Fr. Luan Nguyen's Homilies

Homily of the 4th Sunday of Easter, Year B 2024, Fr. Luan

youthm@immacstayton.org (Mary Sangster ) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 22:42:47 GMT

“I am the Good Shepherd. I know mine and mine know me.”

This John gospel is a consolation to me. So I hope it is also a consolation to you. Recently, I received an email from a parishioner who shared with me that: he is struggling with his faith when he saw our church leaders and our ministers have not lived as they supposed to be. They lived a double life. In response, I replied to him that he was right that many church leaders or community leaders failed us. However, I also remind him that our faith is in Jesus who is a “Good Shepherd,” not in human beings. Human beings are never perfect and holy as Jesus.

We know that Jesus called priests from human beings, and priests still carry in them their personalities, their weakness and their broken wounds, etc. So, I ask you not to give up on us, but to pray for priests and for all pastors in the universal Church; may they be faithful and truthful to what they preach.

I heard a story about Cardinal Levada who was an Archbishop of this archdiocese. On the day he left Portland for a new assignment he said to his priests: “as people made you good priests, so you, priests, made me a better bishop.” So, with your prayers, encouragement and loving supports, you can make good priest for the Church. So don’t give up on us, but help us to become holy priests after our Good Shepherd. The point is: when you have a bad experience with a priest, a monk, a nun or even a bishop, you should look up to Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and pray for them.

Jesus knows each of us by name. Do we know him? Knowing him very well does not only know who is he; how he lived his life; how he died; and what is his teaching etc. but also know who he wants us to be and what he wants us to do in every situations in our daily life. Knowing also means trusting. We should trust him totally in whatever situation we are. We have to trust in his guidance and his grace. Saint John said: If someone says he/she knows Him but still live in sins is a liar. So knowing Jesus also means to repent and change our way of life to His holy way.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, sheep are supposed to follow their shepherd, not another way around. As the psalmist said, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Although we are walking in the dark valley, we will not fear because he is with us. He will deliver us from all dangers if we have faith in Him and do what he wants. He will forgive us if we trust in his mercy and ask for forgiveness.

This weekend, together with the universal Church, we pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. We pray that our Heavenly Father give us more good priests and religious brothers and sisters after our Shepherd’s heart. Parents should support and guide your sons and daughters who have a will to follow Jesus. Encourage them to participate in this parish community. To those boys in high school age, I encourage you to register to Quo Vadis camp and youth Steubenville Northwest, etc. those camps are eye opening for young people.

Homily of Holy Thursday

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 19:08:26 GMT

Homily of the Last Supper according to John, 2024

Tonight, after the homily, you will witness a priest and deacon follow Jesus’ example of serving others. Many of us may be like Peter who was shocked at what was going on; Jesus, the Son of God, who stooped down to wash his disciples’ feet, unthinkable. If He is Master, Teacher, and Lord, but he humbled himself and washed his disciples’ feet, so we have to wash feet of each other. Do you see the tragic problem in this episode? The tragic problem is, like Peter; we struggle to accept God’s way of love in our daily life. We want Jesus to listen to our prayers; stubborn enough, we sometimes think our way is right and God’s way is wrong. I call it a tragic problem because our ways and our thinking are selfish and lead to destruction of our eternal life. We often are stuck in our own needs, but not of others. Peter had learned a big lesson of humility and love on that night, so do we? During these three important days, we all should look upon Jesus to see how he surrendered; how he became a sacrifice Lamb to his Father for the salvation of the world. So the first lesson is: we should let the Word of God, the love of God guide our thoughts, our decisions and our life, not the other ways around.

Secondly, in the last Supper, Jesus instituted two sacraments; the Holy Order and the Eucharist. In the second reading, Saint Paul recalled: “on the night he was handed over, took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,” this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this in remembrance of me.” Saint John has used the whole chapter six to teach about Eucharist. For example, in John 6:51, Jesus said: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Then in John 6:53 he said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” Do you see how important the Eucharist is to our Catholic faith?

