Greetings from Fr. Hien

Brothers and sisters in Christ, 

I bring to you a warm greeting from my trip to Vietnam. 

For those whom I have not had a chance to meet yet, I am a newly ordained priest and the new parochial vicar for our collaborative Christ by the Sea serving our two parishes Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish in Hull and Saint Anthony Parish in Cohasset. Please join me in giving thanks to God for my four classmates' ordination to the priesthood of Jesus Christ and mine at Holy Cross Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Boston on May 20th, 2023. I have started my first assignment here for a month, and I am grateful for your warm welcome and many caring questions about my trip back to Vietnam. This article might be a way of thanking all of you and sharing some activities I had during my visit to Vietnam after four years away. 

Firstly, on behalf of my parents, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Fr. Scott Euvrard, our Pastor, and all of you parishioners from Christ by the Sea collaborative. Thank you for your generosity and hospitality to my parents when they stayed at the rectory in Hull during their time in the United States. My parents were delighted to be staying where their son will be as the parochial vicar; even though my parent and I would not expect or predict this, I believe it is God's providence. On the plane back to Vietnam, I asked them if they wanted to return to the US again. Without hesitation, my mother replied: "Maybe NOT" because it is a long flight to get here, over 20 hours. Nonetheless, because of the kindness of people here, my parents may strive to make another trip soon. 

I arrived in Vietnam on Monday, and my Thanksgiving mass was scheduled for Saturday (June 10th, 2023). The Pastor of my home parish, Fr. Joseph, and everyone in my village welcomed me back like a lost son with all the love, joy, and happiness they could express. The preparations for my Thanksgiving Mass were planned meticulously and detailed by the pastor and everyone in the village. Perhaps because of so much love and so long waiting (after more than 40 years since the last priest who was previous to me celebrated a thanksgiving mass, until now, my hometown had not had another thanksgiving celebration for the priesthood of Christ), they had prepared in the best possible way for me to celebrate a very solemn and holy thanksgiving Mass with the presence of 73 concelebrating priests, deacons, many seminarians, religious men and women, and more than 1000 parishioners. The humid heat of the summer in my hometown cannot stop the love that everyone has for me and my family. I thank God and appreciate my hometown people's kindness and generosity. 

A week after my Thanksgiving Mass, my family was constantly filled with joy and happiness as I celebrated the wedding Mass for my little sister. It was God's grace that I could celebrate my sister's wedding as the very first wedding Mass I offered as a priest. Generally, weddings are not held in the summer in our area because the temperature is always around 100-110 F. However, my sister bravely decided to wait for me to return and celebrate the wedding Mass for her.  Because the weather was super-hot, even though my sister has been waiting for so long, she did not have a big wedding party. Despite this I believe my sister had a very holy and sacred wedding mass. May God continuously bless and bestow grace upon my sister and my brother-in-law's new Catholic marriage. 

My journey back to Vietnam was terrific and incredible. Now I am back in the States, particularly with you in the Christ by the Sea collaborative. As a priest of Christ, I am called day in and day out to become like another Christ by adapting to the new environment and serving those I am sent to. I should imitate humbly and daily my Lord and Master Jesus Christ, the High Priest who became incarnate in the earthly world. Please help me integrate into the life of our collaborative parishes. correct me if I make a mistake, and continuously pray for me to be faithful to my priestly vocation for the rest of my life and forever according to the order of Melchizedek. 

Once again, from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank Fr. Scott and all of you for giving me a warm welcome and many prayers. 

May God bless us all. 
Sincerely in Christ, 
Father Hien Vu

Photos: Fr. Hien celebrating the nuptial Mass of his sister & Fr. Hien at his Mass of Thanksgiving in Vietnam.