Father Martin's Words of Thanksgiving at the Installation Mass

Before you start, when we were assigning the documents, I also had to put the date, so I asked Father Martin what the date is because I fear he would know very clearly what today is, as this is the anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

So congratulations tomorrow.

So congratulations.

Thank you, Bishop Tim.

I'd just like to take a moment to offer a few words of gratitude to all of us here today.

First off, uh my uh thanksgiving is to God for the gift of my vocation and for calling me to this new role to be pastor of St.

Joseph Church.

Um I want to uh thank in a special way Bishop Tim for celebrating the installation mass today.

Um Bishop Tim has been a big support to me during my priesthood and especially these past few years as administrator in the ups and downs.

Bishop Tim has been uh with me through it all.

So I'm very grateful to you, Bishop Tim.

Uh Abbot Damien, who is the abbot of uh St.

Andrew's Abbey in Valguermo, Abbot Damien has been my spiritual director for almost a decade now, so for 10 years.

He has helped me discern the will of God for my life and for my community.

So thank you, Abbot Damien, for uh being here today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

To my brother priests.

Wow.

I did not expect um such a big turnout for uh this mass for you to be here.

Uh thank you for your support, for your presence, for your fraternity, for your encouragement.

I'm deeply grateful for you.

I share with my parish, you know, uh, I think we're at like 40 priests now, and then we were at 50, and then we were at 60, and they were like, what?

What's going on?

Um so, priests, thank you so much for being here on this occasion of my installation map.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'd like to take a moment to thank all of our staff, our leaders, our volunteers, religious sisters, deacon, and their wives, uh, as well as special and honored guests, diocesan uh representatives who are here with us today, and all the many people who made this event possible.

There's so many volunteers like the yellow umbrella.

Did you guys get received by yellow umbrellas?

Let's give a hand for them and all the volunteers who helped you make this event possible.

Thank you.

Thank you to you, thank you to all our many volunteers and special guests today.

I'd like to take a moment to thank uh all of the parishes that I I've been to and I think uh are represented here today.

Uh, first off, I'd like to thank uh Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fountain Valley, which is oh, okay.

Ha ha they're here.

All right.

This is where my family goes to mass, and that's where also the beautiful Vietnamese choir sings as well.

Uh that thing for our mass today.

Uh singon uh, uh uh kak umbakov uh and all our special guests, takbaki, uh come at day.

Uh I'd like to also thank my internship parents.

I was there in 2016, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church uh in Santa Anna, Immaculado Corazon de Maria, under the leadership of uh looks like they're here too.

Okay.

Under the leadership of Father Ed Petgen, I think Father Ed is here somewhere, right?

That he was my pastor during internship and it's donde apprentice in Immaculado Corazon de Maria.

Um I'd like to thank my first parish where I became a priest Santiago de Compostela, who I've ticked.

I think they're here.

Uh and and back then I was four years.

I was I was a baby priest, as they called me at that time, and under the leadership of Father Thomas Naval, who is also here with us uh today, and Santiago they call the church.

Thank you to you.

Uh the next parent where I went to, I only spent one year, but has this very special place in my heart, and that's St.

Cecilia Church.

I think they're here too.

Um I don't know if anybody here parked over at Holy Cross Melkite Church today.

Did anyone park over there?

You guys all parked over at Valencia High School.

Anyway, I just want to thank Holy Cross Melkite Church for their overflow parking for us today.

And I want to thank all of our family and friends, acquaintances, special guests, and the many people who have come from near and far uh to be with us in our celebration today.

I want to thank, of course, in a special way, uh, my own immediate family.

Uh that is my mom, my dad, my sister, my brother.

Um my dad's not a hugger.

He doesn't hug.

He doesn't.

Alright, so uh my my brother, too, I think played on the piano earlier with the choir.

There yes, yeah, he played.

Yeah, thank you.

Uh David.

Um by the way, our incredible ensemble that played music today, right?

The ensemble and uh the the choir there, thank you so much.

