The Church is a family made up of families, say Brian and Hannah Tran, who in addition to their two daughters under four are raising 10 new children of God as the RCIA co-ordinators for their parish of Our Lady of Victories, Horsley Park.
Mr Tran believes “the Holy Spirit is doing something special within our group”, with numbers either converting or reverting to the faith growing each week.
He and his wife are “honoured and humbled” to represent their parish and the Sydney Archdiocese in Rome at the World Meeting of Families.
Putting God in the centre
“We hope to be able to learn how to be a stronger family with Christ at the centre,” Mr Tran said.
“We are called to be the domestic church and in that sense, we must also dispense God’s grace through the family unit.
“If the family is on fire for God then the parish will be on fire for God and the universal church will be on fire for God.”
Home a centre for a whole community
The Trans open their house to their wider parish community every week who they regard as “our true family”. “We break bread together, pray together, cry together and celebrate together. We are one and we are truly family,” Mr Tran said.
“This means riding out the waves of life together in both the ups and downs.”
They hope to return from Rome with new ideas and initiatives to enliven the Church in Australia.
Seeing Francis
The couple are particularly excited to meet Pope Francis and to pray with him, a dream come true for the couple.
“We have always prayed for the Pope in the Rosary but to pray with him and beside him is such a blessing!” Mr Tran said.
Mr Tran also “truly believes” the World Meeting of Families will help him be formed and prepared for a vocation to the permanent diaconate, which he hopes to pursue in the future.
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