By Deacon Marlowe Sabater
Special to the Herald
It was Friday, April 17; I was driving along Nimitz Highway, heading to Pier 36-38 to distribute flyers inviting seafarers to attend the Mass scheduled for the following day, when a text message popped up on my phone: “Morning po, ano oras po yung misa, kuya, tapos saan ang venue po?” (“Good morning, what time is the Mass and where will it be held?”).
It was from one of the fishers on a vessel that just arrived after a 26-day trip. I can’t help but smile and be inspired by their yearning for the word of God and for receiving the holy Eucharist.
That Sunday, April 19, was the third Sunday of Easter, with the Gospel from Luke 24:13-35 — known as “On the Road to Emmaus.” The Gospel made me think about how fishers go out to the ocean from the pier where we celebrate Mass, much like the disciples walking away from Jerusalem toward Emmaus.
At the pier, there is a sense of a larger community, the different parts of the body of Christ, where we share a common faith and encounter the real presence of Christ himself through the Eucharist. The fishers bring this intimate encounter out into the open ocean, much like Jesus walking with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, continually burning their hearts with the Scriptures and looking forward to returning to the pier to break bread once again.
More and more fishers come to the Apostleship of the Sea-Hawaii Mass — 32 from nine different vessels attended the Mass on the third Sunday of Easter, 26 from the Philippines and six from Vietnam.
They look forward to the third Saturdays of the month, when the faithful gather as one body to celebrate the memorial of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, receiving Christ himself in the Eucharist. After we partake in the heavenly banquet, fishers sit down with parishioners and share in an earthly meal.
Father Mark Bristol, the Navy chaplain for the 3rd Radio Battalion at Marine Corps Base Hawaii and a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, welcomed his fellow sailors and celebrated the Mass. He reminded those present that Jesus always accompanies us in our life journey, and sometimes we just fail to recognize him. He is someone we can lean on when we are not strong, and he is a friend who will help us carry on.
The Apostleship of the Sea-Hawaii Ministry family is growing beyond seafarers; parishioners from different parishes have come to share their blessings. The Women’s Group from Resurrection of the Lord Church in Waipio Gentry hosted the fellowship dinner and provided gift bags for each of the seafarers. A couple from St. Jude Church in Kapolei always brings vegetables and fruits to share.
And from the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu, the Social Ministry and the Knights of Peter Claver witness to Christ through their service in supporting the Mass sponsors and guests.
A member of the Women’s Group told me that her heart was touched by the seafarers’ stories about enduring the challenges of their work for their families back home. This pulled me back again to reflect on the disciples speaking with Jesus, whom they did not recognize, and on how their hearts burned when he opened the Scriptures to them.
Living out the Gospel message tends to touch the heart. The sacrifices our seafarers had to endure to raise their families back in their home countries follow the sacrifice Jesus made for us so we can raise our families in the faith toward our heavenly home.
Through this ministry of charity, we raise a whole new family of faith, ensuring that we see Jesus accompanying us on every kind of journey — whether it be out to sea, through our daily life or through our journey of faith. Jesus is not only our companion for the journey but the waypoint to which every journey must end.
To join or support the Apostleship of the Sea-Hawaii Ministry, contact Deacon Marlowe Sabater at mgsabater@rcchawaii.org or (808) 729-7053.
Deacon Marlowe Sabater is co-coordinator of the Apostleship of the Sea-Hawaii Ministry, based at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.
Above: Seafarers from nine fishing vessels were joined by the Women’s Group from Resurrection of the Lord Church in Waipio Gentry, the Social Ministry from the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu and the Apostleship of the Sea-Hawaii Ministry for Mass and fellowship at Pier 36-38 in Honolulu. (Courtesy Deacon Marlowe Sabater)