It is said that Vietnam is a country of poems and music because their countless poems all have a rhythm to them, which can only be expressed in the Vietnamese language. Compare this to the free style poetry of the West and the contrast is striking. There is one poem, however, that comes from the West and for me manages to touch the core of Vietnamese Catholicism. The poem, by Hiliare Belloc, is called Courtesy.
The poem speaks of Courtesy as the Grace of God, seen both in a monastery and within the monks themselves. The poem goes onto describe how St. Gabriel, who at the Annunciation “went upon one knee shining Heavenly Courtesy.” Then Mary was described at the Visitation as having a “face that was great and kind because Courtesy was in Her Mind.” Finally, Jesus is described as a “Little Lord, Whom all the Kings in arms adored; He was so small you could not see, His large intent of Courtesy.”
On March 14-21, 2025, I was immersed in the everyday poetry expressed in the rhythm of Franciscan life in Vietnam, which was always marked with an overwhelming sense of courtesy. In that context I was able to offer a symposium on The Canticle of the Creatures considered through the lens of Franciscan prayer, Mariology, and the social doctrine of the Church. Upon all these themes, the friars and sisters who attended seemed to effortlessly transform our insights into the Grace of God through Courtesy.
I was blessed to have been able to visit five friaries scattered throughout Vietnam, as well as the homes of the families of some of the friars, some sister’s convents, some parishes and a bishop living at a Marian shrine. At each of these places I felt as if I was visiting the monastery in Belloc’s poem: “They took me straight into their Hall / I saw three pictures on a wall / And Courtesy was in them all.” At these places of Franciscan life in Vietnam I found kindness, fraternity, laughter and a sense of humor, minority, and elegant simplicity―all transformed by God’s Grace through a rhythm of Vietnamese Courtesy.
In the West, when the Christian community gathers, we say that we “have” or “celebrate” Mass. In Vietnam, the Catholic community gathers daily around 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. for Mass. They do not however “have” Mass or even “celebrate” Mass. Rather, they “sing” Mass as “His [Christ’s] large intent of Courtesy”. In the most northern friary, the sung Mass moves from the altar in church to the tables of the lepers who are daily served rice soup by the friars and sisters, even before they take their own breakfast and morning coffee.
While I was able to teach the friars and sisters in Vietnam about the St. Francis’ Canticle of the Creatures, they showed me how it is possible to sing the song of Francis anew, praising God Most High and Most Low, together with Sister Lady Courtesy in all they say and do. I heard in their rhythm, in their rhyme, that while my work was done, theirs had just begun.
-friar Michael Lasky OFM Conv.,
General Delegate for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation
