We have all been hyped up since the canonization was announced. Our TV studios had little features about OUR Saint-to-be! In April I was truly blest to be able to join our parish pilgrimage to Molokai …Kalapaupa & Topside. What a long awaited joy! I knew nothing of Hawaii as a youngster in the Midwest except of the holy priest who worked and gave his life for the Hansen’s disease victims. I arrived here 33 years ago, but the opportunity never arose. After our pilgrimage (the parish will sponsor another one in April), I checked out every library book available on Damien (the price is right) and borrowed a book on Blessed Marianne from the Franciscans. Damien and Marianne are my two new best friends!

I wasn’t able to fly to Rome this time, but I did hold a ringside seat for “my” Saint Damien’s canonization as I am sure many of you also did. Channels 2, 6, and 7 had marvelous coverage of the day by day pilgrimage. I became an excellent channel surfer and many times I was able to catch all three sites in an evening. The internet supplied much with our wonderful Diocesan website and blogs. The reports and blogs from Belgium were wonderful. I loved the banners hanging from each home, the boat trips in the rain with cries of, “Aloha”, the visits with Damien’s relatives, and watching Audrey kneel at his tomb. How wonderful to see our Boy Scouts there with Fr. Gary!

My favorite blog was watching the pilgrims just arrived in Roma singing “Happy Canonization to Damien”…especially our Bishop Larry (my kind of guy)! I know Damien was there, giving a hearty hug to each. I recognized so many of our parishioners and my friends from the BCC. I even caught a glimpse of Br. Austin from the Monastery! I caught Kanoa ________ our Youth Music Minister’s photos…and waved back at him. And what a joy to see my former student Nicky Arrechi with Principal Dee next to him! It was a delight to read the written blogs to us each day.

Of course, one of the highlights was the public audience with Pope Benedict XVI and our dear Hansen patients sitting nobly in the front. Then, of course, I loved seeing Audrey and her hubby approach the Holy Father to receive his blessing and message (in a foreign language, but who cares).

For me, a second huge day was the trip to Assisi. I have a dear friend who has taken me there several times and it holds such a place in my heart! I walked through Santa Francesco with them, stood next to Saint Clare’s with them, and felt the cobblestones once more through those holy, joyful streets. Perhaps it will be an integral site of our next canonization. Pray for one more miracle.

Meanwhile, back at the Parish Hall, Larry Sandbo and his AFF crew prepared for the BIG NIGHT! Larry had a large TV set up prominently for our ‘viewing pleasure’, the table was laden with pot luck delights, and wise people had taken a nap in preparation for out long Damien Canonization night. The special drawing prizes awaited us… round trip tickets to Molokai, all kinds of goodies from the First Hawaiian Bank, and additional items from Alohalinda Bolosan! We laughed and cheered as names were drawn and settled down at 9 p.m. for the first airing of a local show on the Life of Damien. And…we waited…and waited … and some ‘chickens’ slipped out to go home and watch it on their own TV’s as many experts assisted Larry in this electronic endeavor (they finally got it). However, the true blue kids stayed and watched the whole canonization, then cleaned up afterwards. I hear they got home about I a.m. As you have by now guessed, I was/am a CHICKEN! But for you other ones out there…we also viewed it all the next day several times…and then even more as Leslie Wilcox put on a weeklong special on PBS interviewing some of the patients and ending with the ‘Future of Molokai’. Our papers were filled to the brim, there will be continuing broadcasts, our pilgrims have returned filled with joy and story upon story, and Saint Damien has put Hawaii on the map! Saint Damien, we LOVE you!

This past weekend I was privileged. Yes, Sunday I went to Mass and realized the tremendous goodness of God in giving me His very Body and Blood to nourish me on my journey. Yes, the day before I helped a bit with the bookstore at the monastery, then helped a bit with the Garage Sale for our Social Justice program. And yes, it helps me to help others. But, above all, Sunday I was privileged to help feed the homeless. It was my first time and I was told to “go to the harbor”… and my little Buttercup (VW Bug) did many a twist and turn before we found out ‘where’ at the harbor. Tables were set up, food placed in order of rice, stew, rolls, pineapple, cookies, and drinks. An extra area was arranged with needed items for our guests…you know diapers, shampoo, laundry soap etc.

We stood with spoons in hand and gradually one after another arrived. I heard many a ‘thank you’ from the eldest to the little tykes. My heart was touched as they looked at me with hungry eyes…hungry not only for the food we gave, but more so for a smile, a word of welcome, an indication that they were precious in our eyes. And we did so with a word of recognition, a little hug here and even a kiss for a romantic old guy. Youngsters pointed to the pineapple…”I like!” One little boy came back for thirds. We wrapped plates for those unable to come from their car/residences.

