Retirement of Sr. Rita Chen – I came to know Sr. Rita when I was assigned by Archbishop Levada to minister to the Chinese community. Although I was given the opportunity to study Cantonese in Hong Kong for a year, but mastering a language takes more than a year. So when I returned, I continued to need the help of a native speaker to help me in my Chinese homily preparation. Sr. Rita was one of my tutors. As life unfolded, we ended up serving together here at St. Brendan. Many parishioners have shared with me how thorough Sr. Rita was in both the Baptismal Preparation class and in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program. She was always prepared for class and after Sunday masses, she was always present to greet the people. She was good about welcoming new members into our community, especially non-Catholics. She would extend an invitation to them to explore the Catholic faith with her. Looking back 13 years from our baptismal registry, she had prepared approximately 838 baptisms from children to adults. Sr. Rita, thank you for your faithfulness and dedicated service to us. We will miss you. Below, is her letter to us:
Dear Parishioners,
Grace and Peace! I praise and thank the Lord for giving me the grace to serve happily the people of St. Brendan Parish for the last thirteen years. It is hard to leave the people whom I have loved and served for so many years. As Isaiah said, “God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and God’s ways are not our ways.” I believe the Lord of our life has a creative and salvific plan for each of us. He is leading us closer to Him in His own time and sometimes in a mysterious way. At St. Brendan’s I have had the privilege to help Catechumens and Candidates on their journey of faith. I shared with them, that faith is to discover God’s will manifested to us through persons and events in our lives. This can be applied to my present situation. In the past two years, my health has not been as good as before, especially in the last two months. It seems that it is time to leave my current ministry and retire. I will be leaving San Francisco for Hong Kong by the end of June. I believe that nothing happens by chance. God is leading me onward.
As RCIA and Infant Baptism Coordinator, I would not have been able to carry out my duties without the help of many volunteers, especially our dedicated and highly qualified team: Guy de Primo, Eileen Miller, and Avelina Accad. I am grateful to each of them. To Fr. Dan, Fr. Parenti, Fr. Mike, Fr. Te, Bro. Dat, Sr. Catherine, Sr. Elizabeth, and the staff, I wish to express my sincere gratitude for their prayers, trust, and support. To all the parishioners and friends a big “Thank You” and God’s blessings. Be assured that you and your families will be in my prayers always. My address will be: Canossian Convent, 34 Caine Road, Hong Kong, China.
Sr. Rita Chen, FdCC
P.S - It is certainly our wish to celebrate her retirement and thank her for her years of faithful service with a party on a Sunday before she leaves. Hopefully her health will allow us to do that. I will keep you informed.
Fr. Dan
