School: Notre Dame Seminary
2901 S. Carrollton Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118
Background
I grew up north of Atlanta in Lilburn, GA with my mom and dad. Both my parents were born and raised in Vietnam. Growing up as an only child, my family and I were very involved within our parish Holy Vietnamese Martyrs. I’ve been involved with the youth group (TNTT) ever since I was in elementary school, and later became a youth leader. I went to St. John Neumann, St. Pius X, and graduated at Georgia State University with a degree in Computer Science.
What are your hobbies and interests?
I really enjoy playing outdoor sports like ultimate frisbee, football, basketball, and my favorite sport Spikeball. In my free time, I like to play guitar, read, listen to podcasts, or take time to catch up with family and friends.
What is one of your favorite scriptures?
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” I stumbled upon this quote one day as I was going through a tough time, and it spoke to me in a way that led me to finally say yes to the Lord.
Who is your favorite saint and why?
My favorite saint would have to be St. Teresa of Calcutta because the sacrificial love she had to help the poorest of the poor inspired me learn how to love greater. She reflected deeply on Jesus’ words “I Thirst” and revealed to us how much Jesus thirsts to love us and to be loved by us. She also stresses the importance of silent prayer with one of my favorite quotes by her, “Until you hear Jesus in the silence of your heart, you will not be able to hear Him saying, ‘I thirst’ in the hearts of the poor.”
In a nutshell, what is your vocation story? How did you feel called to the priesthood?
Ever since I was a young altar server, I’ve had this desire to become a priest. Being involved in my parish, parishioners would ask me if I ever considered the priesthood. At the time, I couldn’t discern if that was something I wanted to do, if that was from the pressure from the community, or if it was really God’s will for me. I began my discernment journey in high school and began my application to seminary during my senior year of high school. However, I did not finish the application and decided to go to college to study Computer Science. On the first day of college, I made a promise with the Lord saying if priesthood is still in my mind after these four years, I’ll finish the seminary application. I remember putting this thought of priesthood aside during the first 2 years of college, but as I was finishing up, the desire to become a priest slowly came back and grew stronger as I continued praying. God has blessed me with many graces during my last 2 years that has led me to completing the application. I forgot about the promise I had made, but when I was accepted, I was reminded that God has always been working and knew seminary was the next step.