A Message The Youth
Overall, the Catholic community at the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes is a large faith community and is comprised of children, adolescents, adults and the elderly, of various socio-economic backgrounds and diverse cultures. The aim of community life within the Catholic Church is to nurture faith in a way that is particular to the specific Vietnamese culture – to teach compassion, generosity, tolerance, peace, forgiveness, acceptance and love – as gospel values. As Christians, we are required to live these values in our interactions with God and with one another in our community. The most valuable tool to keep our faith concrete is prayer and worship. This is the simplest form of how human beings communicate, interact, and raise relationships with God. Without prayer, spirituality becomes stale, empty, and meaningless.
Dear Young Friends, we have recalled the past with the obstacles and difficulties that have been overcome by hard work, enthusiasm and unity among the First Generation. We have reviewed the present with tremendous success in various aspects gained by the educated and skillful Second Generation. We are now launching this call on you for more involvement in managing the community, playing role models for the even younger generation, to attract them to participate in activities held by the community. We do hope and believe that the Vietnamese community at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish will continue to be united behind our Reverent HOANG VAN THIEN as he leads this community to the most developed community inHouston, both spiritually and materially. You, the younger generation, will always be expected to play the key roles in our success for now and the future.
Houston,TexasOctober 8, 2010
