November 2011

Issue 4
November 2011
Important Dates for
November
Psalm 107:1
“Give thanks to the Lord, for
he is good; his love endures
forever.”
Thiếu Nhi
Fundraising: Rake
Leaves
(November 12)
Nghĩa Sĩ & Hiệp Sĩ
Visit Nursing Home
& Thanksgiving Dinner
(November 19th)
Thanksgiving MASS
Nov. 24 @10:00AM
Thanksgiving
Holiday
(November 27th)
No Class
Today most of us celebrate this tradition in a
similar fashion; we would have a great feast
with our family members and close friends,
then sleep or stay awake to go shopping early
the following morning. We are all truly
blessed to have a home, friends, family,
clothes to wear, games to play, and food to
eat. But there are still many people out there
in the world that don’t have any of this. They
are suffering everyday.
Congrats to the following...
Recite the most Rosary for October
Au Nhi: Victoria Dương Từơng Vân
Thieu Nhi: Agnes Nguyễn Julie
Nghia Si: Gioan Nguyễn Chí-Thiện
Hiep Si: Maria Teresa Cynthia Vân
Anh Nguyễn
Thăng Cấp Huynh Trưởng Cấp I
Tr. Anna Nguyễn Liễu
Tr. Giuse Trần Ngọc Huy
Tr. Giuse Trần Định Hiến
Tr. Đominico Hoàng Vương Quốc
Tr. Martino Trần Định Phúc
In 1620, the Pilgrims traveled overseas
on the Mayflower from England to the
new land. Their ship landed on Plymouth Rock, where they built their houses
and Church. They arrived during winter,
so it was cold and the ground was thick
with snow. Since there wasn’t enough
food to feed everyone, half the population grew sick and died by the end of the
season.
Those that survived became
friends with the Native Indians. One
particular Indian, Squanto, lived with
the Pilgrims and showed them how to
plant their corns, peas, wheat, and barley.
When autumn arrived the following year, the Pilgrims gathered what
they planted. Their crops had grown so
well that they would have enough food
to last them through the winter. A leader
of the colony gathered everyone together for a feast and said to the people “Let
us thank God for it all. It is He who has
made the sun shine and the rain fall and
the corns grow.”
This was the first Thanksgiving
celebrated by the Pilgrims in New England, and this tradition has continued for
nearly 400 years.
During this season, we as Doan Emmanuel are
working together to help the homeless, the
poor, and hungry by having a canned food
drive. I ask that all of you share what you have
with the less fortunate, and especially pray for
them. If you cannot donate a lot of canned
food, even one can make a difference. Last year
we raised about 400 cans, so this year let’s try
reaching 700 cans since we have more members. Show the community and the church how
much we care and how much we want to help
those that are suffering during this holiday.
This Thanksgiving I would like to thank God
for having a wonderful Doan Thieu Nhi with
great kids that know how to love their neighbors.
Tr. Từơng Long
All Saints Day
Word Search Activity
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Find the
following
Saints names:
AGNES
ANNE
ANTHONY
AUGUSTINE
BENEDICT
BERNADETTE
BRIDGET
CATHERINE
CECILIA
CLARE
DOMINIC
ELIZABETH
FRANCIS
GEORGE
HELEN
ISIDORE
JOHN
JOSEPH
JUDE
LUCY
MARTIN
PATRICK
PAUL
PETER
ROSE
STEPHEN
THERESE
THOMAS
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TRỞ NÊN THÁNH
Chúng ta đang bước vào tháng 11, tháng
mà Giáo Hội Hoàn Vũ mời gọi mỗi người Kitô
hữu cùng hiệp ý dâng lời ngợi khen và tạ ơn
Thiên Chúa vì Người đã ban cho chúng ta rất
nhiều các vị Thánh Nam Nữ. Các Ngài là những
chứng nhân của Chúa Giêsu Kitô. Vì thế, Giáo
Hội long trọng mời gọi tất cả Kitô Hữu hãy tưởng
nhớ và hiệp thông với các Ngài đễ mỗi người
chúng ta biết noi gương các Ngài để trở nên
thánh. Cuộc đời của mỗi người chúng ta là một
hành trình về nước Chúa và để đạt được mục tiêu
đó, chúng ta được mời gọi nên thánh.
