President of the Vietnamese Bishops’ Conference urges people to “live in the right direction”

(CGOL) Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh called on the faithful to live a holy life, not to steal or be greedy, to keep a holy heart to have peace of mind.

During the Christmas Mass held at Khe Sanh parish church (Tan Lien commune, Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri), on the evening of December 24, Archbishop of Hue Archdiocese Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh, Chairman of the Council Vietnamese Bishop, referring to the story people face during the Covid-19 epidemic, when going out, they need a test certificate or a certificate of vaccination, inconvenient travel; people also always live in fear of being infected, making life not peaceful.

Recalling that the deepest and greatest message of Christmas is peace, the Archbishop said that many people consider peace to be a family with good economic conditions, a beautiful wife, good children… But that is a common human thought, because money does not necessarily save health; Many people who have a lot of money have birth defects and when they go over the limit, they cannot save family happiness and lose peace.

According to the archbishop, God always directs people to peace of mind. “Only when we have goodwill, we want to build a holy life, do not steal, cheat, and are clean from sin, then even a little poverty will always be peaceful,” said the head of the Vietnamese Catholic Church. Nam urges believers this Christmas to pray for themselves to be good and live for the community.

In his homily before about 500 people in attendance, the Archbishop said that each of us has made mistakes in our lives. People sometimes only know their own interests and forget about the interests of others. There is no harmony in the family. The world still has conflicts, wars and hatred after hatred because people think wrongly and have not pursued happiness for the people. He said that “common light” is needed to guide people to harmony.

“Tonight, look up at the manger, offer God your sufferings, your sorrows, your worries to change from sin to holiness; from selfishness, hatred to love. That’s what the Church says. invites during the year of the association. I pray and pray that your wishes will come true,” he added.

This is the second Christmas of Catholics around the world taking place in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic. During mass on the night of December 24 in Khe Sanh Parish, most parishioners wore masks except for the Archbishop and the concelebrant priest. The number of attendees is about 1/5 compared to the years without the epidemic.

The Mass was also broadcast live by the Communication Department of Hue Archdiocese so that distant parishioners, people in isolation and blockade areas, Covid-19 patients and volunteers could monitor and cooperate with each other. pine.

Khe Sanh parish is the furthest part of Hue Archdiocese; Catholics are mainly Van Kieu ethnic people in Huong Hoa and Dkrong districts. Knowing that Archbishop Joseph first came to preside over the Mass, many parishioners traveled from 50 to 70 km of steep and steep roads to attend. The pagans who came here to watch the ceremony were welcomed by the Archbishop and wished for peace.

During the Christmas prayer before Mass, Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh invited the attending community not to consider it a performance, instead, through Christmas carols, offer the words pray for the victims who have passed away because of Covid-19 and ask God to dispel the dark clouds of the disease.

Last year, Archbishop of Hue Archdiocese Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh also returned to Cay Da Parish (Hai Lang district, Quang Tri) to offer Mass for parishioners along the O Lau river. This is an area of parishioners that suffered heavy damage in a historic natural disaster in October.

Thien Phuoc  translates –  HDGMVN