving God will be our greatest reward.

From our quiet suburbs, we are called to bring peace to the violent streets of the inner city. From our townhomes and condominiums, we are called to bring Jesus to the straw huts of Africa. From the corn fields of Iowa, we are called to preach the Good News on the mountains of Papua New Guinea. And from this very seminary, we are called to go out with joy and enthusiasm, for how beautiful in the fields, in the valleys, and upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, proclaiming salvation, and saying to Zion, “Your God is King!”

May God bless all of us, send His spirit upon us, and may we be ready to respond to God’s call each and everyday of our life. Amen

Divine Word College Seminary, Epworth, IA, 18 October 2009

Divine Word College Seminary

I'm at the Divine Word College Seminary in Epworth, Iowa. I arrived here yesterday after visiting the province headquarters in Techny, IL. The reason I am here at the Divine Word Seminary is to visit the SVD community here. This is where I spent one year from 1998-1999 as an Associate discerning a vocation in religious life, specifically with the Divine Word missionaries.

Epworth is a small town located in the Tri-state area, not too far from the Mississippi river and the Illinois border. There is not much to speak of about this town. By far, the seminary is the town's most famous landmark. It can be seen clearly from Interstate 20 running through the town. When I was at the seminary, I often sat on the lawn stretching from the seminary above running to the street below to watch the cars passing by on the interstate. On the other side of the interstate is cornfields that spread out as far as the eyes can see. In the winter, these cornfields become a white carpet of snow. I suppose the Society chose Epworth to build the seminary is precisely because there is nothing much here to speak of. Although, it does have its charm of small town America.

89 students are studying at the seminary, which is also a 4-year college. Divine Word College Seminary is the only one of its kind in the entire country. The students here study ESL, philosophy, and cross-cultural studies. ESL students make a significant number of the student population. Less than 40 students are actually SVD candidates. The rest are sisters, priests, and candidates from other congregations. A large proportion are from Vietnam. The Society since last year has started to give scholarships to sisters and priests from Vietnam looking for an opportunity to study English and obtain a degree in the United States. The presence of these individuals have made the seminary more lively and unique in character. Surely, there is no other seminary in this entire country, or in this entire world for that matter, that has the characteristics seen here.

Most of the SVD candidates are Vietnamese Americans. But there are also students from other cultural backgrounds such as Sudanese, Caucasian, Indonesian, and Latino. In the last 35 years, Vietnamese Americans have constituted the majority of the candidates at this seminary. However, in the past the number of vocations have been quite higher than the present. The decrease in vocation is being felt throughout the entire country, and at the SVD seminary, it is no exception. However, with nearly 40 candidates any other religious congregation in this country would be envious of the SVD.

Last night I gave the students a presentation on my mission work in Thailand. I had pictures to go with the presentation. They seemed to be impressed by my work. Many students came up to me this morning and told me that they enjoyed what I told them, and some felt that they might even be interested in joining me in Thailand in the future. If this happened, it would still be quite a few years off. Still, it's nice to know that my presentation is making them think of the possibilities.

Mission animation is an important task for the formation of the students. It helps them to envision a future for themselves and give meaning to the sometimes tedious and often challenging academic responsibilities that they have to fulfill at the moment.

The seminary will celebrate Mission Sunday on the 18th of October. This is the one day of the year where the entire Church celebrates its call to mission as a church. It reminds every Christian of his/her responsibility to take part in God's work of preaching the Good News to the world. This year, I will be the presider and homilist at the celebration. It is a great honor for me because this celebration is one of the two major celebrations that the seminary organizes each year. In attendance will be the seminary community, guests as well as students who participate in the "come and see" program. It's important that I have a good message that speaks to their heart and mind and helps them to see more clearly that we all have a role in the mission of the Church.

I am happy to be here, to see that the Seminary is evolving and fulfilling its purpose in new and creative ways. I am happy to see that new generations of people are responding to the call to serve God and fellow human beings. I am happy that they still are attracted to the message that we have a responsibility to help the poor and the marginalized.

At this moment, nearly midnight, many of them are busy studying in their rooms. Some are congregating as a group in one of the classrooms to study as a group. A few are camping out in the library (where I am writing at the moment). This is midterm week for them.

There is much to do in the mission field. But the training starts here at this seminary where theory will eventually be put to practice.

Epworth, Iowa, 15 October 2009

Looking back to first days in Nong Bua Lamphu

When I first came to Nong Bua Lamphu in April, 2008, this is what I wrote in my diary (below). It's rather interesting to look back and see your expectations and compare them to the present reality.

