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July/August 2007 Issue
Reflections of a young priest
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was Rome in early May 2004. Deacon Lam T. Le was
at dinner with then Grand Rapids Bishop Kevin M. Britt.
Although the two were in Rome for separate reasons -
Deacon Le was studying, Bishop Britt was on an official
visit to the Vatican - their shared excitement over
Deacon Le's upcoming priestly ordination dominated their
dinner conversation. Ordination day was to be a joyful
occasion
for both of them. |
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For Bishop Britt, the ordination of Deacon
Le represented his fi rst ordination as bishop of the Diocese
of Grand Rapids. But that was not to be. Bishop Britt died
in May, shortly after his return from Rome. "Bishop Britt
and I had talked about that day when I would be ordained,
but the Lord had a different plan and called him home," said
Father Le.
Much has happened in the life of Deacon Lam
Le since that May evening in Rome. He was ordained a priest
by Bishop Emeritus Robert J. Rose at the Cathedral of Saint
Andrew on a beautiful sunny Saturday, July 10, 2004. "It (ordination)
was a very important day for me and for the diocesan church,"
Father Le said. "Even though there was a sense of sadness
about the loss of Bishop Britt, there was also great joy for
me, walking into the cathedral that day. I was joyous and
humbled that God had called me to be his servant.
The priesthood is a gift that no one is worthy
of, but He chose me because He is a generous God." Following
the laying on of hands, Father Le's two uncles, Fathers Phan
Duc Hiep, CSSR, and Phan Thai Hoa, CM, who are priests in
his native Vietnam, vested him with the stole and chasuble,
symbols of authority and humility, that are worn by priests
during the celebration of Mass. He celebrated his Mass of
Thanksgiving on July 11, 2004, at St. Francis de Sales Parish
in Holland, his home parish.
"The parish had helped my family come to the
United States from Vietnam (in 1991), and the people had been
praying for me during my seminarian years," Father Le said.
"So there was a great spirit of thanksgiving. My family and
the parishioners were thankful for my vocation. And I was
thankful to the Lord for calling me to be a priest." His fi
rst appointment was as parochial vicar (associate pastor)
at Holy Family Parish in Caledonia from July 2004 until July
2006. For the newly ordained priest, it was a time of transition.
"I needed that time for prayer and to refl ect upon the grace
of ordination and to discover the identity of a priest in
the context of a parish" Father Le said. "I was grateful that
I had two years for the refl ection. I really enjoyed my time
there." While at Holy Family, he endeared himself to parishioners.
"The church is located next to many acres
of farmland with a lot of cows. So when I was there, the parishioners
would joke with me and say 'you are the pastor of all the
cows.' And when I left, a family gave me a big picture with
the cows by the church and they said 'here is your flock -
the cows,'" Father Le chuckled. In July 2006, he was appointed
pastor of St. Mary Parish, which has an elementary school,
and St. Paul Campus Parish in Big Rapids, where he currently
serves.
In addition to his pastoral assignments, he
has taught theology courses at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids.
Father Le continues to draw on important lessons learned in
the seminary. "One of the things that you learn in the seminary
is munera - the threefold ministry of Christ: teaching, sanctifying
and governing," Father Le said. "In teaching, the priest reaches
the hearts and minds of the people in his parish with the
good news of salvation. In sanctifying, the priest celebrates
sacraments and from there " the grace of God transforms the
lives of the people.
And in governing, the priest carries out his
administrative work in the parish so that the people are being
served and being served well." Father Le often refl ects upon
the words Bishop Rose spoke during his ordination Mass three
years ago: "With his ordination, he begins his priestly ministry,
and with it a whole new phase of lifelong formation. He will
receive that formation day by day from you, the members of
the church. He will see the effects in you of the sacraments
given us by Jesus.
He will see the infl uence of faith in your
daily lives. He will see the power of the cross in the sufferings
that you bear in union with the sufferings of Jesus." "To
me, that was very simple, yet very profound," Father Le said.
"It meant that our priestly formation does not end at ordination.
The Lord continues to form you. And one of the ways he forms
you is that he allows us to witness how the faith in God grows
in people and how the sacraments have an impact on their lives.
It is an eye opener and a great privilege for a priest to
see that."
Based on his experiences as a young priest,
he kindly advises this year's newly ordained priests to faithfully
nourish their spiritual lives and to set aside time for personal
interests. "You have to keep your schedule balanced," Father
Le said. "You have to leave time for prayer, work, studies
and things like exercise. You can't let any one dimension
go, especially prayer. As priests, we are called to minister
to people, but we, too, must be nourished by the Lord." In
his spare time, Father Le enjoys reading, sight-seeing throughout
Michigan and spending time with his family. "I am very much
into theological research, so I spend a lot of time reading,"
he said. "And now that I am assigned to the northern part
of the diocese, I really like to get out and see the area.
I really enjoy the beauty of the area.
I also like to spend my day off with my family,
especially my nieces and nephews." Father Le came to the United
States from Vietnam in 1991 with his family and grew up in
Holland, Michigan. He attended Holland High School and Christopher
House, a former Grand Rapids-based seminary program. He also
spent two years at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, obtained
bachelor's and master's degrees in philosophy at Catholic
University of America in Washington, D.C., and received priestly
formation at Theological College, which is affi liated with
Catholic University in Washington. He also received a bachelor's
degree and licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontifi
cal North American College in Rome. Father Le has one brother
and three sisters. His siblings and parents reside in Holland,
except for one sister, who is a member of the Carmelite of
the Divine Heart of Jesus in St. Louis, Missouri.
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