In the course of visiting with the regular helpers, they revealed that they were being evicted once more. Where will they go? Who knows? Felicia is still on her way! I imagined them seeking a place for the night cramped in old vans and cars, huddled under tents. My heart hurt.

Yet Jesus is/was present. Sure we brought Him from the Eucharist, in a warm smile, a kind word, an extra scoop of this or that. But more so, they brought Him to us for they are His ‘favorites’, His ‘little ones’.

They satisfied their physical hunger and carefully deposited their trash and called “Mahalo.” Little did they know that I should have been calling “Mahalo” to each of them…and to Him who reawakened in me a greater sense of gratitude. Surely I was privileged!

Tags: Reflection

Corpus Christi has come and gone. But our parish is humming with activity. The calendar for next year’s events and ministries has been formulated. Builders have been erecting the new computer classroom so fast that you can drive by in the morning and again in the same afternoon and wonder if you are having an Elder Moment! Now all is quiet and still as we await the windows we need. Mrs. Arecchi is hiring her teachers and staff for 2009-10…and your kids do not want to think about it! The pruned trees in front of the church are resurrecting (‘tis the season). Youth and young adults are preparing for Youth Day 2011 and collecting parking fees at Sts. Peter & Paul’s parking lot. They did a bang up job over the 4th! A Youth Mass is scheduled for July 18th at 5 p.m. Let’s Rock! Catechists are preparing for a day of retreat in late summer. Forlorn little faces ☹ that arrived daily for summer school have changed into smiles. Parishioners are putting on pounds with multiple weekend graduation parties, camp-outs, and barbeques. AFF & RCIA are ‘kinda’ on vacation with eyes on the events of the year ahead. Both choirs still dutifully practice for our weekly Masses. Meetings keep out priests ‘out of mischief’… sometimes more than one daily! The homeless are being fed; the elderly at Crawford Home are being visited; the Outreach is giving to the needy and the Diocesan Capital Campaign is beginning (and needs us). We have celebrated the Feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary with the deepest inner knowledge of the love of Jesus & His Mothers for us. We are in Ordinary Time…a time of growth… green time. The year of St. Paul has ended and we have entered the Year of the Priest…and we are blest to have both Fr. Bert and Fr. Jon. But then again, we are all priests by reason of our Baptism, aren’t we?

Yes, our parish is a busy one. As our daily scripture said recently, “… God loves a cheerful giver…” 2 Cor. Take a look at the faces around you. I see smiling givers. In some cases, as with the Golden Girls AKA the adult choir at St. M’s, I see ‘giggling givers’.

Tags: Reflection

Do you remember when you made the decision to marry him/her? Did you have cold feet as you consented before the priest and two witnesses to love him/her until death? Last evening the Adult Faith Formation sponsored Fr. Mark Gantlet, judicial vicar and director of canonical affairs for the Diocese of Honolulu as our speaker. Sounds scary, right? Not so. Fr. Mark is 'down to earth'. He passed out take-home outlines, spoke with great knowledge, answered all our questions and knows well the problems of marriage as a Canon Lawyer.

Having attended the Theology of the Body with Christopher West the week before, Fr. Mark filled in the technical gaps for me…and for many attending. Marriage is a sacrament God given for the eternal good of the spouses, as well as, for the gift of new life. It is the ultimate sign of God's love for His people. Christ is the Bridegroom, we are His bride. It is a sacrament of mutual giving to the other, as He gave & gives to us, and we struggle to give to Him. God is faithful, unconditionally loving, passionately in love with us and desiring of our final union with Him for all eternity. I could not help but think of scripture being His love letter to each of us.

Our earthly partnership is also one of unity and exclusivity. It is indissoluble and perpetual. Entering marriage should never be a quick decision. Mother Church knows that discernment takes time and prayer. Therefore, she asks us to spend time in preparation for this holy covenant. Marriage is for life! Dating and engagement should be times of "Getting to Know You" not "We Got Married in a Fever"! Sexual union consummates the marriage vows and children are the fruit of that love. Not the other way around…with commitment coming after sex and little ones, is there really commitment? Since our Faith is more important than anything else, it is always best to marry a Catholic, but not a given.

Fr. Mark then spoke at length about the need for separation in cases of repeated infidelity and/or danger/abuse to the spouse or children. A civil divorce can be granted for protection of legal rights, but it has no effect on the validity of the original marriage vows and one cannot marry again unless the original marriage is declared invalid. Nullification of marriage can come only when it is proven that there was something lacking in the marriage to begin with, for example: a defect in decision making, refusal to have children, psychological incapacity, etc.

Without a doubt, Fr. Mark's presentation was one of our most informative and perhaps needed by every married or about to be married couple in our parish! If you were not able to make it last night, fear not! We will be inviting him once more.

