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Fr. Joseph-Thien Dinh, SCJ

I, Joseph-Thien Dinh, SCJ, am a member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart.

Here is the seed of my vocation. After escaping Vietnam on south China Ocean and suffering a near death experience, I landed in Thailand in the refugee camp. It was a costly experience to find freedom. I left everything behind: my parents, brothers and sisters, friends, motherland, and even my lovely pet. In the refugee camp, I felt lonely and homesick. The worst feeling of all was that I did not even know what I was going to do and what my future would be like.

While in the refugee camp, there was an American priest who totally dedicated his life to serve the lives of others. We called him "Cha Joe" which means "Father Joe". He was a man with a big heart and gentle face. His presence spoke a volume of willingness to be with us "boat people". Every week, Cha Joe would bring food, clothes, goodies, toys, books, pens, toothpaste ... you name it and he had it! He would have a thousand different things. But most of all, he brought love, care and especially, spiritual food. He tried hard to learn how to celebrate Mass in Vietnamese, my mother tongue, WOW!!! That was the starting point of my vocational desire to serve God and God's people.

I treasure that sort of seed and questioned myself. What motivated Cha Joe to care and to love us so much since we were nothing, just refugees? We were nobody. We had no voice, no future. We did not know anything nor had anything. But Cha Joe gave us everything.

After 15 years with the Priests of the Sacred Heart, I am now offering ministry at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston, TX - a Spanish speaking parish. Many parishioners come from Central America including Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and other Spanish-speaking countries. There are families who have lived here for generations. -But, some are new arrivals in this country. The need for ministers in the Hispanic community is growing. 1, often, celebrate Mass in Spanish. I love it. I am at peace with it and I am happy with it even though, sometimes, I mess up with languages. But, I believe God understands. To this day, I am still trying to find what motivates me to religious life in the Priests of the Sacred Heart Community. One thing, I do know - my heart desires to serve God and God's people.

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