Our Lady - Saturday in May

This morning we will be attending the annual May Crowning at our parish. I hope to have photos to share with you.

Also, please feel free to post the above graphic on your own blog as a way to honor our blessed mother during the month of May and especially tomorrow on Mother's Day.

God bless,

Feast Day of Blessed Damien de Veuster

"On May 10, 1873, the steamer Kilauea deposited 33 year old Fr. Damien de Veuster on the landing at Kalaupapa, Molokai'.

A man of enormous activity, Damien vigorously tackled every need that he saw. He cleaned wounds, bandaged ulcers, even amputated gangrenous limbs. When a hurricane destroyed the exiles' shabby huts, Damien petitioned the Board of Health for lumber and built three hundred houses for the sick. He laid a pipeline to a distant spring to supply water for the settlement, administered the sacraments, dug graves, built water for the settlement, administered the sacraments, dug graves, built coffins and said funeral Masses.

After eleven years at Kalawao, it became evident that Damien himself had contracted leprosy. In 1888, Mother Marianne and her Franciscan Sisters arrived to open a home for girls. By then Damien also had the help of two priests as well as Joseph Dutton, a lay volunteer.

On April 15, 1889, Damien died. In 1977, the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Sacred Hearts missionaries in Hawai'i, Pope Paul VI declared Damien venerable.

On June 4, 1995, Pope John Paul II beatified Damien in Brussels, Belgium. Currently, the case for Blessed Damien's sainthood is being studied by the Cardinals and Bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of saint."

The above short biography of Blessed Damien of Moloka'i, was read to us at the candlelight vigil honoring Fr. Damien. It was read by the vice-postulator Sacred Heart Sister Helene Wood.

Hawaii Bishop Larry Silva said at the vigil that sainthood for Blessed Damien is "imminent"!

Mahalo to Padre Steve for the following video:




The draping of the lei on Father Damien's statue
The Father Damien statue in front of the Hawaii State Capital
Sacred Hearts Sister attending the Blessed Damien Memorial
The candlelight vigil where we sang Hawaiian hymns in honor of Father Damien
The candlelight vigil was held on May 9th because on the actual feast day, Bishop Larry Silva as well as some of the Sacred Hearts Fathers and Sisters will be on Kalapapa to commemorate the 100th anniversary of St. Francis' church.

A novena for Blessed Damien as well as more pictures can be found at Catholic Homeschooling in Hawaii

Calumny in the Blogosphere

H/T to Carl Olson for this story.

Calumny in the Blogosphere by Fr. Michael P. Orsi and appears in the June 2008 Homiletic & Pastoral Review.

..."Calumny and its close relative detraction (derogatory comments that reveal the hidden faults or sins of another without reason) have been part of life since the dawn of time. But opportunities for breaking the Eighth Commandment have proliferated with the advent of the Internet, especially since the rise of the phenomenon known as “blogging.”...

Father offers the following recommendations on blogging.

* Pastors should speak on the Eighth Commandment and its corollary injunctions against calumny and detraction.

* People should be warned that what they read on blogs is not necessarily true.

* Any anonymous blog or unsigned response has the weight of an unsigned letter and so should be quickly dismissed.

* A blog that is particularly vicious toward persons can be indicative of psychological illness, or simply an evil person, and is therefore suspect.

* Any blog that is unedifying and demeaning to another person should not be read. It is the equivalent of pornography.

* Responding to these calumnious blogs, even for defense of the individual or for clarification, only encourages the offender and prolongs the life of the calumny.

* Those who suffer calumny on anonymous blogs are, for the most part, better off enduring it. Seeking to correct misrepresentations usually has the effect of keeping controversy alive and adding to its interest value.

* While reading such blogs is damaging to its target (since it causes unwarranted negative speculation about another’s character), it also hurts the reader since it causes scandal, sowing pessimism and despondency.

* Calumnious blogging is a serious offense against God’s law. Those who engage in it are jeopardizing their immortal souls and the souls of others.

* For anyone to make a judgment concerning a person’s character based on what is read on a negative blog is to be a formal cooperator in the evil perpetrated by the blogger.

Fine Art Friday - Our Blessed Mother in Art

Our Lady of Guadalupe by Vincent Barzoni
by Peter Paul Rubens
by Filippo Lippi
by Giovanni Bellini
The Immaculate Conception by Jose Antolinez
by Roberto Ferruzzi
by Sano di Pietro
by Sassoferrato (Giovanni Battista Salvi)
This week we honor our Blessed Mother Mary, the Mother of God and the mother of us all.

Happy Mother's Day!

Source for some of the posters All Posters

Words of Wisdom

Shared by my good friend Laura.

"Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

A sharp tongue can cut my own throat.

If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn't oversleep.

Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.

The best vitamin for making friends.... B1.

The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.

The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.

One thing I can give and still keep...is my word.

