DAY ONE
(HANOI) As a long tradition, a Triduum of Masses in preparation for the Feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help took place in all Parishes of the Redemptorists in Vietnam. The first day of the Triduum began in Hanoi on the 25th of June, 2019, “Mary – The Star of the Sea, Star of Hope” was the theme for the celebration.
Mary who bore the light of Christ into our darkened world has brought the light of hope to the faithful in Hanoi of the past 90 years since the Redemptorists came to Hanoi in 1929. Under Her Perpetual Help, the faithful seek refuge in the protection of their beloved Mother, especially during the time of persecution and of immigration from the North to the South.
Therefore, it is said that the Shrine of OMPH in Thai Ha, Hanoi, has been a home for the Catholics in the North of Vietnam. From many towns, they used to come to the Shrine every Saturday. They placed their lives in Her hands and they experienced hope and strength to cope with their pains, especially the pain that from the religious persecution. This Shrine is now a center in the North of Vietnam to take care of the migrants, the youths and the victims of modern society. It is the place where also promoting justice and peace.
The tension continues until today because of the properties of the Redemptorists were confiscated by the government after the fall of Saigon in 1975. We pray to Our Mother who is the Star of the Sea, the Star of Hope to lead us to new light and new life, a life of freedom and fullness.
DAY TWO
(HUE) The second day of the Triduum in honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Hue, the central of Vietnam, took place in the evening at 7:15 pm on the 26th of June, 2019. In 1925, when the first Redemptorist missionaries came to Hue from Canada, they promoted the love for Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Since then the people in Hue witnessed the graces that have been poured out not only on the Christians but also on the non-believers.
Every Saturday, the people from different parishes and countrysides come to the Shrine and they said: “Let’s go to the Shrine of the Convent.”
Today, the new Rector of Hue community preached on the call to holiness. This is the urgent call not only for the Church according to Pope Francis, but also for the people in Hue where Buddhism is majority and Christianity is only 3% of the population. The Rector invited everybody to be docile to the Holy Spirit as Mary, our model. For only the Holy Spirit can transform us into a holy people.
Through the intercession of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, we pray for the Redemptorist community of Hue to be faithful to the call to holiness so that they can be the yeast to make Hue society leavening.
DAY THREE
(SAIGON) The Redemptorists and about 3 thousand people in Saigon celebrated the Feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in the afternoon at 5:15 pm on the 27th of June, 2019. The celebration started with the offering of flowers to the Icon by the altar servers of the Holy Eucharist. Then a solemn procession of the Icon was held where Bishop John Do Van Ngan, the auxiliary bishop of Xuan Loc Diocese and all joined actively.
During the homily, the Bishop preached on Mary – the Model of the Evangelization for the Missionaries. To proclaim the Good News, the missionaries need to have in their hearts the Good News as Mary who kept and pondered the Good News in her heart all the time. Since the time of Annunciation, Mary has received in Her womb the Incarnate Word, the Good News of the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. Then Mary was always keeping in Her heart the Good News of a Jesus during His hidden life in Nazareth, a Jesus during His public ministry, a Jesus who sacrificed and raised from the dead, a Jesus who wanted to express his works of salvation to be concise in the Eucharist. Therefore, if we want to be a good missionary, we need to love the Eucharist which is the source and summit of our missionary life.
The Feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help ended with deep satisfaction and feelings of Mary’s children who consider this Shrine in Saigon as their home. Since the Redemptorists in Vietnam found Saigon community in 1933, they have promoted the love for Mary. Since then, the people from other provinces far away from Saigon come to attend the Novena every Saturday. They experienced the powerful intercession of their Mother, especially the forgiveness which they can receive in the confession at this Shrine any day at any time in the morning or in the afternoon. May Our Mother gaze upon the wounded people in Vietnam and may the Redemptorists’ heartburn with the missionary zeal as Mary, for the sake of the Good News.
Fr. Dominic Tra, C.Ss.R.
