Photo by Luis Quintero on Unsplash
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“Every event and need can become an offering of thanksgiving.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
During this season, it is easy to get wrapped up in the chaos of shopping or planning to see loved ones. Amid the holiday hustle and bustle, it is vital to keep the focus of all activity on giving thanks. As Catholics, giving thanks is at the heart of our eucharistic faith. In his final holiday homily of 2020, Pope Francis emphasized that the Greek word “Eucharist” literally means giving thanks: “The prayer of thanksgiving always begins here: to recognize that grace precedes us. We were thought of before we learned how to think; we were loved before we learned how to love; we were desired before our hearts conceived a desire. If we view life like this, then ‘thank you’ becomes the driving force of our day.”
Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis has consistently connected the theme of joyfully giving thanks to the Christian joy of sharing with others in need. In a December 2014 Advent homily, the Holy Father said: “We find Christian joy in giving thanks to God … We are Christians. ‘Christian’ comes from ‘Christ’, and ‘Christ’ means ‘anointed’ … And why are we anointed? To do what? ‘He sent me to bring the good news.’ To whom? ‘To the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor’ (Isaiah 61:1 and Luke 4;18). This is the vocation of Christ and the vocation of Christians as well.”
Here in our Diocese of Honolulu, there are ample opportunities to give thanks and spread Christian joy by sharing blessings with others in need. Many Catholics are joining other local churches and faith-based community groups to collect funds, food and presents for families in need this holiday season.
For example, the Oahu Going Home Holiday Makana Care-Package project involves parishioners from Mary Star of the Sea, St. Ann, St. Anthony, and Resurrection of the Lord parishes with Mystical Rose Oratory and the Lay Marianist Faith of the Heart Community at Chaminade University. They are working with volunteers from Sacred Hearts Academy, Saint Louis School, Damien Memorial, Maryknoll School and Chaminade campus ministry and alumni in a collaboration with staff from the Women’s Community Correctional Center (WCCC) and the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF).
This holiday initiative has raised funds from the State Council of Hawaiian Congregational Churches, the Kaliakamana Hou Congregational Church on Molokai, Kaumakapili Church on Oahu, Kauahaao Congregational Church in Naalehu on the Big Island, the Pua Foundation, and the diocesan Office for Social Ministry to provide Christmas gift care-packages for families affected by incarceration. The care packages include backpacks with hygiene kits, inspirational notebooks, Christmas cards, candy, gingerbread house kits, puzzles, educational books, crayons, pencils and other goodies for 225 women in WCCC; 135 children of 61 WCCC moms; 45 women released from WCCC in transitional houses; and 25 juveniles at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility.
For more information on ways to give thanks by sharing Christian joy during these holidays, please visit the Office for Social Ministry website www.officeforsocialministry.org.
May the Christian joy of the holiday season be with you. In the words of St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians 1:2 : “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.”
Mahalo,
Your friends from the Office for Social Ministry
