My virtual-friend Virtual Doug posted on his blog today news about a Vatican Cardinal ministerial visit to Catholics in Việt Nam, and described (with wonderful pictures) a Eucharist celebration at the Phú Cam Cathedral in Huê.
I try to lead a life centered on Jesus Christ, and I had hoped to write occasionally in my blog about this, but have been unable to do so. I just can't seem to put matters of faith into words that might make sense to others. So it is good to see that these kind of events can provide a way to write about the Light of the World.
The question for some time in my mind as I have been planning to relocate to Việt Nam is how to maintain Jesus as the center of life while living in a non-Christian nation. Virtual Doug seems to have found attending the local Catholic worship services a way to do this, which is a reasonable choice considering the large number of Catholic churches in Việt Nam.
I wonder about attending services in a language I do not understand, though. Virtual Doug mentioned in his blog posting that while he did not understand the homily, he did understand the service just fine. Doug's home church is Episcopalian, while mine is Lutheran. Since both of these churches often follow the ancient liturgy of celebration of the Mass in worship services, it is fairly easy for us to follow along whether the service be in Latin, French, Vietnamese, or whatever.
But my own relationship with Jesus is best when I contemplate His Word as delivered in a homily by my Pastor, in the scripture readings, or in discussions arising out of Bible class study -- particularly the discussions with fellow believers. This is how my faith grows.
While I hope to maintain my individual Bible or devotional study while living in Việt Nam, it would be best to find fellow Christians there to carry out discussions enabling us to support each other in growing our faith. I pray that this will be possible in Ho Chi Minh City.
