News

On Sunday, Feb. 24^th, Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge celebrated his first Mass with Raleigh’s Vietnamese Catholic Community in Raleigh. The Community, which includes more than 200 families, meets for Mass weekly at St. Joseph Church in Raleigh. Concelebrating with Bishop Burbidge at the bilingual liturgy were Fr. Thanh Nguyen, Pastor of Good Shepherd Church in Hope Mills, NC, and Fr. John M. David. Fr. Thanh celebrates once a month with the Community in Raleigh; Fr. David celebrates on the other Sundays. Fr. Thanh also ministers to a smaller Vietnamese Catholic Community in Fayetteville.

In his homily, which was translated by Fr. Thanh, Bishop Burbidge used the gospel story of the Samaritan woman at the well to speak about spiritual thirst. He compared the congregation to the Israelites, who had left their homeland and after many difficulties found a new home. “Sometimes, like the Israelites, we may cry out in our struggles, ‘Lord, are you with me?’” the Bishop said. “But the Lord always answers, ‘I will never leave you. I am with you most especially in your time of need to sustain you and to give you newness of life.’”

After Mass the Community presented bouquets to the Bishop and the priests and hosted a reception featuring Vietnamese cuisine.