We thank God for our loved ones and friends who have faithfully been there for us during the difficult time and transition. People and even strangers come and go and are in and out of our lives as we least expected. God sends them. May we be open to receive these special graces and embrace them as our daily blessings. Amen.

Interestingly and paradoxically, even though I do not have the physical support and presence of the spiritual father, I continue to grow deeper into the mystery of the cross. The Abba, like all your loved ones do for you, however, faithfully and hastenly comes to my aid whenever I need his advice. He taught me through words. Now I live them through experiences. My Lord and my God, what awesome mystery it is. Only through the cross we carry that we perceive deeper into our relationship with our brothers and sisters and thererfore with God in the depth of our being.

You, God have a plan. Yes, You do, and everything is going to take time according to Your holy will and not ours.

Thank God for using a dear spiritual brother to help bring me back to writing icons. Many friends have been insisting: “Minh, you need to settle down to write icons. It is your calling. It is a special gift that not given to many of us.” The time is now, and I needed a little push to get back to the discipline and contemplation.

So I have gone back to work with the gifted Russian master and teacher iconographer. I treasure the example he gives, his living the quiet, secluded and humble way of life, the life of an iconographer in this modernized world.

May God continue to bless him and his ministry as well as his family and the Prosopon School which he founded. Amen.

Here are the two icons in progress, Immanuel and the Divine Mercy I am working on!

I am driving Our Lady of Corona to Toronto in a couple weeks. The Divine Mercy will accompany me. We will send her off to her new home, St Mark’s Church in Whitchurch / Stouffville
Ontario. Pray for us Oh Holy Mother of God! Amen.