Category: Pastor Letter

Fr. Duc’s Message Nov. 24

November 24, 2024

Dear Parishioners,


On the feast of Christ the King, I invite you to reflect on the story of a king. It is the story
of The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. Prince Edward was the first son of the King of
England, so he was also the crown prince who succeeded his father. When Edward was born, the whole country was filled with joy after many years of waiting. The King declared Edward’s


birthday a national holiday, and ordered all places to hold banquets to celebrate. People danced and prayed to God for Prince Edward. On the same day, a boy named Tom was born in a dilapidated house in the slums of London. When Tom was born, his mother cried like rain, because she did not know how to feed him. His father cursed him as an unfortunate, redundant son. When his alcoholism took hold, he abused his wife and children mercilessly. Although Tom was taught to read and write by a loving priest, he eventually had to beg.


One day, while wandering around begging, Tom approached the royal palace. He kept
staring at the splendid palace. He was so fascinated by the magnificence of the palace that when the guard shouted to chase him away, he still did not hear. The angry guard was about to raise his hand to grab the boy’s neck and beat him up. Coincidentally, Prince Edward was walking inside, and saw this and stopped the guard. Seeing a boy of the same age, Edward invited Tom to visit the palace.


Of course, before taking the beggar boy to visit the palace, the prince had to let him
bathe and change his clothes to suit the palace. Because they were the same age and stature, Edward lent Tom his royal robe. When standing in front of the large mirror, both were amazed because they looked exactly the same. The only difference was the beggar boy’s skinny body and messy hair. That could change very easily, the prince chuckled.


After Tom had been groomed and fed for a while, no one could tell who was Edward and
who was Tom. Then a bold idea came to the prince’s mind. Tom would stay in the palace and
play the prince, while Edward would leave the palace and wear the ragged clothes of a beggar. When he got bored, he would change back.


Of course, the courtiers all thought there was something wrong with the prince, because
his behavior had changed so much. But when they let the prince judge a problem, his mind was still clear. So they thought it was just a change of puberty. As for the beggar boy, oh my, he suffered all kinds of mistreatment and ostracism. At home, he was scolded like a dog, and when he went out, he was bullied and humiliated. Wherever he went, he was either bullied or shunned. When he was hungry, he begged and no one gave him anything. When he was so hungry that he stole, he was beaten up.


Then Edward heard that the courtiers were preparing to crown Tom king, so he decided
to return to the palace. As soon as he reached the gate, the guard grabbed him by the neck and pushed him to the ground. The more he argued that he was Prince Edward, the harder the guard stepped on his head. Finally, Edward had to use the prince’s seal as proof before the guard believed him.

After restoring the crown prince’s throne and becoming king, Edward rewarded Tom with
the position of manager in the royal palace. After that life-changing event, both Edward and Tom had profound changes. But the greatest and most wonderful change was in the king’s personality. King Edward understood what it was like to be poor and unjust, what it was like to have a broken family, what it was like to be humiliated and ostrasized. Thanks to that, Edward became a kind, just, and wise king like never before.


Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, took on our sinful and beggarly condition and
gave us His glorious royal robe. Do we trust that: God understands all our suffering and
weakness? And most of all, do we believe God wants us to fully enjoy His most precious gifts?

Christ’s kingly role is not expressed through power and money, position and talent, but through boundless mercy, ultimate sacrifice, boundless trust in the will of the Father. If we want to live in the style of the King of the Universe, we should not rely on power, rush to grab money or to seek fame, consider talent as lasting value, and especially put ourselves above others. If we keep pursuing ambition, at the end of our lives, we will discover that it is all just an empty illusion. The more we cling to it, the more suffering and pain we will have. Then when we have to stand before the Supreme Judge, who is also the King of the Universe, our beggarly identity will be completely bare.

When we reject the kingly identity that Jesus came down to teach and exemplify, we continue to take on the identity of a beggar, no matter how much silk and velvet we are covered with on the outside, no matter how many people around us are praising and flattering us. The kingly identity is linked to the truth. The beggarly identity is hidden in darkness. Christ the King of the Universe wants to give each of us the kingly identity. Do we want to exchange with Him?

In the Most Holy Trinity and in solidarity with you all,

Fr. Duc

Fr. Duc’s Message Nov. 17

Dear Parishioners,

The movie Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is the story of a man about to be hanged. Enemy
soldiers march him out to a bridge across Owl Creek. They take a board and place it so that half if it rests on the bridge and the other half extends over the edge of the bridge.

