Reflection by Fr. Vincent Nguyen

The Lord Jesus, at His first coming, chose for Himself a young and poor couple to be His parents. Prior to his three-year ministry, Jesus had lived a quiet and simple life as the son of a carpenter in the town of Nazareth for thirty years. He lived and experienced for Himself all the struggles and challenges of a poor man. He lived among the lowly of society and was one of them. These thirty years were “His years of formation” during which Jesus wanted to experience a life of simplicity and poverty. Before proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, He tasted the hardship of a life of poverty. No wonder His Gospel is filled with images of the poor.

Jesus identifies Himself with the poor. If we cannot see Jesus in the poor, neither can we find Him in church. What we are doing for the poor, we are doing for Jesus Himself. He will not forget the good things that we have done for Him, even something as little as a glass of water that we give to the thirsty or a coin that we put into the poor box.

We need the poor. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago once delivered a speech to a group of generous donors who kindly helped him to feed the poor. The cardinal, of course, thanked them for their affection toward the poor, and reminded them: “The poor need you to stay out of poverty, but you need the poor to stay out of hell.” Indeed, we might need the poor more than they need us.

“Indifference kills the soul,'' Cardinal Tagle of Manila reminded us. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man failed to share God’s given gifts to the poor man lying at his door. His heart grew cold. He had no compassion and mercy for his hungry and sick neighbor. He turned a blind eye to the hunger of Lazarus. He committed the sin of indifference.

As the Thanksgiving Holiday is just around the corner, we turn to our generous and merciful God, thanking Him for all the graces and blessings He has given us this year. When we show our gratitude to our Father in heaven, we do not forget the struggles and challenges of our needy brothers and sisters with whom we share the same Father. There is no better way to make our Father happy than to share with one another the goods of the earth.

On November 24, 2019, the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the faithful of St. Ann Church will lead a Eucharistic Procession throughout the campus immediately after the 11 o’clock Mass. This might be the very first time our parish has had a Eucharistic Procession. It is a great opportunity for us to show our love for and devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of the Christian life.

As Catholics, we believe that in the Consecrated Host and Wine at the Holy Mass, Christ Jesus is truly present on the Altar. It is at the heart of our Catholic faith. Believe it or not, a recent study named: “What Americans Know About Religion” showed that half of American Catholics don’t know that the Church teaches that the Holy Eucharist is the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The other half thought the Church taught that the Eucharist was just a symbol of Christ’s Body. If that news does not bother us enough, there is other research conducted by the same firm. This second study reported that only one-third of Catholics believe that the Blessed Eucharist is the actual Body and Blood of Christ. It is truly a wake-up call for us lovers of the Holy Eucharist. It is time for us to return to the heart of our Catholic faith.

On the last Sunday of the liturgical calendar of the Church, we solemnly declare Christ Jesus the King of the Universe. The King of kings and Lord of lords is truly present to us in the Consecrated Host and Wine on the Altar. On this Feast Day, I cannot think of any better way to show our love for our King than to give witness to our faith and devotion toward the Most Holy Eucharist. By our active and prayerful participation in the Eucharistic procession, we publicly manifest the Mystery of our Faith. Pope Saint John Paul II encourages the faithful to take part in the Corpus Christi procession: “Our faith in the God who took flesh in order to become our companion along the way needs to be everywhere proclaimed, especially in our streets and homes, as an expression of our grateful love and as an inexhaustible source of blessings.”

Sisters and brothers, let us have a procession worthy of our King.

Fr. Vincent Nguyen

Reflection by Fr. Vincent

O Blessed Rosary of Mary,
Sweet chain which unites us to God,
Bond of love which unites us to the angels,
Tower of salvation against the assaults of hell,
Safe port in our universal shipwreck,
We will never abandon you.
You will be our comfort in the hour of death:
Yours our final kiss as life ebbs away.
And the last word from our lips will be your sweet name,
O Queen of the Rosary of Pompei,
O dearest Mother,
O Refuge of Sinners,
O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted.
May you be everywhere blessed, today and always, On earth and in heaven.