Dear friends in Christ, what is the Last Supper about? You may ask. The Last Supper is about one thing: “LOVE”. Saint John begins this passage by saying: “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” Eucharist is about “Divine Love.” The world accepts his love and salvation or not, God’s love is still poured out to the world. It is a human tragedy when 70% of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist or do not understand what they are receiving. The lesson is in Saint John gospel: we will act like Judas if we receive the Holy Communion without faith or without understanding of His Love. Judas after receiving the morsel from Jesus’ hand, he left the room immediately and it was dark. This evening and all the days of our life, each of us should renew our faith in Eucharist. We believe the sacrifice of the Mass is the same sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, in Golgotha two thousand years ago, except in a bloody manner. The sacrifice of the Mass brings the same spiritual effects to our souls and to the world as Jesus died on the cross. So, tonight and every day in our life, we should have more respect and love for the Eucharist. Ask yourselves what you can do to express your reverence and your love to the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ? There are things the Church wants us to do with the Holy Communion: making an act of thanksgiving after you received the Holy Communion, don’t just walk out right after you receive Him. Going to confession more regularly; visiting the Blessed Sacrament in the church whenever you have time.

Dear Candidates and elect, you will participate with us in the Eucharistic fully on Easter vigil night. I invite you to reflect deeply how the Lord loves you through the sacraments you will receive. If people ask you why you go to Mass on Sunday and what do you receive at Mass? You should profess boldly without fear: We are receiving the Body and Blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ at Mass. We receive his love.

The Church Fathers said: no priests, no Eucharist; no Eucharist, no Church. Tonight and every day in our life, we also pray for the increase of vocation of the priesthood around the world. We pray for more good and faithful priests after our savior’s heart.

The Homily for the Palm Sunday, Year B, 2024

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 01:58:34 GMT

Homily of Palm Sunday, Year B: 2024

The Homily for the Palm Sunday, Year B, 2024

At the beginning of the liturgy, we reenact what happened on the day Jesus went into

Jerusalem for the last time. He rode on an ass, and people spread their cloaks on the

road. With palms in their hands, they praised him: “blessed is he, who came in the

Name of the Lord.” What a wonderful picture there. Imagine that we were there, we

may wonder: who is he? Why did people praise him? Yes, Jesus was a great hero in

Israel those days. He expelled demons from people’s life. He healed the sick on the

Sabbath; he raised the dead; He forgives sinners; and he cleansed the temple etc… So

people in Jerusalem knew him well. This is the first and only time Jesus rode on a lowly

beast to go into Jerusalem. He did this in order to fulfill what the scriptures wrote about

him. People on the street that day saw in Jesus an image of King David who triumphal

marched into Jerusalem. People in that day considered him as a revolutionary who will

lead them to defeat the Roman. But Jesus was not interested in secular politics. As he

told Pilate on Good Friday, He is a King, but his kingdom does not belong to this

world. His mission is to lead people to Truth and Life. Everyone belongs to the Truth,

hear his voice.

Passion story was a drama of our king. We can see that because of harden and prideful

heart, the high priest and religious leaders, in his time, did not accept and believe in

Jesus no matter what Jesus did during three years of public ministries. Because of

coward and ambition of heart, Pilate could not defense Jesus although he believe Jesus

was innocent. However, there were some hope the passion story; there was Simon of

Cyrene who was forced to carry the Cross with Jesus. There was a holy Veronica who

offered her veil to Jesus to clean his face. Each of us should be a Simon to help others’

burdens. Each of us should be a Veronica who will console those suffering in the world.

Dear friends Christ, Jesus did not defend himself before the religious and secular

authorities. He kept silence before any accusations people put on him. His silence does

not mean that he agreed to those accusations, but his silence means he accept to die

for us all, even though an injustice death. Jesus used silence to conquer violence and

hatred. He used silence to change harden and prideful hearts. let us learn to be silence

during Holy Week. We will not complain when we have to endure physical or emotional

pains. We will forgive when we are treated unfairly by our parents, our children or

grandchildren. We will accept when we have to sacrifice our time and treasure to help

the poor and the sick in our family and in our community. As the Centurion did, we have

to be silent when we look upon the Cross in order to exclaim: “truly this man was the

Son of God.” When we look upon the Cross, we should acknowledge that Jesus died

for our sins. He had to die for us to have life again; as Saint John the Baptist said:

Behold the Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world. Saint Peter, after he

denied Jesus three times and Jesus looked at him without a word, Peter went out and

wept bitterly. Those are actions we should have when we look up to Jesus’ cross.

