By: Peter Nguyen
Young Adult Leader

On Sunday, January 30th, 2022, Saint Anthony’s Youth Group welcomed novices Michael and Thomas Nguyen along with Brothers Khoa Pham and Damien Ho to celebrate the feast day of St. John Bosco.

We started a fun day of joyful festivities by playing steal the bacon by splitting up the group into two sides and as we witnessed our kids chasing for the bacon, it created hilarious memories where we had an opportunity to bond with one another. As we moved onto line tag, we became more active as a group effort, facilitated by our guests for our safety. Before celebrating Mass, we had time to gather and have breakfast, socially distanced, but remained in conversation- some of us catching up and sharing stories with the novices. Our waffle and hot chocolate breakfast served as a meeting place and a comfortable community space where we dined.

The celebration went beautifully when we came together for Mass. It was touching when all the youth group members processed up to the altar with St. John Bosco’s portrait. It was a different experience from other Sunday masses. The youth group also took on the responsibility of doing the readings and bringing up the offertory gifts. Father Huong Dinh, the associated Pastor of Saint Anthony Church, shared his homily about Don Bosco and reminded the youth group to continue to pass on the Saint’s spirit for many others who do not know who St. John Bosco is.

After Mass, we joined together again and had lunch, conversing and bonding over BBQ and other Vietnamese dishes. As we enjoyed the fantastic food and comfort, along with laughs, we said a prayer of thanks to our families, the cooks, and one another. We ended the day with a volleyball game. We were incredibly grateful and blessed to have enjoyed a beautiful day celebrating St. John Bosco as we were accompanied by Father Huong Dinh, the Salesian brothers, other adult leaders, and parents for a memorable day. Finally, we gave thanks to our parents and the parish for supporting us as we celebrated our feast day.