Talking With Nguyen Ngoc Binh-Yen, SVD

Introduction: Most of us are more or less ordinary people with our personal goals in life. Many of us are students. Others are working in various jobs. Some have made the decision to take different paths in life such as entering religious life. As ordinary as we all are, there are things about each of us that we can all relate to, and there are many things that we can learn from each other. It is my hope that in this "Young Catholic" section, we can occasionally introduce our friends to the readers and get to know a bit more about them through the "Question and Answer" format.

Nguyen Ngoc Binh-Yen is a member of a religious order called the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD). Binh-Yen is in temporary vows and is studying Theology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, IL. He was born in Ba Ria, Viet Nam and now, his family resides in Orlando, FL. The following is an interview that I had with Binh-Yen about what it is like living a religious life.

Le Duc

LD: Did you participate in many church activities when you were younger?

BY: I did participate in many activities when I was younger. I started as an altar boy in the third grade and sang in the youth choir at the same time. I stopped these activities for a few years during my middle school years but then I came back again when I was in the 8th grade. From that time on, and especially during my high school years, I was very active. I would say that I spent about half of my time participating at the church and the other half for school and helping out at home.

LD: When you were young, did you ever think about becoming a religious person?

BY: I didn't really think about becoming a religious person but I had dreams of becoming a saint, like St. Therese of the Child Jesus or St. Vicent de Paul. When I heard or read stories about these people, they really touched me and inspired me to imitate them. Also in my life, there were people who brought me up and influenced me a great deal, such as my great grandmother and great aunts. One of my great aunts is a nun with the Sisters of Providence. They taught me how to pray, say the rosary, and fast and I tried to imitate their holiness.

LD: What attracted you about religious people when you were young?

BY: I'm not sure. Probably I already answered that in the last question. I think it's the simplicity in the way religious people lived their lives, their willingness to make sacrifices for what they believed in. I think there is also a sense of romanticism and heroism in being a religious person.

LD: When did you first seriously consider religious life?

BY: I remember this time pretty strongly. It was during my 9th grade year. I was reading "Story of a Soul," the autobiography of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. I was really moved by her story and I think I fell in love with the story. I could say that almost literally. I was so sad when I came to the end of the story when she died. I remember afterward when I lost the book, I felt like I really lost someone. Reading this book made me think about my own life. I was inspired and thought that eventually I would become a monk in a monastery where I could isolate myself from the world. Of course, this has not happened because I am not in a monastery even though I am a religious person.

LD: How did you end up in the Society of the Divine Word?

BY: Throughout my high school years, I continued to strongly hold on to my vocation even though there was a lot of desire to date and to have girlfriends. So just before I came to the U.S., I wrote my father a letter and expressed my intention to become a religious and enter a seminary. He wrote me back and promised that he would help me to do that. When I got to the U.S., he introduced me to a diocesan priest who had studied with the SVDs in Epworth, IA. I talked to him and he introduced me to an SVD priest who was his friend, named Thang Tran. So I contacted him and he helped to bring me to Divine Word College in 1993.

LD: What has your time in the SVDs been like?

BY: There have been many ups and downs. I entered Divine Word College in 1993 and graduated in May 1998 with the degree in philosophy. At that time, I decided not to continue and not apply to the novitiate. Instead, I decided spend some time with the Jesuits and associate with them. I found out there were a lot of similarities between what the SVDs were doing and what the Jesuits were doing. I found out that there weren't enough reasons for me to leave the SVDs. That's why I came back and applied for novitiate with the SVDs.

Exactly how has my time with the SVDs been? I think that I did not appreciate the SVDs much when I was in Epworth. But after the novitiate year, I realize that I have learned a lot and I have changed for the better. That's what I value the most about this community.

LD: How has being a religious changed your life?

BY: I think I've only started to answer this question for myself after I took my first vows. I think it has been good because the vows [chastity, poverty, obedience] don't prevent me from being creative or from doing things. In fact, they help me to be more simple and more detached from the material world. I'm actually more flexible in term of relating to people and caring for people, not just my family members, not just my close friends, but people in my community, people I meet at my ministry, and even people I meet on the street.

LD: What is your goal as a religious?

BY: My goal is to be able to come together with other people who have the same ideas and the same goals in life, to live on what is necessary and save the extra to help the poor and the underprivileged. I also believe in the unity of people of different cultures. That is the one thing I like about being an SVD because SVDs come from many different nations and cultures; yet, they can come together, live together, relate to each other and work together. I think it is a good model for nations that are constantly at war with one another.

LD: What is the most difficult thing for you in living a religious life?

BY: One of the most difficult things about religious life for me is that sometimes it is very easy to forget what my purpose is for being here. Sometimes, when you walk down the street and you see a couple holding hands, you get the romantic feelings and you want the same thing for yourself. You imagine yourself in the same situation. Another thing is my ambitions. I see people who are gifted in academics with doctorate degrees and are talented in many fields. Even though I can do that as an SVD, I need to remember that my priority is being a religious first and the other things come after. Another important issue that distracts me once in a while is family. Because I am the oldest son, I often feel like I need to help my parents and my siblings. I feel like I have a responsibility to help take care of the family during difficult financial times. Despite these difficulties, I realize that there is only so much I could do even when I am at home. I also try to realize that my family members are adults and they are responsible for their lives as well. I guess that I also need to not over-dramatize situations in my life. And of course I pray for wisdom and for strength to hold on to my dreams. For family who I cannot help directly, I realize that I can offer my prayers for them and comfort them as much as I can.

LD: How have your family and friends treated you since you joined the seminary?

BY: Pretty much the same now as before. They have always cared for me and respected me. I am very thankful to God for these things. I also think that I have not changed the way I acted towards them. Basically, I also try to be as caring and as loving as possible.

LD: What is your advice to young people who don't know much about what being a religious mean?

BY: I think my advice is to be open to the rewards of living as a religious person. An important part of that is to be open to what I would say an inclusive kind of love. Being a religious means that one needs to develop intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and from that be able to share that love with everyone and not just any single person. I think being a religious means being joyful and finding ways to sustain that joy. Being a religious also means having ideals of a peaceful and just world, of unity, and of a human community, in which no one is in need. Being a religious means being committed daily to God and God's creations.

LD: Finally, what is your advice to young people considering religious life?

BY: Take time to discern what God is calling you to do. You can do this by talking to someone you trust such as a spiritual director, family members, or someone familiar with religious life. Try to read books about what religious life is about and reflect on the things that are most important to you. And it is always important to listen to what is in your heart.

LD: Thank you for taking time to share with us about your life. Your sharing is very deep and personal.