Vietnamese Centre

In July, last month, for about four weeks, Nam and I were doing “mission’ in Vietnamese Catholic Centre in Keysborough. This centre is commonly known as the “farm church” because this area was a farm area in the past. However, due to the growing and the developing of the city, most of this area has been transformed into a new function which is now dominated by new buildings. Most of the parishioners are the first and the second generations of Vietnamese people who came to Australia as refugees. The Parishioners are also divided into many groups, such as choirs, youths, children, parents and many more. With their presence, all of them enrich and enhance the liturgy of the Church.

Celebrating sacraments and saying mass as well as preaching, leading novena on Saturday, visiting a nursing home and giving them communion, blessing a wedding and saying a funeral mass are some of the pastoral ministries of Fr Joseph Tuyen and Fr JB. I was expected to join some of these pastoral activities, but due to the lack of the Vietnamese language and the fact that most of the celebrations are in Vietnamese then truly I have to say that I did not do as much as I was expected. Instead of taking part in ministry, I then positioned myself as an observer.

Therefore I was thinking about what I have to share with you all. Not being able to speak the language did not mean that I did not learn at all. Could be the thing that gave me joy in four week times was to be part of the Vietnamese community and had an opportunity to experience the way of Tuyen and JB doing mission. Seeing them say mass, organise a meeting and attend the invitation for different occasions gave me a glimpse of how to work as a priest. It is enjoyable as well as challenging. Enjoyable because thorough ministry we are bringing blessing to others. Challenging because we have to live what we have preached and we are called to act and behave justly in order to avoid divisions among parishioners.

And in this case, I really admire Tuyen and JB’s ability to approach their parishioners and deal with their problems, especially to avoid the divisions among the parishioners. Some parishioners who approached me said that they really happy with the presence of the Redemptoris. In other words, the presence of Tuyen and JB have represented the congregation on which people can rely. Tuyen Once said,“To be a priest in Vietnamese community we are expected to behave as a prayerful person and act justly,” an expectation which I think same as well to the other areas of mission.

On Sunday last week, I was attending mass at Depden parish when I found a prayer of Pope Francis. In his prayer for parishes which was written in September 2017, Pope Francis said, “Parishes must be in contact with homes, with people’s lives, with the society. They have to be houses where the door is always open so as to go forth towards others. The doors must be opened so that Jesus can go out with all the joy of his message. More than simple offices, they, animated by mission spirit, have to be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen.”

As Pope Francis wrote in his prayer, in my point of view, Fr Tuyen and JB, both of them have placed the centre as a real centre for the Vietnamese community. It is the place where the whole community, the children, the youth, the adult and the parents be in contact and have a strong bond as a community. I remember, on Saturday of our first week, there was a dinner held by a youth group of Eucharistic movement to thank their parents who have always encouraged and supported them in many of their activities. It was amazing to see how two different generations, the old and the youth mingle together as a community. This is just one of the examples which describe how the bond of the community is very strong.

It is also a house where the door is always opened, not only for the Vietnamese people but also for the other nationalities to come as well as to go forward to bring Jesus through their vocation as lay people. There are some Aussie peoples who usually attend the mass on Sunday. Tuyen told me that actually they cannot speak the language but the enjoy the Eucharist, especially with the Vietnamese hymns. I think this is the privilege to be a Catholic, wherever we are and whatever our nationality, it does not matter at all, we will feel the same sense of welcoming because we have the same faith.

Moreover, it is not a merely a simple centre and a house, but more than that, animated by the Redemptorist missionary spirit, this centre has been a place where faith is communicated and brotherhood is seen. I was impressed to see a group of parents having morning prayer every Saturday followed by a lovely breakfast and on another day, another group, a choir group had a practice, and just after dinner, I witnessed them cleaned the house together. These just show me that being part of a community means accepting others as a family and together work for the common good of the community. Just as a body of Christ, each of us is different but we all, through our talents and our uniqueness are called to contribute to the community.

So, the challenge for me is how to live my vocation happily as a Redemptorist who bring the fullness of redemptions through my way of life. Living with Tuyen and JB made me more understand just how essential it is to realise my own responsibility to practice what I preach, to live up the gospel values that I profess. And in term of community life, how to contribute for the community life, even it through a small action. As Mother Teresa of Calcutta says “If you can’t do great things, you can do a small thing, but in a great way.” I think this is expected of all of us.