Pius X Chorus performs a hymn at the Contemplating the Countenance of Mercy concert at Ho Chi Minh City Archdiocese’s Pastoral Center on Oct. 10. (Photo supplied)
Catholics in Vietnam were inspired to be witness to mercy in their daily lives by a special concert that was part of a series of events to commemorate the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Some 500 people attended the concert, themed Contemplating the Countenance of Mercy organized by the Vietnamese bishops' Episcopal Commission on Holy Music at Ho Chi Minh City Archdiocese’s Pastoral Center on Oct. 10.
The event featured 15 hymns in English and Vietnamese reflecting on God’s mercy. The hymns were performed by Catholic singers and the archdiocese’s Pius X Chorus.
"The concert strengthens our faith and urges us to bear witness to mercy in our daily activities," said Joseph Le Van Oanh, a pilgrim from Hanoi City.
"Hymns raise me to God’s mercy and touch my heart. I have a duty to bring mercy to other people," he said. Oanh and his wife attended the concert as part of their 20-day pilgrimage to many parish churches around the country.
The former journalist who converted to Catholicism said to be a witness to mercy means "people should share their belongings with the disadvantaged."
"We plan to give money to repair a church in a state of dilapidation in a remote area as way to express mercy to poor people," Oanh said.
Father Rock Nguyen Duy, secretary of the commission, said the concert was one of a number of events held by the Vietnamese church to celebrate the Jubilee Year of Mercy announced last year by Pope Francis.
"The event also aimed to encourage Catholics to continue contemplating the countenance of divine mercy and living out mercy in their daily lives during the Year of Mercy," the priest said. The jubilee year concludes on Nov. 20, the feast of Christ the King.
Vietnamese bishops have called on Catholics to go on pilgrimages to parish churches and involve themselves in charitable activities.
Since May, parishioners from St. Martin de Porres in Ho Chi Minh City have offered lunches costing 2,000 dong (10 US cents) to students, street lottery sellers, motorbike taxi drivers, elderly people without relatives and disabled people, serving about 350 people per day.
"The meal costs at least 20,000 dong at small restaurants. But it is important that we poor people feel to be loved and respected," a lottery seller said.
Pope Francis recently urged each and every person to perform at least one work of mercy on a daily basis. All it takes is just one person carrying out one simple, loving act of mercy every day to start a revolution and stamp out the "virus of indifference," media reported the pope as saing.
Sharing God's mercy is not about expending a huge amount of effort or performing "superhuman" acts, he said during his general audience Oct. 12 in St. Peter's Square.