As Gayndah parish celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first Mass in the Burnett region this weekend, the Vietnamese refugee priest who spent three years in a Communist prison at Kinh Nam, says he has found contentment.
I THINK the Gayndah community has welcomed me pretty well.
But wherever I have been sent as a priest I have always found happiness.
As an expression of love and gratitude toward those I was going to serve, after my first Mass, I distributed excerpts from my Diary of a Priest Prisoner.
On the back page of the booklet, I wrote some words from my mother: ‘The length of time is not a matter. What does matter is the strength of heart, the sweetness of love’.
From the first moment, the parishioners’ sweetness of love has made me feel at home. Their strength of heart has given me a feeling of belonging to the most powerful, beautiful family on earth – the family of those who believe in a God of love.
I am happy to come here.
About three weeks after my arrival, Archbishop John Bathersby rang and asked me, ‘How are things up there, John?’
‘Thank you for your thoughtfulness, your Grace,’ I replied. ‘Things are good. I am happy to be here.’
‘So you like to be in a little country parish?’ the archbishop asked.
I smiled and clarified my view: ‘Not exactly, your Grace. But I do my best to be happy where I am sent to.’
Wherever I am, God is. Wherever God is, there are beautiful plans. So God himself puts me where I am. He alone sees diamonds in the rocks all around us. In fact, in 15 months in Gayndah, I couldn’t help from burying my head in the parish records, rich in admirable history.
St Paul shared his life principle with the Philippians: ‘I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content’ (4:11).
So have I. With conviction of heart, I believe there are diamonds waiting to be mined, wherever God puts me.
At the Sunday Masses of July 21 last year, we made an appeal for southern Africa. I told the people about the risk of starvation of more than 10 million people in southern Africa, and that if we can’t have compassion for the poorest people in this world, then we’re not really Christian.
One of the counters told me in exultation, ‘Father, there was a very good response to the (appeal). We got $679.75, while the total of the two collections was far below that. Never mind, God will take care of us.’
In cold places dwell warm-hearted people. In this poor country parish, Jesus is loved generously.
As my Mum always told me that ‘money is linked to guts’, we shared with our brothers and sisters our guts of Christian solidarity which is ‘the kind of love that moves feet, hands, hearts, material goods, assistance and sacrifice towards the pain, danger, misfortune, disaster … of others. In solidarity, God speaks the language of love’ (Jon Sobrino SJ, Theology of Christian Solidarity, Maryknoll, New York, 1983).
I am delighted to be with my people, remembering the 150 years of the first Mass in our parish, to encourage each other in the faith. An anniversary is a time to invite us to remain in thanksgiving to God for his wonderful blessings over many years.
The Eucharist, which has been celebrated here since 1853, is an eloquent testimony to, and remarkable attainment by, the faith and devotion of the many priests, sisters and committed parishioners.
They all came forward over such a long time to form a diligently serving, fervently praying and generously giving parish.
I am in great admiration of them all. Their constancy in faith, their regular contributions to the worship and love of God, and service of the community are the gifts which God offers to so many people.
I thank them all for the sacrifice made. And I am conscious of the duty to carry on that tradition.
The agenda for the future I adopted from the archdiocesan Synod 2003 action strategies is to launch into the deep of the Eucharist, ‘to embrace the person of Jesus and his vision, to engage in Christ’s mission, and to build communion with God and others’.
This means not only to celebrate the Eucharist, but to live it out by allowing us to be enlightened and transcended by him to be signs and bearers of his love.
This is the challenge and focus that we want to have in everything we do in our parish for the years ahead.
Under the protection of St Joseph, the patron of Gayndah, I am confident the parish – a place where the sacrifice of the Mass has been offered for 150 years – will continue to flourish as a meeting place for God and people, a place where we are going to be a blessing to one another.
I am privileged to witness the warm enthusiasm of the people which reminds me that history always has a continuity.
I move forward boldly around the parish looking at the past with reverent eyes, and to the future with hope in God. He who never fails anybody will certainly help us to continue our journey of seeing others as those who are part of us and coming together with all those who have gone before us to be strengthened by what God offers.
So I thank the people of Gayndah for the hospitality of allowing me to play a small part in the life of their communities rich in good traditions.
The model of serving, praying and giving that they continue to offer … is a sign of hope for the Church.
