This morning five young people received the Sacrament of Confirmation. We were especially honored to have Bishop Larry Silva perform the ceremony. Our new Youth Choir sang for this special day under the direction of Kainoa Fukumoto. It was a packed crowd with powerful music…but, as Bishop Larry stressed in his homily it IS a time for all of us to be aware of Jesus, risen and active in each of our lives. And as I observe, we are doing just that in a big way.

We are a country parish where people know each other and welcome those who come to visit. We are top notch at pot lucks, “talking story” after Mass, raising $$ for World Youth Day, pilgrimages to Molokai, and “our” school. We step forth to feed the hungry, teach RCIA and little ones on Sunday mornings, or clean up after functions (and our hall is well used). We are active in our Finance Committees, Adult Faith Formation, and SMAPPY (Sts. Michael and Peter & Paul Youth), Parish Councils, and School Boards. We take teenagers on Confirmation retreats, reach out to our elderly and aged, support each other in times of bereavement, and rejoice with our newly baptized, confirmed, and First Communicants. We are ONE parish, ONE people, and we worship Our Risen Lord as ONE. Jesus is ALIVE right here and now. Where Jesus is there also is the Father and the Spirit. We ARE the Face of God to each other, to all others.

Thanks, Bishop Larry, for reminding not only the newly confirmed, but all of us, that “Jesus is doing” through us. May the Fire of the Spirit burn brightly in our hearts, our homes, and our parish!

Tags: News, Reflection

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Derik Sagaysay

Molokai was an out-of-the-ordinary encounter that defined,for me, the beauty behind “keeping the country, country.” Getting an inside look into Kalaupapa and the legacy Father Damien left behind was interesting. The descent down the Pali Trail was something else and, even more so, was the strenuous ascent (3+ mi of trail, 26 switchbacks, 1600+ ft. Change in elevation). All I can say is, with God and two hours of sleep, anything is possible. Someday, I wish to revisit this unforgettable experience…

 

 

 

Nichole Rego

OMG! This hike was one of the worst and best experiences of my life. While walking down the trail I saw the amazing breath taking view beauty of Kalaupapa.  I saw pictures on Google and they don’t even compare to the real thing.  The people there are just as pleasant as the view. Uncle Norman was a really good and entertaining tour guide while driving us around in “trusty rusty.”   The whole tour in Kalaupapa was really DEEP! It made me proud to be a Catholic. I know it sounds corny, but No joke!  It really did! J The hike back up was KILLER! It wasn’t easier than going down at all! All the people who said that it would be flew back!! *cough* Father Jon! Haha In the end, the trip was sooo worth spending those long torturous hours parking. NEXT STOP…… SPAIN!!!

 

 

Jeremy Sabugo

My Molokai Experience was awesome and I would like to thank everyone who made my experience possible. Being in Kalaupapa answered the question, what is heaven like? There is nothing on earth like Kalaupapa. Being there is a place out of reality, a place of history, a place almost fantasy like. I stood in front of Fr. Damien’s grave in silence with tears in my eyes and a gust of wind came and blew me off my feet. Fr. Damien reminds us to think about others and not always yourself. Almost every time I visit Molokai, there is always something new. Taking into consideration the size of the island it’s, almost impossible to not miss anything. I felt there was a sense of connection to my own personal sense of truth. If I had a choice to live on Molokai and help with the Molokai project, I would accept the offer. I believe Molokai is the only place on earth that would mainly nurture my faith and change my perspective on life. In the end, I can see Molokai in twenty years, just the way I had found it this past weekend.

 

Elaine Pinacate

The hike down and up the trail left my body semi-immobilized and in painfor a few days, but it is the spirit and holiness of Moloka'i thatleaves me paralyzed forever. As I walked on the grounds of Kalawao andKalaupapa, suddenly the realism of the stories of a man of hope,courage, and leprosy began to unfold. When we visited St.Philomena'schurch to see this man's grave, many reached out their hands to touchhis tomb- many with sorrowful tears. It became evident that FatherDamien was not only a man who built churches, dug water irrigationsystems, or dressed wounds and ulcers, he was a man who loved the peopleafflicted with the Hanson's diseases because he loved God. He was a manthat ardently walked up and down the mountain to fetch potable water andmedicine for his people. He was a man of God, and today he is aHoly-man. It was truly a blessing to have had the opportunity to visitthe holy land that was touched by Father Damien.

To view all photos taken on the Molokai Pilgrimage to the Photo Album section above.

