Dear friends, I am sure that at Jesus’ time, there was a lot of stress and anxiety.  Israel was a country ruled and taxed by an oppressive foreign power.  When they said, “What are we going to eat?” their concern was IF they would have anything to eat.  It was real bad!

I came back from Nigeria a couple of weeks ago, where Islamic extremists have forced Christians to leave the predominantly Muslim northern part of the country and move south.  My state, Benue, is at the moment witnessing sporadic attacks, with innocent people killed and rendered homeless. Events such as the Westgate Mall siege in Nairobi, the struggle for power in Egypt, the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the on-going crisis in Syria, Central African Republic Sudan and the rise of extremism in the former Soviet republic of Dagestan, the unrests in Ukraine, Venezuela as well as Italy are sure causes for worry and stress in our world.

I don’t know whether the anxiety people had to face at Jesus’ time and in the places mentioned above was greater or less than what we face here on the home front – broken homes, aging parents, delinquency, drugs, AIDS, free flow of arms, threat of nuclear weapons, loss of homes, loss of jobs, etc.  The American Academy of Family Physicians estimates two-thirds of office visits are prompted by stress-related symptoms.  I believe that even though we have Maalox and Martinis, tranquilizers and psychology, we still need to hear the Lord’s wisdom in today’s Gospel.  Jesus reminds us that our God loves us.  We belong to God, so “enough of worrying.”  Relax, God is in control.

Yet Jesus does not imply that we become irresponsible.  We have to work to provide for ourselves and our family.  We have to study to pass exams.  We have to make efforts to develop and improve.  In doing all of these, however, let us never think we can get along well without the Lord.  When we do that, we are setting ourselves up for stress and anxiety, because then we are programming ourselves to think we have to make it on our own.  Any civilization, culture and progress that is devoid of a sense of God is bound to head for ruin and destruction.  We have a God who helps us – our rock, our salvation, our stronghold.  From Him comes all our help.

As we embark on our Lenten journey of 40 days and 40 nights this Wednesday, let us pray fervently for peace in the world, that all nations and cultures will turn back to God for mercy and healing.  From Him comes all our help.

Fr. Gabriel Wankar
Priest-in-Residence

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We should thank the Lord Jesus who came to deliver us from darkness, sin and even death.  Jesus begins today’s Gospel with the correct understanding of the law.  He emphasizes the completion of the Law of God.

Jesus is not abolishing the 10 Commandments, but is demanding of his followers a more perfect, more sincere, fulfillment of them.  The whole moral value of any legal observance, including Mosaic Law, comes from the interior disposition of him who observes or keeps the law.  No man serves or honors God by any exterior acts – be they ever so arduous or continuous – unless these acts proceed from an intention to honor and please God.  This is the charter, the constitution, of the new law, Christianity.  The old law is not abolished, but is deepened and given a new life.

Jesus began with a new perspective regarding the law.  He based his teaching upon the Old Law but gave it a new way of being understood and practiced in people’s lives.

Therefore, avoiding murder is not enough; the true Christian must remove any inclination to murder by building up true, brotherly love for all men in his heart.  Avoiding anger is not enough; the true Christian must have peace of mind and try to build up harmony with others.  When we offer gifts at the altar, the true Christian must fill up with love, not only the love of God, but also the love of neighbors deep down in the heart.  And above all, the true Christian has to reconcile and be reconciled, to forgive in order to be forgiven.

True and loyal service of God therefore begins in the heart and has its value from this interior disposition.  Keeping the 10 Commandments is our way of proving to God that we are grateful, obedient and loyal to him who gave us all we have and who has promised us future gifts infinitely greater still.  And just as our love for God is proved by our true love for our neighbor, so the last seven of the commandments impose on us obligations regarding our neighbor.  It is only by fulfilling these seven that we can fulfill the first three which govern our relations with God.  Let us pray that you and I truly understand today’s Gospel and put it into daily practice.  May the Holy Spirit renew our hearts and minds so that we might be free to become true sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.

With love,
Fr. Thuong Hoai Nguyen, Pastor

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Jesus calls us in the Gospel today: “You are the salt of the earth, and you are the light of the world.”  How can we become the salt and the light of the world nowadays?