And last but not least, I wish to thank all of you from St.

Joseph's Church, where I have had a lot of people.

You have welcomed me into your home over the past two years, and I've had the honor and privilege of serving you.

And now it is my great honor, my great joy to be your pastor for the next six years, and I'm looking forward to what God has in store for us.

Thank you to uh St.

Joseph Church.

Um what's that?

Why only six?

Why only six?

You can talk with Bishop about that one.

Um and if I if I let you uh you know left you out, I just want to thank all of you, everybody who's come here today.

I probably could have just said that at the beginning and covered everybody, right, all at once, but thank you to everybody who who made it here today to celebrate this day.

Uh at this moment, I believe we have some flowers for uh Bishop Tim and for uh Abbot Damien, and so for if we have the flowers here, I invite them to uh uh come forward at this moment to present these flowers in thanksgiving uh to Bishop Tim, to Abbot Damien for being here with us today.

And so uh please uh come forward, don't be shy as you uh present the flowers.

Do I get flowers too?

I do?

Okay, all right.

Yes, can walk faster, it's okay.

Hi, you're sorry.

Norma's one of our leaders, Amanda, our school principal.

We have a great relationship between church and school.

It's part of our vision for our unity of church and school.

And uh my that's my little sister over here.

That's uh Teresa.

So thank you very much.

Uh Bishop Tim Abatamian.

Thank you.

Um, after uh after the Mass today, we have a big uh celebration for you out on the field and in our our parking lot back there.

There are seven different stations of food.

They're all the same food, so you don't have to hop from one station to the other.

Just go to one and then you're you're good, you know.

And then I have also heard that there are also uh stations for wine, maybe.

I heard that there was a little bit of wine.

Uh yeah, I know.

Un poco de dino.

Like the wedding at Cana, Las Bodas en Cana.

So you guys are welcome to enjoy that uh as well after the Mass.

If you are in the church, we would love to invite you to head out this way, if possible, through these doors, because uh those in our parish hall will be heading out through the breezeway that way.

We don't want to get congested.

Uh and thank you to all those who are in the parish hall as well.

You know, we've filled this place here, and thank you to all those who are in our parish hall joining us uh on live stream today.

Um, I will also be in the courtyard right behind the church.

If you want to uh take a picture, give a gift, get a blessing, I'll be happy to uh receive you right after the mass.

And uh before we uh have the final blessing uh from Bishop Tim, I uh thought it would be appropriate to um entrust our parish and our community to the intercession of Mary, our mother, Saint Joseph, our patron, and especially our Lady of Guadalupe.

And since we celebrated this Mass trilingually, I'm gonna invite us to pray the Hail Mary together in the three languages, English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and then we will uh sing together the Salve Regina as we lift up and entrust ourselves to the Lord and to Mary.

I'm gonna invite us to stand for this moment as we uh entrust ourselves to her uh intercession.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Dios te salve María, llena eres de gracia, el Señor is contigo.

Bendita eres entre todas las mujeres, y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús.

Santa María, Madre de Dios, rega por nosotros, pecadores, ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte.

Amen.

Salve, Jinam, Matan is cordial, vita to chest nostras.

Ek sul les to speed upes atlantes inhagri man for katanos to miscores for kulos at nos combatum from countries to be no beast for exili.

And priest, I'd like to kindly ask you to please uh after the blessing to come up to the front of the altar so we can take a group picture together.

And please remain uh in your seats during that photo type.

And if somebody says, but I really want a picture on my iPhone, can't I come up here?

You as pastor, what are you gonna say?

No.

No more Mr.

Nice Guy.

The Lord be with you.

May Almighty God bless you in his kindness and pour outside wisdom upon you.

May He nourish you always with the teachings of the faith, and make you persevere in holy truth.

May you turn your steps toward himself and show you the path of charity and peace.

And may the blessing of Almighty God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit come down upon you and remain with you forever.

Glorific, your consolidated.