By Cl. Dominic Truong Son, SDB
Ben Cat community, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 17 August 2021 -- Cleric Dominic Truong Son, SDB who has been doing his practical training at Ben Cat community had a short conversation with the 89-year-old Salesian brother Vincent Hoang Van Chuyen, SDB. He shared this conversation and some reflections on the attitude of Br. Vincent when the Covid 19 pandemic has been getting severe in Ho Chi Minh city.
“Are you afraid of being infected with covid 19?” Although he did not answer, I believe that his answer is “No”.
“Are you scared when there is a Covid-19-infected patient next to you?” Although he did not answer, I believe that his answer is “No”.
“If there is no food tomorrow, will you worry?” Although he did not answer, I believe that his answer is “No”.
“Are you afraid of death?” Although he did not answer, I believe that his answer is “No”.
Of course, because he is old, his memory has declined due to age, so he is no longer worried about worldly matters; He is no longer preoccupied with pastoral matters and even he is dispassionate without a word of reproach if a meal is supposed to be missed. However, it must be admitted that, during this special time, many people wished to have a childlike heart like him, but they did not have it.
Who is that Salesian brother? He is Br. Vincent Hoang Van Chuyen, SDB, the oldest Salesian brother in the province. He is 89 years old this year and he completed 57 years of his religious profession just on 16 August 2021. During the day, besides sleeping, most of the time he was only in a wheelchair to be pushed here and there by others; he is also well taken care of from food to sleep and especially the spiritual life. Depending on the day, when he was happy, he could say a few words, but when he was tired, he just kept quiet. A special thing that God gave him was the gift of “eating and sleeping” so his health was stable even though he still had to supplement it with daily medicine.
It is worth mentioning here that he became a child in the midst of the community. Now he leaves everything to those who take care of him. He can no longer walk, he can no longer feed himself, he can no longer bathe and wash, and he can no longer do what he wants. The law of the Creator has always been like that. Surely in his youth, Brother Vincent also contributed much to the development of the province; he has also helped many poor people; he has done hard work for the community and now he has returned to his “childhood” according to the laws of the Creator.
How does such an old man live his consecrated vocation? He can no longer serve the youth; his memory has also deteriorated and he can no longer remember the names of the Salesians next to him; and he no longer prays fervently as he had done before he was in the wheelchair. One thing I am sure of, however, is the serene surrender that showed on his face. Looking at his peaceful and serene face, I discovered the simple beauty in him: a little something of simplicity and innocence; a little something of smallness, lowliness; a little something of weakness, fragility; and a little something of total surrender to the One who always loves him. Is his consecration now only a simple surrender of his whole body and heart to the God of Love?
An important thing that I and other Salesians have always been taught since novitiate is to have a heart for God no matter what standing or position; whether he is a young religious flaming with apostolic fire or an elderly one nodding in a wheelchair. The heart of love, the heart of trust for God is the most necessary thing. That heart is the heart that the young saint Teresa of the Child Jesus has embraced throughout her life and it is also the path to holiness for consecrated religious.
The Covid-19 pandemic is still raging in our world, especially in our beloved Vietnam. Everyone is worried and bewildered by its terrible spread. Many people had to fall into a deadlock in their business and many people have had to suffer because they have had to live in the days of strict isolation and blockade. However, I believe that there are still faces full of peace and serenity who are likened to child’s hearts during this pandemic season.
The Covid-19 pandemic has left terrifying disasters, but the scariest thing is not in the body but in the heart. We cannot allow Covid-19 to destroy our heart because that heart has only God as its owner. Therefore, there is nothing more meaningful than this time to give a child’s heart to God. It is the same heart that Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus gave to the One who loved her: though simple but great, though mysterious but revealed, though small but very vast, though nothing but everything.
