Testimony of Hope

One of the books Chip and I are currently reading is 'Testimony of Hope' by Archbishop Van Thuan.  The book is the complete text of a Spiritual Exercises retreat that he gave to the Roman Curia (Cardinals of the Catholic Church & the Pope).  It's a very excellent spiritual book that discusses hope in Christ on a very real and profound level with a flair of asian influence.  The book is also influenced strongly from his 13 years in prison by the Communist government in Vietnam.  A particularly inspiring point about the Christian witness of loving our enemies was when in isolation, five police took turns so that there were always two guarding him.  The leaders had told them, "We will replace you every two weeks with another group so that you will not be 'contaminated' by this dangerous bishop."  Afterward the leaders told them, "We've decided not to switch you anymore; otherwise the bishop will contaminate all of the police."

Short Bio

He was born in the Imperial capital of Huế, Vietnam. In 1941, Nguyễn Văn Thuận joined An Ninh Minor Seminary and was ordained a priest on June 11, 1953. After six years of further studies in Rome, he was appointed in 1959-1967 as a faculty member and rector of the Seminary of Nha Trang.

He was appointed Bishop of Nha Trang on 13 April 1967 and received episcopal consecration on 4 June 1967 at Huế at the hands of Angelo Palmas, Apostolic Delegate to Viêt Nam (and later, Nuncio to Colombia and to Canada), assisted by Bishops Philippe Nguyen Kim Dien, Apostolic Administrator, sede plena, of Huế, and Jean-Baptiste Urrutia, titular archbishop of Carpato.

On 24 April 1975, he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Saigon. On 30 April, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army, and Nguyễn Văn Thuận, targeted for his faith as well as his family connection to Ngô Đình Diệm, was detained by the Communist Government of Vietnam in a reeducation camp for 13 years, 9 of them in solitary confinement.

While in prison, he smuggled out messages to his people on scraps of paper. These brief reflections, copied by hand and circulated within the Vietnamese community, have been printed in the book The Road of Hope. Another book, Prayers of Hope, contains his prayers written in prison. The bishop fashioned a tiny Bible out of scraps of paper. Sympathetic guards smuggled in a piece of wood and some wire from which he crafted a small crucifix.

Quotes:

"God knows how to write straight with crooked lines."

Speaking of his mother, Nguyễn Văn Thuận said, "When I was in prison, she was my great comfort. She said to all, 'Pray that my son will be faithful to the Church and remain where God wants him'."


“In our country there is a saying: ‘A day in prison is worth a thousand autumns of freedom.' I myself experienced this. While in prison, everyone waits for freedom, every day, every minute. We must live each day, each minute of our life as though it is the last.”

Recorded on the Feast of the Holy Rosary, October 7, 1976, in Phu-Khanh prison, during his solitary confinement: "I am happy here, in this cell, where white mushrooms are growing on my sleeping mat, because You are here with me, because You want me to live here with You. I have spoken much in my lifetime: now I speak no more. It's Your turn to speak to me, Jesus; I am listening to You"[5].

Ten Rules of Life of Nguyễn Văn Thuận

I will live the present moment to the fullest.
I will discern between God and God’s works.
I will hold firmly to one secret: prayer.
I will see in the Holy Eucharist my only power.
I will have only one wisdom: the science of the Cross.
I will remain faithful to my mission in the Church and for the Church as a witness of Jesus Christ.
I will seek the peace the world cannot give.
I will carry out a revolution by renewal in the Holy Spirit.
I will speak one language and wear one uniform: Charity.
I will have one very special love: The Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Present Moment

If I look at the future, I am full of fear,

but why go forward into the future?

Only the present moment is dear to me,

because perhaps the future will not lodge in my soul.

The past is not within my power

to change, correct, or add something.

Neither the wise nor the prophets were able to do this.

I trust therefor to God that which regards my past.

O present moment, you belong to me completely;

I desire to use you as much as it is within my power...

Therefore, trusting in your mercy,

I go forward in life as a child,

and everyday I offer to you my heart

enflamed with love for your greater glory.

~St. Faustina Kowalska

Reflection on “The Annunciation: Mary’s call”

Archbishop Sheen explained that there is a difficulty in relating our call to Mary’s call. You might even say the Annunciation is a mystery, and a joyful one at that.

“Mary was chosen by God to be His Mother and was even prepared for that honor by being preserved free from the primal sin that had infected all humanity. If she were so prepared, would she be free to accept or to reject, and would her answer be the full fruit of her free will? The answer is that her redemption was already completed but that she had not yet accepted or ratified it. It was, in a way, something like our dilemma. We are baptized as infants, and our bodies become temples of God, as our souls have been filled with infused virtues. We become not just creatures made by God but partakers in Divine nature. All this is done in Baptism before our freedom blossoms, the Church standing responsible for our spiritual birth as our parents did for our physical birth. Later on, however, we ratify that original endowment by the fee acts of our moral lives- by receiving the sacraments, by prayers, and by sacrifices.” ~ THE WORLD’S FIRST LOVE

A variation of a question that has been stuck in my head for quite a while now and one that perhaps most people encounter that are earnest about the longings of their heart, is this. How am I to know I’m being faithful in attempting to discern and truthfully follow God’s will for me in both my vocation and in my daily life?


More recently this question has been a part of discerning my big Vocation and comes up so often in prayer and thoughts throughout the day that I would like to have some peace of mind to it sometime soon, but I’ve come to know through some good advice that God’s preparation of my heart in this discernment is quite possibly as important as the answer itself. I tried a number of different things at the beginning of my commitment and even the year before my commitment to prepare myself and keep track of how I’m doing as well as taking time to write down points of reflection. The latest system is my note cards and I wanted to share a few of those with you tonight.

October 17, 2009
I need to be leaning on my brothers to be able to live out my commitment and receive the intimacy that I need. Too often I reject the love of my brothers in the ways in which they reach out. I seem to be expecting or demanding that for me to accept that love that it should come in certain ways that I prefer. Lord, please remove my heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh on fire with your love.

November 28, 2009
God is asking me to be faithful:
-Some days the temptation to be disobedient is strong
-Some days I can’t clear my thoughts and I’m angry
+Sometimes I spring out of bed and I’m excited and hopeful for the day to come
-Sometimes I let other people’s attitude/their anger/their frustration penetrate my serenity
+Sometimes I can really feel God’s presence when I put my pride aside
In all of these moments God is asking me to be faithful.

December 18, 2009
This year is for my relationship with God. For my heart to be formed and the garbage to be cleaned out. To step out bravely into the dark with the light of Christ as my Truth. To love and be loved as God intended. To hopefully see into the depths of my heart and make free choices for my future that will ultimately bring me joy and peace. To know and believe that my reward in heaven will be great if I bear all of my suffering in the name of Christ.

December 30, 2009
You are a jealous lover indeed. I try to push myself to what would be good for me but I know you haven’t yet lead me there, if you are to lead me there. You want me to be content with discernment to be able to truly submit to you in your will for me, in your time. You want it all; you want me to be fully alive in you, to be free.

I’ve had to take to the method of keeping these things and pondering them in my heart after the model of Mary. Patience, trust in the Lord, slowly becoming and falling in love with Jesus my Savior. Working to do my best to say yes in the small things so I will be prepared for the bigger moments where more things are on the line. Lord, please grant us the grace to wait for your counsel and never forget your works. Hearts that are confident in your majesty and interior freedom in line with mother Mary’s Fiat.