Then one of the soldiers stands on the half that rests on the bridge, and the condemned man is made to walk out and stand on the half that extends over the edge of the bridge. Next, the man’s hands and legs are tied, and a rope is dropped from the top of the bridge and put around the man’s neck.

When everything is ready, the commanding officer barks the order. The soldier steps off the
board and the condemned man plunges downward with the rope around his neck.

Then something strange happens. The rope breaks, and the man goes plummeting into the river far below. Down, down into the water he sinks. As he does, he’s aware that he’s alive and struggles to free his hands and feet. Miraculously, he manages to untie himself.

Realizing he has a second chance at life, the man begins to swim down the river. As he does, he passes a tree branch floating in the water. He is struck by the beauty of the leaves on the branch. He marvels at the intricate pattern of veins in the leaves. Then the man sees a spider spinning a web. He is struck by the beauty of the web and the tiny drops of water clinging to it like sparkling diamonds.

He feels the wetness of the water on his body. He looks up and sees the blue sky. Never has the world looked so beautiful to him. Suddenly the soldiers on the bridge begin to fire at the man. He fights his way through a hail of bullets, past a water snake, and over a waterfall.

Finally, he swims ashore totally exhausted. He drops to the sand and rolls over and over. He
looks up and sees a flower. He crawls over to it and smells it. Everything is so beautiful; it’s so great to be alive.

Then a bullet whistles through the trees, and he leaps to his feet and begins to run. He runs and runs until he comes to a house with a white fence around it. The gate swings open mysteriously. The man can’t believe his eyes. He is back home safe. He calls his wife’s name, and she comes running out of the house, arms outstretched to greet him.

Just as they embrace, the camera takes us back to Owl Creek Bridge. This time, we can’t believe our eyes. We see the body of the same man plunge downward with the rope around his neck. Then we see his body swinging back and forth, back and forth. The man is dead.

We are left stunned. All the effort, the running, the second chance were pure make-believe. The man had not escaped after all. He merely imagined that he had in the split second as he fell to his death.

He merely imagined that he had gotten a second chance at life — a life he suddenly saw in a
different way, a life he suddenly saw through new eyes. For the first time, the man saw the world for what it is — a beautiful place. For the first time, the man saw life for what it is— a precious gift to be shared with those we love. How differently the man would have lived his new life if he had really escaped and had really been given a second chance!

Today’s gospel invites us to reflect on the moment when we will meet Jesus at the end of our lives or at the end of the world — whichever comes first. It invites us to ask ourselves: How satisfied will we be at that moment with the quality of our life? Unlike the man in the story, we have a second chance to prepare for that hour — beginning right now.

What will we do with our second chance? Will we sincerely try to make an effort to love, as
Jesus did? Will we sincerely try to make an effort to serve, as Jesus did? This second chance is also the last chance, and it can end any moment.

In the Most Holy Trinity and in solidarity with you all,

Fr. Duc

Fr. Duc’s Message of the Week Nov. 10

Dear Parishioners,

Today’s Gospel consists of two parts. In the first part, Jesus severely condemns those who love appearances, are greedy for fame, high position, big profit, exploitation, and hypocrisy. In general, these are people who, in the fight for worldly interests, lose their moral conscience, thinking that they are powerful in the eyes of others, but in reality, they are just empty shells filled with rotten garbage.

In contrast to that image is the pitiful, emaciated body of a widow, symbolizing the bottom class of the social ladder. A widow was penniless and dependent on the mercy of others. If her late husband had property, it would belong to her son. If he was good, her life would be less miserable. If he was bad, she would suffer and be humiliated, because her children abandoned her. In the sea of people that stretched across the Temple grounds in Jerusalem during the days leading up to the Passover, the widow was just an insignificant speck of dust, at best ignored by the world, at worst avoided or pushed aside as a useless nuisance.

Yet that insignificant speck of dust was not ignored by Jesus. The rich man who put in a lot of money, Jesus knew. The widow who put in two copper coins, Jesus also knew. But the same act of putting money into the offering box evoked two completely opposite reactions from Jesus. The rich man put in money from his surplus, while the widow put in her life.

Last week we heard about the commandment to love God and love neighbor, have we ever truly dreamed of loving God with all our hearts? If so, the Lord also tells us, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God!” If we have never once in our lives desired to love God, but only when we fail or suffer do we run to God, then what kind of love is that?

Every Sunday, like those in the Temple of Jerusalem, each of us will also put money into the basket for the parish. No one knows how much each person puts in, except that person and God. I am sure that there will be one-dollar bills from widows each week, and those gifts make God happy and the parish grateful. I also hope that others do not give 

from their surplus but respectfully put in a part of their lives. You know and God knows.

