Being a good priest is about giving – giving until it hurts.
So says the parish priest of Good Shepherd Lockridge, Father Francis Ly, some 32 years after arriving in Australia as a Vietnamese refugee and a year shy of his 30th year in the priesthood.
Fr Ly cuts an unassuming figure behind the desk in his parish office.
Several phone calls about funeral arrangements and the faith formation of children at the adjacent primary school punctuate the conversation.
“The priest must sacrifice himself for the service of the people,” he says in a matter-of-fact way, void of any detectable trace of conceit or false humility.
“It’s not a job. I learn how you can always say ‘yes’, even if it is hurting you.”
Behind him, to his left, are photographs of children at the orphanages and care centres in North and South Vietnam that he, and the parishes he has led, have supported over the years.
In the parish garage, he tells me, are donation bins for projects in Burma and India; projects which the parishioners of Lockridge have gotten behind.
For ten years he was the Archdiocesan chaplain to the Vietnamese community in Westminster after stints as an assistant priest at Greenwood and Highgate.
Since finishing up as Vietnamese chaplain in 2000, he has also helmed the parishes of Santa Clara, Bentley and Holy Family, Maddington, as well as his current posting at Good Shepherd.
The most rewarding thing about being a priest, he says, is seeing the good that God has worked through his own priestly ministry.
It is something of which he is reminded when the children of Vietnamese migrants he baptised more than 25 years ago come to him for marriage preparation.
“I’ve done six weddings this year. I make the couples come to me ten times before the weddings,” he says.
“They spend one hour of time here. We enjoy friendship. How else will they know me?”
Fr Ly is hands-on with the details. Conscious of his accent and his English, he prepares PowerPoint slides for every Mass he celebrates, and they include every word of the homily.
Engaged couples must send him their proposed Mass booklet so he can check the liturgy and readings conform to the correct usage. The same applies when it comes to funerals.
The liturgy is not about preference, he says, but about unity.
“We must be united in the liturgy. We must follow the policy and instruction of the Church. Even if I don’t do the funeral myself, my assistant must follow my instruction. You can have your ideas but you must accept – the liturgy, only one idea, the unity of the Church.”
He is very happy with his current assistant priest, Fr Victor Lujano, who was ordained a priest earlier this year, describing him as a humble and respectful man.
“In my age, we learn from the senior priests, how we adopt the new life of a priest in the future, we have to learn the way we serve.
“We have to select good priests. If they provide bad example, ’destroy your life. That’s my challenge.”
“I’ve met at least three saints,” he says, pointing to photographs with Pope John Paul II, Blessed Mother Theresa of Kolkata, and the Vietnamese Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan – people whose faith and love were exemplary.
He says he felt a sense of pride upon leaving each of his parishes at providing his succeeding brother priests with resources for continuing ‘the ministry’.
For men seeking guidance in their vocation, contact Fr Jean-Noël Antoine Marie on 9223 1372.