Chaplain's Blog

2018/01/23

January Message

My brothers Knights in Christ,

As this is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, I would like to invite all of you, brother Knights, to reflect on unity in our family, in our parish community and in all Christian communities.
Question:  in our family and in our parish community, what is a valuable matter that we need to respect, to build up and to protect?  The answer is very simple: it is unity  - because if we have unity, we will have communion, peace and love.

The call of Christian Unity is found in the prayer of Jesus himself as he prayed “that they may be one” (Jn 17:21).  The Lord has bestowed this unity on his Church and he wishes to embrace all people in that unity.  This unity belongs to the very essence of the Church and we need to look for opportunities to express this unity in greater ways.  Therefore as Christians, we affirm that we need to act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel us to act separately.
We often talk and reflect on love, but it seems we do not talk or reflect enough on unity.  Love and unity connect and support one another.  Both love and unity make a very strong connection so we can say without love we cannot have unity and without unity we cannot have love.
In fact, the Lord has led us to make progress along the difficult path of unity and communion between Christians.  The Catholic Church and other denominations have been involved in dialogues on many different levels.  You and I, we need to be aware of the fruits of these dialogues so that we can know our role in building it up.

We need to improve our attitudes in our relation with our other sisters and brothers in Christ.  We need to be more open to more welcoming.  Perhaps Parish Pastoral Council and other groups such as the Knights of Columbus and Catholic Women's League could make themselves aware of the various events that are happening in area churches, or even establish a prayer relationship with a nearby church.

Ecumenism requires that we fully respect others for who they are and what they believe.  Ecumenism also requires that we be committed to dialogue. This dialogue is not only of words, but of hearts and spirits and lives.
I would like to ask you continue to reflect on this question: Do we know what moves and touches the hearts of our sisters and brothers in their relationship with God?
During this week, we are called to pray for unity - unity in our family, in our parish community and with our sisters and brothers - those who believe and follow Christ, and those with whom we may not have unity.

I encourage each of you to continue to pray, think and reflect about the importance of unity in our community and how can we reach out to other Christian communities.
May we continue to grow in our vision of the Church as we journey to our common home as children of God and sisters and brothers of Christ.

In Christ,
Fr. Louis Kim Nguyen



2017/11/26

December Message

My Dear Brothers,

We are nearing the end of the year 2017.  The new liturgical season of 2018 will be starting soon on Sunday December 3, 2017, the first Sunday of the season of Advent.  Liturgically, we are moving into Year B.  We have four Advent Sundays to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord.  At Christmas, we will celebrate the birth of our Saviour, which is one of the great mysteries of our faith, the Mystery of Incarnation.  I would like to share with you my thoughts on this mystery.

First of all, I invite all of you to look back on the year 2017, thanking God for the good year that we had within each of us, in each family and in our Parish community.  We are very blessed in our parish to have many different committees such as the K of C, the CWL, Liturgy committee, Community of Life, Social Justice, choirs, etc.  With the love, help and support of these committees, we are building a strong community of faith in Yorkton.

Every weekend and every day, we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, the mystery of faith.  The Eucharist is the centre of all our activities.  I am so very pleased to acknowledge good attendance at each mass.  We have many young people, and children; we also have many different ethnic groups such as Aboriginals, Africans, Filipino and Mexican in our parish.  Their presence and participation makes our parish multicultural and richer.

However, I do believe that we still have some people who are away from the Church and are not choosing to be with us to celebrate our faith.  Therefore, I would encourage every one of you to please let people know that we are here, inviting and encouraging them to come to celebrate the faith with us every weekend.  We can talk and share with each other about our celebrations.  Please allow me to remind you that Sunday is a Holy day of obligation.  We are called to make it holy by attending Mass.
Like you, I am looking forward to the New Year coming with hope and positive thoughts.  I am asking you to share my dream that we would build strong communities of faith, unity, love, friendship and joy.

