OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“I do not want to write this encyclical without turning to that attractive and compelling figure, whose name I took as my guide and inspiration when I was elected Bishop of Rome. I believe that St. Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology, and he is also much loved by non-Christians. He was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.” (Pope Francis, from his encyclical “Laudato Si’”)
On Oct. 4 we celebrated the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. As the words above indicate, St. Francis was an important inspiration for Pope Francis and his encyclical “Laudato Si’.” The title comes from St. Francis’ “Canticle of the Creatures.” For the past three months, we have been invoking the encyclical to gather folks from parish social ministries around the diocese for “talk story” enrichment days.
In “Laudato Si’” and this Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis continually calls us to “deepen our conviction that we are one human family” and reminds us how God is revealed in the vulnerable. This is why we need to “hear the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth” and together “care for our common home.”
During our vicariate “talk story” sessions, we reflected on the words of Pope Francis and St. Francis about “care for the poor and creation.” In a recent gathering of parishes from the east and west Honolulu vicariates, we talked about social ministries with the poor — how St. Philomena and Our Lady of Mount Carmel fed the residents at Next Step homeless shelter, how Our Lady of Peace Cathedral sponsored movie nights with “street people,” and how St. John the Baptist food pantry involved Hawaiian, Samoan, Micronesian, Filipino and Chinese parishioners serving the hungry.
We heard about the collaboration between St. Theresa and Sts. Peter and Paul food ministries with and for kupuna. St. Augustine talked of its parish ministries with the homeless. They support Family Promise of Hawaii and provide daily lunch in the church parking lot with Rainbow Drive-In, accompanied by housing and health services through the Institute for Human Services, Waikiki Health Center and Catholic Charities Hawaii.
On the Big Island, parishioners from St. Michael in Kona and Annunciation in Waimea came together in the spirit of “Laudato Si’” and St. Francis to “talk story” about their food ministries that connect with parish, school and community gardens, and farmers markets, plus their backpack and mentor programs for hungry children.
We explored ways for parishes to get involved in landlord-tenant programs with HOPE Services Hawaii and Catholic Charities to provide affordable housing for low income and homeless families. We shared the “good news” about St. Benedict’s food pantry being supported through the sale of local crafts to tourists visiting the Painted Church, and Hawi’s Sacred Heart food pantry providing fresh poi produced by parishioners working with other communities of faith on a nearby Ohana cooperative farm.
Our vicariate talk story sessions this year ended with the joyful challenge of St. Francis and Pope Francis reminding us all “how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.” “Laudato Si’” — “Praise be the Lord.” Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
