Christmas letter 2017: ten years of presence in Vietnam !

September 2007- September 2017… Ten years of mission in Vietnam ! What comes spontaneously to my mind are four words: gratitude, perseverance, learning and hope. I want to express gratitude to the Church that welcomes us, to the deep faith present in the hearts of so many Christians, including our brothers in formation. Their natural gentleness and readiness to commit themselves to religious life is impressive. I am also grateful to the Lord for having been called twenty years ago to missionary life, a life that demands me to love day after day in words and actions. I am grateful to all, far or near, who encourage me to be faithful to my life as priest and missionary.

Ten years of presence in Vietnam, painted by our brother Vu, representing the commitments of our communities: prayer, pastoral and charity work, studies and celebrations...

Perseverance is required since there is always a gap between the ideal and the reality, the convictions and the way to put it in practice. When faced with personal, communitarian or ecclesial failures, one  could easily be desiluded, bitter or be tempted to stick to the minimum in one’s commitments.  However, with the Grace of God, difficulties are seen as opportunities to persvere, to remain, to not give up. Living with such mindset is also required from our young men in formation. When they start the formation process, they voice up their readiness for all kinds of mission.   « I will go wherever the superior will sent me ! » is a common frase heard in their mouths.  Yet, after several years of formation, when the departure for mission is becoming reality (we send them for two years of missionary experience abroad after five years of formation in Vietnam, and they receive their long term missionary appointment after twelve years of formation.), some of them say « What is the point of going far away when mission is everywhere, including in Vietnam ? ». Their interrogation reveals the anxiety still present in their hearts, despite the fact that mission far away is at the core of the charism of our congregation. If we, who are missionaries, don’t dare to go, who will then? At my own level, to persevere means to not count the years I spent in the mission, to accept to serve wherever my presence is needed. The Lord said:: « When you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. » (Mt 6,3) and also «Freely you have received; freely give. » (Mt 10,8) The passing of time is also a gift of God, not something that belongs to me. How many years will I continue to serve in Vietnam? I don’t know and it does not matter !

The three communities gathered for the Advent recollection.

Mission is a learning process, a journey to maturity. I am blessed to be in my forties, an age in which most of the people are in good health, more at peace with themselves, experiencing more freedom and capable of more generosity. Our young men in formation are also on the way to marurity but they need time to become adults, to be able to be fully autonomous, responsible, committed, and happy in their vocation. We have to respect their pace  and also to allow them to take progressively their autonomy, to make their own choices, to incarnate the charism of the congregation according to their own sensitivity.

Our former novices of last year are now doing missionary experience in Gambia and Ghana. They seem to be happy !

Coming close to Christmas time, hope  is a meaningful value. God came to live among men in a world marked by Good and Evil. He came to the world because He trusted men and wanted to lead them to eternal life, to love to the full. Hope is our duty, something that gives trust in one’s future and the future of the collectivity. Hope can be compromised when Christians don’t receive any spiritual support from the people surrounding them or when they fail to announce the Good News as part of their christian identity and responsability.  However when the Lord came on earth, his coming passed unnoticed ! Only a few people heard a baby crying and some shepherds heard the angels singing the Glory of God. The immense majority of people was not aware that the Savior of the Lord was now present in their world. As christians, we are called to be humbly hopeful. Saint Peter in his second letter said: « The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is; rather is he being patient with you, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to repentance.» (2P 3, 9). Wherever we are, in Vietnam, in Europe or elsewhere, we are called to trust that God continues to touch the hearts of our brothers and sisters, in order that they also may know the joy of being loved by God. Holy and Joyful Christmas feast to all of you. Father Fred (cha Hòa)

Willing to help us in our mission in Vietnam ? Here is the account of Frédéric Rossignol chez BNP Paribas Fortis.  BIC : GEBABEBB  IBAN : BE59 0014 7732 2326