IN MEMORIAM: Father MichaelJoseph Nguyen

Fr. MichaelJoseph Vinh Ngoc Nguyen , [1957-2013]

On February 25^th, 2013 Fr. MichaelJoseph Nguyen died suddenly.  He was 55 years old.  He was a benefactor, patron, counselor, guide and companion to this community and in a special way to Brother John Casey.  His passing, despite some periods of ill health in recent years, was utterly unexpected.  He was a vigorous and joyful presence in the lives of all he met—only recently the community spent New Year’s Day with him and Br. John was with him for a morning a week before he died.

Matt Beben, John Petrullo, Fr. MichaelJoseph, Br. John and Br. Charles at Resurrection of Our Lord Rectory

 Father MichaelJoseph was that ‘force of nature’ that never gave up and was completely and joyously devoted to his God and the people he served.  The following selection from C. S. Lewis captures, if anyone could, the essence of Fr. MichaelJoseph.  A deeply spiritual man, a man of great enthusiasms and a profound work ethic, he was also great fun to be with. 

MERE CHRISTIANITY, C. S. Lewis, Bk 4, Ch 11, “The New Men”

"Already the new men are dotted here and there all over the earth.
Some, as I have admitted, are still hardly recognizable: but others
can be recognised. Every now and then one meets them. Their very
voices and faces are different from ours: stronger, quieter,
happier, more radiant. They begin where most of us leave off. They
are, I say, recognisable; but you must know what to look for. They
will not be very like the idea of 'religious people' which you have
formed from your general reading. They do not draw
attention to themselves. You tend to think you are being kind to
them when they are really being kind to you. They love you more
than other men do, but they need you less.....They will usually seem
to have a lot of time: you will wonder where it comes from. When
you have recognised one of them, you will recognise the next one
much more easily. And I strongly suspect (but how should I know?)
that they recognise one another immediately and infallibly, across
every barrier of colour, sex, class, age, and even of creeds. In
that way, to become holy is rather like joining a secret society.
To put it at its very lowest, it must be great fun."

Fr. MichaelJoseph with Colt Davis, Caroline LaRocca Davis and Glen Davis' son

Commenting on the above quote, a writer noted:

It would therefore seem, if Lewis is correct, that this state of being, this becoming a new man, should be the object of every mere Christian. After all, "To put it at its very lowest, it must be great fun." But then again, to strive for this condition, merely for the sake of its being fun, would be rather a lowly aspiration at best. Lewis follows the above passage, in his own positive way, with what is required in order to become such a new man. He sugars the pill, but the pill remains a bitter one to swallow, for in the end he says:

"Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death to your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in."

Fr. MichaelJoseph held nothing back, and seemed to have found Christ, “and with Him everything else thrown in.” And what a great gift to all of us who knew him, and to the Brothers and volunteers whom he loved and served with grace, affection and such good humor.  We can only look forward to meeting, as one Saint said: "merrily in heaven."