Cardinal Van Thuân: from persecution to beatification, diocesan phase of process closes

It was back in 2007 that his cause for canonization began. Read the latest news here.

Remembering Cardinal Van Thuan

Process of beatification has begun for Vietnamese Cardinal Van Thuan

The Road of Hope - Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

H/T to Padre Steve

BTW, if you still have not read any of the cardinal's books, for what are you waiting?

Quotes by Cardinal Thuan - The Church

The following quotes are from Cardinal Thuan's book The Road to Hope. You can read more about it on an earlier post found here

"A person who really loves the Church does not seek to destroy it."

"Do not be surprised when people seek to destroy the Church. They seek to kill Christ again, but since they cannot do so, they seek to destroy the Church which is the Body of Christ."

"There are many people who criticize the organization of the Roman Curia. I would agree with them that the Roman Curia is not perfect, but I would ask them whether their own government is any better. Besides, one must distinguish between the Curia, which is only a human organ of the Church, and the Church itself, the Body of Christ."

"Love the Church. Obey the Church. Be loyal to the Church. Pray for the Church."

"You say that you would never turn against the Church, but you do not hesitate to oppose the representatives of the Church. If this is how you think, you are playing games!"

"There are various kinds of believers; there are those who merely make sure of the Church, there are those who are Catholic in name only, there are the opportunists, and there are the honorary Catholics who are looking for status. The Lord desires those who accept him unconditionally:" "They left everything and followed him" (Lk 5:11)

"During the last two thousand years, the Church as been betrayed by apostles, popes, cardinals, bishops, priests, religious, and lay people in the extraordinary ways which Paul VI called 'self-destruction'. However, after each of these upheavals, the Church has renewed itself [sic] and become ever more fresh and brilliant and strong. The Church continues to live the mystery of the passion and resurrection."

"Be ready to sacrifice for the Church and through the Church."

"Everyone in the Church is called, indeed has the duty, to become holy. If you are not leading a holy life, you should not presume to reform the Church, 'I want you to know that no one speaking under the influence of the Go's Spirit can say, 'Cursed be Jesus!' and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord!' except under the influence of the Holy Spirit'" (1 Cor 12:3).

Book Recommendation - The Road to Hope by Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

Pope John Paul II naming Archbishop Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan cardinal in Rome on 21st February 2001.

Last Saturday after Confession, Joey and I visited Pauline Books and Media as we sometimes do. We went looking for a movie to add to our growing Catholic movie collection. We didn't expect to be greeted by a new sister there who greeted Joey with "Have you thought about being a priest"? That opening line led to an interesting conversation with Sister Beatrice.

She asked me if I was familiar with Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan of Vietnam. Of course, I answered in the affirmative. We talked about the impressive writings of Cardinal Van Thuan while he was in prison. We both agreed that when he described celebrating Holy Mass on the palm of his hand as the altar with the consecration of the tiny piece of bread and small yet miraculous wine he was able to get a hold of, was the most moving of his memoirs. If you aren't familiar with his writings, the above story can be found in Testimony of Hope.

Every year, John Paul chooses someone to preach a course of spiritual exercises for himself and the Roman Curia at the Vatican. This Jubilee Year, he asked Vietnamese Archbishop Nguyen van Thuan.

As we paid for our movie (The Robe on DVD) Sister told me they had all of the Cardinal's books in stock. That statement took me by surprised because I thought The Testimony of Hope had been the only book he had written. She took me to the book rack that had one shelves full of the Cardinal's books. She picked out The Road to Hope for me to look at. The cover read "A Gospel from Prison". The back of the book read "An Imitation of Christ for the 21st Century"...Francis B. Schulte, Archbishop of New Orleans.

This book contained 1000 short messages by Cardinal Van Thuan.

In 1975, Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan was traveling to Saigon, Vietnam, to become its new Coadjutor Bishop. On the way, he was arrested and imprisoned--an incarceration that lasted thirteen years.

Despite tremendous risk, Van Thuan refused to remain passive. During his nights in prison, he wrote encouraging messages to the Vietnamese people. These brief reflections, scribbled on scraps of paper, were smuggled out of prison, copied by hand and circulated within the community. Bishop Van Thuan was thus able to remain connected to the people in a hidden yet powerful way.

