The original cemetery for Our Lady of the Mount Parish in Kalihi Valley is mostly lost, with a few headstones still visible. (HCH Photo: Anna Weaver)
RESTING IN PEACE
The beloved and comforting concept of “ohana” (family) is deep-rooted in the hearts and minds of the people of Hawaii.
We thrive on our love for our immediate and extended families, which often include dear friends. In turn, we flourish and are nurtured by the love our families have for us. We feel it at our family gatherings on holidays, at birthdays, potlucks, baby luaus, weddings and retirement parties. Our hearts swell with love and connection when we attend services — even “remote” services in this era of pandemic. Hugs, kisses, handshakes, shakas,“‘Sup?” and “Howzit?” — all are part of the language unique to our “ohana philosophy,” which in turn is unique to these lovely islands we call home. Nothing gives us more joy than to be with and to love our ohana.
As people of faith, we also experience this profound joy at the end of our earthly lives. The commemoration and celebration of a loved one’s life — and death — is a promise that our love for them will continue forever. Whether one is Christian, Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist, funeral services are a grand culmination, a rousing finale, and the symbolic final hug, kiss and handshake for our loved one. They provide a perfect opportunity for us to remember and reconnect with what is most meaningful in life. They help us nurture and strengthen bonds with members of our ohana.
For many years in Hawaii, Catholics were buried in the graveyards of the churches in which they were baptized. That practice largely ended as many island churches closed and their cemeteries filled. Accordingly, except for a few neighbor island parishes, the privilege of being buried at their places of worship has been unavailable to Hawaii’s Catholics for decades.
But on Sept. 15, 2020, Gov. David Ige signed Act 022 (20) into law. This bill allows non-profit religious organizations to build and maintain columbaria on their properties. As Bishop Larry Silva wrote to Hawaii pastors on Sept. 15, the new law enables churches to “provide a quality continuum of spiritual care for [their] parishioners, while allowing multi-generational families to be laid to rest together and cared for in their chosen place of worship.”
The passage of this very important bill, thanks to our state lawmakers and the governor, represents both a recognition and a respect of our local culture and the wholeness of our love for family and friends in life and in death. Now, all of Hawaii’s faith communities — not just Catholics — may offer this much yearned-for ministry. Grieving families may receive a seamless and natural extension of spiritual care within their own worship communities. They’ll be able to experience the joy and serenity of knowing that their beloved ohana are laid to rest in their own places of worship.
For many of us Catholics, our home parishes are a connection to our past, with some families going back multiple generations. What a profound and exciting opportunity it will be for us to end our earthly journeys at the place that so faithfully provided us, and our predecessors, with the nourishment to flourish in our spiritual lives, and to know real joy.
Our next column will explore the theology and history of cremation and columbaria. Deacon Cabiles is the Chancellor of the Diocese of Honolulu.
