
Hello! I’m Fr. Ryan Nguyen. It has been almost a year since my priestly ordination and I am still seeing the subtle and yet tangible graces of Holy Orders. God is good in the past year! I heard so many confessions and even caught quite a number of “big fish” in the confessional.
A small confession is akin to a small fish and a big confession is compared to a big fish. For instance, I heard confessions from people who had not been to the confessional for decades; subsequently, I was blessed to stir their hearts in bringing them back into the fold. Moreover, I gave the Last Rites to some prodigal sons and daughters who went astray for decades. Every day I am very much in awe of God’s divine love in using me as an instrument in order to reconcile the lost sheep to Himself in the Sacrament of Penance. In seeing the vulnerable and lost sheep, I can feel the compassionate heart of Christ who “has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love” (words of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary). St. Therese, the Little Flower of Jesus, is my favorite saint. Her “Little Way” has helped me tremendously in keeping the divine spark alive in my heart. As she explains, “Even should the fire of love seem dead, I would still throw my tiny straws on the ashes, and I am confident it would light up again.”
Fr. Ryan Nguyen
Parochial Vicar at St. Bede Parish in Holland, PA