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Pastor's Page 2019-11-17

Dear Parishioners:

SEATTLE SOUNDERS - MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER (M.L.S.)
CUP CHAMPION 2019

Congratulation to the Sounders for a historic Championship game at Century Link Field with the largest crowd (69,000+) ever attended with the final score 3-1 against the Toronto FC.  Waiting for the Champion Parade to come soon …

 

  • As we come to the end of the Church’s liturgical year, our Sunday Scripture readings are filled with apocalyptic images that may well terrify us with their intensity, honesty, realism, and practicality. Apocalyptic writing was popular in Christian circles for a millennium.  Major historical crises most often triggered apocalyptic thinking.

Not all uses of the word “apocalypse,” however, have to do with a special kind of literature.  History being set in the larger context of God’s purpose, giving rise to extraordinary writing with historical descriptions that are laced with symbols, signs, and mysterious figures of speech.  As strange as this literature may seem to us, it is a dramatic witness to the tenacity of faith and hope among the people of God.

The destruction of Jerusalem is the historical event that prompted Jesus’ apocalyptic speech in today’s Gospel passage (Luke 21:5-19).  In dealing with the persecution of the disciples and the destruction of Jerusalem, Luke is pointing to signs that have already been fulfilled.  The fulfilment of God’s purpose will affect not just Israel but all nations, not just the nations but also the entire cosmos. There is no area of God’s creation so remote as to be unaffected by God’s actualization of his divine intention.

However, disciples are not to be so preoccupied with these events as to be terrified or led astray by those who claim to have probed the divine mysteries and ascertained the time and place.  The important thing to keep in mind is that before the end there is to be a time of witnessing.  Because of their witness, disciples will be brought before the synagogues and before governors and kings (both realities would be fulfilled in the Acts of the Apostles). Hatred, betrayal by relatives and friends, and death await them.  Disciples are not exempt from suffering.

If apocalyptic literature shocks us, it may well be for good reasons.  Maybe we need to be brought out of our complacent faith and beliefs, our way of living and acting, and realize that time is short, that the Lord truly does come like a thief in the night, and that we must radically change our ways today, not tomorrow.  

As we near the end of the liturgical year and are confronted with the ultimate things in today’s Scripture readings, let us never forget that we are called to give witness through our daily living.  Amid painful and prolonged suffering, when there can be seen on the horizon of predictable history no relief from disaster, faith turns its face toward heaven not only for a revelation of God’s will but also for a vision of the end of the present misery and the beginning of the age to come.  That thought alone is a cause of consolation, joy, and hope in the midst of the storms of our times.

  • A special tradition throughout the month of November is that, our parish will remember and pray for all our deceased members at Mass, especially those names that have been written on the parish prayer book. Please join us in the daily Mass or at the weekend Mass in these celebrations.  It’s not too late to send in the All Souls’ envelop with the names of your loved ones who have passed away and wanting our parish to pray for them. 
  • Mark your calendar on Thursday November 21 - 7:00 PM at St. Gabriel Church for a special event from “Luke Production” feature the story of John Vianney.

As we celebrated in the first day of this November in the feast of all Saints, who is this saint?  What uniquely about St. John Vianney was that, the Church almost didn’t ordain him to be a priest!  Do you know why?

Take the time to learn about this saint or buy a ticket and bring your friend or family to see the inspiring life of St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests.  Check our weekly bulletin for more detail information.

Christ’s Peace, 
Fr. Phuong Hoang

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