Feast of St. Anthony - Fr. Bo's Party and Mass

 So, it's the night before the Feast of St. Anthony, and St. Anthony is Fr. Bo's patron saint. And that means party time! This year we had hot pot...my favorite

 Here is Fr. Suit on the left (my favorite Jesuit) and Fr. An is working the hot pot. There were so many vegetables. And in honor of Fr. Bo, we had octopus (or was it squid?) and fish. Incredible.

Every feast is a reason to toast, and here is Fr. Bo on the left, with Fr. Hoan, Fr. Minh, Fr. Nam, and one of my favorite seminarians. Chan va cham! (That means 100%...or, drink the whole glass or else.)

I had to make the rounds of the tables because things were getting a bit out of hand and I had to keep everyone in check. OK, maybe I kind of added to the craziness.

No, the guys on either side are not twins, just seminarians.

This was the fun table and it was difficult to keep them quiet.

Many of the guys have been my students and it's always good to spend time and not needing to give them a grade.

Walking from table to table, I heard the stories that priests and seminarians tell. It's not an easy life, but they love it and bring so much to all of us.

That's Fr. Vinh standing up. He talks quietly but always has the zinger.

This is the cake for Fr. Bo. While it looks really sweet, there is not much of a sweet tooth in Vietnam, so I would say it's kind of bland. And Fr. Vinh will soon take care of that.

Here is Fr. Vinh showing me that I need to add orange liqueur to the piece of cake. Now that made a huge difference.

The next morning, the day of the Feast of St. Anthony, there was a huge mass in honor of Fr. Bo. He is the spiritual director for the sisters in the convent of the Sisters of the Lovers of the Holy Cross. They love him dearly, and he had four priests and four deacons concelebrate.

Here is Fr. Bo at the end of mass receiving flowers from the sisters. His name is not really Fr. Bo, but I call him that. In Vietnamese, Cha Bo means spiritual father, or spiritual director. He has been that for me thsese past 12 years.

After the mass was the breakfast reception at the convent's dining hall. Over 200 sisters joined with the men for an hour of fun and food. It was so loud, just how I like it.

Here is the head table. Mother Superior sat with us and she is truly a fine woman. Single-handedly running a convent this big is no easy task, and she does it with grace. Old and young sisters alike love her genuine kindness....and her huge smile.

Here is a picture of Fr. Bo and I.

Finally, a picture of the head table. The outpouring of warmth toward Fr. Bo was matched by the love in the room. Honestly, I was smiling non-stop the entire morning.