March 15th, 2020

My Dear Parishioners,
 
   Are you ready for spring break?  Our children will be on their spring break March 13-22.  Please enjoy them at home or on vacation.  Please be safe & always keep everyone safe & sound.  Please remember to be a family with your time, talents & treasures for God and each other.  Pray together at home during your vacation.  Visit Masstimes.org to find a church near your traveling area.  God is great and He always loves to be with us.  With God all things are possible for you, your family and for the whole human race, living and deceased.  Always trust in God—Jesus, I trust in you.
 
   Coronavirus--has been spreading like wildfire in many countries and it’s getting close to us.  For this reason, our Bishop Kemme has taken a precaution step to omit the sign of peace during Mass.  He made it clear that there should be no sign of peace, and no holding of hands during the Our Father prayer either.  If you are sick, please stay home and rest but don’t forget to pray, especially reading the Bible or watching Mass on TV if you can.  Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.  Let us hope and pray that this coronavirus will pass by soon and that doctors will have a way to help many sick people with this new virus.  We are thankful that we are still holding Masses for even Italy is canceling Masses and large gatherings until Palm Sunday, very sad….
 
   Vietnamese Retreat has been held for many years, perhaps more than a decade; a group of our Vietnamese parishioners will hold their annual retreat with guest priests for everyone this weekend of March 13-15.  Everyone will be remembered and prayed for during this retreat.
 
   Finally, at every Holy Mass, let us thank God for everyone in our church family, the born and the unborn, and the healthy and the sick of our church family, that Our Lord will always watch over us and bless us with His divine love and grace.  Congratulations to 69 of our parish members who received their sacrament of Confirmation last Saturday from Bishop Kemme.  It was such a special blessing to have so many people attend the Confirmation Mass in our own church.  So many people attended, and it was so meaningful and beautiful.  This is what a church family should look like; we gather to worship, to give thanks to God and to pray for one another, especially for our children on their Confirmation day.  A special thanks to all those who made this beautiful Mass possible:  our children who lectored, our altar servers, ushers and greeters, gifts bearers, the choir, etc.… 
 
God bless you all and I love you always, Fr. Hien