Excerpts from Bishop Larry Silva’s homily during Mass celebrating the ordination to the diaconate of John Jacob Akau:
Deacon John Jacob Akau, bedecked with lei, stood next to Bishop Larry Silva and among the clergy and other participants in his ordina-tion Mass July 12 at St. Joseph Church in Hilo.
“The plan of Jesus is to have his Gospel erupt from Jerusalem and grow to cover the entire world, and that was fulfilled in a dramatic way by the missionaries who came to set this part of the world on fire with God’s redeeming love. … From the moment of your baptism, John, you have been part of this plan with the love of God, bubbling up gradually in your heart growing little by little over the years and finally erupting in such a full commitment that you have offered yourself today to serve the Lord and his beloved people in a special way as an ordained minister.”
“He has called you, John, in a special way and placed the fire of the Holy Spirit in the very core of your being, so that from this day on you will bring growth to the church…”