In fact, the complete giving of the widow in the Gospel is also a symbol of God’s ultimate giving: giving away God’s identity to take on human form, giving away physical life on the cross so that each of us has the opportunity to receive eternal life. In the darkness of the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’ sighs and sweat of blood were completely unanswered. On the cross, writhing in pain and humiliation, his sobs, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” were also unanswered. Jesus gave like that, completely and utterly. God calls each of us, and the widow challenges us, to give from the very depths of our own poverty.

If I feel | lack time, give the little time I have to God. If I lack money, give the little money I have in my hand. If I feel I have no talents, give God my slow mind, my clumsy hands, and my stuttering lips. God will take them and transform them as he multiplied the five loaves and two fish. If my hands are still holding on to what I have, I will not receive the graces that God pours down upon me, and what ! want to keep will sooner or later be lost beyond my reach. But for those with open hands and hearts, grace will flow endlessly.

If I feel emotionally deprived then I should try to listen to the feelings of the abandoned, the betrayed, or the lonely elderly waiting to die in nursing homes. If I feel alone and uncared for then should try to wipe away the tears of orphans, and contemplate a young widow who cares for her crippled child all her life. If I feel honorless then I should try to go to a beggar and share with him the little honor that remains.

When we perform each of these small but wonderful acts of giving, it is certain that God is saying to us,

“You give more than anyone else.” And furthermore, he will say, “The kingdom of God has come to you.” And the angels will sing, “Glory to God in the highest heaven. On earth peace to people of good will.” For when a person does this, God is coming down into their hearts, and from them God’s glory radiates to those around them.

In the Most Holy Trinity and in solidarity with you all,

Fr. Duc

Letter – October 13, 2024

October 13, 2024

Dear Parishioners, 

In order for us to feel the impact of the gospel story today, we must understand the shock that overcomes the disciples. Mark says, “They were completely overwhelmed at this and exclaimed to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’” What overwhelms them is Jesus’ statement, “It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 

The outlandish metaphor of a humongous desert creature passing through the eye of a needle has led many to ask whether Jesus means a real camel or a heavy rope. Remember the New Testament was written in Greek, but Jesus and his disciples spoke Aramaic. In Greek, the word meaning “camel” is spelled kamelon, and the word meaning “a heavy rope or a nautical cable” is spelled kamilon. Also, the Aramaic word gamla can mean either a camel or a rope. So, many think that Jesus really meant a rope and not a camel because a rope would go well with the needle’s eye. On the other hand, the image of some large beast passing through a needle’s eye, as a piquant figure for something impossible, is found in other ancient Near Eastern sources, and the vast textual evidence still favors the contortionist dromedary over the elastic hawser. 

Another invention is that the “Needle’s Eye” was a particularly low gate in the walls of Jerusalem, through which a laden camel could not pass without being unburdened or even crawling through on its knees. There was no such gate, and camels are not that nimble. This silly fantasy had not appeared until the ninth century. As of now, most serious exegetes dismiss these two interpretations as a fantastical watering down of the words of Jesus. 

So the truth is that Jesus does mean the real camel. And just as it’s absolutely impossible for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye, it’s also truly impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. Without the grace of God, that is. What shocks the disciples is that in the Jewish mind, prosperity is a sign of the blessing of God. If a person is rich, God must have honored and blessed them. Wealth is proof of excellence of character and of favor with God. The Psalmist sums it up, “I have been young and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread” (Ps 37:25). But Jesus declares wealth an impediment, not a blessing! No wonder they are profoundly shaken. 

Throughout the history of the Church, the teaching of Jesus about riches in this pericope takes several paths. For the earliest Christians, a literal interpretation was prevalent. They believed that the end time was near and Jesus’s second coming would soon arrive. Thus, in the Acts of the Apostles they did sell everything and put the money at the feet of the apostles. For the early Christians, Jesus’ command to sell all meant literally so. 

But as the return of the Lord was no longer imminent, life went on and had to be sustained. Out of practical necessity, only a small portion of Christianity could aspire to this total renunciation. And from them emerged the monastic movement and later many religious orders with the vows of poverty. According to this ascetic reading, a life of radical renunciation of wealth and total dependence on the providence of God applies only to certain individual Christians, such as monks and religious men and women. 

As for the rest of the flock, a symbolic reading makes more sense. This interpretation says that Jesus’ demand of the rich young man to sell and give all his wealth to others applies only to this particular man, because for him wealth is his particular impediment to following Jesus. And for all others, the lesson is to root out whatever hinders our following Jesus, be it pride, greed, lust, envy, anger, sloth, or gluttony. 

