By Anthony Selvanathan
Special to the Herald
A year from now, Catholics across Hawaii will celebrate 200 years since the arrival of the Catholic faith in these islands. Yet the bicentennial begins not next year, but now.
Important celebrations rarely begin on the day they are observed. The church has long understood that moments of great significance require preparation, reflection and gratitude. As our nation marks 250 years since its founding and the Catholic Church in Hawaii begins this yearlong journey toward its bicentennial, we are invited not only to remember the past, but to consider what we will carry into the future.
The church has always prepared for what matters. We do not arrive at Christmas without Advent or celebrate Easter without first walking through Lent. Before major feasts and milestones, the church invites us to slow down, reflect and prepare our hearts for what is to come.
In that spirit, the beginning of the bicentennial year is not merely the start of a countdown. It is an invitation to remember with gratitude the missionaries, religious, clergy and lay faithful who carried the Gospel to these islands and handed the faith on to future generations.
Yet the bicentennial is not only about the past. If it were, it would simply be a history lesson.
Instead, it asks a more personal question: What have we received, and what will we do with it?
As I reflect on the upcoming bicentennial, I find myself returning to that question. The faith we know did not begin with us. It was passed on by parents and grandparents, priests and religious, teachers and mentors, and countless faithful Catholics whose names may never appear in history books.
Their witness reminds me that the faith is never handed on automatically. Every generation receives it from those who came before and is entrusted with the responsibility of passing it on to those who will come after.
That realization makes the bicentennial feel more personal. It is not simply a celebration of what happened 200 years ago. It is an opportunity to consider what has been entrusted to us today.
The theme of the bicentennial, mission, reminds us that the church’s work is never complete. The Gospel is not only something we inherit; it is something we are called to share.
The same faith carried by the missionary priests and brothers of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, who crossed several oceans two centuries ago, must continue to find expression in our own time and circumstances.
Every generation receives an inheritance. Every generation is called to leave one behind.
The bicentennial also presents an opportunity for renewal, in line with the wider Catholic Church. Conversations sparked by the election of Pope Leo XIV, for example, have drawn many to take a fresh look at the church and seek a deeper understanding of the faith.
The bicentennial invites us to celebrate what previous generations accomplished. It also invites us to welcome others, reengage those who have drifted away and renew our own commitment to the Gospel.
This reflection takes on special significance as we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Peace on July 9. Her life reminds us that faith is first received before it is shared; she welcomed God’s invitation with trust and carried Christ into the world. She offers a model for this bicentennial year.
Before we arrive at the bicentennial of Catholicism in Hawaii, we are given a year to prepare:
To give thanks for those who came before us.
To reflect on the faith we have received.
And to ask how we are being called to hand it on.
The upcoming bicentennial invites us to do all three.