Fr. Hien's Weekly Letter 04/18/21

My Dear Employees of All Saints,
     Blessings from our risen Lord be with you and your family.  May you always have each other now and forever in heaven.  May we all see Mrs. Duke in heaven, too.  We are missing her.  Her labor to our God at All Saints was completed.  May she enjoy the fruits of her labors with All Saints in heaven. 
     Thank you for being an employee of our church’s family.  As you know, the heart of who we are as a church family is to love and to worship God at our Holy Masses.  We are Eucharistic people who live because God is within us.  We all know that only God can give us the eternal life of heaven.  For this reason, I always love to celebrate Holy Mass, especially with our children.  As we pray and worship together, we are growing in holiness and love for God and for all of God’s children, regardless of their age, race, color, and language, etc.….  Our world would be much more beautiful if we all could see Jesus in one another, in the born and the unborn, the healthy and the sick, the rich and the poor, etc.… I believe Catholic education is forming our children to have the eye and heart of Jesus in them.
     Our second mission at All Saints is to provide Catholic education to all of God’s children so that they may grow in their Catholic faith, mature in wisdom and in love, and be educated intelligently.  We want our children to grow in their faith in God, to love their parents and others, and to be smart people of the future, such as doctors, nurses, educators, public authorities, good parents, etc.… or God willing, be priests or religious sisters.  Therefore, Catholic education is a treasure and priceless because it gives the best education and formation to them, intellectually and spiritually.
     As a stewardship parish, we do struggle financially because we are dependent on the generosity of others for us to pay all the bills.  Unfortunately, we do have parishioners, including school parents, who have not given of their stewardship to the parish.  Some people have failed to see that as a church family, we need everyone to support our mission with what they can, and giving nothing is much harder on us.  As a pastor, I have committed to not turn an innocent child away from All Saints Catholic School for I know that it’s not his/her fault.  Thank you for accepting them when I send them your way.  Let us continue loving every child and providing to him/her an opportunity to grow in the faith and to prepare them academically for the future.
    Finally, on the behalf of our church’s family, THANK YOU for your ministry among us for the education and formation of our children.  Please know that we are blessed because of you.  You are making a big difference in our children today and for the rest of their lives.  You are the gardener, and the seeds you sow will grow and bear many fruits because you have God on your side.  You are here for our Lord and His children and not for money.  May your reward be great in heaven for all the love, sacrifices and acts of teaching to our children.  I love to serve our Lord with you.  I can’t wait to celebrate Holy Masses for our first Holy Communion and Confirmation children in May. 
All Saints pray for us, Fr. Hien, pastor