Each of these three interpretations has its own strength and relevance. But Jesus’ demand must remain the same. Yes, if we want to be true disciples of Jesus, he demands us to go, sell, and give all we possess, then come and follow him. That is exactly the invitation and the challenge. We just have to face it as it is. No tinkering around with it is allowed. We must be as shocked as the disciples were. And we will be as sad as the rich young man was, if we turn down Jesus’ challenge. 

Of course, many will protest, “If I go, sell, and give all to others, what would happen to my family, my small children, my mortgage, my retirement, etc.?” The real issue here is not whether I should go, sell, give, come, and follow, but when I should do so. To everyone’s best knowledge, there has been no one who has ever been able not to go, sell, and give all to others. If they don’t do so, all they own will be taken from them, willy-nilly. Because no one can take anything with them when they die. Either they give all they have to others by choice, or others simply take all from them. That is the bottom line. 

Everyone must go, sell, and give all. No exception. The only question is when. 

In the Most Holy Trinity and in solidarity with you all, 

Fr. Duc

Letter – October 6, 2024

Dear Parishioners, 

When it comes to the breakdown of marriage, both insiders and outsiders can list hundreds of reasons that lead to divorce or separation. Whether Catholic or atheist, the divorce rate is not much different – about 50%. So does faith not help couples when they encounter difficulties in marriage? 

I would like to affirm that the most fundamental factor determining the stability and richness of marriage has been identified by the Bible since the beginning of creation in Genesis, “a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and the two become one flesh.” Jesus himself did not add anything but simply repeated the words of God in the beginning. 

Using the current language that is easier to understand and more appropriate, I suggest this way of saying, “The stability and sweetness of marriage can only be achieved when the husband puts the wife’s good above his own will, and vice versa, the wife also considers the husband’s good above her own wishes.” To put it more concisely, “The husband is always for the wife and the wife is always for the husband.” All the problems of married life originate from the state of mind “The other person must be for me.” 

Just think about it and see if it is true. The more powerful and influential a man is, the richer and more famous he is, the more his wife must obey him. If he is not happy, there are hundreds of long-legged beauties ready to jump in. On the contrary, the more beautiful the wife is, the more the husband must follow her wishes, otherwise, alas, there are young and handsome men ready to serve her. A typical example is what happened recently to the two most famous billionaires in the world, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos: having affairs with other women which led to divorce. 

Zhou Hou Zi, a native of Lu, the birthplace of Confucius, was ordered to become an official in Qin after only five days of marriage. Five years later, Hou Zi asked for permission to return home to visit his wife and mother. When he was almost home, he suddenly saw a very beautiful young woman picking strawberries on the side of the road. Hou Zi got out of the car and flirted with her. The girl picked strawberries as if she didn’t hear anything, her hands constantly plucking leaves. 

Hou Zi said: 

– Young lady, using all your strength to farm is not as good as a year of good harvest. Using all your strength to pick strawberries is not as as good as meeting a husband who is a rich and powerful  mandarin. I am a high-ranking official, with gold and silver, if you agree to marry me, you will not lack anything, no need to pick strawberries and work yourself to death! 

The young woman remained indifferent, looking at the official with contempt. Hou Zi went home and bowed to his mother. When his wife came out to meet him, Hou Zi was stunned, because his wife was the young girl who picked mulberries earlier. He was extremely ashamed, and then she taught him a lesson: 

– You have been an official for five years. You should have hurriedly returned to visit your mother and see your wife, but instead you only saw a woman on the road, not knowing who her husband and children are. You stopped to seduce her, not remembering your mother, and not caring about your wife. Forgetting your mother is unfilial, lusting after beauty is lustful, having a dirty character is unrighteous, being unrighteous means not governing the people wisely, how can such a person be called a good official and a noble husband! 

Between Zhou Hou Zi and that nameless wife, who understands better the foundation of family happiness? Who uses his power to seduce others? And most importantly, who has the ability to recognize and despise the one who seduces him? 

Those who, from the very beginning of their marriage, begin to pay more attention to the good of their partner than to their own, have begun to build their family happiness on the most solid foundation, and they will discover more and more the rich sweetness of married life. In fact, putting the good of their spouse above their own will is the most practical and effective self-denial in family life. Jesus repeatedly said, “Whoever does not deny himself and take up his cross daily cannot be my disciple.” Married life requires the greatest renunciation and has the most crosses. Therefore, the true disciple of Jesus is also the one who has the deepest family happiness, regardless of the storms of life. 

In the Most Holy Trinity and in solidarity with you all, 

Fr. Duc