If we think through about who we are, we should confirm one thing that makes us so special, so precious: That we are called the children of God, or the children of light.  These words “salt” and “light” are real titles of honor, and of the greatest distinction.  Christ is putting his true follower almost on a level with himself.  He was the light of the world; he was the salt of the earth.  He gave human beings the knowledge of the true nature of God, through the Incarnation.  He gave this life its flavor, its meaning, its preservation.  By his death and resurrection, he took away the sting of death and removed its eternal corruption, through the guarantee and promise of a resurrection to an eternal life.

Indeed, when we became disciples of Jesus through Baptism, we received his Word with great joy.  We received the light from Christ; and we were anointed to become the royal priesthood, holy people.  We became the light that needs to shine.  We became the salt of the earth, the “good salt.”  We literally put a “good taste” in the mouth of those who are hungry for God’s love.  If, however, we fall away from Jesus, we are in darkness and go flat.  We become hurting people in which our light has died and our salt is degraded. The enemy takes advantage and uses our “flat” lives to trample people underfoot.

Therefore, we should put on Christ, stick with Christ and be closer to Christ.  We have light because of him.  We have the taste of salt because of him.  And we can shine and give taste to life only because of Him, the Lord Jesus Christ.  As Jesus said: “You can’t do nothing without Me.”  You and I have seen that human life on earth is short.  The demands of our Christian life may not always be easy, but we know that if we live up to them, we are other Christs.  We are continuing his great work by our own good example to our neighbor, and we are giving glory to God, earning for ourselves the eternal light of heaven.

In short, we are Christians, we are reborn in Christ along with His mission, the mission of becoming the light of the world and salt of the earth.  We should ask ourselves this week: “Am I the light of our society?  Am I the salt of my brothers and sisters?”  May the light of Christ give us more light, and the salt of Christ give us more flavor.

With love,
Fr, Thuong Hoai Nguyen, Pastor

Today the Universal Church is celebrating of The Presentation of The Lord, which occurs 40 days after the birth of Jesus.  This feast is no longer called the “Purification of Mary,” but rather the “Presentation of the Lord” in the new liturgical calendar.

According to the Jewish Law, 40 days after their baby boys were born, parents were obliged to present them to the Lord.  Jesus is presented in the temple today 40 days after His birth.  Why is it 40 days?  Perhaps this number is associated with many events in Israelites’ history, such as the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years before entering into the promised land; Noah’s flood lasting 40 days; Moses being in God’s presence on Mt. Sinai for 40 days; Nineveh had 40 days to repent.  But above all, the number of “Forty” indicates a period of great change, hopefully ending in fulfillment.  Today, the Lord is offering us the grace of “40;” that is, the grace of transformation and fulfillment.

My dear brothers and sisters, the Church asked our parents to present their children to be baptized after they were born.  They were dedicated to God through the Sacrament of Baptism.  You and I were sanctified and transformed by this sacrament but not yet fulfilled, because we are still living our lives on the earth.  The Presentation of the Lord Jesus indeed reminds us about ourselves who were dedicated and possessed by God.  The question for us is: “Do we really possess God and do we really live up to our heavenly call?”  God sets us apart from this world, and God calls us to live higher than normal people – Christians or children of God!

Why don’t we rededicate ourselves to God today?  Promise to God that we will put on Christ; learn from the way Christ lived His life, what He said, what He did and how He acted according to His Father’s will.  To be a good daughters and sons of God is to become another Christ for the world.  May the Presentation of the Lord help us to recognize our privilege: “We belong to God.”

With love,
Fr. Thuong Hoai Nguyen

Last Wednesday, Jan. 22,  marked the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the U.S.  More than 55 million children’s lives have been lost to abortion.  Catholic moral teaching on abortion says that direct abortion is always intrinsically evil.  Natural law simply says to do good and avoid evil.  Everyone knows about it.  It does not matter what religion you practice.  It is not a matter of your beliefs.  In the woman’s womb is a child.  Everyone can see it.  People become totally blind.  No one has the right to deny the right to life.

In Genesis 1:26 we read that God created human beings in His image, after His likeness.  Human dignity springs from this.  The Fifth Commandment says you shall not kill.  Life is a gift from God, and because of this is sacred; it belongs to God.  Life starts at conception and lasts until natural death.  Everyone has a right to life; this is the first right of every human being.  Life belongs to God, so people should guard life in a holy way.  Abortion is a crime.

