10 October, 2021 05:08

Mission Sunday is celebrated throughout the world.

• It’s an opportunity to remember how blessed we are and share some of those blessings with others.

It is an honor to welcome Sisters Maria and Marie.

• They are members of the "Servants of Jesus, the High Priest," a Vietnamese Catholic Religious Women Congregation.

Father Joseph Maria Pham founded the Order in 1966.

Bishop Dominic Lang Nguyen canonically approved it in the Diocese of Xuan Loc in South Vietnam in 1984.

Since then, the Congregation has grown tremendously.

Currently, there are 250 sisters, 25 novices, and 60 postulants.

• Its charism is to pray and support priests’ ministries.

Currently, 18 communities are serving in parishes in 10 dioceses in Vietnam and 2 in the U.S.

The community in Largo was established in 2012; currently, Sisters Marie and Maria are going to school, learning English, while serving in the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam parish in the diocese of St. Petersburg.

• Soon, they will lead and coordinate the religious education program.

Their presence will help quite a bit.

• They are excited and ready to work.

Father Viet, their pastor, needs help to train catechists and the youth leaders in the parish.

• Sr. Marie and Maria are needed for the parish as children will be their ministry’s primary focus.

More than just teaching children their faith and the parents, the sisters will help them learn how to live the Catholic Faith in our society.

• That is a challenge for all of us.

And Father Viet is happy to have more hands to help serve needy families.

Like any parish just beginning, many ministries need to develop and grow.

We praise and thank God for the gift of Sr. Marie and sister Maria to the parish of Holy martyrs of Vietnam and St. Petersburg.

• Our prayers and financial support will help them bring God’s love to his people in concrete ways.

I want to end with a modern-day parable of the rich young man we heard in the gospel.

A college baseball player went to Jesus and asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus replied, "Go to the local playground and help set up an after-school program for kids who are poor or who are at risk." The baseball star’s face fell, and he went away sad.

His only focus in life was making the majors.

My friends, we are blessed to have two sisters who have given up everything to serve strangers because of their love for Jesus and our Catholic Church.

My friends, we are blessed to have two sisters who have given up everything to serve strangers because of their love for Jesus and our Catholic church.

• They come to a foreign country with little knowledge of the language.

They have many struggles ahead of them.

• I honor Sr. Marie and Sr. Mary, who are Living Courageously the Gospel.

The People of God they serve will not be strangers for long.

Thank you for the encouragement and support you are giving them.