There were seven communities—Samoan, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Tongan, Chamorro, Filipino and Korean—that attended the Formation Day. There were also speakers to lead the formation for each respective culture.
The Samoan Community was blessed to have Father Falaniko Atonio from Carson. The Vietnamese was lead by Father Anthony Chinh Dao, Ph.D., from St. Catherine of Alexandria, Temecula. The Indonesian Community welcomed Father Antonius Galih Aryanto from St. Jerome Parish, Oakland. The Tongan Community was lead by Sister Lorreta Raass, SMSM, a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary from Tonga. The Chamorro Community welcomed Sister Joelle Aflague, S.S.N.D., from the Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington. The Filipino Community was lead by Father Cristobal Subosa, Pastor at St. Anthony Parish, San Jacinto. Lastly the Korean Community speaker was Sister Heeja Peter Ham, HMHM, a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Martyrs with the Mother Convent in Potoichan, Mexico.
The Asian-Pacific Ministry began the Formation Day with an opening prayer. This unique prayer involved each community bringing a symbol to the altar. The Samoan Community carried in the cross. The Vietnamese Community brought in the candle. The Indonesian Community carried in the Bible. The Tongan Community brought in water. The Chamorro Community brought in the Holy Family image. The Filipino Community carried in the Bamboo, and the Korean Community brought in the picture.
After the opening prayer, Fr. Esparza presented his speech to the seven communities, with approximately 300 faithful listening intently. The presentation was on our call to holiness by living a holy life, service, the cross, grace, scriptures and about Pope Francis’ teaching. At the end of the presentation, Fr. Esparza closed his discussion by encouraging participants to trust in God and to transform the world, beginning with family.
The faithful began breakout sessions by joining their cultures to continue formation on topics such as family life, vocations and evangelization. In between the sessions, they had lunch and entertainment. The faithful had lunch with food from various cultures. It was like an international restaurant offering food from many countries in the world. As for entertainment, the participants were able to win wonderful prizes from raffle tickets. It appeared that each culture was able win a prize from Sister Maria Jennifer Nguyen, Director of Asian-Pacific Ministry.
The formation day ended with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Gerald Barnes.
Van Hoang is a guest writer and photographer for the Inland Catholic Byte.