Office for Social Ministry
“God always loves us first. The beauty of the sea, this island and your faces is a reflection of his gratuitous initiative: Love precedes us, surrounds us and brings us together. The Gospel resounds where peoples meet, people welcome one another, their lives intertwine and different cultures engage in dialogue.” (Pope Leo XIV, homily at Lampedusa, July 4)
Sharing a meal with others is deeply rooted in the Gospel. Jesus gathered people around meals. There Christ welcomed the stranger, restored relationships, forgave sins and reminded everyone that all are invited to the table of the Lord.
Throughout the Gospels, meals became moments of encounter, healing, reconciliation and hope.
In this Gospel spirit, on July 11, one week after celebrating Eucharist with migrants and refugees on the island of Lampedusa, Pope Leo XIV welcomed 200 poor and vulnerable guests to a special summer celebration in the Borgo Laudato Si’ papal gardens of Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Leo’s pastoral ministry is continually encountering and celebrating with persons suffering on the margins, reminding the world that the Gospel comes alive when we are compassionately accompanying one another with dignity, gratitude and love.
The summer gathering at Castel Gandolfo began by celebrating the newly approved Mass for the Care of Creation with Pope Leo and a walk through the papal gardens which Pope Francis converted into the Borgo Laudato Si’ sustainable ecological project.
There, migrant refugees, former prisoners, women who have survived abuse, and others rebuilding their lives receive formation in meaningful work, caring for the land in a sustainable way, cultivating, preparing and serving nourishing meals shared with others all as one family.
This “Lunch with the Pope” was organized by the Borgo Laudato Si’ Center for Advanced Formation, the Dicastery for the Service of Charity and the Diocese of Rome. They hope it becomes an annual tradition, inviting people living in fragile circumstances to be embraced by the healing, hopeful care of nature and human hospitality.
At first glance, celebrating an “ecological” Eucharistic liturgy and sharing a nourishing lunch with people living on the margins may appear to be two separate ministries. Yet Pope Francis taught us through “Laudato Si’” that caring for our common home and caring for the poor are inseparable in the church’s evangelizing mission.
Pope Leo now carries forward this missionary vision, reminding us that all the barriers to sharing as one family of God’s children can be overcome with Christ who calls us to evangelize by preaching the Gospel though living it.
At Lampedusa, Pope Leo spoke about the Gospel mission of the church: “The parish, in particular, should be a community where, guided by the Gospel, we learn to welcome, accompany and integrate one another in a spirit of communion.”
That happened at the Borgo Laudato Si’ summer celebration. Vulnerable people shared the Eucharist and a meal as brothers and sisters, reminding all that every person has a place at the table in the common home of God’s family.
Sacred footsteps
In Hawaii, that same Gospel message resonated throughout the islands on July 9 as we began celebrating together the bicentennial anniversary of the first Catholic missionaries’ arrival here.
For nearly two centuries, Christians have proclaimed the Gospel through sharing the Eucharist and compassionate acts of mercy. By following in the missionary footsteps of Sts. Damien and Marianne of Molokai, generations of faithful have shared Christ’s love through witnessing to Jesus and building the Kingdom of God.
Today, we continue following in their footsteps through ministries that welcome people from everywhere.
On July 12, Bishop Larry Silva celebrated the Apostleship of the Sea-Hawaii Mass at Honolulu’s Pier 36 where seafarers far from home are welcomed with the Eucharist, friendship and a shared meal prepared by parishioners from the Basic Christian Communities.
On July 18, parishioners and the Pua Foundation will celebrate another ‘Ohana Day with incarcerated women and their families at the Women’s Correctional Community Center in Kailua. These community ‘Ohana Days foster healing, reconciliation and hope.
Every week across the islands, in good times and bad, through fires and floods, parishioners gather around the Eucharistic table and go forth to serve, collaborating with community organizations to distribute food, feed the hungry, visit the sick, shelter the houseless and care for our common home.
These ministries are precisely the kind of faithful day-by-day acts which Pope Leo describes as vital for what he calls building a “civilization of love.”
Bishop Silva also has often reminded us that we are called to “Witness to Jesus” inside and outside of our churches. That witness includes whenever we make room for one more person, responding to others in need — around the altar, and at our tables in our homes, in our parish halls, at our workplaces, and throughout our communities, building the kingdom of God together.
Pope Leo’s visit to Lampedusa and the Borgo Laudato Si’ summer celebration remind us that we were all first loved by God as our Creator’s sons and daughters, brothers and sisters all. As we celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of Catholic faith growing in Hawaii, may we continue to follow in the footsteps of those missionaries who came before us, building communities “where people welcome one another, their lives intertwine and different cultures engage in dialogue.”
For more on this, visit the Vatican website and Diocese of Honolulu’s Office for Social Ministry website at www.humandevelopment.va and www.officeforsocialministry.org.
Mahalo,
Your friends in the Office for Social Ministry