Because Christmas is coming soon, I would like to ask you to be aware that anytime when we do celebrate Christmas, we are called to acknowledge one of the great mysteries of our faith, the Mystery of Incarnation.  It is a great mystery.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3: 16)
He became flesh.  He lives among us and as St. Irenaeus says, “The Glory of God is a human being fully alive.”   I invite you, along with me, to reflect upon these words.  Ask yourself these questions:  Do I let myself draw close to Christ?  Do I allow Him to love me?  Do I allow myself to love Him?  Do I appreciate this glorious love?  Am I ready to enter into its’ mystery?  Am I ready today to make my heart shine with this glory of God’s love?

I am with you in prayers, to praise Him and to thank Him for all the blessings that we have received throughout the year of 2017.  I am also with you to prepare for Christmas and the New Year.  May God be with you and your family, giving you His blessing throughout the coming New Year.  You are in my prayers.  Please keep me in your prayers as well.

In Christ,
Fr. Louis Kim Nguyen


2017/10/30

November Message

My dear brother Knights,

We are now in November, a special month dedicated to the remembrance of those who have gone before us.  According to the tradition of the Church, we are asked to pray for them because they themselves cannot do it now.  They are waiting for and needing our prayers so that God may cleanse them from any sins and allow them to share His eternal life.  My message this month focuses on this.

First of all, we need to ask ourselves who are they and where are they now?  They are our sisters and brothers, friends and relatives.  God has called them from this life to His.  Because, as human beings they were not perfect in this life, they cannot yet be in heaven.  They have to wait in purgatory where they can no longer help themselves.  They depend on us to pray for them.

Purgatory is real and true.  The catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a “purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified.” (CCC 1030)

In the book of Revelations 21: 27, it is written that purification is necessary.   As scripture teaches, nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven.  While we may die with our mortal sins forgiven, there can still be many impurities in us, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven.

The day after celebrating All Saints Day (Nov. 1st) we celebrate All Souls day (Nov 2nd).  It is the communion amongst us.  All Saints (Church Triumphant) are the souls in heaven.  All Souls (Church Suffering) are the souls in purgatory and we on earth are (Church Militant).   Whenever we celebrate the Eucharist we mention these states.

It is a great opportunity to remind ourselves that we are in communion with each other, that we will not forget them and that we will pray for them.  I often think that those who are deceased would truly be deceased if we, who are still alive on this earth, did not think of them and pray for them.  There is a long history of remembering and praying for the deceased.  You may find this in the book of Maccabeus.  Therefore, making sacrifices, praying rosaries, offering and/or attending Masses, praying for them would be very helpful in assisting them on their journey to Heaven and releasing them from Purgatory.

Thus I encourage you, brother Knights to make more sacrifices, pray more rosaries, offer and attend Masses to pray for them.  We believe in the power of prayer and by doing so, God may cleanse them from their own sins and bring them into His Eternal Life.

Rev. Louis Kim Nguyen

2017/09/29

October Message

My brother Knights,

We are now entering the month of October, a special month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother to us all.  According to the tradition of the church, we are asked to pray the Holy Rosary during this month.  This is the focus of my message this month.

The word “rosary” comes from the Latin language and means a garland of roses.  The rose is one of the flowers used to symbolize the Virgin Mary.  The rosary is a special devotion in honour of Our Blessed Mother Mary.  Central to this devotion is the prayer “Hail Mary”.  We can say that this entire prayer is completely biblically based.  Indeed, this prayer begins with the quotation of the words of the Archangel Gabriel when he appeared to Mary.  This can be found in the Gospel of Luke 1:28.  “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee”. This is followed by the words of Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, when Mary goes to visit her.  “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus”.  These words can be found in Luke 1: 42b.  The second part of this prayer is not scripturally based.  However, it is entirely biblical in the thoughts that it expresses.  It is as follows:  “Holy Mary, Mother of God, prayer for us sinners now and at the hour of our death”.

