Missed Encounter

10 years ago, I had a date.
We planned to meet each other in Carthage for Marian Days.
Like thousands of other Vietnamese Catholics.

We missed each other by three hours.
He abruptly returned home because of a family tragedy.

Sorrow was mine that weekend.
And his.

Sorrow brings many people to Marian Days every August.
Here they entrust to Mary what only a mother can do.

Comfort.
Wake you up to reality.

In 24 hours, I will be heading to Carthage.
To give thanks for that missed encounter.
And the reality that my heart rejoices in belonging to Jesus alone.


More photos of Marian Days: http://www.trinhvuong.org/PhotogalleryAug2006/NTM%202008/NgyThnhMu2008/index.html http://friarsidechats.blogspot.com/2007/08/vietnamese-marian-days-in-carthage.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Touch

Image
"Anh ơi, em nè." Everyone broke into laughter as Sr. Marie Trang "pleaded" to be recognized. The close group of friends were at Quý Lành's 25th wedding anniversary celebration. The couple were also long-time catechists at Holy Martyrs Church and so our sisters were also invited to be part of the festivities. One of the guests suggested a game. Quý, the husband, would be blindfolded. All the females present would take turns holding Quý's hand. Quý would have to recognize his wife's hands. Quý, a practical jokester himself, quickly got the game started. "Anh ơi, em nè." "Honey, it's me," Sr. Marie Trang repeated in Vietnamese. Yet Sr. Marie's close impersonation of Lành's voice could not persuade Quý. The room vibrated with laughter as Quý turned down Sr. Marie and she left the line with a look of pretended sadness. The two had barely clasped hands when they embraced without a word. Everyone was amazed. And impressed. Th...
Read more

To Die

Image
After her husband was executed, Bùi Thị Xuân and her daughter was sentenced to death by elephant trampling. Both she and her husband were skilled generals, faithful to the Tây Sơn dynasty, and the rebels waited for this moment to exact their revenge. Before the herd of elephants stampeded her only daughter's 16-year-old body, she turned and cried out to her mother. "I cannot help you in this moment. Die worthy of a general's daughter," Bùi Thị Xuân fearlessly counseled her daughter as she watched her daughter die before her eyes. After Bùi Thị Xuân suffered the same death, the soldiers fought among themselves to eat a piece of her liver. They believed she was "gan lì" which meant unwavering intrepidity and eating her liver, or "gan" would make them just as dauntless. Fr. Châu opened his homily for the Mass of the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs with this heroine story from our history books. He said anyone can die for a dream, an ideal, a vision. Yet,...
Read more

Life with Ashes

Image
It was time to move. Goodbye to Allen Parkway and hello to Florin Wood. Our family was moving from Houston to Sacramento. This was over 20 years ago and the day comes back with ashes. And a smell. My dad had piled all our old clothes, furniture, and knick knacks into a huge heap in front of our yard. He poured gasoline generously and lighted it with a smile. My mom looked on regretfully. All seven of us kids were delighted with the dancing flames. The neighbors didn't care. We lived in what they called the ghetto part of the world and since we were not shooting at anyone, we were okay. "We're starting a new life," my dad reassured mom as our van entered the highway. "No need to hang on the old stuff." "It was pretty dinky, wasn't it?" my mom replied hesitantly. Our years in Houston were our first years living in the United States, far away from the land of our origin, Vietnam. What dad burnt was the few possessions we accumulated fro...
Read more