Keola Kalani says his participation in many ministries at St. Elizabeth Church in Aiea “has grounded me much more in life.” (Courtesy Catholic Stewardship Consultants)
By Catholic Stewardship Consultants
www.CatholicSteward.com
As Keola Kalani reflects on his life as a Christian steward, he is struck by instance after instance of the Holy Spirit at work in his life.
“The Holy Spirit has definitely been at work in me,” Kalani says. “The Lord is so good in how he uses people and brings us closer to him.”
Kalani, a parishioner of St. Elizabeth Church in Aiea, wasn’t raised Catholic. Though he was baptized Catholic as an infant, Kalani was raised by his great-grandparents, who were practicing Mormons. Thus, his exposure to the Catholic Church was minimal.
“They would take me to the Mormon service, and they practiced the Mormon faith, so I was familiar with God, but I wasn’t really practicing any particular faith,” Kalani says. “My mom’s side of the family were practicing Catholics, but I wasn’t around them much.”
Then one day, Kalani’s life changed in a pivotal way when he went to Mass.
“I was a teenager at the time, and my uncle invited me to go to Mass with him and my cousins, and I went,” Kalani says. “After that, I never stopped going! I experienced something at Mass that I couldn’t explain. I didn’t really even know why, but I was drawn back to Mass time and time again.”
As he looks back, Kalani thinks it was the Holy Spirit drawing him in to the truth of the faith. But at the time, he simply knew he wanted to be there.
“It was so attractive to me,” Kalani says. “The statues, the candles, the crucifix and all the elements of the Mass — they spoke to me in a way I could not explain. Also, the music at Mass made a big impact on me. We had teen Mass at the time, and I was fascinated by everything.”
As a teenager, Kalani not only began attending Mass, but he also allowed the Holy Spirit to work in him, and he began investigating the Catholic faith.
“I wanted to know what was happening,” Kalani says. “I saw people going up for Communion, but I didn’t know what they were doing, and I was curious.”
Kalani enrolled in RCIA. That year, after going through the RCIA process, Kalani received his first Communion and confirmation, and began participating in Mass as a fully initiated Catholic. Still, the Holy Spirit would call him to do more.
“For a long time, I just went to Mass,” Kalani says. “I wasn’t involved in the parish ministries. Then one day, Father Joe called me and told me they were looking for members for the Stewardship Council, and he asked if I would consider being involved.”
Kalani didn’t know it then, but today, he pinpoints that as yet another moment when the Holy Spirit worked in him to call him deeper into a life of faith.
“I got involved simply because Father asked me to, and from that point on, I have been involved in many different ministries,” he says.
Currently, Kalani serves at St. Elizabeth as a lector, an extraordinary minister of holy communion, a member of the Stewardship Council, the chair of the Pastoral Council and more. He says that getting involved in the life of the parish has helped him to focus on Christ in all that he does.
“It has grounded me much more in life,” Kalani says. “It has helped me to orient my life around the church. It has allowed me to understand what I was brought into this world to do — to live a life of service, and it has given me fulfillment.”
Furthermore, Kalani’s service to the church has brought his mom and dad to Christ as well.
“My dad started bringing me to Mass, and he would stand outside in the parking lot and serve as parking lot security while I was in Mass,” Kalani says. “Then, we started serving as parking lot security together. Now, after having gone through RCIA himself, my dad is a practicing Catholic and the head usher for our parish. My mom was a Catholic who had fallen away from the faith, and she has come back!”
And as Kalani has recognized that his example, in part, brought his parents to Christ, he knows it was Christ working through him that brought them home.
“Everything good can be credited to Christ,” Kalani says.
Kalani encourages all of us to hold fast to that reality and, in gratitude for all the good God has done, give ourselves to him in loving service.
“Christ tells us, ‘Come, follow me,’” Kalani says. “We just need to show up. We need to be willing to give of ourselves, and the Holy Spirit will use us as he sees fit. You will be amazed by the sense of fulfillment and the realization that God has a purpose for your life. You need only to be willing to give of yourself. God will use you for his glory.”