Các vị Thánh mà chúng ta kính nhớ là
những người đã giúp ta thấy dung nhan của Thiên
Chúa. Một Thiên Chúa tràn đầy tha thứ và tình
thương. Vì yêu thương nhân loại mà Ngôi Hai,
Chúa Giêsu Kitô, đã dám bỏ ngai vàng của Ngài
để xuống thế làm người. Không chỉ dừng ở đó,
Chúa Giêsu còn mặc lấy cho mình một thân phận
hèn mọn và Ngài còn chấp nhận hy sinh chịu
đựng cái chết nhục nhã trên Thánh Giá để cứu
chuộc và mang lại sự sống cho nhân loại. Nhìn lại
cuộc đời của các vị Thánh, ta khám phá ra rằng,
các Ngài là những người đã biết “lắng nghe và
tuân giữ lời Thiên Chúa.” (Lc 11:28) Đễ có thể
lắng nghe và thực hành lời Chúa, chắc chắn các
Ngài đã tuân giữ hai điều răn quan trọng nhất đó
là “mến Chúa và yêu người.” (Mt 22:37-39) Tình
yêu là dung nhan của Thiên Chúa và đó củng là
nền tảng để trở nên thánh. Chỉ có tình yêu mới có
sự hy sinh, tha thứ, và đón nhận tất cả. Tình yêu là
từ bỏ chính mình để đón nhận người khác.
Mỗi vị Thánh là mỗi con người đã cố gắng
ghi sâu trong lòng của mình hình ảnh Chúa Giêsu
Kitô. Các Thánh là những người đã cố gắng noi
theo Chúa Giêsu qua việc tuân giữ lời Chúa và
thực hành những gì Chúa dậy. Các Ngài là những
người đã đáp trả lời mời gọi nên thánh của Chúa
qua lòng sốt mến Thiên Chúa và yêu mến tha
nhân. Nhờ các vị Thánh mà chúng ta có thể cảm
được vị hương thơm của nước Chúa. Cũng vậy,
các Thánh là những người làm cho đời sống của
chúng ta tràn trề hy vọng, đáng sống và có ý nghĩa
hơn.
Vì vậy trong tháng 11 này, chúng ta không
thể quên lời mời gọi nên thánh mà Chúa gửi đến
mỗi người Kitô Hữu. Phải nhìn nhận rằng nhiều
khi chúng ta đã quên đi lời mời gọi ấy hoặc đã có
cố gắng nhưng chúng ta chưa thực sự đáp trà lời
mời gọi đó. Tuy vậy chúng ta hãy cảm tạ Thiên
Chúa vì Ngài đã ban cho chúng ta các vị Thánh để
chúng ta bắt chước và noi gương các Ngài. Chúng
ta hãy cầu xin với các Thánh Nam Nữ để nhờ lời
chuyển cầu của các Ngài mà giúp mỗi người chúng
ta dám đáp trả lời mời gọi nên Thánh mà Chúa gửi
đến cho mỗi người.
Để đáp trả lời mời gọi đó, trong tháng 11
này, chúng ta không chỉ hiệp thông với các Thánh
trên trời mà đồng thời chúng ta cũng được kêu gọi
cầu nguyện cho các linh hồn còn đang trong luyện
ngục. Rất nhiều các linh hồn ấy không ai khác
chính là người thân, bạn hữu, và ân nhân của
chúng ta. Để bày tỏ tình thương của chúng ta đối
với các linh hồn ấy, chúng ta hãy nhớ đến họ qua
lời kinh nguyện hằng ngày, đặc biệt trong tháng 11
này. Bởi khi chúng ta cầu nguyện là khi các linh
hồn được hưởng ân sủng Thiên Chúa.
Nguyện xin Chúa, nhờ lời chuyển cầu của
Mẹ Hằng Cứu Giúp và các Thánh, ban cho mỗi
người chúng ta luôn sống với tinh thần yêu thương
đối với những người còn sống cũng như những
người đã qua đời để qua đó mỗi người chúng ta có
thể trở nên thánh và làm chứng nhân cho Thiên
Chúa.
Thầy Lâm
After receiving my khan quang, I feel like I
have accomplished something important for myself
that I have set out to do. Even though it is not the
end, I feel like this is a big accomplishment that I
was always meant to achieve. I never thought that I
would have the opportunity to become a Huynh Truong and that is the reason why it means so much to
me. I feel like I have become closer to God and to
the church that helped me grow as a child. I know
that the purpose for me to get my khan quang is to
serve the youth and to grow spiritually so I will continue to do so.
Tr. Huy
SAINTS TRIVIA
This female Saint is a Doctor of the Church and often
considered the greatest modern-day saint. Hailing
from France, she was only 24 when she succumbed to
tuberculosis on September 30, 1897. She is patron
saint of missionaries and Russia. She is known as the
Little Flower.
A. Saint Joan of Arch
B. Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
C. Saint Clare of Assisi
D. Saint Therese of Lisieux
This male saint is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.