Tags: Young Adult

We came by plane across the channel to the Friendly Isle, the Forbidden Isle. We came to walk in Damien’s footsteps and so we did. Some had been to this country place before, but had never been to Kalaupapa. Early Saturday the hale and hearty descended the pali by foot. The rest boarded small planes and within minutes, we saw the cliffs give way to a spit of land…holy land. Sr. Alicia Damien and our guide Pat Boylan met us at the tiny airport surrounded by a white picket fence. After all arrived by land or by foot, we drove to Kalaupapa passing grave stones and green fields with no markers but only knowledge of those buried below. We rounded the road with the stone on stone cistern that Damien and the residents had built with him to capture water, stone walls behind which some had lived, and finally the church enlarged from the tiny chapel that met him when he waded ashore to find his people hiding the ravages of their disease in bushes and make shift huts. We looked down upon the landing banked against high cliffs…and rocky beach. How did they struggle up to find their “home” in this place of desolation? But he came and stayed and rests with his own. We circled around his grave to touch the stone of our Saint and prayed together. If only we could have walked his evening rosary path, or sat and listened to the voices murmuring through the Ironwood trees. Did they chant, “He loved us. He died with us. He was our hope in a place of seeming hopelessness. He was our anchor.” But time was limited and we left from Kalawao to kalapapa for Mass at St. Francis, his church and gathered on the steps with our own Fr. Felix. We visited Bishop Home, the grounds of our Blessed Marianne and listened to Sr. Candida as she spoke of this saintly and stalwart woman. Sunday, Fr. Clyde celebrated Mass for us topside at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows and toured us through Damien’s travels up the cliffs to build that church and others. We touched the boards he pounded and sat within tiny St. Joseph’s where he ran out of glass so placed wood over the tops of gothic windows. Yet, Damien is with us still. He spoke to our hearts of self giving, of seeing Christ in all people, of hard work, suffering, determination and constant prayer. A young man from Belgium, ordained in Hawaii, for Hawaii.

In case you are wondering, there WAS a balance. We laughed and complained about hiking aches and pains, we bonded at meals while wonderful local entertainers kept us moving (some on the dance floor). We laughed nervously on tiny airplanes, bought Molokai bread late at night, sang on the buses and pulled and pushed the “brave of heart hikes” up and down the steps. To sum it up…it was a weekend of total blessing not to be forgotten.

Tags: Adult Faith Formation

On first view, with people milling around at Haleiwa Boat Harbor with tent, tables, chairs; others pulling the flesh of tender turkey's back at St. Michael's cooked Pohnpei uhmw style; still others driving between the two sites with urns of hot water for the chaffing dishes, it looked like a mesh of confused action. Yet from this mix of chaos and activity, emerged a wonderful meal for the residents (Homeless) of Haleiwa Boat Harbor and Kaiaka beach park.There was a sense of joy and purpose as parishioners (under the guide of Irma and Trudy) embarked on the 'breaking bread' with the homeless, and, Mary Jane and the youth organized and distributed the goodies for the kids and hygiene packages for the adults. With a quick run to Kaiaka beach park to deliver food and Easter baskets to the residents the day was over. What had been planned for a couple of months as being the kick-off for the parish Social Justice Outreach, was done!



As I was watching everything unfold before me with the large number of parish volunteers and the eventual response from the residents, I was filled with a feeling of humility. The phrase people used the most before and after they ate was , "thank you". Upon receiving their basket of goodies for their children (one mom and dad have 7 kids living in a couple of vans) was again"thank you". One of our parishioners mentioned that there is no other place that they would rather be on Easter than here - feeding our homeless sisters and brothers. He thanked the residents for allowing us to be with them. It kind of brought home and made 'real' the Easter Season - giving gratitude and thanks to God the Father for ALL He has done and continues to do through the suffering, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. This is the beginning of once a month effort by the parish to respond to those in need. I am so thankful for Irma, Trudy, Mary Jane, and for each one of you the parishioners who cooked, set up, served, cleaned up and who gave of your time with joy and gratitude. Echoing the sentiments of that parishioner - I thank the residents of Haleiwa and Kaiaka - for allowing us to be a part of their Easter. I pray that we have many more monthly moments of chaos!

Tags: Holy Week, Social Justice

“Christ Be our Light” In those four simple words, lie all the glory, passion and joy of lent in which we celebrated this week. That right there my brother and sister, is Easter. It’s is the savior of our liturgical year. Easter is a time of honoring and renewing.