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As of today, Thursday 24 April, 2008 I have arrived to my new assignment at the SVD built parish of St. Michael Archangel Church in Nong Bua Lamphu province exactly two weeks. I have celebrated two Sunday Masses and 12 weekday Masses. I find that day by day, I am gradually having to spend less time on looking over the various parts of the Mass as I gain more ability to make out Thai words quickly.

A challenging but a very beneficial activity that I am going through at this time is preparing a Sunday homily that lasts at least 10 minutes. The process of preparing a homily in Thai takes me about four days. The first day is to reflect on the reading. The second day is to write a rough draft by hand on paper. The third day is reserved for typing up the rough draft onto the computer. This is by far one of the most tedious things that one has to do as the Thai language has a total of 44 consonants and 32 vowels. The characters are spread all over the keyboard, and it takes great patience to punch the right keys to form the words on the screen. It takes me over three hours to type up a homily that I have already handwritten. Finally, I spend another day revising the homily in the hope that it achieves an acceptable degree of clarity and insightfulness. I was very happy when I have received feedbacks from parishioners that I preached well. When all that is done, I spend the days left over to practice on my delivery.

The reason I spend a great deal of time on the homily is because it is a great exercise in advancing my language skills as in many ways, I am still in a learning stage. The other purpose for why I spend a great deal of time on my homily is because I am trying to shape a series of messages that I think are important for the parishioners in Nong Bua Lamphu to hear at this time. That message is an encouragement for parishioners to take a more pro-active role in participating in church life and taking stewardship of the church that Br. Damien Lunders has spent a tremendous amount of time, energy, and resources to have built up. It is now due time for the local community to take charge of this church, to see it as theirs, and to realize that the future of the parish community depends on their participation and sense of responsibility.

Nong Bua Lamphu is a very small parish. There are estimates that put the number of Catholic in the area at about 100 people. But the actual number of people who go to church regularly is small. My effort at this time is to encourage a sense of “mission” in the regular church going Catholics to be more active in inviting their friends and families to go to church.

My immediate goal is also to make small but tangible changes to aspects of the parish life, for example, introduce altar server, invite more people to participate in reading the Scriptures, encourage the parishioners to take charge of things such as decorating the church, and make clear various aspects of parish finances.

I also make an effort to invite the HIV/AIDS patients and staff from the hospice to attend daily mass, even though all but one are not Catholic. In fact, on some days, even four or five attend. There is one patient who has volunteered to come everyday to read the reading in Thai.

In the near future, Fr. Truc Phan and I hope to start an English program at the church as a way to attract more young people, Catholic and non-Catholic, to the church in order to make the church a more lively place and introduce various activities into the parish environment.

Unless there are change of assignments either from the SVD side or from the diocesan side, if my stay in Nong Bua Lamphu is a significant amount of time, I plan to initiate or participate in some ministerial work that would expose me more to the larger Nong Bua Lamphu community, such as social work or education.

On the side, I have initiated a Vietnamese language Mass once a month at a church in the nearby Udon Thani province for Vietnamese migrant workers who are very grateful that they are able to celebrate Mass in their mother tongue. Ministry with Vietnamese migrant workers in Bangkok and now in the Udon Thani Diocese is something that I have engaged in since I first came to Thailand, and is something I plan on continuing during my time serving in this country.

It is certainly too early at this time to evaluate the effectiveness or the value of my work in Nong Bua Lamphu and in the Udon Thani Diocese. However, I do hope that as I become more familiar with my working environment, more in tune with the issues and needs of the local church, and more fluent in the Thai culture and language, I will be able to initiate or participate in some meaningful ministries that would contribute to building up the local church as well as the SVD District of Thailand.

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This is what I shared with someone three months later in July. At that time, I was thinking that there would be another priest to come work with me in Nong Bua Lamphu. But as it turned out, that would not be the case. I would have to work alone in this province.

July 2008

As of my writing this, it has been about a year and three months since I’ve studied and worked in Thailand. I spent a total of 8 months learning the language (5 months in school and three months on my own). I then moved to Udon Thani Diocese for a program of internship that was supposed to last six months. But three months into my internship, the church at Nong Bua Lamphu province found itself without a pastor because the present pastor was reassigned by his order to another part of the country. St. Michael Archangel church in NBL is a lovely small church that was built by Br. Damien Lunders, SVD and opened in 2002.

Although I haven’t finished my internship program, I approached the bishop and asked that I’d be sent to NBL to administer the parish, until Fr. Truc Phan, SVD who was still studying Thai in Bangkok was ready to take over the job. The bishop readily agreed because the diocese was already short of personnel. I moved my belongings to NBL in April, and now, I have been here for about three and a half months.

