My Dear Parishioners,
      Society of St. Vincent de Paul:  Recently, the Society of the neighboring parishes requested a visit with me and asked for an opportunity to give a short talk after this weekend’s Masses, February 26-27. Their hope is to have more helpers/volunteers involved in their ministry.  If you are called to this special ministry, please don’t be afraid to join them.  Unfortunately, there are people in need of financial help, including  paying their bills.  Thankfully we don’t have any parishioners asking for financial help from the parish.   Maybe they know that we too have many large bills to pay, such as over $9k for last month's gas bill, and over $15K for February 2021.  I hope it will not be as bad this month.  Please keep up the good work by  being smart with your time, talent and treasure, to always take care of what you have, to save when you can, to live a simple lifestyle, to not get addicted to gambling, drugs, etc., to avoid high maintenance and costly stuff that you can’t afford, and to always give thanks to God for your life, your loved ones, and all that you have. 
 
     Ash Wednesday is this Wednesday, March 2nd with Masses at 8am and 12noon in English. Our All Saints Catholic school children will attend the 8am Mass and do all the liturgical ministries.  Ash Wednesday--fasting: Can only eat 1 full meal and 2 lesser meals.  Abstinence: abstain from all red meats.   During Lent, please do your prayers, fasting and almsgiving for the love of God and for your salvation.  40 days of Lent can help you to be faithful disciples of Jesus and be that “good and faithful” steward of God.  There is a Vietnamese Mass at 6:30pm if you can’t attend the other Masses. 
God bless, Fr. Hien    
 

My Dear Parishioners of All Saints,
     Blessings from our Lord through the intercession of all saints be with you all.  Please know that we are all well-loved by God, the holy angels, and all the saints every day.  Let everyone of us know and feel the love of God within us, so that we may live to love God with our prayers of thanksgiving and to live in peace with ourselves and others with joy and happiness every day.
     As Catholics, you are obligated to attend Holy Mass to fulfill your Sunday obligation before God.  Worshiping God is required of us if we want to have eternal life with God.  God made us to worship Him and to put Him first.  Nowadays many people fail to keep the Lord’s Day holy and of course fail to worship God on Sunday.  Please know that I am always happy to see you in church and I am certain that God is too.
     Trees—have you noticed that two trees in front of the rectory building are gone?  Unfortunately, these two trees had to be cut down because they were causing problems.  One tree was planted above the water line from the Fischer Center to the rectory.  It also blocked the sun light to the office’s parking lot; therefore, it’s extremely dangerous in the winter for those who park there coming to church or trying to come into the church’s office because the sun could not melt the ice.  The other tree was planted above the sewage line.  We had to clean this sewage line twice in the last 8 months because of tree roots.  Trees can be beautiful and nice to have, especially for a nice landscape, but it can also be a big problem, a costly problem too, if we don’t deal with them or plant them in the wrong place.  There is another tree that must be cut down as well because it’s about 3 feet away from the school building, and a few feet from the main water line to all our facilities--church, school, rectory, etc.  No doubt, it has already buckled up the sidewalk.  A special thanks to those who help me take care of our church and school, day after day, week after week, and year after year.  Your ministries to our parish are appreciated.   Thanks, from the people of God, Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners of All Saints,
     Can you believe that we are in the middle of February already?  This month is the shortest month of the year with only 28 days.  However, there’s something special about this month.  I am not talking about the coldest, snowiest, and iciest weather, I am speaking about true love.  God’s blessings upon you all, especially this weekend as we celebrate Valentine’s weekend.  Spouses, may your love for each other become stronger and more beautiful and meaningful than ever before.  Please know that God joined you together in the sacrament of Matrimony for a reason, for a special of vocation of life, love, joy, and happiness on earth.  With your love for each other, you are a family of love with each other and with your child/children.  You are to help each other know God’s love for them and for you.  You are to help each other to know God, to love God and to serve God.  You are to help each other become saints in heaven with your love for God and for them.  Sadly, we were all born sinners; we all have failed many times in words and in our deeds before God and one another.  However, for as long as we live, God’s grace is always there to help us overcome our weakness and even to be forgiven of our sins.  It’s so important that each day we live with God and for one another; that’s the best way to be loved and to be forgiven and to be a saint in heaven.  Please, never give up loving one another, especially your spouse and family members.  Also, please don’t live to change them either, because you will fail.  I guarantee you.  It’s impossible.  I live to be thankful for each day and each person God has sent my way.  Please love your spouse and family members for they are your greatest treasures on earth.  Happy Valentine's Day, Fr. Hien

My Dear Parishioners,
     Are you ready for God’s blessings through the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr?  Yes, this Thursday, February 3rd is his feast day.  He is known for the healing of throats with diseases.  So, if you are interested, please attend this special Mass on Thursday at 8am or one of the Masses this weekend.  We will pray over you with a blessed candle through the intercession of St. Blaise immediately after the final blessing, during the exit song.  After the blessing, you are welcome to depart.  Please stay healthy and never give up loving and praying for one another, especially for those who are sick mentally, physically, and spiritually.
     Thank you to the many people who attended our Vietnamese New Year Mass on Tuesday.  It was a beautiful celebration with much Vietnamese culture such as dragon dances, lucky money in the red envelopes, traditional Vietnamese New Year food and music, etc...  I was so happy to see many parishioners of other nationalities at Mass and the reception dinner.  Thank you everyone, especially to those who donated toward the fixing of our church’s roof.  This tells me that we love our All Saints church and family dearly.  We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and God loves us all.  Thank you and I love you all, Fr. Hien