I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished.

One thing I can't recycle is wasted time.

Ideas won't work unless ' I ' do.

My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.

The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime! It is never too late to become what I might have been.

St. Thomas Aquinas - Modesty in Ordinary Matters

Sue shared an email regarding modesty. What stood out in particular was what St. Thomas Aquinas wrote regarding modesty in ordinary matters.

Saint Thomas Aquinas lists four kinds of modesty in ordinary matters, that are obligatory for everybody:

One is the movement of the mind towards some excellence, and this is moderated by humility.

The second is the desire of things pertaining to knowledge, and this is moderated by studiousness which is opposed to curiosity.

The third regards bodily movements and actions (including words), which require to be done becomingly and honestly, whether we act seriously or in play.

The fourth regards outward show, for instance in dress and the like.

Fr. John Hardon: The Meaning of Virtue of St. Thomas Aquinas

The Saints and the Eucharist: St. Don Bosco

Recently, I rediscovered a little book my friend in New Jersey Fr. Ignatius, gave me. Saintly Guides for the Eucharistic Year complied by the Holy Family Cenacle of Little Falls, New Jersey.

The following are interesting little tidbits about today's Saint of the Holy Eucharist, St. John Bosco:

1. Early in childhood our Lord and His blessed mother inspired him to rescue young boys from evil ways.

2. The boys under Don Bosco's care learned about the Catholic faith "under a remarkable educational system based upon frequent confession and daily Mass."

3. In 1862 Don Bosco had a vision (depicted in the above painting) of the dangers threatening the Church. Since most everyone is familiar with the story I will skip to the end of the dream:

"Suddenly two marble columns surged from the depths of the stormy ocean, one surmounted by a monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament - "Salvation of Believers" and the other by a statue of Mary Immaculate "Help of Christians."

4. When the Church is battered by enemies from within and outside, Don Bosco taught that salvation can only come from three sources:

- Jesus in the Eucharist

- Mary Help of Christians

- The Pope, Christ's vicar on each

Born: 1815

Died: 1888

Sainthood: 1934

Feast: January 31st

Shadowlands - in Hawaii

James K. Aina as "C.S. Lewis" and
Hannah Schauer Galli as "Joy Gresham"
Picture source TAG
Shadowlands
by William Nicholson
directed by Melinda Maltby Alvarado
Produced by Laurie Tanoura

One of my good friends and I went to the theater to watch The Actors' Group production of Shadowlands. She has a master's degree in English literature and is a huge movie and theater buff! I could not have picked a better person to attend this play than with her.

The location of this little theater is hard to explain but it reminds me of the city I grew up in. Industrial and urban, it was hard to believe the theater was in Hawaii. The theater itself was very tiny. I do not think that it could accommodate any more than 30 people, if that.

The set and the actors were only a few feet from us, their audience. I did not know whether I would enjoy myself or not. I thus resigned myself to a long afternoon in the dark. I kept looking forward to the dinner we would be going to after the theater.

As soon as the lights were dimmed, "C.S. Lewis" appeared before us and started a soliloquy about the meaning of God, suffering and love.

From that moment on I was transported back to Oxford, England and I was privy to the private life of one our greatest English writers.


Real life Lewis and Gresham. Picture source here

I an not by any stretch of the imagination a theater aficionado and do not claim to be able to review a play of this depth. But I can safely say, in my humble opinion, the acting of Mr. James Aina was profound in feeling. You can see that the actor looks nothing like the real Mr. Lewis. Yet I felt that he truly captured Lewis' true spirit.

We spend a captivating hour and a half before we had a 15 minute intermission. I was actually sorry to see them take a break. The second half could not have started soon enough for me. Yet, I knew this was the sad part that was coming up. In anticipation of the sadness, some of the actors and stagehands passed out tissues to a few people. It takes a lot to make me cry, especially in public. I did not feel I needed a tissue. However, I should have remembered who I went to the theater with...none other than my soft-hearted friend.

I found the background surrounding the Lewis-Gresham union very curious. I did not remember it being a marriage of convenience at first. My friend and I were quite perplexed as to why such a moral man like C.S. Lewis would accept to enter into such a marriage. I guess I will have to read more about it to find out.

I remember watching the 1993 movie of the same name and starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. I remember feeling that it was a dreary movie with regard to the story line. It appears my memory was playing a trick on me because that is not how it was at all. It was a combination of humor, lighthearted teasing and banter and of course, tragic. In fact, after the play ended my friend remarked that this production was too close to the movie.

The actors were available to greet the exiting audience and I would have liked to have congratulated them all. But my friend was in a hurry to get out of there and go to dinner. I did get a chance during the intermission to congratulate the director on her magnificent job.

The play closes on May 11th for those of you in Hawaii who would like to spend quality time at the theater. I highly recommend it.