OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“God himself is a community, that perfect community of love, three persons in one God and that is what we are called to be. We are never to be alone. We know that we are part of an ohana —that God is always a part of that family. God is always the one who calls us into that family.” (Bishop Larry Silva, from the “One Ohana” video series on the sacraments)
Bishop Larry Silva’s 75th birthday this month provides an opportunity to reflect upon his years of loving service witnessing to Jesus in the Diocese of Honolulu.
Over the last decade, the Office for Social Ministry has been blessed to participate in the production of the diocese’s award-winning “One Ohana” video series on the sacraments, which expressed some of Bishop Silva’s inspiring pastoral reflections.
This Talk Story column will highlight some of his many memorable quotes from these videos.
The first of the “One Ohana” videos featured the sacrament of baptism, in which Bishop Larry eloquently lifted up the vital connection of faith and family. He compared the joyful gift of a child’s birth to the experience of God’s beauty.
“As you welcome your child into the world and you are filled with joy in the birth of this child, we thank God with you for this wonderful gift. There is a beauty in your child that you see and that so many others see. It is reflective of the great beauty that we experience here in the islands through the mountains, the sea, the flowers, the great beauty of the diversity of our people, the diversity of language and foods, and cultures. It really is the reflection of the diversity of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Baptism is the initial way in which God envelops us in his love and we are welcomed into the Catholic community, an ohana of aloha.
“This is the community of the great love in which your child is to be baptized and we rejoice, we welcome you. Baptism is the first embrace of God. It is the first way that God puts all of his creation around us, soaks us in the embrace of his love. We are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The second video of the series focused on the sacrament of the Eucharist, which Bishop Silva identified as central to the Catholic faith.
“While baptism is the first sacrament of initiation, the Eucharist is truly the source of from which all sacraments flow. The celebration of the Eucharist in a Mass is where we often begin our journey of faith on earth, first in baptism and ended in a funeral. During our lives we often celebrate other sacraments like confirmation, marriage, holy orders and even anointing in the celebration of the Eucharist.”
Bishop Silva reminded us that Jesus celebrated the first Eucharist at the Last Supper.
“And just as we here in Hawaii enjoy sharing the meal with family and friends, we as Catholics around the world share a sacred meal to remind us of the sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.
“Jesus asked us to do this in memory of him and he left us his presence in the form of food so that we could always be nourished and be with him always. He gives us our daily bread so that we can also be broken, shared, and like wine be poured out in service and love for others.”
Bishop Silva underscored “the mission that Jesus has for us is to take him who is our living bread come down from heaven, and to multiply him. And so when we reach out to the poor, when we visit the sick, when we visit those who are imprisoned, when we comfort those who are mourning, we are the presence of Jesus.”
Bishop Silva said he thinks of Jesus as the “greatest fisherman.”
“Jesus knows that we need a little bait, so he tells us when we eat the bread, his body, and drink the wine, his blood, we will live forever. That’s the bait. But Jesus is so wise that he knows that this will make us hungrier, hungrier for serving others.
“St. Damien certainly knew that. He hungered to be with the patients with leprosy so that he could serve them in the name of Christ. Mother Marianne certainly had that hunger, she had been caught by Jesus. She hungered for the work of serving those who others did not want to serve.”
In this video, Bishop Silva reminded all that the literal meaning of the Eucharist is to give thanks, “and what we give thanks for mostly is the fact that God loves us so much that he sent his son. So let us do these things in memory of Jesus. Let us be bread broken and wine poured out as one ohana, witness to Jesus by sharing all the wonderful blessings that God has given us.”
As we celebrate Bishop Silva’s 75th birthday, let us as one ohana give thanks for God’s blessing of Bishop Silva’s loving presence and his calling all to witness to Jesus.
For more of his inspiring reflections on the sacraments in the “One Ohana” video series, please visit the diocese’s website at www.catholichawaii.org.
Mahalo,
your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