From 1 John 1:8, we have to acknowledge that we are sinners.  This is true about all of us.  God is merciful; He forgives sin.  Sin is breaking our relationship with God.  We see this in Genesis.  Sin has an individual dimension and a communal, or social, dimension.  Jesus Christ died for us so we can have salvation.  We should follow the natural law and avoid evil.  We should follow the commandments.

All Christians should be involved in public life; in society and political life to promote human values on earth and after death.  We are salvation people. The Conference of U.S. Bishops states that Catholics should promote child birth and adoption as an alternative.  Citizens should choose people in elections who promote life.  Promoting life is very important.  We as Catholics act in this way. The dignity of the human person has the first place.

Fr. Rafal Duda
Parochial Vicar

The picture of a table reminds us of a family meal.  Not only do we break the bread and share it as a food, but we also share our sadness and joy; we can be together as one family.  Today, there are many families gathering at table, waiting for their sons and daughters and parents.  What a tremendous joy when the missing children come, and they can sit as one family.  “I will go back to my father.” Is there any ideal family in this world?  No, there isn’t.  Only in Heaven there is!

May everyone at the table eat this bread; may Jesus Christ unite us.  We are supposed to forgive each other any hurts that have occurred over the past and live in unity until he comes again.  This is not always easy.  It is difficult, but possible, because we should be united at the one table with Christ who was born in order to unite what was broken by division of sin.

The whole Christian community throughout the world prays in communion with the prayer of Jesus “that they all may be one” (John 17:21).  There are approximately 38,000 different Christian denominations in the world … Jesus prayed for one!

My brothers and sisters, it is very difficult to put together so many pieces of a broken glass.  We need to reach out in love to all other Christians with charity to overcome in truth whatever divides us from one another.  We need to reach out to members of our families.  We can be united.  For example, many Christians will participate in the Walk for Life next Saturday in San Francisco in order to protect unborn children.  On Monday, we will celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King, a Baptist minister, the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and give equal voting rights to African-Americans.  Many of you are helping GRIP, an interfaith, multiracial collaboration founded in the late 1960s that provides services to the Richmond community.

We pray of the prayer of Jesus, the Son of God, that we all may be one.

“Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me,
so that they may be one, just as we are.” (John 17:11)

Amen.

Fr. Rafal Duda,
Parochial Vicar

The 2014  Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) will take place from January 18-25 under the banner of the theme:  “Has Christ Divided Us?”  (cf. 1Corinthians 1:13). See here

In Wadowice, Poland, the town where the Pope John Paul II was born, a photographer captures the prayerful moment at the font where the pope was baptized.  Although the crowd was not large − he was the most widely recognized person in the world − it was something unusual.

Let us look back at the place where we were baptized.  Everything began on the day of the baptism.  We were called by God to be a saint.  We try to follow Jesus Christ at every step on life’s journey: my vocation, school, work, retirement, etc.  The vocation to sainthood is a call from God.  On the last day of our life, we will be brought to the church and the casket will be sprinkled with holy water.  It is the grace and hope that we have in Christ Jesus, so we can return to our home in heaven.

My Savior, you are without sin, but you are always close to me.  You participate in the customs of the people and remind me that I need to repent of my sins.  Baptism is the way to the new life, to being born again of water and spirit.   Jesus!  You come in on the scene of the world, not in a spectacular way but as someone who is “unknown.”  I see you in “the line,” when you are waiting for the baptism, together with sinners.

The gentlest servant of all, come into my heart!  Let me recognize the will of your Father, as you did.  You “get dirty of my sins.”  Jesus, you are always in a distressing experience in my life and you stretch out your arms.  I have sinned and am deprived of the glory of God.  O God; you haven’t changed from the beginning.  That’s not the same me; I have changed.  My sin is to not believe in your love.

Protect me from the enemy Satan, who from the beginning didn’t like that we were in a good relation with God.  From baptism, we are once again in paradise.  Through our Savior’s death and resurrection, we can go to heaven.