On Saturday night at St. Michael, Christ lit and guided our way to the resolution of our lenten journey. In the darkness of saturday night, one flame ignited hundreds of others, and the light spread. Person by person, candle by candle. And we stood in this sacred space embracing that light.

We stood in faint darkness with our candle flames glowing on our faces while the choir sings beautiful Easter melody “Christ Be our Light” and the “Gloria”. As we began to sing “Christ Be My Light” I felt a harm feeling within me because it was one of my favorite catholic hymns. I started to get a little teary while hearing the piano strike the first chord that reminds me of the songs. That very simple solemn chord learned by heart placed vivid images of me at the age of six years old. I remember sitting byside my mother in the same exact church singing to the same song calmly bringing joy to my heart now. That night, i felt right at home and when we sang that beautiful song, i didn’t need to look at the lyrics because it was embedding heart, next to my Christian faith. There are some things in life that brings comfort to you and whenever I am in church, I witness God’s presence and all the lyrics pops into my heart making me sing unconsciously, loud, with confidence and love. That is the works of God.

We are the Body of Christ. Bruised. Broken. But resurrected and given new life, new hope. Changed forever. We are men and women and children who hold the light. We must continue our service to the homeless and pass the light to those we are in search of God. Let us be servant to one another, making God’s kingdom come.

This Easter, keep the flame burning. Remember all who came before us, and all who are joining us today.

Click to view video. “Christ Be Our Light”

Tags: Holy Week

Feeding the homeless on Easter sunday has been more rewarding than most of us expected. I work closely with the youth and young adults and I haven’t seen a greater service response from them. Geena Pinacate, one of the young adults leader said, she enjoyed her Easter Sunday because she was able to serve and have fun. She is extremely excited that she will be joining us on the Molokai Pilgrimage next weekend.


She also said that she is eager to visit Blessed Fr. Damien’s tombstone. At that same time, I thought about Fr. Damien and his extrodinary dedication of caring for the lepers. Fr. Damien ministered to lepers and cared for all of them. I envisioned myself as Father Damien, helping those outcasted similarly to the lepers. His message is the reason why I was feeding the homeless on Easter Sunday and should be an example for our all people whether we be Christians, Jews, Muslim or any other religion.

Tags: Holy Week, youth, Youth Adult, Social

Dear Friends,

There are so many reasons why we can still celebrate Easter today. Many of these reasons are not necessarily experienced as joy-filled. We all have troubles and challenges—be they with our husbands or wives; with our children or parents or with the worries and concerns over employment, health and our homes. Easter is the liturgical celebration where we see through our troubles and challenges—they are not the END. Our faith assures us that there is the RESURRECTION of JESUS CHRIST—which is our HOPE! We are called to humbly serve and persevere with the encouragement of one another and with prayer. Each of us has our own story of rising through suffering and pain (indeed we may be going through this now). As we gather to celebrate the greatest feast of our faith—we do so as real people, with real challenges; real stories of helping one another; of forgiving each other; of recognizing that we are called to serve with humble hearts and to see in each other the face of a broken and Risen Christ!!

We are both so grateful to everyone who has made this Easter celebration possible—the music ministry, the environment and liturgy ministry, the social justice and outreach team on their efforts with the homeless, the religious education team with the Easter goodies for the kids, St. Michael School, and the many many volunteers who give so much to make our parish vibrant and alive. Each one of you—is the reason why we still celebrate Easter today.

Pax Cristi
Fr. Bert, ss.cc and Fr. Johnathan, ss.cc

Tags: Holy Week

This afternoon the cross speaks to us as we reiterate the story of his passion. It speaks of the one who suffered and died upon it. Personally, this for me can’t be a day like any other. I sat in church venerating while Fr. Johnathan gave his powerful homily. I was disturbed by the deep and mournful absence - no consecration, no bells, no final blessing. The altar was stripped. The feeling of sitting across an empty tabernacle was depressing. I felt as if the heart of the church had been ripped open and thrown far away. For some people, it’s still customary to turn off the radio, shut off the TV, draw the curtains … and pray. Some may light candles. Others may follow the Way of the Cross or pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary. It may seem depressing, seeing the church clothed with painful memories of struggle and death, but it opens our minds to find our inner faith.

On this day we celebrated one of the most haunting liturgies in the church. It's proclaimed in the gospel, that when Jesus took in his last breathe, the world literally cracked open. A Mother and Father giving up their only son. The lenten journey is not all about sacrificing, it's about the preparation of the ultimate sacrifice. How are we going to prepare to continue to live in God's image. We were reminded today that it is our faith that was sealed with nails, and splinters, and blood.

