The Valley Catholic
in our diocese
November 5, 2013
5
Church of the Resurrection
celebrates Golden Jubilee Year
Bishop McGrath joined priests and lay people, especially many youth, at the special Mass
for Vietnamese Martyrs in SCU’s Leavey Center.
DSJ local community celebrates
Vietnamese Martyrs
By Roberta Ward
Recently a special diocesan Mass
honoring V ietnamese Martyrs was celebrated at Leavey Center on the campus
of Santa Clara University. It was organized by the Vietnamese priests of the
Diocese of San Jose with assistance from
Vietnamese Catholic organizations and
parishes and was attended by people in
neighboring dioceses as well.
Local parishes included Our Lady of
La Vang, Most Holy Trinity, St. Maria
Goretti, Christ the King, Our Lady of
Refuge in San Jose; St. Elizabeth in Milpitas; St. Martin in Sunnyvale; and also the
Vietnamese Catholic Center, Vietnamese
Cursillo Movement, Catholic Mothers,
Sacred Heart Alliance, Scouts, Eucharistic Youth, and Thanh Linh Choir.
According to Father Hao Dinh, pastor of Holy Family Parish in San Jose,
who serves as Vicar for Vietnamese
Catholics in the DSJ, the event marked
25 years since Pope John Paul II canonized 117 Vietnamese Martyrs on June 19,
1988. Their official Church feast day is
observed Nov. 24.
San Jose Bishop Patrick J. McGrath
was presider of the Mass, along with
Bishop Dominic Mai Luong, Auxiliary
of the Diocese of Orange, CA, who is
celebrant and homilist; and Bishop Vincent Hieu Nguyen, Auxiliary Bishop of
Toronto, Canada.
In his homily on the exemplary faith
of the martyrs, Bishop Dominic Luong
revealed that at his ancestral home in
North Vietnam, one of the canonized
martyrs, St. Valentino Berrio-Ochoa,
was ordained a bishop. Berrio-Ochoa
was a Domincan from Spain.
Prior to the Mass, Bishop Nguyen
gave a talk, in Vietnamese and English,
telling of the travails of the martyrs over
several centuries as well as heralding the
sacrifices and efforts of refugees who left
their homeland.
Father Hao explained that the bishop
was chosen to give the talk “because he’s
one of the Vietnamese bishops in the
diaspora, one of the youngest among the
Canadian bishops, and is closer to the
Vietnamese younger generation. He is
fluent in both Vietnamese and English,
and is himself a refugee.”
As Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto,
Bishop Nguyen has responsibility for
a region which includes 40 parishes
and missions. He was born in Saigon,
arrived in Canada in 1984 where he
completed high school in Toronto, and
earned a Bachelor of Applied Science
degree (Electrical Engineering) from the
University of Toronto in 1991.
He attended St. Augustine Seminary,
was ordained in 1998, earned a licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical
University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome in 2008, and was
appointed Vice-Chancellor of Spiritual
Affairs and Moderator of the Curia in
2009, followed, in November, by his
appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of
Toronto.
At the local Mass there were performances and dramatized presentations.
Father Hao explained that the main performing group was the Lasallian Folk
Dance Troupe, founded by Christian
Brother Fortunat Phong who served at
Our Lady of La Vang (then St. Patrick
Parish).
A married couple performed traditional Vietnamese songs honoring Our
Lady of La Vang, and a dramatized
presentation by the Folk Dance Troupe
focused on “the steadfast faith and
courage of Vietnamese martyrs despite
everything,” Father Hao said.
According to a number of sources,
Vietnamese Martyrs fall into several
groups – from the 17th to 19th centuries,
as well as during Communist purges in
the 20th century. The Vatican estimates
their number to be between 130,000 and
300,000. Pope John Paul decided to canonize those whose names were known
along with some unknown, designating
the single feast day.
Better known is St. Andrew D?ng Lac
who was born into a poor Vietnamese
family in 1785. Although his parents
were never baptized, they saw to it that
Andrew received a Christian education.
He was ordained in 1823 and shortly
after was arrested.
The people of his parish got him released and he continued with his work
until Nov. 10, 1839 when he was arrested,
along with fellow priest St. Peter Thi Van
Truong Pham. They were both beheaded
Dec. 21, 1839.
By Kathleen Faust
C hu r c h of t h e Re s u r r e c t io n,
Sunnyvale, is celebrating its Golden
Jubilee Year with a special Mass, Nov.
10, 11:30 a.m. with Bishop Patrick J.
McGrath presiding, including current
and past priests of the parish. The
parish remembers and thanks the
founders while celebrating the Body
of Christ that the faith community
is today.
Throughout its history and now,
under the guidance of Pope Francis,
the Resurrection community reaches
out to those in need, striving to be the
eyes and hands of Christ. Parishioners care for others through the works
of the St. Vincent de Paul Society,
Catholic Charities, missions, youth
group and faith-sharing community
service projects.
They provide the Eucharist to the
homebound and to those in nursing
facilities, and their vigorous and
generous Fil-Am community is very
active in many projects. The newest
outreach, the “Caregiver’s Circle,” delivers meals, runs errands, and visits
and prays with those in need to let
them know that they are not alone.
Priests of the parish touch the lives
of others through prison, school and
hospital ministries, sacraments, and
counseling.
Inspired
a nd blossomi ng t h i s yea r
under the guidance, faith and
inspiration of
Pope Fra ncis,
the Church of
the Resurrection celebrates the Grace
of the Holy Spirit and the blessings
that abound.
Pope Francis calls everyone to live
their lives in harmony with those
around them, deepen their relationship with God, follow in the footsteps
of Jesus, reaching out to the poor, the
sick and the marginalized.
The Resurrection community feels
the challenge to take a new look at
their faith, lives and ministries as
they follow the Pope into a time of renewed respect, appreciation, love and
compassion for all God’s children.
Building upon the work of parish
founders, their sacrifices and prayers,
the Resurrection community continues the legacy and prayerfully walks
forward, together in Christ, which
is their path of hope into the future.
• Kathleen Faust is a Pastoral Associate and Director of Music and Liturgy at
Church of the Resurrection in Sunnyvale.
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