Why does everyone have a dream?
Dreams - Two simple words, yet they hold so much longing in every heart. Everyone in this life has a dream of their own. Whether that dream is small or great and lofty, to my mind it deserves to be respected.
Why does everyone have a dream?
Simply because we want a good life ahead of us. Because we want to find joy in living. As for me, when I was a child my parents often asked: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Without hesitation I answered: "I want to be a priest," even though at that age I did not yet fully understand what the word "priest" meant. But whenever I thought of it, my soul stirred and I always felt happy — not merely the joy of a smile on the outside, but a deep peace within.
I did not understand what joy was either, but I knew it was what I was searching for. Many times, looking at a picture of the Lord, I would whisper to Him: "I do not know whether You have chosen me, but I have already chosen You." There were times when, sitting alone in my rented room and looking up at the cross above, I felt the immeasurable, boundless, endless love of God.
In those moments I felt a strange warmth spread through my whole being, and my heart seemed ready to burst with happiness because I felt myself loved, despite being a sinner, unworthy, having more than once betrayed that noble love.
To remain with the One I love, to give myself to Him — that is the greatest and sweetest joy, one for which I would trade everything without feeling I had lost a thing. In wishing to offer my life to God, I also realised that I would become a person for others. At times I told myself, mistakenly, that as a student I should put off any thought of a vocation and concentrate on my studies. But with His overflowing love, the call of the Most High kept urging me to offer Him every moment of my life and my studies.
During my years of study in the city of Đà Nẵng, taking part in the activities of the Catholic student group, I had the chance to meet a great many different people. Few felt happy; many felt they were suffering; each carried their own tangled thoughts and sorrows. There were people whom everyone thought happy and comfortable just from the outside, but I came to see that it was not entirely so… And they wanted to find someone with whom they felt at peace, someone to share and confide in… Those they usually turned to were sisters, priests and religious… This only urged me all the more to become a religious, for a religious becomes a support for whoever needs one, a comfort to those who are sad. As a man of God, I want to listen patiently to the thoughts of others and understand what is in their hearts; I want to share in the bitterness of my fellow human beings.
As a student, I know that not a few of my friends have strayed onto the wrong path and are sunk in sin… With the prayer and sacrifice of a religious, I believe God will bring them back.
Yes, that is my dream. It may be different from that of many of my friends; to friends who do not share my faith it may seem a little "lost." But I believe that within that "lostness" I have found joy and found peace in the heart of God.
Giuse-Maria Hoàng Sỹ Bình
Đức Lân Parish – Kẻ Dừa Deanery
Major: English Translation and Interpreting
Duy Tân University
