OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“As soon as Mary knew she was going to be the mother of God … the first thing she did was to set out on a journey, in haste, to serve, to help. You, too, have to learn from her to set out on a journey to help others.” (Pope Francis, World Youth Day, Lisbon, 2023)
For the August 2023 World Youth Day celebrations in Portugal, Pope Francis chose the Gospel passage: “Mary arose and went with haste.” The pontiff pointed out that “after the Annunciation, Mary could have focused on herself and her own worries and fears about her new condition. Instead, she entrusted herself completely to God. Her thoughts turned to Elizabeth,” her pregnant elderly relative in need.
Our Holy Father spoke about the importance of being like Mary, hastening to those in need. “At this moment in time, we are facing enormous challenges … we hear the painful plea of so many people. Yet, let us find the courage to see our world not as in its death throes, but in a process of giving birth, not at the end, but at the beginning of a great new chapter of history.”
Pope Francis’s presence in Portugal included a pilgrimage to Fatima, where he prayed in silence at the site where Mary miraculously appeared to three peasant children in 1917. Placing a gold rosary at the foot of Our Lady’s statue, he revealed later: “I prayed in silence for peace, with pain [in my heart], before the Madonna, who always hastens to us whenever there is trouble … She always points us to Jesus … and she told the servants ‘to do whatever Jesus asks’ and invites us to do the same.”
More than 200,000 pilgrims were at Fatima cheering the pope. Yet along with the resounding cheers and silent prayer, an ominous backdrop of forest fires from Portugal’s summer heat wave hovered above the Chapel of Apparitions as ashes from the fires fell upon the area.
This apocalyptic background also horrifically appeared here in Hawaii a few days later, as terrifying wildfires fed by hurricane winds whipped through Maui’s historic village of Lahaina. In the aftermath of this catastrophic tragedy, the pope along with the whole world prayed for those suffering from the devastating Maui wildfires, as the entire local community rallied with compassion to hasten in support of those in need.
Within hours of the devastation, Mental Health America of Hawaii sent out information about resource materials for those seeking relief in the face of disaster (see www.officeforsocialministry.org/disaster-distress-resources/). Diocesan staff hastened to locate parishioners in trouble while volunteers across all islands hustled to organize impromptu donation drives for emergency supplies. Shipping company P&R Water Taxi, with support from the Boy Scouts, ILWU, Hawaii Stevedores, Pasha Hawaii, and Young Brothers helped coordinate a “Fill Da Boat” initiative within a day after the tragic fires. The Oahu community turned out in solidarity, gathering goods and non-perishable foods to fill the boat in six hours so that essential supplies could be delivered to Kahului harbor the very next morning.
Bishop Larry Silva, who just returned from the World Youth Day in Portugal, made haste to address the diocese with Msgr. Terrence Watanabe, Vicar of Maui, delivering a message of solace: “As a community of faith, we are called to come together and provide unwavering support to those who are suffering. It is in times like these that our collective love, faith and compassion can make a tremendous difference.”
The diocese also immediately set up a donation fund account through the non-profit Hawaii Catholic Community Foundation (HCCF) to “lend a hand to those who have lost so much.” Please visit the following link to contribute to the Hawaii Catholic Community Foundation fund for Maui Fires Relief https://tinyurl.com/MauiCatholic.
The Vatican also released a message from the pope. “His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and the destruction caused by the wildfires on the Hawaiian Island of Maui, and he expresses his solidarity with all those suffering from the tragedy, especially those whose loved ones have died or are missing.”
“His Holiness also offers the assurance of prayers for the dead, injured and displaced, as well as for the first responders and emergency personnel, as a sign of his spiritual closeness, the Holy Father willingly invokes upon all the people of Maui Almighty God’s blessing of strength and peace.”
May we all strive to be more like our Mother Mary as we arise out of the ashes and hasten to those in trouble and help those in need. In the words of our Bishop Silva: “May we find the grace to rebuild our families, their livelihoods, and the physical structures that were lost. Let our faith guide us as we navigate the challenges ahead, knowing that with the grace of God, all things are possible. May God bless you all abundantly, and may our efforts bring comfort and hope to those in need. Maria Lanakila (Our Lady of Victory), pray for us!”
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
