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

My Dear Parishioners,
     How are you doing after so many days of super-extreme cold weather?  Wow, it was so cold, beyond my expectations, and I am sure it was beyond yours too.  Thankfully, nothing too bad went wrong during this time both at church or school, such as the water lines breaking, or the steam lines, or broken trees, etc...  Today, I pray that you are well and healthy and COVID-free.  Let everything that is happening in life be a reminder to us that only God is perfect and that only being with God in heaven will we be with that “perfect” peace, joy, happiness, and everlasting life.  To be in heaven with God is our goal in life.  Yes, even during the cold days, I had to babysit my fish and quail.  Extra oxygen for the fish in the pond and extra shelter with heat, unfrozen food, and warm water for the quail every day.  We all must be responsible for what we have, especially to take good care of each other and the salvation of everyone’s soul. 
     40 days of Lent are here, a perfect time for us to increase our daily prayer with thankful hearts and penitent spirits.  It is also a time for us to remind ourselves of the importance of being generous before God with our tithe so that the church can continue our mission of education to our children and helping those in need.  Please know that fifteen percent of your contribution to the parish is sent to the diocese for so many other needs, including supporting the Catholic High Schools and feeding the poor throughout the world.  Please know that when you tithe to the parish you are fulfilling your tithe.  You are doing almsgiving before God for the good of others.  10 percent of your family income is the tithe that the bible asks of us.  If you have tithed less than that, then Lent is the time for you to catch up by giving to a charity or to those who are in need locally or overseas.  Let us be responsible for what we have, including the education of our children.  It costs the parish about $5,000 to educate one child at All Saints and it costs the diocese $6,850 per high school student; however, the parish pays only $3,700 per All Saints’ student.  Thank you for your stewardship that is benefiting our children.
     As a pastor, I am so glad that we are helping our children know and grow in our Catholic faith.  May they continue growing in wisdom and in love for themselves, their siblings-parents-extended family members and above all—for God.  Thank you to everyone who attended our Ash Wednesday Masses, let us repent and believe in the Gospel, Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners,
     How are you doing?  Blessings from our Lord be with you all.  Please join me in thanking God for a cousin of mine who was ordained a transitional deacon on Thursday, February 4th in Vietnam with ten other men.  These men will be ordained to the priesthood this coming July.  These men have been studying for the priesthood since they were in high school, close to twenty years ago.  I am hoping that I will be able to attend my cousin’s priesthood ordination in Vietnam this summer.  Sadly, I doubt that I will be able to travel due to COVID-19 restrictions, etc.…. Let us see what God has in mind for me this summer.  Let us continue praying for those who are sick with COVID-19 throughout the whole world and for the end of the pandemic. 
     This weekend is Valentine’s weekend, let us pray for every couple, especially those who have been married for a long time.  May their true love lead them to daily happiness and the blessing of eternal life together in heaven when their earthly life is ended.  We were created and given life to be together on earth as it will be in heaven.  Let us love one another as God loves us, unconditionally and all the time.  Happy Valentine’s everyone!
     Last week, we celebrated Catholic schools week.  I want to say on behalf of our All Saints Catholic school children and our children attending Catholic High Schools, THANK YOU to anyone who has been praying and supporting our children with your stewardship to our parish, especially your financial support.  You are making a difference in the hearts, minds, and souls of our children.  They will forever be grateful to you for your love. 
     Please join me for our Ash Wednesday Holy Masses on Wednesday, February 17th, at 8am & 12noon with our All Saints children and at 6:30pm Vietnamese/English.  To be safe from COVID-19 for everyone, there will be no distribution of ashes nor Stations of the Cross during Lent.  Stations of the Cross booklets will be available for personal devotion only.  Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence (no meat with only one full meal, and two smaller meals).  Fridays during Lent are days of abstinence (no meat).  Happy Lunar New year, year of the ox, to everyone, especially the Vietnamese in our parish, Fr. Hien