Season of grace in the midst of an epidemic

By Br. Pham Hong Phuoc, SDB

      Vietnam, 17 August 2021 -- July and August are months of grace for the Salesian Congregation all over the world and especially in the Province of Vietnam with its religious professions and ordinations.

      At the Ba Thon Sacred Heart Novitiate community, two important events took place. At 5:30 a.m. on Thursday 12 August 2021, there was a mass with rites of confession of faith of Father Vincent Hoang Phi Hai for his new mission as novice master, together with the admission of 14 new novices. Next is at 6:00 on 13 August 2021, there was a mass for the first profession of 19 candidates and the renewal of vows of three young Salesians. These two events took place only with the presence of the confreres in the community, without the participation of parents, relatives or friends.

      At the Rinaldi Theologate Community, on 14 August 2021, before the feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, six young Salesians made their perpetual professions to God in the Salesian Congregation of Don Bosco, ready to dedicate their whole lives to the mission of evangelization and education of poor youth of the founder, Saint John Bosco.

​​​​​​​      At Ky Anh community, at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday 15 August 2021, during the solenm mass to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, one Salesian brother made his perpetual profession and one pratical trainee renewed his vows.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​      Normally, each occasion of professions like this, is an occasion of joy, of gathering, of sharing, and of careful preparations, of solemn celebrations, and of grand congratulations. But during the serious outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ordinations of deacons and priests of the Province had to be postponed; the installing masses for the duties of rectors, novice master, the admission of new novices and importantly the Masses of the first and perpetual professions took place in a very simple and very silent way. There were no banners, posters announcing, welcoming, congratulating; there was no meeting to share joy, happy holidays, no presence of parents, relatives, benefactors, friends, no celebration, dance, music... This also makes us especially the newly professed Salesians feel a bit ‘heartbroken’…

​​​​​​​      But, like the parable of the seed that Jesus used to talk about the kingdom of heaven (Mk 4:26-29): the seed that is sown in the ground, night or day, rain or shine, will still grow silently, take root, grow and develop, bear fruit and wait for the harvest, we are sure that, the silence of all the past masses, always blessed by God, and He blesses more abundantly, so that this silence is a greater source of nutritional energy for the seeds that have been sown to continue to take root, continue to rise, continue to grow, bear many fragrant flowers and sweet fruits and waiting for the happy harvest.

​​​​​​​      We congratulate the newly professed Salesians and unite in prayers so that they continue to be fervently engaged in their mission of serving young people in the heart of today’s world according to Don Bosco’s charism.

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