Giao Nguyen

Background

I am Giao Van Nguyen, I come from Vietnam. I was born and grew up at Nghe An Province, Vietnam. I was born into a family of twelve people. Including my parents, five sisters, four brothers, and me. I graduated from Nghe a College of Teachers in 2013. When I graduated from college, I did some work to support myself as well as my family. In 2017, I apply for a Visa of the US and on August 15, 2018, I came to the US.

What are your hobbies and interests?

My favorite sport is badminton. I often play it when I was a middle school student. Also, I like other sports like volleyball and Ping Pong. I think we need good health to work and to study. I like sports for good health.

What is one of your favorite scriptures?

For me, my favorite scriptures are “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lc 1, 46)

I would like to say thanks be to God, because of the many blessings he has bestowed upon me. Happiness is being a human being and being a child of God, to live in the Church family and have many blessings that God has done in my life. So “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” it’s a thank you God through the words of Mary

Who is your favorite saint and why?

Saint Joseph has been my favorite person, because when looking at his life. I get many lessons. He was a humble, silent self-sacrificing man. He was a responsible father and husband to the Holy family. So, he was very powerful in the sight of God. Whenever I have a difficult time, I often pray to Saint Joseph to ask him for help.

In a nutshell, what is your vocation story? How did you feel called to the priesthood?

When I was a child, I usually contacted and communicated with seminarians, brothers, and sisters. I joined with many young people in our parish to serve Mass every day and attended many activities at my parish. Through the religious life, I realize that their life is peaceful and I follow them to help poor people. I thought that they were a good example for me to pursue and become a priest in the future to serve God and the Church, especially for poor people.

My family and pastor in the parish helped me to understand more and more how to live a great vocation. My parents taught me how to pray with God and how to recite the Rosary. My mom told me that, “if you wanted to be a priest, you should participate in daily Mass and recite the Rosary.” I believe that my family is the biggest support and encouragement for me to pursue a vocation. When I was a child my father usually told me the story about Vietnamese Martyrs to show me how to keep the faith with God and how to be faithful with the Church in any circumstances. Nowadays, I feel happy when pursuing my vocation. I feel God is with me on my journey to the priesthood.

What is seminary life like for you?

My seminary life is amazing for me. There I meet the Lord daily through Mass, through the time of Eucharistic adoration. I have learned knowledge that will help my life in the future. I see that life at seminary is very happy. we can talk, sing, cook and study together. In short, I love seminarian life.

What do you look forward to about being a priest?

I see that being a priest with God’s grace and love because the Priest is men of God and the priest is of the Church. The Church is the body of Jesus Christ. When becoming a priest, I belong to completely God and the Church. I wish that being a priest would be useful to God and the church. With my faith and obedience, I will be collaborating with my bishop and priest union of the diocese  to bring the Gospel of God to everyone in my mission.

What advice do you have for other guys thinking about the priesthood?

I have advice for other guys thinking about the priesthood. Pray and let your prayer to Jesus as He guides us. In prayer, we meet Jesus and in prayer, Jesus also hears us and He is talking to us