Newly Ordained Huan Le and Huyen Nguyen are Encouraged to Become Elders to their Catholic Family
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November 23, 2021On Saturday, November 6 at 10 a.m., the Redemptorists celebrated the ordination of two men, Huan T. Le and Huyen T. Nguyen with Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., as the ordaining Bishop.
This ordination marked the first time a Redemptorist has been ordained at St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church since the 1850s. The last man ordained there was Rev. Joseph Wissel and he was ordained by Bishop John Neumann.
Please enjoy the following homily from the ordination celebration given by Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, C.Ss.R.
Vietnamese Family – The Elders
"Family is the most important aspect of life in Vietnam. It is much more interdependent and tight-knit than what many Western cultures are familiar with. Family is always first. And extended family, including aunts, uncles, grandparents and other relatives are often very close. These relationships providecare and support and security.
It is common for three generations to live under the same roof: grandparents, parents and children. Many would agree that living alone is unknown in Vietnamese culture. Within the family, age is the factor that most determines the level of respect and responsibility a person receives. The cultural respect of age also requires that family members defer to elders. When argumentsoccur, this can mean that the older family members’ views prevail. Vietnamese children almost never talk back to their parents. Thereare no nursing homes in Vietnam. Families need to stay close-knit as parents depend on their children for care in their older years. This expectation remains for many Vietnamese families living in America.
We are here today thanks to Huan’s and Huyen’s parents. As soonas this date was proposed for the ordination, our deacons called home. Their parents gave us permission to celebrate the ordination today. We are very grateful to Huan’s and Huyen’s parents.
How do Vietnamese people treat their elders? Elders are the leaders in families, have the strongest influence in decision making, and are respected and sought after for advice. Younger family members are to be obedient and respectful. Elders living and deceased are greatly revered. The oldest brother in Vietnamese families has a tremendous amount of responsibility. In the absence of the father, he is responsible for the care and well-being of the family.
Why am I spending so much time on this? The word “priest” comes from German origins and is related to the Greek word “presbyter” which is understood to mean “elder.” With the celebration of your ordination to the priesthood, you become “elders.” There is a change in status, a shift in where you fit into the hierarchy of the Church, but also the family hierarchy heavily influenced by Vietnamese culture.
The First Born Son, Older Brother Be careful. An “elder” without Christ can be frightening. Elders can be cruel, exercising their power and authority without feeling, and care. Elders can be selfseeking, unconcerned about the needs of others, striving after personal gain. Elders can be greedy, selfish with their time, their gifts, talents and abilities. Elders can hurt and wound, and cause pain and suffering. It was the elders, who through their influence and corruption, put Jesus to death.
Look at the Hebrew Scriptures: Adam, the firstborn son, older brother, turns back on God and leads family down the road to separation from God. The elder Cain kills Abel. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Joseph is sold into slavery by his elder brothers. They lie to their father. Eliab is resentful and jealous of David whom Samuel anoints king. The elder brother resents the prodigal son, and refuses to join the celebration.
In the Absence of the Father, Jesus, First Born Son, Older Brother. If there is any encourage-ment in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart,thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others. Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:1-11).
Jesus teaches us that priestly ministry, service, living the sacrament of orders, being the elder, means becoming small, the servant and slave of all. Take the lowest place. Greatness is found in giving our lives in self-sacrificing love for the good of others without counting the cost to ourselves. Jesus is our elder brother in the family of the Church. He’s the older brother who gives his life as the ransom for the many. Paying the price with his blood to save us from sin and death.
Newly Ordained Priests You must be the older brother in God’s family, the Church. At baptism, confession, anointing of the sick, funerals, wedding, in the pulpit, at the parish office. Older brother to the poor, the sick, the stranger, the sinner, with special love and for those who have no family and are alone, the most abandoned. Always with kindness, gentleness, and compassion, with mercy and patience, with joy and hope.
In the person of Christ, as first-born sons, older brothers, you will celebrate the Eucharist, the liturgy, standing at the altar, your lives on the altar, giving yourself completely and totally for plentiful redemption in a wounded world. I look on you today as my older brothers. We need you to be our older brothers, like Jesus, the Holy Redeemer. And so, today, I will not ask you to deny your culture. Be who you are, how God made you. Culture is a God given gift.
Celebrate this new role that Christ calls you to today. Take your place as an “elder” among God’s people. But, at the same time, marry this moment and the living of your priestly ministry to the words and example of Jesus. Without exception, be priests, “elders,” older brothers to everyone after the heart of the Most Holy Redeemer."
Homily by Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, C.Ss.R.