He is a brother of another apostle and one of the Sons
of Thunder. He is known as the Beloved Disciple. He
survived all the other apostles and lived until the year
100.
A. Saint John the Apostle
B. Saint Peter
C. Saint Andrew
D. Saint Jude
The Catholic Church traditionally considers the
Blessed Virgin Mary the Highest of all saints.
A. True
B. False
To me earning my khan quang means that I
have accomplished a goal of being committed to cac
em and to Doan. In earning my khan I feel that I
have an obligation to the kids and to doan to be involved and give my talents and time in whatever
way that is beneficial to both. I’ve heard about situations where someone comes to church and goes to
sinh hoat every week only to stop once they get their
khan, like it’s an end goal. I feel that getting my
khan is just the beginning. It shows that I have what
it takes to have the privilege of being called a
Huynh Truong and I am so happy to be able to wear
my khan proudly. With that, I know that I still have
a lot to learn and do on my journey of becoming a
servant of God.
Tr. Hiến
This saint is a true warrior having battled for her country with a sign reading, “Jesus, Mary.” She is patron
saint of France having lived from 1412 to 1431.
A. Saint Joan of Arc
B. Saint Catherine of Alexandria
C. Saint Margaret of Antioch
D. Saint Teresa of Avila
He is the patron saint of Bible scholars and students. A
Doctor of the Church, he reportedly drew a thorn from
a lion’s paw. The lion stayed loyal at his side for
years. This occurred a long time ago around 347 to
419 A.D.
A. Saint Jerome
B. Saint Thomas
C. Saint Damasus
D. Saint George
Saint Michael led the army of God against the uprising
of Lucifer. This Archangel’s name means, Who is like
God? Saint Michael is the guardian and protector of
the Church. He is the patron saint of police officers,
grocers, paratroopers, bankers and sickness. His feast
day is September 29.
A. True
B. False
This female saint is known for protecting her convent
against attackers with the Sacrament in a monstrance
before a convent gate. She successfully protected her
convent and her emblem is herself holding a monstrance.
She loved music and is the patron saint of television, for
seeing Mass on a wall when she could not attend.
A. Saint Cecilia
B. Saint Clare
C. Saint Catherine
D. Saint Dymphna
This Blessed man lived in the 17th century and is the
founder of the marian Clerics of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. He was beautified in 2008 on
September 16.
A. Saint Alexander
B. Blessed Louis Martin
C. Saint Josaphat
D. Blessed Stanislaus
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was the first native-born
American canonized by the Catholic Church.
A. True
B. False
The processes of beatification (becoming a Blessed) and
canonization (becoming a saint) have exactly the same
requirements.
A. True
B. False
First one to turn back to Trưởng Tường Long will
receive a prize.
Hello to all my fellow Huynh Truong and Beloved
Emmanuels,
First off, I would like to thank everyone for reading
this long letter. I want to share with you my wonderful
experience at a camp that I attended this past weekend. During the camp, I received my Huynh Truong
Lãnh Đạo (level 3) certificate, along with other Huynh
Truong from our Doan (Tr. T. Long, Mimi, and Lien)
and Mien Nam (TX, NM, OK, and AR). As I received
the certificate, I felt a heavy weight on my shoulders,
the weight of Doan Emmanuel's survival. I had a sudden realization that even though our Doan is big, it
can collapse at anytime if we do not work hard to sustain it.
When I first joined in 1993, our Doan started
out with approximately 50 members and the number
slowly rose to about 250. Then in 1999, the number
plummeted to less than 100 members. At present, we
have over 600, making us the biggest Doan in Mien
Nam and top 5 in the nation.
During this past camp, five of our Truong
also received their khan for the first time: Tr. Huy,
Hiến, Liễu, Quốc, and Phúc. Seeing them at that moment brought me back to 2005 when I first received
mine, and I want to tell you this: Never feel as if you
are just another member in our Doan because every
one of us has a purpose here. We all have a talent
that God blessed us with, but it is up to each of us to
nourish it and apply it. Whether you have a khan or
not, your opinions are always welcomed, and your
presence is treasured. Some people might ridicule us
because we look like dorks in our uniform, and we
hang around a bunch of kids. However, they do not
understand our purpose. Thieu Nhi is not just an organization; it is a life style. We are a diverse group
and have made many achievements that others might
not even realize. We work together better than some
multimillion dollar corporation. We can always
count on someone in our Doan to be there in our time
of need.
Lastly, the month of November is the month
of the Saints and Thanksgiving. We should remember to pray for the souls of our loved ones who left
before us and for the souls that had been abandoned.