Homily of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B: 2024

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 17:17:13 GMT

Homily of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B: 2024

“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” This is one of my favorite verses in the gospel. I have learned that: if you know how to live, you will know how to die. Jesus came to the world with a mission from his Father. So he was ready to lay down his life for that mission. Some Greeks came to Jerusalem to seek Jesus; that means they were seeking a way of life. Then Jesus gave them a new way of life: “whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.” Two Sundays ago, we heard the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. Saint Paul said: “Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom.” Detach from this world is Jesus’ wisdom. We are in the world, but we do not belong to the world. Christians use things in this world to bear fruits of eternal life. Whatever does not help us to go to heaven, we have to get rid of it. That is Jesus’ wisdom.

Jesus’ disciples are not afraid to die for others. Parents can sacrifice their life for their children; Martyrs of God can die for the truth; and Saints of God can die for others. Dying in Christian spirituality is different from world view. In Christian spirituality we have to put to death what causes us to sins such as, selfish pleasures, lust, greed, envy, hate or laziness, etc. It is painful to quit a bad habit that we enjoy doing. For example: it is painful to stop an addiction to pornography, alcohol, or gambling, etc. It is painful to give up our pride and our control to forgive others and to serve our church. It is always uncomfortable to follow God’s commandments and the Church’s teachings on faith and morality.

Obedience is always a tough lesson for humans to learn. In this last week of Lent, we focus our mind on Jesus' obedience. On the cross, we see the perfect example of obedience. Jesus and all the saints in the Church obey God’s will because they trust God totally. The amazing grace is this: When we submit our life to the Lord, He will make our lives fruitful. Jesus said: “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” Saint Paul said: “Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we prepare our soul to celebrate the Paschal mystery of Christ, we reflect on Jesus’ perfect examples of obedience to his Father. He obeyed his Father till death, and died on the Cross. Can I do it? You ask. Yes, each of us can do it if we trust Him enough. Million Christians around the world and throughout centuries had done it, and they had their rewards in heaven now. Remember that: our daily crosses always bring forth salvation to ourselves and to others.

Homily of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year B 2024, Fr. Luan

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 00:37:48 GMT

Homily of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year B 2024, Fr. Luan

It was very rare to see Jesus express his frustration or anger. But today we can see Jesus was upset when he saw the temple area was filled with secular activities like sellers, buyers, animals, money changers and all kinds of swearing and talking, etc. He chased them all out and said: “ stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” This was not the only time Jesus called the temple his Father’s house. The first time when he was twelve year old, he said to his Mother: “why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). The John gospel revealed to us a new theology here: the temple is not only his Father’s house, but the temple also represents His Body; “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. ” John explained: “He was speaking about the temple of his body .” In Jerusalem, Jesus foretold about his passion, death and resurrection.

The title of this gospel is “Jesus clears the temple.” In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Saint Paul said: Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. Do you think your temple needs to be cleaned? I do. Humans make mistakes and humans are vulnerable to temptations. That is what the sacrament of reconciliation is for. I would like to remind all of you to take time during lent to do examination of your conscience, humbly ask God for forgiveness and change. As I said before: the more we come to confession the more our conscience will be cleaned and the freer we are.

In the first reading, Ten Commandments were from God, not Moses. God’s commandments will never become out of date. The secular world tries to tell us and teach our younger generation that God’s commandments are out of date and not applied for us anymore. Those are the devil's lies, and God is not pleased with that. Lent is the time to put our life in order before it is too late. Lent is the time to purify our soul for the Holy Spirit to dwell in again. Before we make any decision or do anything, we should ask ourselves: does this decision or action please the Holy Spirit or please me? If it offends the Holy Spirit, don’t do it because it destroys the temple of the Holy Spirit within us.

Dear friends in Christ, Jesus cleansing the temple should remind us that we need to clean our soul from sins, bad habits or addictions. The sacrament of reconciliation is a gift of Jesus to the Church. We have to use it during the Lenten season and more often. This sacrament is necessary to keep our temple holy for the Holy Spirit. This sacrament also gives us grace to fight off temptations in our daily life. With God there is always mercy, compassion and just. Jesus is not weary of forgiving our sins even the same sins again and again. It is up to us to commit our life to the gospel.

Blessed are those who follow the laws of the Lord.

Homily of the Third Sunday of Lent, Year B: 2024

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 20:21:26 GMT

Homily of the Third Sunday of Lent, Year B: 2024

Blessed are those who follow the laws of the Lord.

