NATIONAL VOCATIONS AWARENESS WEEK
Sunday 2 August – Sunday 9 August 2015
The path to priesthood: ‘God writes straight with crooked lines’
Tru Nguyen MSC
Tru Nguyen was born in Vietnam
and lived there until he was nine
years old. For the next four years
he and his mother and sister
were refugees.
They travelled from Vietnam to
Australia via Cambodia, Thailand
and Malaysia. On arrival in
Australia in 1991 they settled
in Adelaide. Tru has embraced
Adelaide as his home town
now and is a supporter of the
Adelaide Crows.
At the end of 2007 Tru
embarked on a retreat at Douglas
Park with the Missionaries of the
Sacred Heart (MSC). “At that time
my spiritual director guided me
to listen attentively with my heart.
Then draw all my strength to
follow that desire,” he said.
“I did that and I found what I
wanted most was to be loved by
God and loved by the people I
love and be able to love others as
I am loved.
“Reflecting on this, I find my
response to my vocation is also
based on the faith that God is
love. It is a faith decision because
I am called to leave my familiar
life and enter into a new life
without knowing how the new life
will be.”
During that retreat Tru wrote
a letter to the Missionaries of
the Sacred Heart expressing
his interest in joining them. He
joined the MSCs in 2008. As this
From left: Br Kimi Vunivesilevu MSC, James Maher MSC,
Tru's Mother Lac Nguyen, Fr Tru Nguyen MSC, Fr Peter Hendriks MSC
and Br Phillip Reilly MSC.
issue of Catholic Outlook went to
press Tru was preparing for his
ordination to the priesthood on
24 July.
“Each of us has a vocation,” Tru
said. “That is, we are all called
to live life to the full. We are all
called to live as God’s beloved as
Jesus lived. For me to live fully
and to live as God’s beloved is ‘to
be on earth the heart of God’.”
Fr Peter Hendriks MSC
Peter jests, “My life proves that
God writes straight with crooked
lines!” He knows this reveals the
truth that his heart was difficult to
settle, “I was inherently restless.”
After university Peter joined
the Jesuits and was with them for
five years where he spent a lot of
time discerning if priesthood was
for him.
For the next 12 years Peter
wandered through different
career paths: teaching, studying
Theology, completing a Social
Work degree and working as
a Probation/Parole Officer. He
continued to attend retreats to
help discern his vocation and life.
“One day on retreat I
was expressing my absolute
frustration with God that He
Fr Peter Hendriks: “Keep walking with God, talking with God and
listening to God.”
was not being clear about what I
should do,” he said.
“God’s response to my prayer
was wonderful: ‘Peter if you
want to be a layperson and get
married then do so. If you want
to be a priest then do so. My only
vocation for you is to know that I
love you.’
“God has a habit of being right!
To know oneself as deeply loved by
God is the root of any vocation.”
After Peter was accepted into
the MSCs, he was still restless.
“One moment when I found
myself struggling, God said, ‘The
only way out is through.’”
Peter experienced strong
feelings of fear and anxiety
but once those emotions were
addressed he found he was able to
settle into a life commitment.
Six years after ordination as
an MSC he feels grateful to live
the charism, ‘To be on Earth the
Heart of God’.
“God has a vocation for you that
no one else can fulfil. The answer
lies in knowing that God loves
you,” he said. “I love the saying,
‘The one who walks with God
always gets to their destination.
Keep walking with God, talking
with God and listening to God.
God will reveal the best path to
take, it will be a path of love.’”
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