Bishop’s Chinese Lunar New Year Message: focus on work, prayer and helping others

Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler of Cambodia urged people to focus on work, stay open to listen to God and continue helping others.

Bishop Olivier was speaking during the Chinese Luna New Year celebration at St. Mary parish in Tou Tang on February 3.

"God blesses those who work hard," said Bishop Olivier.

Bishop Olivier told parishioners that God created us and gave us a role as a mission. The work we do from day to day out of our real blood sweat.

Tou Tang community is a Vietnamese Catholic group with about 300 families who run their own business about 20 km from Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

During the Lunar New Year, many Catholics come back to church to celebrate and meet their families after long period of business days.  

The prelate said that Lunar New Year is a time to pray. Bishop invited the faithful to bless instruments used for business.

“But what is important is we need to listen to the Gospels in order for the blessings we receive to bear fruit throughout our lives throughout the year,” the bishop said.

Bishop expressed that “Successful people are those who persevere in their work, in their care, in our day-to-day life, progressing little by little."

"God hates lazy people because lazy people are never successful. No matter how much we study or do business, lazy people never succeed," Bishop Olivier said.

The prelate reminded parishioners that Catholics don’t have to be narrow-minded, selfish, or greedy - collective things only for own family.

“Success in life requires helping brothers and sisters who are struggling in personal life. In society, some are the easiest and some are the hardest," he said.

He continued that our purpose in life is to be connected with God, and therefore our work to provide for our family, to live in peace, to live in justice, to live in righteousness, to live in love with God, with the example of St. Joseph, the righteous and a special force.

With inputs from Sreyhouch Dalys Soun