The following two messages are from the God's Will Chapter. "God's will is the passport to heaven":

#17: Your responsibilities indicate the will of God for you at the present moment.

#24: The worker will become a saint in the workplace; the soldier will become a saint in the army, the patient will become a saint in the hospital, the student will become a saint through studies, the farmer will become a saint on the farm, the priest will become a saint through his ministry as a priest, and the public servant will become a saint in the government office. Every step on the road to holiness is a step of sacrifice in the performance of one's mission in life.

What could I do? I had to read this book.

I strongly recommend the above named books by Cardinal Thuan. It is a perfect book to bring with you during a Holy Hour of Adoration or for spiritual reading at home.

Please be sure to check out the other fine books and DVDs offered by the Daughters of St. Paul.

The following are Cardinal Van Thuan's 10 Rules for Life:

#1 I will live the present moment to the fullest.
#2 I will discern between God and God's works.
#3 I will hold firmly to one secret: prayer.
#4 I will see in the Holy Eucharist my only power.
#5 I will have only one wisdom: the science of the Cross.
#6 I will remain faithful to my mission in the Church and for the Church as a witness of Jesus Christ.
#7 I will seek the peace the world cannot give.
#8 I will carry out a revolution by renewal in the Holy Spirit.
#9 I will speak one language and wear one uniform: Charity.
#10 I will have one very special love: The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Source for photo and the above rules Our Lady of La Salette and St. Joseph's Church

Recently, Cardinal Van Thuan was in the news because his cause for canonization has been opened. Read it here

Please pray for this intention.

Cardinal Van Thuân's Cause to Begin

Fr. Duffy lent me the Cardinal's book The Testimony of Hope a few years ago and I just devoured it. I remember how touched I was by a passage wherein the cardinal celebrated the Mass on the palm of his hand with a tiny piece of bread and a tiny bit of wine that somehow he was able to have smuggled to him by either a fellow prisoner or a sympathetic guard. His hand became an altar for the Sacrifice of the Mass.

I highly recommend this book.

Vatican Official Recalls Vietnamese Prelate's Devotion to Hope

ROME, APRIL 24, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân's beatification process is about to begin, some five years after the Vietnamese prelate's death.

Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi made the announcement when presenting a book by Cardinal Camillo Ruini entitled "God's Truth and Man's Truth: Benedict XVI and the Great Questions of Our Time."

The book is being published as a part of the Cardinal Van Thuân International Observatory's "Journals" series.

Bishop Crepaldi explained: "The book urged me to link the theme of truth -- of God's and man's -- to which Cardinal Ruini's book is dedicated; and the theme of hope, so dear to the departed Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân and at the core of his spirituality and his exemplary living of human and Christian life."

The prelate, who worked with the cardinal and who is president of the Van Thuân Observatory, explained how "truth and hope have deep ties. The intelligence of faith leads me to the firm conviction that truth, in surrendering or uncovering itself, reveals a vocation and therefore brings about hope."

Biography

Bishop Crepaldi underlined the connection between the theme of the book and the Vietnamese cardinal, saying that it "is made even more immediate and meaningful by the fact that this year we will be remembering the fifth anniversary of his death, which occurred on Sept. 16, 2002, and the cause for his beatification is starting."

Nguyen Van Thuân was ordained a priest in 1953 and appointed bishop of Nha Trang in 1967.

In 1975, Pope Paul VI named him coadjutor archbishop of Saigon (today's Ho Chi Minh City).

After the defeat of South Vietnam, he was detained for 13 years in a Communist re-education camp. Nine of those years he spent in solitary confinement.

In 1988 he was liberated and forced into exile. Pope John Paul II welcomed him to Vatican City and entrusted him with responsibilities in the Roman Curia, naming him president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

In March 2000, Archbishop Van Thuân preached the spiritual exercises attended by John Paul II and the Roman Curia, sharing many of his spiritual experiences in prison. "The Testimony of Hope" was published as a collection of his meditations.

He was made cardinal in February 2001 and died the following year at the age of 74.
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