Fr. Hien's Weekly Letter 02/28/2021

My Dear Parishioners,
     Blessings from our Lord be with you all.  I pray that you are well and COVID-19-free and enjoying this spiritual time, the holy season of Lent, to grow in deeper relationship with God the Father, just like Jesus in His 40 days in the desert.  Let us never forget that God is nearer to us than we are to ourselves; therefore, please never give up on doing what is good but always pray hard for the salvation of all souls, and do as much as you possibly can with almsgiving.  Lent is also the perfect time for us to overcome the many temptations in life; it is possible only when we accept the divine grace from God to help us.  Trust in God and He will never fail you.  God’s grace is always there for you, just grab it with your heart. 
     Stations of The Cross pamphlets are available in the foyer for anyone to use in English & Vietnamese.  You can pray it by yourself or with your family whenever is best for you or you can join our All Saints school children at 2:30pm every Friday.  Please do whatever you can to not get sick or give your virus to others.  Again, never underestimate the deadly virus and that you might have had it for days before you realize it.  Wear a mask and use hand sanitizer.  Please keep at least six feet away from people, including me if you don’t wear a mask.  I can’t afford to get sick nor do I want others to get sick.  Recently I talked to a parishioner with COVID.  He said that the virus was so terrible that he would never wish it on anyone.  So, please don’t take this virus lightly. 
     Recently our Vietnamese parishioners celebrated their Lunar New Year.  Unfortunately, the day we celebrated the New Year Mass was one of those extremely cold days with much snow outside.  We were blessed with many people at the Holy Mass and we made the best out of the day.  It was fun, but it could have been more fun if we had not had so much snow outside and the extreme cold weather.  A special thank you to some parishioners who made the Vietnamese New Year sticky rice cakes and sold them as donations, to help our parish pay towards the recent tree cutting and trimming, and the costs towards the two times that the water line broke by the school and the gym.  These unfortunate expenses were close to $20,000.  They raised $7,000 for it.  Thank you for your donations for the good of our church and school. 
     Looking ahead, please make plans to attend our children’s First Communion, on Saturday, May 1st at 4pm and Confirmation on Saturday, May 22nd at 4pm.  Our parish penance service with guest priests will be Palm Sunday, March 28th at 3pm in church.  Come and go as you please.  Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.  Only Jesus can save us, Fr. Hien