Maryknoll School students present Catholic Charities Hawaii with Thanksgiving donations.
Ohana and Gospel values inspire outreach at Catholic Charities Hawaii during Christmastime and beyond
By Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The diocesan presbyteral council and Bishop Larry Silva at a recent visit with Catholic Charities Hawaii staff.
A widowed mother raising two young daughters and a preteen son is aided into permanent housing, starting a new life from scratch after living in a transitional shelter for many months.
A family in West Oahu struggling to make ends meet a year ago now has fulltime employment, a thriving cleaning business and are pursuing their dreams and goals.
A disabled woman, her adult daughter and two young sons — survivors of many challenges — are provided rental subsidies and the support to stay focused for better days ahead.
A single mom is in the process of securing housing and getting ready for her next steps in work or school.
These stories of clients recently served by Catholic Charities Hawaii are inspiring snapshots of how sharing faith, hope and love can make a huge difference for the most vulnerable in our community.
As Christmas approaches, the redemptive story of Christ resonates in the work of Catholic Charities Hawaii staff, particularly with vice president of Catholic identity and mission Tina Andrade. The Hawaii Catholic Herald caught up with Andrade this month for her reflections on putting faith into action, and how Catholic Charities Hawaii strives to keep its programs and services deeply connected to Gospel values.
A local family provides Christmas gifts for community outreach. (Photos courtesy Catholic Charities Hawaii)
“For me, Christmas is about Jesus and his tremendous love for us,” Andrade said. “He is the light of the world who comes to us and drives out the darkness. God himself, born into a family brings hope, peace and freedom from the things that hold us captive. In doing that, Jesus made himself vulnerable in every way.”
“For our staff, we view everything through the lens of ohana,” Andrade added. “Just as Jesus came so that our human ohana would have an abundant life, our staff often journey with individuals and families to achieve the abundant life they imagine for themselves.”
Service in the Spirit
Catholic Charities Hawaii this year marked its 70th anniversary. According to the Catholic Charities Hawaii website, Bishop James J. Sweeney in the 1940s invited three Maryknoll Sisters from New York, including Sister Victoria Francis, a pioneer in modern social work, to Honolulu. They provided services for orphanages on Maui and Oahu, placed children in foster or adoptive homes, and offered family counseling.
Today, Catholic Charities is one of the largest social services agencies in Hawaii. More than 300 staffers and 30 programs provide multifaceted outreach on various islands, including services for seniors and Island keiki, family crisis support, homeless and housing solutions, immigration assistance and aid for persons with disabilities.
Andrade said Catholic Charities Hawaii offers help to anyone regardless of status or religious affiliation.
“We have four values that guide us in our work: dignity, compassion, social justice and a commitment to excellence,” she said. “Our belief in the dignity of each person is the foundational value upon which all other values support our work.”
“We understand that each person comes to us vulnerable having faced many disappointments and significant loss,” she added. “We meet them with compassion and help them to identify their strengths.
“We know that we cannot meet all of the needs of the people we serve, so our work for social justice ensures their needs are seen and heard by decision makers at every level to ensure just laws and policy. We work closely with other community partners because it takes all of us working toward the common good to improve the lives of the poor and vulnerable.”
Andrade noted that the Catholic Charities Hawaii symbol of an ulu or breadfruit plant is symbolic of “a source of sustenance and nourishment for the people we serve.” She explained that Hawaiians traditionally planted an ulu tree at the birth of a child; the hope of Catholic Charities is to cultivate in those in need the skills and confidence for a fresh, solid foundation.
“We see our work with the most vulnerable as making God’s love visible,” she said.
A mission to encounter
Volunteers, Andrade noted, play a great role in Catholic Charities Hawaii. Those looking to spend their extra time lending a hand can assist with visiting seniors and transporting them to appointments, tasks such as gardening, landscaping and painting, preparing for events, office work and writing to local legislators.
She encourages Island faithful to share their spirit in service at Christmastime and beyond.
“Each one of us has a personal call, mission if you will,” she said. “Jesus calls us to a life of encounter — to love our neighbor. We all have different abilities and there’s more than one way to serve our community.”
Andrade, a parishioner at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Pearl City who recently earned a master’s degree in pastoral theology, collaborates with a Catholic identity and mission advisory committee. Each month the committee sends out an email called “Saimin for the Soul” with reflection questions and talking points reminding staffers of ways to carry out their work with respect and grace.
Andrade said she is humbled to be able to live out her faith through her job at Catholic Charities Hawaii. Outreach to others is an eternal connecting point that heals divisions and brings people of different perspectives and experiences together for a greater purpose, one helping hand at a time.
She cites a quote from Pope Francis: “Do not tire of courageously living the Gospel, which calls you to recognize and welcome the Lord Jesus among the smallest and most vulnerable.”
“It is both a privilege and responsibility for us to serve,” Andrade said.