5446(II)_Three Successive Days of God’s Grace for the Vietnam Province
Admission of new novices, First and Final Professions
August 17, 2020
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 16 August 2020 – August is the month of God’s grace for many provinces of our Congregation around the world including the Vietnam province with ordinations and professions.On Friday 13 August 2020, in the chapel of the Sacred Heart Novitiate, Fr Joseph Nguyen Van Quang, the provincial superior of the Vietnam province, presided at the mass to welcome and admit 20 candidates to the novitiate. All of them had spent two years together in St. Dominic Savio pre-novitiate before entering the novitiate.
On the next day, 14 August, once again in the chapel of the novitiate, 17 novices made their first professions in the Society of Saint Francis the Sales. Two of them chose to become Salesian brothers. Fr Provincial presided at the mass and represented the Rector Major to receive their vows and welcome them to the Salesian Congregation. In his homily Fr Provincial addressed four points on the meaning of Salesian religious profession according to article 23 of our constitutions. He invited the candidates to live fully the Salesian vocation and to become other Don Boscos for young people of today. He also thanked the parents of the candidates for their generosity in giving their sons to God and our Congregation. He also invited them to imitate Mamma Margaret to accompany their sons through their prayers and advice for them.
God’s grace continued flowing to our province with the final profession of three students of theology on the next day 15 August 2020. There should have been 8 brothers who would make their perpetual profession on this occasion. But because of Covid 19 pandemic the three Salesian confreres who have been studying theology in Don Bosco School of Theology in Manila and other two clerics in Ratisbonne, Israel could not come back to Vietnam. Therefore they will make their perpetual profession later in their present communities.
Fr. Provincial, Joseph Quang, invited the candidates in his homily to live fully their Salesian vocation, to belong totally to God, to the Church in the Salesian Congregation, and to stay with Don Bosco and young people.
Although the three events were held with some limitations because of the Covid 19 pandemic, we are still very grateful to God for his love and grace through these events. They brought us more joy and hope for a better and brighter future.
