By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The Diocese of Honolulu will celebrate the closing of the Year of Consecrated Life, Feb. 6, at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Larry Silva and the release of a new book chronicling the observance of this special year in Hawaii.
Pope Francis declared the Year of Consecrated Life to honor the past, present and future contributions of those men and women who have dedicated themselves to the vowed religious life, from the First Sunday of Advent, Nov. 30, 2014, to the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, Feb. 2, 2016.
The Feb. 6 co-cathedral event, commemorating the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, will start with a 10 a.m. presentation by Dominican Sister Malia Dominica Wong followed by testimony by musician-vocalist Shanita Akana, and Mass at 10:30 a.m. A reception will follow.
Hawaii observed the year primarily with traveling exhibits heralding the contributions of religious communities in Hawaii that on weekends visited nearly every parish, mission and school in the state. Groups of sisters, brothers and priests accompanied the exhibits, engaging in dialogue about their religious vocations.
The exhibits were envisioned and realized by then diocesan director of vocations Sister Malia Dominica who also compiled stories and pictures from each parish visit for the souvenir book, “A Pilgrimage Through Time,” which will be presented to each religious order at the Feb. 6 closing event.
The 296-page volume also contains the narratives of the dozens of religious congregations who have worked in Hawaii over the past two centuries, and the histories of each island parish, nearly all of which were shaped in one way or another by the sacrifice and dedication of religious orders.
Based on the premise that a religious calling does not emerge from a vacuum, but blooms in families, schools and parishes, cultivated by parents, teachers, pastors, mentors and others, the book also lists the names of local sisters, brothers and priests, past and present, alive and deceased, linking them to their home parishes where possible.
The book includes names of island-born men and women who found their calling on the Mainland and elsewhere and priests from other places ordained expressly for the Diocese of Honolulu.
Bonus back pages feature pictures of, and quotes by and about, the parents of priests, religious sisters and religious brothers.
