Pope Francis waves to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square before he imparts his Easter blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica April 9, 2023. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“We proclaim that he, the Lord of our life, is ‘the resurrection and the life’ of the world…May this Easter be for each of you, dear brothers and sisters, and in particular for the sick and the poor, the elderly and those experiencing moments of trial and weariness, a passage from affliction to consolation. We are not alone: Jesus, the Living One, is with us, forever.” (Pope Francis, “Urbi et Orbi” message, Easter Sunday April 9, 2023)
During this Paschal season that spans 50 days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, our Holy Father reminds us of the meaning behind Easter, which comes from the root word “pasch” — a passage. In his annual “Urbi et Orbi” papal message to the world, Pope Francis calls all to look to Christ’s hopeful passage from dark to light: “because in Jesus the decisive passage of humanity has been made: the passage from death to life, from sin to grace, from fear to confidence, from desolation to communion.”
Even amidst global tensions of war, climate change, and poverty, the pope asks us to look beyond the pockets of darkness and encourages all to “allow ourselves to experience amazement at the joyful proclamation of Easter, as the light that illumines the darkness and the gloom in which, all too often, our world finds itself enveloped.” The pontiff challenges us to focus on Christ’s paschal Passover from death to life as the path to overcome all obstacles by connecting with the needs of others in our community. “Let the Church and the world rejoice, for today our hopes no longer come up against the wall of death, for the Lord has built us a bridge to life.”
Many parish communities in our diocese are already actively building bridges to life through social ministry. During a recent Leeward Oahu Vicariate meeting at St. Jude Parish in Kapolei, participants opened their talk story session with a reflection from Pope Francis’ “Fratelli Tutti Prayer to the Creator” about “common projects and shared dreams.”
The gathering shared how they collaboratively face and overcome challenges in their efforts to continue nourishing families and communities on Oahu. Pastors spoke of how their volunteers and staff kept their food ministries alive (especially during the darkest days of the pandemic) by sharing their surplus food, including fresh produce, with all the vicariate parish food pantries.
The vicariate collaborative social ministry includes the parishes of St. Joseph in Waipahu, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ewa Beach and Immaculate Conception in Ewa, St. Jude in Kapolei, St. Rita in Nanakuli and Sacred Heart in Waianae. Together, they publish a comprehensive list of all the vicariate’s food pantries dates and times of services on a parish website: www.immaculateconceptionewa.org/leeward-area-food-pantries. Most of the vicariate’s food pantries partner with the Oahu Food Bank to assist in distribution of special programs, including senior food boxes. Some parishes involve young people who help aging kupuna carry their food boxes home.
Several parishes got creative in raising money to deliver bentos to the homebound and some parish hot meal programs are now being revived. The vicariate also participates in other collaborative social ministries with very vulnerable populations, including persons in prison. The vicariate meeting closed by sharing a delicious “ono” home-cooked meal prepared by parish kupuna, who are also vital volunteers at St. Jude Parish’s food pantry.
This beautiful collaboration is just one example of how vicariates in the diocese are building bridges to life and sharing the Easter message with others. As Christians we are called to follow Christ’s hope-full path this paschal season! In the words of our Holy Father: “May we rediscover the enjoyment of the journey, quicken the heartbeat of hope and experience a foretaste of the beauty of heaven!”
For more examples of collaborative social ministry, please visit the Office for Social Ministry website officeforsocialministry.org for sharing how to put faith into action as expressed in the Prayer to the Creator in Fratelli Tutti: “Lord, Father of our human family, you created all human beings equal in dignity: pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter, dialogue, justice and peace. Move us to create healthier societies and a more dignified world, a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war. May our hearts be open to all the peoples and nations of the earth. May we recognize the goodness and beauty that you have sown in each of us, and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects, and shared dreams. Amen.”
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