Tags: Reflection

I hugged a youngster this morning at the Waialua Recreation Center. She was bedecked with leis and attempting to cross the lawn in low heels. She was ‘graduating’ from sixth grade. She is a faithful altar server at Sts. Peter & Paul. Prior to the hug, as I left Mass this morning, delighted St. Michael’s students arrived in T-shirts and bathing suits for their “Fun Day”. A huge multicolored water slide had been blown up on the playing field just waiting for the students. School is almost over…alleluia! I have attended a medical school graduation party, one high school graduation party, and have two more on the waiting list. St. Michael’s eighth graders are preparing for high school; the high school grads are preparing for college. It is a time of great joy and great trepidation. It is a time of leaving best friends and making new ones. It is a time for many of our military youngsters of moves, new homes, new schools. It is a scary time and a time of great achievement…truly a mixed bag.

Were not the apostles a bit afraid when Jesus ascended? Were they not filled with a slight apprehension as they prayed in the upper room. How they must have missed the sight and smile of Jesus…what was this Paraclete all about? Were they doubting their own abilities to “go forth and teach all nations…”? But, were they also remembering His final words to them, “I am with you always…”? And in the midst of the darkened time of waiting, His Spirit descended upon them in fire and wind…in enlightenment and strength. We walk in the age of the Spirit.

Yes, we keep moving on this road of life…and sometimes it is scary. But we carry Him within us. He is always with us and again and again, He says to us, “Fear not…I am with you…peace be with you.”

Tags: Reflection

Just as the Lord soared back to the Father, so did our hearts at Mass this morning. The children's choir was practicing as I entered filling the church with their sweet young voices. As Father entered the congregation sang out in royal splendor…at least they raised the rafters.  Our readings spoke of Jesus Christ the Son of God, Second Person of the Trinity, returning to Heaven…Mission Accomplished! It also spoke of the ongoing mission that each of us received just before His ascension. He commissioned us to go forth and proclaim the Good News to all mankind.

Father then introduced us to Sr. Rose Henry Reeves, ss.cc who moved to the front. Sister is a local girl who is now missioned in India. Her face radiated joy, her body language love and reverence. She spoke of her joy in a part of the world that is undergoing much persecution. We were captured by her smile, her delight in being able to serve God in a land which distains Christians, especially Catholics. She spoke of vocations to the priesthood and sisterhood and their need for education. From youngest children to teens, all were mesmerized…more by her presence as love for God, through the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, poured forth with her words. She offered a magnificent prayer to Our Lady as her finale…the Ave Maria. Her voice soared higher and higher. I found myself holding my breath with tears in my eyes…what a tribute. Her own humility poured forth and humbled us. Our clapping went on and on.

Ascension…go forth…spread the Good News…"I am with you always". Let each of us be a Witness to Love as was our soon-to-be Saint Damien, our beautiful Sister Rose Henry, our parish family feeding the hungry today, our little children raising their voices to HIM, and you and me as we go about our days and weeks ahead!

Tags: Reflection

Having participated in many a May Day over the years, May Day 2009 was a winner! The weather cooperated to ‘da max’. The acoustics ‘did their thing’. The youngsters’ performances were fantastic (and as an old retired teacher, I can vouch for the effort and work put into the entire program!). Our MC’s did a beautiful job of introducing each class. Mrs. Arecchi’s sweetly introduced the ‘important’ guests…like Fr. Bert, Fr. Johnathan, Sisters Grace & Joan and Sr. William Marie (who did so very much to put St. Michael’s back on the map). The teachers and staff were highly coordinated as they may-poled with brilliant smiles on their faces . And what a delight for this Irish lady to have a dance dedicated to the isle of her ancestors!

The Taste of St. Michael’s was a great success. From Filipino Adobo & Lumpia to good old Hot Dogs & Hamburgers. From Italian Crab Cioppino, Mexican Chili, Samoan Palusami, Tongan smoked pig to Portuguese Vinha D”Alhos and Malasadas. When I heard it was a ‘taste’…I thought it would be only that…but wow! What helpings. Of course, we will have to set up several shave ice areas next year. Above all, our deepest Mahalo to those who provided all this delicious food, cooked it, and served it. And a special thank you to our pastor in his cow hat running around offering extra dinner rolls. That was a Kodak moment!

I arrived at morning Mass at 6:30 to find Fr. Johnathan and buddies already at work. I arrived again before nine to drive around several blocks looking for a parking place. I had to leave my ‘job’ of wrapping plastic forks several times to hug and kiss and love up friends and former students (two with triplets!!!). And I watched the joy on faces as they saw neighbors, fellow parishioners, and much of the North Shore. There is NO place on Oahu that compares to our beloved St. Michael’s.

Tags: Adult Faith Formation, St. Michael, Reflection

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

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

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