OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“How many disabled and suffering persons open their hearts to life again as soon as they realize they are loved! How much love can well up in a heart simply with a smile.… Each of us, sooner or later, is called to face — at times painfully — frailty and illness, both our own and those of others.” (Pope Francis 2018)
On a Sunday afternoon in June, Pope Francis made an impromptu visit to a Rome center for persons with disabilities, meeting with each of the 200 people there. He spent two hours with families of people with grave disabilities, saying he was grateful for the “family day.” He encouraged them to “believe in dreams and in the beauty of life in union with the Lord.”
The opportunity to encounter God in vulnerable persons, including those with disabilities, is a special gift that, as the pope reminds us, the Gospel invites us all to experience. In this light, the Office for Social Ministry has been blessed with the monthly Ohana Mass for families with persons with disabilities.
In August, this “gifted” community met at St. Stephen Diocesan Center for a special summer Mass to share in a presentation by one of its family members who recently went to Lourdes with the Knights of Malta, thanks in part to the generosity of their parish, Sts. Peter and Paul in Honolulu. The Mass offered an opportunity to experience the blessings of that pilgrimage of disabled persons, with their challenges and limitations, with their hopes and dreams.
Recently, the Office for Social Ministry received a call from a social worker at a local hospital who was assisting a young couple whose infant son had been born with a debilitating brain illness. Mom and dad brought their sweet little baby to this foreign land, so different from their island home of Chuuk, entrusting his care to medical personnel who spoke English and not their native Chuukese.
The baby spent three months in the hospital with mom at his side the entire time, sleeping on a pull-out chair in the hospital room. Meanwhile, dad found a job near downtown Honolulu. The medical team eventually discharged their patient into the care of his parents who will have to bring him back for ongoing treatment.
Essentially, this family is starting life anew.
Thanks to the very persistent and hard-working hospital social worker, and staff from We Are Oceania, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Micronesian families transition to life in Hawaii, the family found a place to live.
Generous friends of the social worker agreed to rent an apartment. Members of Hawaii’s Chuukese Catholic Community are reaching out to them as they continue their challenging journey, this special opportunity to encounter God.
The Office for Social Ministry is asking local parishes — their respect life, family life, food and outreach ministries — to kokua this family in need. Contact us at 203-6702 to help, and to experience the gift of encountering God by sharing the challenges, vulnerabilities, dreams and hopes of our journey together as one ohana.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry