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community
June 23, 2015
Celebrating God’s Selection
By Sr. Maura McAndrews, OCD
“We always give
thanks to God for all
of you and mention you in our prayers.”
(1 Thessalonians 1)
In this year dedicated to Consecrated
Life, and in my 25th year of religious
life, I thank God always for the gift of
my vocation in the heart of the Church
and in my religious order of Discalced
Carmelites. Each moment of my religious
life, I rejoice in the grace of a vocation and
I am eternally grateful for all who are so
supportive of me, and our religious and
our Diocese of San Jose.
When I entered the monastery 26
years ago, I thought I would be the one
giving and sacrificing. As the days and
years passed, I realized that I was the
one receiving endless gifts of love and
support…first from our beloved God,
then from my Carmelite family and our
Diocese of San Jose. How beautiful are
the bonds of love that unite our Church.
I have been blessed in my birth family, my parish family, and the priests and
sisters who have taught and nourished
my faith during my 16 years of Catholic
education. Although I was nurtured by
my extensive family, and parish’s exemplary faith (they planted the seed and
watered the sapling), I never felt called
to religious life until I was introduced
to the Discalced Carmelite community.
When I was studying at Santa Clara
University, I was laying the foundation
for my career as a certified public accountant. I loved accounting and it was good
career choice. However, during my junior
year at SCU, a group of friends brought
me over to the Carmelite Monastery lo-
cated in Santa Clara. (It is good to have
friends who will lead you to Jesus and
who will help you to follow the Gospel.)
Thereafter, I volunteered my time to the
nuns, in whatever way they needed painting, gardening etc.
As I worked and prayed at the monastery, I felt a tugging in my heart. I felt
as St. Augustine phrased it: “You inspire
us, O Lord, to delight in praising you,
because you made us for yourself; our
hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
The contemplative life, which embodied
for me the joy of Christ’s friendship and
praising Him in the life of prayer, was
calling me. The Lord was knocking at my
door; was I ready to hear Him? I needed
to grow in Wisdom and receptiveness to
His call. Then one day, I was open that it
was God’s will for me to be a daughter of
St. Teresa of Jesus in the Carmelite family.
Since that day, I treasure my journey in
Carmel and my vocation in the Church.
My discernment to enter religious
life was, and is countercultural, and
T
he Valley Catholic
many are not willing to travel it. When I
revealed my decision to enter the monastery, some of my loved ones wondered if
I had lost my mind. Also, because of the
cloistered life of Discalced Carmelites,
they thought I would be cutting myself
off from them and from the world. But
through the many years, they learned
that in fact my vocation would bring their
lives and the entire world closer into my
heart and the prayers of all the nuns. It
is a great privilege of the Carmelite nun
to embrace the whole world’s joys and
sorrows in their prayer before our Lord.
A Carmelite nuns’ vocation is a most
rewarding and beautiful life; bestowing
“the freedom of the glory of the children
of God.” (Romans 8:21) My Carmelite
life, surround by a loving community, allows space for communion with
Christ, rooted in a life of faith and prayer
for our holy mother the Church.
I give thanks for the past 25 years; I
look forward to the next 25 or 50 years
of rejoicing in our Lord.
Our Lady of La Vang Parishioner Ordained a Priest in Chicago
Most Rev. Joseph Perry, Auxiliary
Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago,
ordained Giang Tien Nguyen, 31, a
parishioner from Our Lady of La Vang
in San Jose, and two other men, priests
in Chicago on May 23 at the Society of
the Divine Word’s Chapel of the Holy
Spirit at Techny, Ill.
Father Giang’s first assignment will be
in Mozambique, a country in southern
Africa that he knows well. He spent three
years there during his Cross-Cultural
Training Program (CTP), a preparation
for his years as a missionary priest.
Even before going to Mozambique
for CTP, Father Giang approached
Africa with fascination and curiosity.
He’s accustomed to adapting to new
Day Break
Home Care
Respite Care
Light Housekeeping
Errands/Shopping
environments.
Born in Vietnam, the 8-year-old
Giang left Vietnam with his siblings
and mother, Chau Phuong. They moved
to San Jose, Ca, to join their father, Phap
Nguyen, who had emigrated earlier.
The young Giang quickly became familiar with his new surroundings. He
actively became involved in the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement,
which he called “a very important part
of my life,” and in high school, he was
a Junior Air Force ROTC cadet.
“That experience taught me the
importance of leadership and service
to others, which spilled into my missionary calling,” he said.
In 2001, the young Giang graduated
Personal Care
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from Oak Grove High School and in
2006 earned a bachelor’s degree from
Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa.
Although transitioning into a new
culture is nothing new to him, he said
his time in Mozambique was eye opening. “I realized I am different—my skin
color, straight hair, being from the United States,” he said. “I was like a child
entering a new culture, a new country,
learning the language. It