Page 20 - Built For Greatness - The Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching

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José H. Gómez) who gave me their blessings to support my
mission. I knew the angels where celebrating when I received a
letter from Archbishop José H. Gómez who wrote, “Be assured of
my prayers for you and your intentions, and I ask that you keep me
in yours as well. May Jesus, through the intercession of Mary, grant
you a blessed Easter Season.”
Along this journey, I asked God, “Why me?” This led me to
learn about my family. My father shared with me my great-great
grandfather, Hoang Lenh Thu died a martyr for the faith and my
great grandfather and grandmother Riem built a Catholic Church in
North Vietnam, Phuong Duc. Next to this beautiful church is a burial
site built for them in remembrance of their devotion to God. My
mission became clearer when I learned my father and his siblings
helped rebuild churches in Vietnam and the U.S. I told my father it
looks like God is working in my life with all the prayers and
blessings of the family to continue building the Kingdom of God.
The two saints who always remind me to keep going are St. Francis
of Assisi and St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Thus began my five-year journey of biblical and spiritual
study to complete the first Christian version of the Tao Te Ching.
God shared with me the Tao Te Ching will serve as a bridge to
God’s throne of mercy to find grace in the battle field of the
wounded. It is this initial encounter between a sinner and amazing
grace that will unify people from different origins of the world
regardless of their religion, skin color, and title. The principles are
ever more important today, teaching us to keep our priorities clear
so we can follow the Spirit of God and exercise leadership with
God’s amazing grace. It is this Spirit that triumphs in the hearts of
the people to begin building new bridges between the Church and
God’s people, both East and West.