“Thanks from the bottom of our heart for your daily witness, which nourishes our hopes and our dreams, and gives us continuous glimmers of light.”
These were the words of thanks that Pope Francis heard on the afternoon of his 80th birthday, Dec. 17, after celebrating breakfast with a group of homeless persons. This heartfelt message came to our Holy Father through his special exchange with 60 prisoners in an Italian jail.
Pope Francis expressed his gratitude for this birthday blessing by saying, “I thank you all so much for your tenderness, your closeness — and I ask the Lord to bless you — may the Lord bless every one of you: your families, your parents, your brothers and sisters, your children. God bless you all.”
The pope likes to preach by “walking the talk” of encountering God with “vulnerable others.” He has said, “it is important to be ready to encounter others … Because faith is an encounter with Jesus, and we must do what Jesus does: encounter others.”
Our faith’s sacred Christmas story talks about encountering God who created us in his image revealed in a very vulnerable child laying in a manger. Our Holy Father Francis calls all to encounter this birthday blessing of God not only during the holidays, but everyday through the way we reflect God’s image of ministering with the “vulnerable others” in our families, parishes, and planet.
One wonderful image of that blessed encounter can be found in St. Augustine Parish in Waikiki, where multiple ministries of mercy provide opportunities for special encounters with the vulnerable. On weekdays a hot lunch prepared by a “three-star” chef is served in the parish center where homeless persons can connect with community partners such as Waikiki Community Health Center, Institute for Human Services and Catholic Charities Hawaii.
Parishioners supply food and other support for Family Promise, which helps transition homeless families into permanent housing. The parish partners with formerly homeless kupuna at Mother Marianne’s Farm, reaching out every Tuesday to the houseless in Waianae harbor. St. Augustine parish also collects funds to send wheelchairs to the needy in the Philippines.
Parishioners’ deepen their encounter of God through global solidarity by participating in the Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl campaign, which in 2017 features our diocese’s “Story of Hope” — One Ohana: Food and Housing for All.
St. Augustine parish is just one example our diocese has of deepening the encounter with God through reaching out and ministering with vulnerable “others.” These encounters mirror what the shepherds and magi experienced seeking God revealed in a Holy Family huddled in a stable, and who became refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East.
We are all invited to “talk story” and “walk the talk” about encountering Christ in mercy ministries. We can give thanks everyday for Christ’s birthday blessing by sharing our special gifts of time, talent and treasure throughout a new year which promises joy, hope and aloha from our witness to Jesus in vulnerable “others.”
Mahalo. Hau‘oli Makakiki Hou.
Your friends at the
Office for Social Ministry
