THE GOOD NEWS
ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN
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August 30, 2009 The Good News... ...Feast of Our Lady of LaVang Cathedral
of Our Lady My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: As always, it is a great joy togather together with you, the faithful Vietnamese Catholic people of Oklahoma City. Today there is an additional joy since we are celebrating this feast of our Blessed Mother, which most of us here in America have never observed. However, in recent decades, as you and your families came to America, we too began to learn about Our Lady of LaVang. Like Catholics throughout the whole world, we were already aware of the unique role that the Blessed Mother played in salvation history. She is the special creation of God, im-maculately conceived and preserved from all stain of sin. Totally obedient to God, the Blessed Mother always responded positively, thus fulfilling God’s Will in every circumstances of her life. Mary is the chosen one who was called to become the mother of Jesus, the eternal Son of God. She became our mother as Jesus died on the cross. There, John, the Apostle, representing us, heard Jesus say to him, “Son, this is your mother.” And to Mary, Jesus said: “This is your son.” Mary thereby became mother to all of us. Then, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary continued to inspire the Apostles as they fulfilled the mission Jesus gave them. This mission in-cluded the proclamation of the Gospel (i.e., the Good News of Jesus) and the celebration of the sacraments. But even when Mary was called by God and taken by Him body and soul into heaven, she continued to be our mother, our guide, our helper. She is the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church. Therefore, periodically she would appear somewhere in the world to remind us of God’s goodness and love, to call us to repentance and to assure us of her love and her help. Thus many nations and cultures and societies cherish the fact that Mary, the Mother of God and our mother, too, has appeared on their soil. She came to different places at various times in history. In each instance she brought consolation and healing. She always led people back to her Son Jesus Who is our Lord, our Savior. She is always a kind and loving mother. Today we are honoring Mary under the title of Our Lady of LaVang. There in central Vietnam, Mary appeared to the local people and encouraged them to be faithful to our Catholic religion. There she healed them and watched over them. Now for more than 200 years, she has continued to bless the people of Vietnam. The Vietnamese people who immigrated to other countries, like you who have come to America, introduced us to Our Lady of LaVang. We witness the love you have for our Blessed Mother and your devotion to her as Our Lady of LaVang. We are very happy to join you in honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary, for she is mother of us all. May we always remain good and faithful Catholic people, children of Mary, the Mother of God. |