To this day, we cannot help but remember what was done for us. As the old spiritual tells us, it causes us to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they crucified my Lord.

God’s Tear. Taken from the Movie Passion of the Christ.

Tags: Holy Week

Twenty-three years ago I sat beside the ‘cross on which hung’ my beloved husband Joe. I could touch only his shins as the bone cancer had invaded every other ounce of him. He was planning his funeral. He specified the songs to be sung, his altar boys, and his Sacred Hearts’ priest buddies, along with Fr. Lowell Fischer, to celebrate his Mass. I nodded numbly and then said, “What shall we do after your ashes are sprinkled?” He laughed and said, “What do you think, ‘woman’? Have a party. We are at the beach, let the kids have fun. Laugh and dance…this is Hawaii! I will be with God. I will have no more pain! Rejoice with me. Rejoice with me.” So we did as he said. Most of our parish community flooded the church, then headed to our yard to “Rejoice” with Joe! I could almost hear him laughing.

And what of the gang who stood beneath the cross, who hid behind locked doors, who trudged the miles to Emmaus with long faces? Each of us have stood beneath the cross within our lives … the loss of a loved one, a serious medical illness, fear of the uncertain, the constant inability to shed ourselves of recurrent sin or memories of abuse or rejection. We, too, have hidden behind the locked doors of false personas or bitterness. We, too, drag ourselves along the journey of life whining and complaining that what we “expected” didn’t materialize.

But the tomb was empty! Mary Magdalene rushed in with the news, the fellows paid little attention, and suddenly HE stood there in their midst. His first words were of peace. His wounds gleamed. Their hearts leapt within them. “It is the Lord!” He ate with them, broke bread with them, set out a picnic breakfast for them, and forgave them. He does the same for us on a daily basis! Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Jesus is risen! Jesus is in our midst! Death has been destroyed. We will live forever. Listen carefully to His hearty laugh as He speaks to us this Easter, “I am with you always. You are mine. Rejoice, my beloved one…let’s party!”

Tags: Miscellaneous, Holy Week

At St. Stephen Church in Nu’uanu, catholics from all parts of Oahu celebrated Palm Sunday vigil. The mass then was followed by a Cross Walk 09’ after party Celebration hosted by InHim Ministries. I was accompanied by Geena Pinacate one of our youth leaders at St. Michael. The celebration kicked off with an uplifting praise and worship, then we were recognized for being involved in the cross walk.

Afterward, we celebrated mass with Fr. Marc Alexander, one of the three priests that was involved in the cross walk. After Mass, we ate spaghetti and had a lot of yummy desserts. At the end, Geena and I represented St. Michael and received a special black and gold cross walk shirts for being the ones to bear the cross in Waialua.
Click here to view the letter from OSM.

Tags: Youth Adult, youth, Holy Week

Palm Sunday today. Ash Wednesday almost six weeks ago...

On Ash Wednesday, we stood in church and received a mark of ashes on our forehead as a token of penitence. We were reminded of our mortality, our sinfulness, our need for penance and prayer. But those ashes weren’t just scraped together from the bottom of somebody’s fireplace. They were the remnants of burned palms.

I would like to share just one thought about something that is a vital and meaningful part of this weekend. It is the part, in fact, that gives this Sunday its name.

Last week I decided to clean the altar of my mother’s holy statues of Jesus and Mary. It was a very crowded altar with all sorts of candles, angels and fake plants made out of ceramic and plastic. Behind the altar, there was a rosary hanging on the wall along with a bible and a bottle of holy water from somewhere in the world. Tucked in among them was a small folded cross made of palm leaves, a remnant from Palm Sunday’s past.

This week I spent most of my free time at different churches and experiencing different masses . On Wednesday I had the oppotunity to be elected to recieve the newly refined oils. In the midst of the mass I was shocked to hear a full choir with an ensemble. The best thing about the mass is that Bishop Larry celebrated it. The music made me jubilated as the choir’s voice was meant for a prince. I felt that all we did in the past few weeks will lead us to what we are about to experience next week. Take these palms. Let them be a reminder that we are entering the holiest week of the year. These Palms are the iconic symbol of our christian faith.

Today we stand here again, six weeks older. Maybe, hopefully, six weeks wiser. We hold in our hands new palms. New growth.

Ultimately, that is what these weeks are about. Burning away, clearing out, and cultivating something new. That is Lent.

Tags: St. Michael, Reflection, Miscellaneous, Holy Week