Looking back on the time that has gone by, I must say that it has been a very unexpected experience for me. Many things happened not according to what I had planned, but turn out to be the very things that speak of the great providence of God. I originally planned to study Thai for a year, but found out that I was itching to go into the “field” after six months into the experience. I felt I had enough language skills to do the work. So I asked my superiors to let me shorten the time of language program. They agreed, on the condition that I would take the Thai language proficiency exam given once a year in December. I took the test, and passed.

Once in Udon Thani, I also cut short my internship program because of an unexpected need in the local church. Through personal reflection and seeking advice from some people around me, I decided to take on the challenge.

Now, here in NBL, my aim is to help build this small parish into a meaningful place in the community and in the diocese. Because of the small number of parishioners and many changes of priest in a short time, the parish has been slow in developing, unlike the Mother of Perpetual Help Center and the children’s home, which have seen tremendous development in the past years. Catholics in the province still don’t go to mass regularly, and many do not attend mass at all. For various reasons, the diocese’s subsidy for the parish is rather modest, only 300 UAD a month for all church expenses including the pastor’s expenses. Sunday collections are also quite modest since over half of the church are children/orphans, teenagers, and manual laborers. The previous pastor managed to have a confirmation catechism class for a group of 5 teenagers, but the teacher is “on loan” from Udon Thani. The church has no organ, so the song leader uses a CD player to play recorded music to which the community sings along. The priest also has no altar servers.

Facing a rather unlively situation, my goal has been to do what I can in order to help the small parish become a place where people come to hear the Good News and to participate in enriching activities. People should know of the church as more than just “where the HIV/AIDS Center is located”. Certainly, the HIV/AIDS center is an essential and extremely significant part of our ministry in NBL, but the church itself needs to look for ways to serve other pastoral needs as well.

With this understanding in mind, I have taken some modest steps towards realization of this goal. First, I attempt to tailor my homily messages (which takes me quite some time to prepare in Thai) to help parishioners become more conscious of their Christian identity and mission so that they would take a more active role in the family, parish and in society as God’s witnesses.

Second, I have started programs that each parish must have, that is, catechism. Presently, the confirmation class continues to take place. The children’s catechism class has also been opened two months ago, with the help of another parishioner from NBL. This class has 19 students, who are from the children’s home run by the Sisters of Charity. Although, we encourage parents to send their children to this class as well. Two weeks ago, I have opened an adult catechism class, which I teach myself. This class has two adult women and one teenager. They are Buddhists but want to convert to Christianity. Beside catechism, I have also opened an English class for high school students in NBL in an attempt to put the church to the service of the greater community. My class now has 10 students, and I teach on Saturday and Sunday. More are interested in studying, but I have to restrict the number of students for practical reasons.

Third, I try to make small but tangible changes to way the church looks and feels by asking parishioners to be responsible for donating and setting up the flowers in the church each week; by having altar servers at every Sunday mass; by implementing correct liturgical practices in the mass, and by introducing people who come to mass for the first time or who has not been to mass for a long time to create a sense of hospitality. Hospitality is further enhanced after mass, in which snacks and drinks are served so parishioners have an opportunity for fellowship. However, the most important change to the “feel” of the church took place last Sunday when through some contacts with good-hearted Catholics in Bangkok, the church now has a second hand Yamaha electric piano that can replace the CD player as provider of music for the liturgy. For the first time, the community can sing their praises to God accompanied by live music played by the catechism teacher.

Finally, I am trying to work toward community building by seeking out parishioners. An ongoing project is registration of membership in the church. This project was started over a month ago, and will take some time to complete. I have made a number of visits to parishioners who do not go to church often, or at all. Since May, I have published a monthly parish newsletter that includes community news, articles and reflections. Lastly, being of Vietnamese descent, I am also seeking out Catholic migrant Vietnamese workers in the area who were unfamiliar with the parish. I hope that the church will become a place of support for these young workers who are trying to make a living far away from home.

As one can see, the situation of the parish is rather modest. And the work I am carrying out is also modest. With my limited Thai ability, it takes me longer to do many things, for example, preparing my homily, writing articles for the newsletter, or even writing a thank you letter to Thai benefactors. However, this is also an “excuse” or rather an “opportunity” for me seek help and collaboration from parishioners. But I have expressed to the parishioners that I am young, inexperienced, and I need a lot of help. However, I do hope and am confident that with every little thing done, it is done with God’s blessings and inspiration.

Soon, Fr. Truc will join me and take over the position of pastor of the parish. Fr. Truc has many talents and abilities that I lack in. I hope that with the bishop’s consent, I will be assigned as Fr. Truc’s assistant, and help him to make this parish into a small but lively witness of the Good News of Christ in NBL province.