Homily of the Second Sunday of Lent, 2024

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Sat, 24 Feb 2024 21:39:51 GMT

Homily of the Second Sunday of Lent, 2024

Reading Abraham's story, we may ask how can God, who is love and compassion, ask for the life of a child? Although it turned out to be a test, the test was so cruel. Yes, I agree God’s test was over the human limit. But was the test necessary? Yes. Before God gave Abraham a special mission, He would test Abraham’s faith. From this bible story, we all should learn that “obedience” is always a tough challenge to human kinds because, at the beginning, our first parents had lost their friendship with God because of their disobedience. Abraham’s story makes me think about Job. The Lord tested Job to the limit. He lost all of his possessions, his children and even his wife jeered at him. But Job endured all kinds of human sufferings, and he still trusts God.

Jesus’ transfiguration was a marvelous experience of Peter, James and John. If any of us was on Mount Tabor that day with Peter, John and James, I think, like Peter, we don’t want to leave there. Why? It is because we have seen our Lord’s glorious figure. Jesus’ transfiguration gives us hope and joy that the world cannot give. Was Jesus’ transfiguration necessary? Yes. Jesus wants his disciples to foretaste his resurrection and glorification. However, like God tested Abraham’s faith, Jesus’ faith will also be tested to the limit. His disciples also will be tested.

The transfiguration revealed to the world an important message that is: the cross and resurrection have to go hand in hand together. Christians cannot talk about the cross without the resurrection of Jesus. Nor Christians cannot talk about the resurrection without the cross.

Lenten season is the time Jesus’ disciples review their faith in God the Father. Is my faith strong as of Abraham and Jesus? Just ask ourselves a question like: If I lose my job, if I lose my spouse, if I have chronic pain, or if I was insulted because of His Name, do I still trust in God’s providence? Do I obey God if God tells us to do what we do not like to do? Do we still obey God, if God takes away our comfortable life, our possessions, our loved ones, or our own plan?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I would like to tell you this: if you tell me that you don’t have any cross, you feel good and no one or nothing is in your ways, I am worried for you. If you tell me you have some crosses to bear, I pray for your perseverance, but I am also happy for you because you are doing God’s will. Many people abandoned their Christian faith because they focus on their own problems or suffering, not on Jesus. They lost their faith because they listened to the word of God with their emotion and sensation, not with the eyes of faith. In Lent, we should practice our “surrender” to God’s Will.

The Lenten season always reminds us about Jesus’ cross. His cross is our consolation, our strength, and our salvation. At each station we pray: “We adore You, O Lord, and we praise you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.” Today, through Jesus’ transfiguration, He gave his disciple a revelation: “if we share the Cross with Jesus in this life, we will share his glory in the next life."

Homily of the First Sunday of Lent, Year B: 2024

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 21:58:21 GMT

Homily of the First Sunday of Lent, Year B: 2024

Jesus proclaimed: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” This message should be heard everywhere and at any time. Lenten season is about two things: repentance and renewing our faith. On the First Sunday of Lent, the Church will celebrate the rite of election for catechumens who are preparing for baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist. I would like to remind all of you that the message of repentance is not only for catechumens, but also for all of us. We all had been baptized in Jesus Christ. If we want to be in God’s Kingdom, we need to repent and to believe.

Question: how do we respond to God’s word? I would like to present to you two examples from the Old Testaments about believing in the gospel. The first example is from the first reading. Noah lived in the time that the whole world sinned against God, and God wanted to wash the world. But He still had mercy on the creatures he created. So he commanded Noah, who was righteous before God, to build a big ark to avoid flood. Noah believed in God’s words and built it. Many people at that time ridiculed Noah’s works. That is how we believe in the gospel. The second example is from the book of Jonah. God sent Jonah to a big and sinful city Nineveh to proclaim a warning: “In forty days the city will be destroyed.” King believed in God’s message and commanded the whole city to fast and do penance for their sins. God did not carry out his punishment. That is how we believe in the gospel.

We may ask: why is listening and believing in the gospel so difficult to people nowadays? There are a couple of reasons. First, it is because of sins. When people live in sin they live in darkness, and they do not want God’s light to scatter their darkness because they feel shame and pain. Second, it is because of pride and a hardened heart. When people want to hang onto their selfish ego, they do not want to give up their ways of life and change to the gospel way. Third, people attach so deeply to the world. When they attach or get possessed to this material world, they will not easily accept the gospel, because Jesus always tells us to detach from the material world in order to be free. Therefore, if we want to accept God's word in our life, we need to humbly repent from our sins and detach from the material world.

