Readers Respond 2-16-13

Fr. MichaelJoseph went to his flock
New Orleans
    I had to add a couple comments to the article about Father MichaelJoseph Nguyen of Resurrection Parish.
    I have always felt that the way to a person’s soul is through his body. The mind is a part of the body, so the mind through the body’s senses absorbs what it has been exposed to and is therefore influenced in whatever direction this exposure takes it.
    Father Mike was that kind of a priest. He didn’t sit in the temple (church) and wait for people to come to him. Just the reverse – he went to the people and thus made them know that he cared about them.
    My wife and I were not parishioners of Resurrection Parish but frequently attended Mass and parish functions there, even before he was appointed pastor. He frequently came to our house when he found out there was a family function going on. He seldom stayed long because there were other families he felt he wanted to be a part of.
    When the parish was being rebuilt after hurricane Katrina, even though I was over 80 years of age, I volunteered to roll paint on walls with other younger parishioners,  and Father Mike was right there.
    Because he was with the people they were also with him. He will be sorely missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.
    Sometimes he came to our house with a beer in his hand, ate a little food, engaged in a few minutes conversation and then was gone.
    Through those brief encounters with many people he was endeared to them and they to him.
    His way with people is the way Christ is portrayed in the gospels – a people person. May he rest in peace.
CALVIN MORET