And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

and, in the form of a dove, the Spirit descended upon Jesus. (Mt. 3:13-17)

Fr. Rafal Duda,
Parochial Vicar

In the United States, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord this Sunday.  The three magi, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, followed the star to Bethlehem to adore the newborn King.  They brought gifts of gold because the Child was a King, frankincense because the Child was God and myrrh because the Child was destined to be a sacrifice.  May we humbly adore our Savior, offering our gift of love.

Many of you offer your gifts in services to our parish community and outreach services as well.  With your gifts of love, you shine like stars and help to lead many to Christ.

Since before the Middle Ages, Catholics would bless their house by inscribing with blessed chalk the initials of the three kings above their doorways.  This tradition symbolizes the family’s commitment to welcome Christ into their homes throughout the year.  It provides protection against illness and misfortune for those within.

They would mark their doors with 20 + C + M + B + 14 “Christus Mansionem Benedicat,” which means “May Christ bless this house.”  (Casper, Melchior and Balthasar with the first two numerals of the year 2014 preceding the C, and the last two numerals of the year placed after the B).

Retired Pope  Benedict XVI  said last year in a homily that when the wise men from the East led the way, they opened up the path of the gentiles to Christ.  “No doubt there were many astronomers in ancient Babylon, but only these few set off to follow the star that they recognized as the star of the promise, pointing them along the path towards the true King and Savior.  They were, as we might say, men of science, but not simply in the sense that they were searching for a wide range of knowledge: they wanted something more.  They wanted to understand what being human is all about.”

They were men in search of the promise, in search of God.  What kind of star do you follow?

Fr. Rafal Duda,
Parochial Vicar

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Our Church dedicates the first Sunday after Christmas to consecrate our families to the Holy Family – Mary, Joseph and Jesus.  To talk about families, perhaps we should identify a traditional marriage.  Marriage is too often conceived as the sacrament that unites a man and a woman to form a couple.  In reality, marriage establishes a family, and its main purpose is to multiply the number of human beings.

A real marriage should be intending toward children.  Although Mary and Joseph were not untied in a carnal way, their marriage is still a true marriage: an indissoluble, exclusive union, wholly subordinate to raising the Child.  Mary and Joseph had only one child, but He would contain the whole of mankind, even as Isaac, an only child, fulfilled the promise made to Abraham of countless children.

Thus, the whole purpose of every marriage is to establish a Christian family.  To look at the Holy Family, it observed the religious laws of Israel; it went in pilgrimage to Jerusalem every year with other Jewish families.  When Jesus got lost in the temple, Mary and Joseph tried to find Him with fear and sorrow!  Mary said to Jesus when she found Him: “Why did you do this to us?”  Jesus simply responded that why are you looking for me?  Don’t you know that I have to do my Father’s will?  Therefore, it may happen that God’s will must oblige the family to make disconcerting sacrifices.  Yet every Christian family must also live in harmony and in prayer, which are the pledges of joy and union.

Then at the end of the Gospel it said: “He remained obedient to them.”  Jesus was God, but He did everything as a son of man.  Perhaps this is the perfect example for all children of God nowadays in our society.  To become Holy Family, each member of a family has to live as Mary, Joseph and Jesus: recognize and fulfill duties and responsibility; deeply love and respect one another; live with joy, happiness and harmony.  And above all, always listen and do the will of God.

Happy New Year.

Best wishes,
Fr. Thuong Hoai Nguyen, Pastor

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In today’s Gospel, the angel said to the shepherds: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David, a Savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”

Needless to say, it is the fundamental and cardinal reason for celebrating Christmas – the Mystery of the Incarnation.  God became a human: God’s Son was incarnated in the womb of Virgin Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit.  God is still Almighty God and now fully human.  God with divinity and humanity can’t be separated because the Son of God became God-Man.

From now on, all human beings have great hope and confidence that they are no longer walking in darkness. They will see a great light, and they will rejoice because a child is born to them, a son is given to them.  All nations and people will name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.

My friends, I would like to take this holy moment again to wish you all the best.  May this Good News, this great joy always remain in you and your family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, FELIZ NAVIDAD, MALIGAYANG PASKO, CHÚC MỪNG GIÁNG SINH.

Best wishes,
Fr, Thuong Hoai Nguyen. Pastor