Thomas Thanh
It was a shock to us to learn that our brother Thomas died
suddenly in Vietnam last Sunday. He was just 46. He was
introduced to the Passionists twenty years ago in June 2005
and was professed fourteen years and ordained for nine years.
He and Peter Truc were the senior Vietnamese Passionists.
Thanh had been working hard to establish and build a new
residence in Xuân Lộc, Đồng Nai. On Sunday he celebrated
Mass with some religious sisters and then met with some of
his family (both of his parents are deceased but he has nine
siblings including a brother who is a priest). Soon after he arrived he complained of
a severe headache. He was taken to hospital immediately, but died soon
afterwards. Thanh was buried in his home parish on Wednesday morning He is the
first Vietnamese Passionists to leave here for heaven.

Birthday
I was able to celebrate my birthday, with a round of
gold with friends Kevin and John and a very nice
community meal and cake (acknowledging Erick’s
birthday as well. This was all provided by members
of our Holy Cross Passionist family, which was really
appreciated.
The guys went a bit far with the tee shirt as you can
see, and gave me a Rugby type top and Mike, from
his monthly allowance. also gave me a really nice
jumper. The next birthday is Jerome’s (in Augu

Jerome underwent close observa?on at Knox hospital and returned home early on
Tuesday aCernoon. Chris is his Power of A#orney’ and he has been to no end of
trouble and ?me, to visit Jerome, collect appropriate informa?on, speak with
doctors, arrange medica?on supplies etc etc. Jerome from now will be on daily
doses of insulan and a daily visit from a nurse. He will rely on us to assist with
monitoring meals etc. He has some short memory loss, so all of this support is
important and necessary to assist with what he needs.

Trí
Trí ’s diaconate last Saturday was a wonderful experience. It was
led by a gentle and encouraging bishop Thinh Xuan Nguyen, who
is one of fourteen children. He was born in Saigon in 1973 and
came to Australia with his family as refugees, in 1985. We had
two Vietnamese choirs, a beautiful arrangement of flowers, an
exceptional MC who had to work in a confined space, students
from Our Lady of Mercy Heidelberg who welcomed us, and
aided by Tri’s preparation, much of the ceremony was displayed in both
Vietnamese and English.
Tri’s parents were present at the ceremony,
and his father invested Tri with the deacon’s
stole, which is worn over the left shoulder.
In the background is Deacon Vinh, who was
recently appointed to our community and
parish in Endeavour Hills.

Finding contemplative moments
I shared the reflection below with Tri during his retreat last week and thought
some readers might appreciate it.
It is vital for any of us to decide what we are doing with our life. This is not a focus
on what you have done, or what you might do........but what are you doing now?
Eckhart Tolle, the author of ‘The Power of Now’ says we
need to balance our interior, with the exterior.
"Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as
what happens outside. If you get the inside right, the
outside will fall into place". (‘The Power of Now’
…)
We need to attend to our ‘inside’ (that’s the real me, not the false ego). This
echoes Jesus’ caution… “What does it profit a person if she/he gains the whole
world but loses her/himself” (Mark 8:36). Many people spend their lives either
living in the past or the future. Tolle says, "To be identified with your mind is to be
trapped in time: it becomes a compulsion to live almost exclusively through
memory (the past) and anticipation (the future)"

Ecclesial Governance and Administration
This week four of our men, Justin Durai-Raj (Hobart), John Auram (Port Moresby)
Joseph Doan (Marrickville, Sydney) and Paul Kien (Pooraka, Adelaide)
have been involved in a workshop held at YTU, Box Hill. The opening prayer
expressed something of the hopes for the workshop.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, Creator of all that exists.
Source of life and growth, of peace and joy, we bless you for
all your sons and daughters. The gifts of governance and
administration are yours, and in your goodness, you share
these gifts with people like us. Please give vision and wisdom
to those engaged in governance; good judgement and
courage to administrators; faith and a sense of justice to all
who work in Church offices. Help us to remember that you
share with us the power to govern and administer, and that
the work we do is your work.
Give us the satisfaction and joy in the performance of this work. Bless us always
with your presence, your insight, your compassion, that we will recognize and
praise you as You really are: the Master of all that we are and do. Blessed are you,
Lord God, who share with us the gifts of governance and administration. Amen.

Pentecost…our new season
It is difficult to explain the phenomenon of attraction or ‘calling’. Each of us has experienced it, but it remains a mystery to us. There are human experiences such as when people meet, seemingly ‘by chance,’ that seem much deeper than coincidence. People from primitive cultures have these kind of experiences all the time. They refer to it as the work of ‘spirits’. Western rational thinking tends not to understand the working of spirits, and maybe most of all the working of ‘the’ spirit.

Despite this, in everyday ways we say things like ‘she has her Mother’s spirit’ or ‘He showed real spirit’ or ‘I felt inspired’. This language reveals that we understand that the spirit of one person can live in another and this is what we celebrate at Pentecost!

Sr Brigid
Brigid celebrated her 60th anniversary of religious profession a
couple of days before Holy Cross. She is not one to seek or want
the limelight. Fr Denis wrote and published a nice
acknowledgement for the occasion which many of you would not
have seen.
“Sr. Brigid CP is currently a member of her Congregation’s General
Council, lives in community with Sr. Karen CP in Melbourne, and is
closely associated with the Province’s own mission through her
participation in the Come Away Retreats at Holy Cross, Passionist Companions and through
her membership of the Holy Spirit Province Formation Commission.
3
Sr. Brigid became a professed member of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion in May, 1965
and after her formation, she trained as a High School teacher in London. She first taught for
13 years in Dublin and then in Birmingham (UK). In 1982 her life took a different turn as she
moved into a social work role within the education sector. This led to her training as a
social worker after which she worked in the UK with children and families in St. Helens and
London until 1995 when she moved into hospital and prison chaplaincy and then into
hospice pastoral care.

Chris’ new book:
Dr Chris Monaghan CP has released the second book in his
series. The first book, See with the Eyes of the Heart, was well
received, and his new release, titled Perspective, continues the journey. The book is
available for purchase through Garratt Publishing, but Chris receives better financial
benefit for the community if it is purchased directly from him. Last Sunday, many
people picked up a copy, and it is available for just $25.
If you’re interested, you can email Chris directly he’ll set aside a copy for you to
collect (chris.monaghan@passionists.com and).
I was fortunate to get a copy when Chris first announced the book's release. I’m
grateful to him - it’s a meaningful reflection on the beauty of everyday li

Chris’ new book:
Dr Chris Monaghan CP has released the second book in his
series. The first book, See with the Eyes of the Heart, was well
received, and his new release, titled Perspective, continues the journey. The book is
available for purchase through Garratt Publishing, but Chris receives better financial
benefit for the community if it is purchased directly from him. Last Sunday, many
people picked up a copy, and it is available for just $25.
If you’re interested, you can email Chris directly he’ll set aside a copy for you to
collect (chris.monaghan@passionists.com and).
I was fortunate to get a copy when Chris first announced the book's release. I’m
grateful to him - it’s a meaningful reflection on the beauty of everyday life and
Scripture, and it’s wonderful to support the work of one of our own.