austraLasia

By Van Chinh, SDB

Xuan Hiep, Vietnam, 15 August 2016 -- To the annual tradition of VIE province, the mass of perpetual profession is usually held solemnly on the feastday of the Assumption of Mary. This year, 10 Salesians of the Rinaldi formation house made their perpetual vows at Xuan Hiep church located in Thu Duc district on Monday August 15th 2016.

Present at the feastday were the provincial, Fr. Joseph Nguyen Van Quang, the salesians, the superiors and the religious of some congregations, parents, relatives, benefactors and friends of the professeds, and a good number of Xuan Hiep parishioners. At 9:00 AM, the mass started. The provincial, Fr. Joseph Nguyen Van Quang, presided the mass with the concelebration of more than 110 salesian and diocesan priests.

At the beginning of the mass, fr. Provincial asked everyone to thank God and to pray for 10 professeds in particular. He also invited the congregation to look at Mary on the feastday of Her Assumption as the result of a total devoted life to God.

In the homily, the provincial focused on the examples of Mary: (1) Mary entirely belonged to God. She was always ready to renounce her own plans to be at the service of God and to do what God wanted; (2) Mary chose to live the poverty, that is a way of life of entrusting herself totally to God and of co-operating with God in His plan of salvation. The provincial also invited the new professeds to live as Mary did so that they could belong to God forever and to fulfill the Salesian mission entrusted to them by God. At the end of mass, a new professed expressed the gratitude to God, to the provincial, parents and all those present at the mass of profession. The provincial also said some words to thank the parents and everyone who came to pray for the new professeds.

Below are the new perpetual professeds, two of them are now the missionaries (Ad Gentes):