Vietnam, 09 November 2020 – The Salesians brothers’ annual gathering of the Vietnam province was held on 06 & 07 November 2020 at Ho Tram, Vung Tau province, around 80kms from Ho Chi Minh city. There were 39 brothers in attendance with the accompaniment of Fr. Joseph Do Duc Dung, one of our former novice masters. Fr. Joseph Am the vice provincial was also with us in the first morning.
In the morning of the first day, when we were in the bus on the way to the place, the 2 oldest brothers shared with us about their vocation stories and current life and work. When we arrived at the place and gathered in the meeting room, Br. Dominic Nam showed us three video messages of Br. Muller, Fr. Klement and Fr. Ivo for this special occasion. Then he gave a talk with the topic: the Salesian brother in the time of 4.0 technology. Later on we took a vote to choose the new leader for the brothers of our province since Br. Dominic Nam had been appointed to new services of our Congregation. Br. John the Baptist Trung was voted the new leader, Br. Francis Van Tien vice-leader, Br. Paul Minh Luan secretary and translator, and Br. John the Baptist Phuoc in charge of communication. After that we had time for sharing about Salesian life of the present brothers, especially of the two youngest brothers who had just made their first professions on 14 August this year.
In the afternoon, Fr. Joseph Do Duc Dung gave us a talk about the image of lay consecrated persons in the history of the Church and in our Congregation. He emphasized on the image of Salesian brother in the mind of Don Bosco and also in the history of the Congregation. He also gave us some questions for reflection and sharing. We had mass at 5:30 P.M. After the mass we congratulated Br. Hoi and Br. Ro on their golden jubilees of religious profession, as well as Br. Luan and Br. Truong on the silver jubilees. Then Br. Trung represented all brothers to express our gratitude to Br. Dominic Nam for his service as our leader in some years.
After dinner we had a game show whose content was about Don Bosco’s life and mission. All the brothers were divided into three teams and we really enjoyed the game and got some more knowledge about our father.
On the second day, we had lectio divina at six A.M followed by the holy mass. After breakfast we went to the beach to enjoy our togetherness in the beauty of nature. We had a football match at the beach and later another football game in the water. We continued to share our joy during lunch. On the way back to Ho Chi Minh city we visited the house of one of the two youngest brothers. His parents and family welcomed us with hospitality and joy.
The gathering was a special occasion for all Salesian brothers of the VIE province to meet and share our Salesian life and mission. We really enjoyed everything together. Thanks be to God for giving us this good chance. We also would like to express our gratitude to our province and Congregation and to all superiors for always supporting us and giving us opportunities to live our vocation as Salesian brothers more joyfully and meaningfully.
More Photos of the event, including the three video messages of Br. Muller, Fr. Klement and Fr. Ivo
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