Hello everyone,

Well, how was your Lenten journey? This year, did all of your fasting, sacrificing and self-denial make any different? Did you grow closer to the Lord and to the people around you? Now that Easter is here, are you excited about it? Do you feel a sense of rejoicing in your heart because Jesus is risen?

Dear friends, I usually ask myself these questions as I look back on my Lenten journey. These questions help me review myself as to whether or not I’ve grown any closer to the Lord. With all my efforts and sacrifices, I ask myself if those things served to bring any good to any one around me or things are just the same as before. I can usually tell if I kept up the right spirit of Lent or not. There’s a peaceful feeling that comes with doing the right thing - to be at peace with your inner self and toward others. Another way that I can tell whether I have lived out a meaningful Lent or not is by examining the feelings I get as Easter approaches. During Lent, if I make a conscious effort to live the true spirit of Lent, then when Easter comes around, I will surely get a sense of excitement, anticipation, pure joy and satisfaction in my heart.

For me, Easter brings opportunities for new beginning and renewed hope in whatever it is that I’m involved with. It’s a great feeling! It’s almost the same kind of happiness and satisfaction you get when you work really hard for an important paper or project and in the end, you receive the highest grade / award for it. You feel satisfied, happy and relieved, because the hard part is over and now you get to enjoy the "fruit of your labor." In this case, my friends, the "fruit" that Jesus has won for us is: Eternal Life! Yes, he won it with His own blood. Now, death and suffering no longer has any power over Him. Jesus is the first human person who conquered death. Thanks to Him, we, his brothers and sisters, will live forever too, just like Him. His Victory is also ours! Now isn’t this the greatest, most wonderful news in the world? If there is something worth jumping up and down about, it’s certainly this - Jesus is risen, He lives (so we too may live forever)! You know what I’m going to do on Easter morning? I will get every one in my family to go outside the house and into the open air and we’re all going to jump up and down - just simply to rejoice and give thanks to the Lord. Sure, we may look like a bunch of silly people, but it’s the best darn reason to jump for joy. Our joy is full and our heart is filled with gratitude to God. If you feel the same way, join us, jump up and down, raise your hands up high and give thanks to the Lord. It’ll be fun! Have a joyous Easter everyone! May your celebration be filled with love and contentment!

Another important event worth celebrating is that on February 2, 2001, Pope John Paul II had elevated 44 bishops and priests to the status of Cardinal. Of the 44 Cardinals elevated, one is Vietnamese - His name is Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan. He is 72 years old and presently the President of the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice in Vatican. This means that he’s in charge of and promotes matters that involve peace and social justice. Prior to his assignment at the Vatican, Cardinal Thuan was a Bishop in Vietnam. Bishop Thuan was imprisoned by the Vietnamese Communists for 13 years (1975-1988) for no justified reason. During this period of imprisonment, he was sent to solitary confinement for 10 years. So far, Vietnam has had a total of 4 Cardinals. At the present, Cardinal Thuan is one of the 2 Vietnamese Cardinals who are still alive; the other one is Cardinal Joseph Maria Pham Dinh Tung, Archbishop of Ha Noi and President of the Episcopal Conference in Vietnam. Among the 44 Cardinals who was elevated, 2 came from the Redemptorist Congregation, they are: Cardinal Julio Terrazas Sandoval, 65 years old, Archbishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, and Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, 73 years old, Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Ernakulam-Angamaly in India (he was elevated according to the rite of Syro-Malabar, not the Roman rite).

This is truly a wonderful honor for all Vietnamese Catholics and for the Redemptorist Congregation. Let’s keep all of these good shepherds in our prayers. May God guide them every step of the way.

Friends, remain in the joy of the Resurrection, I will see you next time.

Peace and love,

* Smile (big), Jesus is risen!

The title of cardinal is the highest dignity in the Catholic Church, and was recognized as early as the pontificate of Silvester I (314-335). Rooted in the Latin word "cardo," meaning hinge, cardinals are created by a decree of the Pope and chosen to serve as his principal collaborators and assistants.

A consistory is an assembly of the College of Cardinals, convened by and under the leadership of the Holy Father, for the purpose of discussing Church business. According to Church Law, these are either ordinary or extraordinary: All cardinals, or at least those who live in Rome, are called to attend ordinary consistories. The entire College of Cardinals is called to attend an extraordinary consistory which usually treats particular needs of the Church or serious problems facing the Church (such as the consistory in the coming May 21-24 to discuss about the pastoral challenges facing the Church in the new millennium). Only ordinary consistories may be public, that is, where people other than the cardinals and Holy Father are present (such as the consistory to create new cardinals on February 21).

Cardinals are addressed by the title of "Eminence." Those who work for the Roman Curia and reside in either Vatican City or Rome are considered citizens of Vatican City.