VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP Hawaii Catholic Herald
Growing up in Honolulu, my family used to go to Mass at St. Augustine Church in Waikiki. I remember when I was in the eighth grade, that a priest had asked me if I wanted to become a priest. I was only 12 years old then, how did I know what I wanted to do? Eventually though, the Scripture caught up with me: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.” (John 15:16)
I was ordained for the Diocese of Oakland in 1991 and served in various parishes: St. Augustine Parish, Pleasanton; Christ the King Parish, Pleasant Hill; St. Joan of Arc Parish, San Ramon; St. Bonaventure Parish, Concord; Church of the Good Shepherd, Pittsburg; Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Brentwood and St. Barnabas Parish, Alameda. After 15 years of parish life, I went to the Catholic University of America and got my degree in canon law. At present, I work with the Tribunal of the Diocese of Oakland as an ecclesiastical judge and still go out to the parishes to help out.
Last year I celebrated my 25th anniversary of ordination. When I reflect on the years of ministry, I really do see that God has been there to sustain and support me. The Scripture that I like most comes from John 15:5: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” Nothing I do is my work; it is not my personal work. It is the work of Christ. I have to remember that I am just a branch. St. John XXIII said supposedly in a prayer, “Lord, it is your church. I’m going to bed.”
In another Gospel story, the disciples basically asked Jesus, “What is in it for us if we follow you?” And Jesus answered, “I give you my word, there is no one who has given up home, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children and property for me and for the gospel who will not receive in this present age a hundred times as many homes, brothers and sisters, mothers, children, and property — and persecution besides — and in the age to come, everlasting life.” (Mk 10:28-30)
Everything depends on Jesus, not on me. There have been rough times, bumps along the way. But God has always been there. We will always find support when we place our confidence in Jesus. He is the bedrock and the foundation; the vine of which we are the branches.
Father Herman Leong was born in Honolulu and is a priest of the Diocese of Oakland. He was one of the first graduates of Damien High School. He has been ordained 26 years. He is back in Hawaii to help care for his elderly mother.
