Dear brothers, sisters, and friends in the Assumption family:
The world we live in is really dark and desperate. The blindness of violence affects many people. Wars are happening everywhere: the war between Russia and Ukraine, the war in the Middle East, the war between Israel and Lebanon, the war between Israel and Iran, the war between the U.S. and Iran. It is difficult to admit that wars are waged by the people who claimed themselves to be civilized living in civilized societies.
According to the Russian writer Dostoevsky, human beings become worse and less civilized. In fact, they become more and more cruel. And here is his argument: in the past, people thought that war would be a solution to conflicts and they waged wars in hopes that peace would be established. Nowadays, people know that war is not a solution to conflicts, but they still wage wars everywhere. In the past, people thought that doing violence would be a way to restore justice. Nowadays, people know that violence only begets violence but they still do it.
Faced with such a degradation, we need to do something for the good of all humanity. Since all human beings were created from the same earth — from God’s one earth, we are all one. Since our humanity is united, the suffering of one single person affects all of us. Therefore, let us ask Jesus to purify “our image of humanity. For we tend to consider ourselves powerful when we dominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, great when we are feared. In contrast, as true God and true man, Christ offers us the example of self-giving, service and love. We need his example to learn how to love, not because we are incapable of it, but precisely to teach ourselves and one another what true love is. Learning to act like Jesus — the living sign that God has placed within the history of the world — is the work of a lifetime.” (Pope Leo XIV, Homily at Mass of the Lord’s Supper, April 2, 2026)
After Jesus’ brutal death, every act of violence is one too many. With his death and burial, we bury what is contrary to life: hatred and heartlessness, denial and betrayal, apathy and jealousy, violence and vengeance, discrimination and division. As Jesus’ disciples, we are to act like him in a spirit of loving self-gift. To imitate Jesus is not only to follow his teaching, but also to adopt his way of being. To become another Christ for the life of the world is to translate his way of being in our concrete situations. Where there is hatred, be a sower of love. Where there is violence, be a person of peace. Where there is division, be an agent of reconciliation. We are to do good and to be good even though sometimes the reality of the world gives us the impression that our efforts are useless. We are to live a life-giving style even though selfishness and jealousy still exist everywhere and in ourselves as well. We are to become peacemakers because otherwise we cannot be true children of God (cf. Fr. d’Alzon, Cahiers d’Alzon 10, 103, 2). With Jesus as our companion, we continue our journey of discipleship with its ups and downs. With him, we carry out every challenging battle with this conviction: in the middle of the darkness of human existence, there is already a divine spark of the light of Resurrection.
Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! Let us be risen with him, Alleluia! Happy Easter to all of you and to your loved ones!
Many blessings,
Fr. Chi Ai Nguyen, A.A.
Provincial of North America
