The Carmelite Experience

Hawaii Opera Theater

My mother and I went to see the opera Dialogue of the Carmelites  not so much for entertainment but because the story was about persecuted Catholics.  For those of you who homeschooled your children using Seton, The Song of the Scaffold by Gertrude von la Fort should be familiar to you.  Dialogues is actually based on this novella.

The entire opera played out in three acts was a very spiritual experience.  It was very appropriate not only for the Lenten season but because of the anti-clerical times we are beginning to experience in our own world.  None of the music or arias was familiar to me.  Usually, this would have made going to the opera very difficult for me to enjoy but that was not the case here.

I noticed that after the first act, a few people left. One lady commented that she really was not enjoying it.  I thought it sad because they did not give the story a chance to develop to the climatic moment (spoiler alert) when the sixteen Carmelite nuns go to Madame Guillotine, singing the Salve Regina.  I wondered if the open Catholic spirituality that enveloped this story turned those people off.  I hope not.  I was hoping and praying that the opera-goers would be touched by the spirituality in a place of worldly entertainment.  I did notice many Catholics in the audience.  In fact, we sat in front of two sisters of the order of Saint Marianne Cope. The sisters really enjoyed the opera/story.  They also showed much interest in reading the book.

This morning my mom and I had an opportunity to attend Mass at the Carmelite monastery. It was like being back in the days of Santa Teresa de Avila.  Right before Mass begins, the grille opens up and we can get a peek of the nuns.  Afterwards, we were able to meet and greet these friendly nuns.

In the photo I took, you can see the Infant of Prague way in the back.  In a scene in the opera, the very frightened nun was given an Infant of Prague to console her and give her strength as the enemies of the Church become more of a threat.  She is startled and the statue falls to the ground and breaks.  She cries out "The Little King is dead! And we have nothing left but...the Lamb of God.!"

Very profound.

In Honor of our Holy Father's Visit

...our parish prominently displayed the Papal flag.

When It Was Forbidden to Be Catholic in Hawaii

I have been meaning to post Fr. Stephanos' article on Catholicism in Hawaii but kept forgetting to. Hope it's not too late to share the following bit of history with you.

Ah heck, go visit Father 's blog and read it all there yourselves. :-)

An Artist of Worth

Picture courtesy of Peggy Chun Website You can see samples of her artwork by visiting her website.

When I moved to Hawaii, I was enthralled by the local artwork. One of the artists whose works I really enjoyed was Peggy Chun. Her work was beautiful in depicting familiar Hawaiian settings, beaches, the floral and even her pet cat Boo. We bought a little print recently and I wish I could post the photo here. It shows Boo in a little swimsuit next to a surfboard. It is very whimsical. Peggy, a devout Catholic has also painted portraits of Hawaii's own soon-to-be saint, Blessed Mother Marianne Cope.

However, Peggy was struck down with ALS or "Lou Gehrig's Disease". In recent years she has declined in health, which affected her movement, and now she is paralyzed. Throughout this whole progression of the disease, Mrs. Chun kept painting.

This week's Hawaii Catholic Herald features Peggy Chun's newest project that of creating a mosaic of Blessed Damien, with the help of some Catholic school children. You can read more about this amazing women by clicking the title above or the link for the Hawaii Catholic Herald.

Statues - Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart

The photos do not do these statues justice.

These two statues used to be above the Altar's sides in our Church before the Church was renovated. I sure miss the statues.

163rd Anniversary of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace

Thank you Easter for reminding us of the 163rd anniversary of our cathedral tomorrow, August 16th.

"The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, located at the north end of Fort Street Mall in downtown Honolulu, is said to be the oldest Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States and one of the oldest existing buildings in the downtown area. It is dedicated under the patronage of Our Lady of Peace because the first Catholic missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands, members of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary gave that title to their first foundation in a new land. The Cathedral stands on land which was given to the missionaries by King Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) when the mission was established in 1827. "...

"The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace is the site of the ordination to the priesthood of Blessed Damien deVeuster, ss.cc. on May 21, 1864. Blessed Damien is world-famous for his work with lepers on the Kalaupapa peninsula, Molokai. He himself died of Hansen's disease (leprosy) on April 15, 1889. He was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussells, Belgium in 1995. His feast day is celebrated on May 10, the day of his arrival on the Kalaupapa peninsula. Blessed Damien's statue stands in front of the State Capitol in Honolulu and also in the Capitol of the United States in Washington, D.C. where each state is allowed to have two people who were significant in the history of the state honored. The other statue is that of King Kamehameha the Great... "(Click title above for the complete history)