Pray for the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs who died for
what they believed in so that we could proclaim our
faith. Also, please remember to pray for our two beloved Huynh Truong, Truong Giuse Pham Trung
Trang and Truong Monica Pham Thanh Thuy, who
had passed away. Truong Trang sacrificed a lot of his
time for Thieu Nhi and he will never be forgotten.
Truong Thuy may have passed away very young at
the age of 21, but she had taught us much about the
value of life.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to thank
God for blessing me with a wonderful life, great family, great friends, and a fantastic job. I want to thank
my parents for bringing me into this world and sticking by me, fixing me when I step out of line, and
teaching me to be a dependable person. I want to
thank all Huynh Truong for dedicating your time for
Thieu Nhi. Without you, there would be no Thieu
Nhi. Thank you to all you young members in Emmanuel. Without you, we would not have a purpose
as a Huynh Truong. Lastly, thanks to those who read
our newsletter and also those who brought the Newsletter together.
Emmanuel!!! Muôn Năm!!!
Tr. Vũ Long
The Saints and Saint Makers
One day during mass, a priest said, “All saints
have a past, and all sinners have a future.” What does
this unique quote mean to you? Try to think for a moment before reading on. Of course, we are all sinners,
regardless of whether we are children, priests, nuns,
religious, or the holiest people on earth. It sound so
negative, but taking from another perspective, “who
have never sinned before raise your hands” would perhaps sound less offensive. To say that sinners have a
future means that we still have the opportunity to become saints, that the doors of heaven is open to us if
we turn away from sin continuously. But who would
want to become a saint in our days? It seems so old and
boring and not as interesting as the famous icons like
Justin Beiber, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne,
Rihanna, etc....But what happened to King David of the
Old Testament who healed people’s soul through his
music, spreading God’s message through his lyrics?
Most of you are probably saying, “What? Who? ”
It also seems that the majority of the world is focused
more on what they think is the most important: priority—money—fame—popularity—power—riches—
health—intimate relationships—especially praising and
promoting these negativities. I must admit, that the
things mentioned above seem to be beautiful and good.
They bring us happiness when we have them and sadness when we do not have them.
So where is the motivation to become a saint
when our minds are fixed on worldly things? How does
one become a saint? It seems difficult in our modern
world to become a saint because of all of these attachments weighs us down from reaching holiness. One of
the cores to become a saint begins by the rejection of
the things that we obtained from the world and fight
against the temptation of power, lust, and honor. In other words, we must empty ourselves of these good and
beautiful things so that God can fill us with His self.
Once we reject what the world offers, the world becomes the saint maker, for it test us to see how deep
our commitment to God is. This is the major step toward sainthood. For example, before Saint Augustine
offered his life to God, his old self was pursuing of the
philosophy of the world and the pleasures that came
with it. He was skillful in public speaking, which granted him fame, fortune, and women. He had what he
wanted, but was lacking in happiness. Until one day,
while he was walking and had this uneasiness feeling,
he heard a child chanting, “Pick up and read, pick up
and read.” So he picked up the Bible and read the first
passage that he saw, “Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling
and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the
flesh. (Romans 13: 13-14)” He knew with a conviction that God was speaking directly to him. God invited Saint Augustine to empty himself from the
pleasures of the world, and so are we invited to empty ourselves and take on Jesus Christ.
As we all age and grow older, our conscience
will always remind us that these exterior goods and
beautiful things provide temporary happiness. Which
will you choose? The saints understood this concept
that there is no eternal happiness in this world but
only in God. True happiness is their motivation to
become saints. Why waste time searching for temporary happiness when we can search for eternal happiness and actually obtaining it? All of the saints who
lived their life faced the burden of the cross to which
God called them. Their lives were painful and brutal.
They lived in poverty with the most poor, served
those who were inflicted with cancer, and died for
the sake of their beliefs. All of these lifestyles seem
unattractive because they do not come close to what
we call happiness in our days, but these actions they
perform were pleasing to God because it is in this
way that love (God’s ultimate law) is represented the
most. Once we receive God, who is love, we must
give the love we receive to others. So that in giving,
we receive more of God’s blessings. In November,
as we reflect and honor our Saints for their courage
to respond to God’s invitation to, “leave the world
and take on the cross,” we should remember that the
opportunity to become a saint is in our hands. And it
begins within our home, sharing the true love we received from God by our relationships between parents and siblings. In this way, we are one step closer
to sainthood. God bless, and may the intercession of
our Mother of Perpetual Help guide you on your pilgrimage to God.
Brother John