Dr. Scott Peck, in his book “The Road Less Traveled,” said, “Our society is dedicated to personal comfort. We should be wholly unconcerned with our comfort; instead we should be concerned with the truth. If knowing and living the truth is our goal, then despite some discomfort and possible hardship, the real joy of life ultimately will be ours. “

Dear friends in Christ, the Lenten season always reminds us that we need to get rid of whatever is hurting our relationship with God and with people. We have to step out of our comfort zone to reach out to God, and reach out to our brothers and sisters in need. Jesus spent forty days alone in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. I hope all of us can be alone with God sometimes during this lent. I believe: only in a quiet place can we face ourselves. Only in a quiet place can we hear God’s voice. Saint Peter said some truth about our baptism today. He said: “This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body, but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Remember: when we let go of our selfish ego, our sinful habits and our sinful relationship, we are letting God take control of our life again. This is the time to repent and believe in the gospel.

Homily of the Sixth Sunday of OT, Year B

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 21:32:52 GMT

Homily of the Sixth Sunday of OT, Year B

One day Tolstoy, a famous Russian writer, was relaxing in a park near his home. There was a beggar with dirty clothes who came close and handed out his hat for money. The writer put his hand in his pocket looking for money, but unfortunately he did not have any with him that day. Then he looked at the beggar and said: “My brother, I am sorry, I don’t have my wallet with me today.” The beggar, instead of sad, smiled and said: “I don’t know how to thank you enough because you gave me a gift which is greater than money. That is: you did not insult or ignore me, but you respected me when you call me “your brother.” What do you think about that?

According to Moses’ law, lepers are unclean, so they have to isolate themselves from family and community until they become clean again.

It looked like the leper, in the gospel of Mark, did not give up his hope. He heard about Jesus and he believed that Jesus was the One he needed. In response to his faith, Jesus did an extraordinary thing that day: He did not only talk to the leper, but he touched him. When people tried to keep a distance from the lepers and sinners, Jesus came and touched them and healed them. Through this gospel, we may see who Jesus really is, and what he wants us to do with the poor, the sick, and even sinners.

Have you ever felt rejected by your loved ones or by this community of faith because of any reason? How did you overcome it? We have to learn from the leper who did not give up his faith in divine providence. In my experiences, when our friends or our loved ones want to abandon us, but Jesus does not stay away from us. He is here to wait for us.

When we have a mortal sin, we are spiritually leprous. We should not hesitate to come to the sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus knows that we are humans and we are weak. We make wrong decisions and mistakes many times, but he still loves us and wants us to come to him to get clean. The point is: “don’t get discouraged or despair when we have sins, but trust in God’s mercy to ask for forgiveness through the sacrament of Reconciliation and change.”

On the opposite way, how do you interact with someone who is living contrary to the gospel? Will you exclude him/her from the church or from your circle of friends? Jesus does not want us to condemn or isolate anyone from our faith family, but he wants us to reach out and show love and hope to the sinners. Remember, no one is perfect, and no one is totally clean before God. But God is merciful and full of compassion. His arms are always open to embrace us when we come to him with a humble and contrite heart.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there was a significant exchange that happened here. The lepers became free and reconnected with his family and community of faith, but Jesus became isolated. He had to hide himself in the deserted place because he took on himself the unclean and the sins of the leper. Like Saint John the Baptist said: behold the Lamb God who takes the sins of the world. Yes, indeed, he took our sins to the cross for us to gain eternal life. Therefore we never lost our trust in Him, but we continue to trust in His mercy and love for us and for human kind. This is the message the modern world should hear.

Homily of the Fifth Sunday of OT, Year B

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 21:21:16 GMT

Homily of the Fifth Sunday of OT, Year B

Job was the most miserable man on earth according to the bible. He lost everything except his life. Job said: “If in bed I say, ‘when shall I rise?’ then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until dawn.” Job concluded: “remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again.” To him, life on earth is only pain and sorrow. Do you agree with Job’s thought of human life on earth?

Saint Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, also expressed his struggle inside him. He felt the burden, and uncomfortable obligations which came from the gospel he preached. At the beginning of his letter he said: “woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” Saint Paul experienced: following Jesus was not always easy but it was a rough and narrow way. Why did he choose to preach the gospel? he said: “All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.” That means he wants to share in the Lord’s resurrection on the last day.