The purpose of the rosary is to help us in remembering the mysteries to be found in the history of our salvation.  We are also called to praise and to thank God.  In total, there are twenty mysteries reflected upon in the rosary.  These are divided into four categories which are Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous.  The rosary is a very simple prayer, easy to memorize and to recite.  As previously stated, it is entirely biblical.  We can pray the rosary for many different intentions.  Examples of this are praying for courage, praying for the deceased, praying for the return of our loved ones to the faith, asking for healing and strength, for conversions, etc.

I love praying the rosary simply because when we do so, we can reflect and meditate on the scriptures.  We pray for ourselves and for one another and through this prayer, we ask Mary to lead us to her Son, Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour.  Also, we repeat that request, “Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.”  First we praise Mary by using one of her titles, “Mother of God.”  Second, we confess that we are sinners in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness, then we repeat that request, not just a few times but fifty times.  We firmly believe that as a mother, Mary will accept our request to pray and intercede for us, not only at the present time but at the moment of our death as well.

 Therefore, my brothers, I encourage you to pray the rosary daily, not only during this month of October but continue praying it as often as possible.  We can pray when we are driving, when we are working, when we are walking, etc.  I encourage you to always carry a rosary with you, saying it slowly with a sincere heart, reflecting and meditating upon the mysteries of Christ.  I ask that when you say the rosary, please add my intentions which are these:  pray for unity in our parish and for the return of those who have been away years from the Church. 

Pray, pray and pray and we will see great things happen in St. Gerard’s parish.

Fr. Louis Kim Nguyen

2017/09/13

September Message

Greetings to all my Brother Knights of Columbus in Yorkton.

May the peace of the Lord be always with you and with your family members.  This is my first message to you.  It is for September, 2017, one month after my arrival here at St. Gerard’s parish.  It is an honor for me to share with you my thoughts and words. I am very happy and proud to be a member of this council, a very active and strong council.  Thank you for your very warm welcome as your servant.  I thank you also for your love, prayers and support.

At this time, I would like to continue to reflect on the last message that Fr. Francis Hengen shared with you last month about the word “Amen” when he came to the end of his mission here in this parish.  Now I am sharing with you the word “YES”.

In Scripture, we come across this word many times.  We hear the word YES of Abraham when he was asked to follow the call from On High.  Because he responded with a YES, he became the Father of Faith. We hear YES from Mary when she is visited by the Archangel Gabriel.  She became the mother of Our Saviour.  When Jesus said YES to God the Father in the garden of Gethsemane and offered his life for us, he became our Saviour and the Saviour of this world.

On August 1st of this year, seventeen priests in our diocese said YES to our chief shepherd, Archbishop of Regina, Donald Bolen.  They agreed to leave their parish and to move to another location.  This is really difficult and a huge challenge for them to do this.  They had to leave behind the place they knew and had become accustomed to as well as the people to whom they were attached. They chose to say YES to go to another parish to start again from the beginning.

I was one of them.  I said YES to our Archbishop because I acknowledge God’s will through him.  I moved to St. Gerard’s in Yorkton, an area and parish new to me.  Now I am among you, willing to learn and to build my relationship with you and the people of this parish.  For that, I am here as your priest and brother as well.  I believe that with God’s grace and with your support, I can fulfill my duties.  I can serve God’s people in my ministry.

My brothers, every day we say the Lord’s prayer and we say ”Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  We truly desire to learn God’s will and say yes to it in our daily life.  We are searching God’s will and wanting to live accordingly.  We believe that if we say YES to God, He will lead us to true happiness.
Therefore, I encourage all of you to open your heart, to pray and to pay attention to hearing God’s voice.  Listen to it.  He invites each of us to complete a mission.  Each one’s mission is different.  Above all, the main mission is to build up FAITH, LOVE and UNITY in our own community.

May God be with you and bless you all,
Peace

Fr. Louis Kim Nguyen