December 29, 2019

Merry Christmas Everyone,

   We are in the Holy Season of Christmas, full of God’s blessings and love for one another.  We are to love God with all our hearts, minds and souls.  We are also to express God’s love to one another.  Every time we wish someone “Merry Christmas,” we are sending them God’s heavenly blessings.  Therefore, please always fill your hearts with Jesus’ love so that each day you spread His love to others.  Merry Christmas everyone and I love you all.  Let us give thanks to God at Holy Masses this weekend as we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph.  My intention for these Holy Masses is to ask the Holy Family to keep your family close to each other in this life and together as a family in heaven.  The reason the Church wants us to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family is for us to ask them to watch over our families so that we will always be together with God and with each other.  We are also to imitate them.  A family that prays together, stays together.
   Vietnamese Mass at All Saints: Beginning this Sunday, December 29th, our 11am Mass will be in Vietnamese.  That means that we will have three Masses in English and one in Vietnamese every weekend.  The weekday Holy Mass of Obligation will be two Masses in English and one in half Vietnamese and half English—all the prayers that Father says will be in English, everything else in Vietnamese.  The upcoming Holy Mass of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, in Vietnamese will be Wednesday, January 1st at 11am.  The English Masses for this Holy Day will be at 4pm on Tuesday and at 9:30am on Wednesday.  Again, all Masses will fulfill our obligation, and everyone is invited to all of our Masses.  Of course, everyone is invited to all our All Saints parish activities, too, regardless of the purpose of the celebration, such as All Saints’ feast day celebration, our parish picnic or Vietnamese New Year celebration.  All Saints is one family parish with one parish council and one finance committee.  We are blessed with so many parishioners from so many cultures and nationalities.
   As a foreigner, it’s very important for me sometimes to pray in my own tongue as well as help others to pray in their own language.  If a member of our parish needs to attend Holy Mass in their own language such as Spanish, please feel free to do so occasionally.  The diocese is blessed with many Spanish Masses in town for you to be in touch with your language, culture, and people.  It is also very important for you to keep and to pass on your language, culture and tradition to your children and grandchildren.  It’s also important to be faithful Catholics by registering in our parish and practicing your stewardship of time, talent and treasure. 
   America is beautiful because of people like you coming from different cultures and backgrounds.  The word “Catholic” means universal.  Therefore, Jesus wants every people, every culture and every country to be Catholic and to celebrate His love in their own language if possible.  Catholics are to cultivate a culture of life for every born and unborn person and to care for the salvation of everyone.  Jesus came from heaven for all people and He died for all people, regardless of their culture, language and race or if men, women or children.  All Saints parishioners are here to help each other to love our Catholic faith and to be the best Catholic you can be before God for the good of one another’s salvation.  Do you know that for years, frequently, our Filipino parishioners would invite guest priests to All Saints to have Mass in their own language?  Monthly, they rotate their Filipino Mass at different parishes too.  That’s beautiful. 
   Finally, please know that you and I are here to help each other to heaven, the old and the young, the sick and the healthy, the regular church goers and the C.E. (Christmas & Easter) Catholics, the native-born Americans and the immigrants, etc.…  We are one family under God and united we will stand for God and for the salvation of all souls.  We are going to be an “open minded” parish in order to serve God in one another.  
 
                   MERRY CHRISTMAS WITH HEAVENLY BLESSINGS, FR HIEN