In the gospel of Saint Mark today, we may learn a typical working day of Jesus. It looked to me, Jesus did not have time to rest or take a nap. From morning till evening, he preached the gospel, cured many who were sick, drove out demons, etc. the work was never done. Then his disciples insisted him to stay in that village. He refused: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” We have to see that Jesus chose to do his Father’s will instead of looking for rest and comfortable life. This is a great lesson for all of his disciples including us.

I watched the movie “Fatima” a long time ago. The movie began with an interview of Sister Lucia with an atheist writer who was writing a book about Fatima. The atheist writer asked my sister a question which I think is related to all reading today.

“Are you regret now that you were chosen one for the message?”

“No! I only regret that I have not done more for my Mother!” sister replied. Like Saint Paul, Sister Lucia wants to suffer more, and to do more to spread the message of Fatima to the world. The atheist writer was stunting at sister’s answer.

After I completed my degree at Portland State University, I was supposed to be satisfied with what the society offered me. I did not have to worry about money any more. My daily life was just working and enjoying myself with friends. Suddenly, God hit me with a basic question: what is the purpose of my life on earth? Does my life only include making money, eating and drinking? All my joy and happiness disappeared from that day without notice. Job said; “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.”

I lost my purpose until one day an old friend asked me: what happened to you brother? As usual, I said: I am fine, why? He said that he observed me and he did not see my smiles anymore. You looked sad, he said. Then I told him that I did not see the meaning of my life when I thought about the future. He then advised me that if I am not happy with the life I have, I may think about different ways of life like to become a religious brother or become a priest. Every time I reflect back to this experience, I believe the Holy Spirit has given me a hint that day of what God wants me to be.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we should know that doing God’s will should be our calling. If we commit ourselves to the gospel, we will shed tears and sweat, but we are free in spirit. If we refuse to do what God wants us to do, we will become restless and unsatisfied. Saint Paul, Sister Lucia and all the saints are good examples for us. We will have our place in heaven if we are faithful to Jesus in this life.

Homily of the Fourth Sunday of OT: year B, 2024

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 22:44:12 GMT

Homily of the Fourth Sunday of OT: year B, 2024

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Homily for the Epiphany Sunday, Year B: 2024

pastor@immacstayton.org (Fr Luan Nguyen) — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 01:31:27 GMT

Epiphany means manifestation of our Lord to gentiles. Mary and Joseph welcomed all kinds of visitors those days: the shepherds, the animals, the angels and lastly they welcomed the Magi (three wise men) who came and offered precious gifts to Baby Jesus. We may say: without the presence of the Magi, Christmas is not completed according to prophet Isaiah: “Caravans of caramels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.” Clearly, the Good News of God made man is not for Israel only, but for the whole world.

We should learn from the wise men who were humbly seeking the truth. They studied, and they found the strange star, then they believed that strange star would lead them to the true King. They were patient in searching for truth. When they seemed lost, they humbly asked Herod and scholars of scriptures. There were many obstacles on the way, but they did not let anyone or anything prevent them from the truth.

Be careful, don’t be selfish. We have a tendency to keep special gifts to our family or our parishes and we don’t want to share it with others. Mary and Joseph shared their Baby Jesus with others because they believed God became flesh for the world not for them. Through their charity, the glory of God was manifested to the world.

Making God known is the theme of Epiphany Sunday. Before Jesus came, God’s revelations were only for God’s chosen people Israel. But after the Son of God took on human flesh, God's revelations was accessible to all people on earth.

Dear friends in Christ, the three wise men had followed the star to come to Bethlehem and found the King of Kings. Do you see a guiding star for your faith? Jesus is the light which shines in the dark world. So, the true light or the true star is only in Jesus and his holy ones, not in the world. If we do not want to get lost in the darkness of sins and in the world pleasure and materials, we have to stay in His Church where we have the Word of God and sacraments. Every time you feel lost in the messy world or in world ideologies, we need to come back to prayers, read the bible and seek guidance from bishops, priests, deacons and catechists. The most important thing is staying in Jesus' Church, not leaving. Jesus said: you are the light of the world. This day forward, each of us should be a star to lead others to come here to worship our Lord.

May God’s star shine in our heart to guide us and console us in our journey of faith.