Bishop Larry Silva prays with other bishops during a Nov. 14 session of the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“Thank you to all those who have been so generous and so good with their time, their talent, and their treasure in helping this community to recover from this tragedy … You are all so wonderful. It’s amazing and inspiring to see all the work that you’ve done and the hope that you not just talk about, but live.” (Bishop Larry Silva, All Soul’s Day 2023 message, Sacred Hearts Church, Kapalua, Maui)
Bishop Larry Silva flew to Maui on Nov. 2 to remember the faithful departed on All Souls Day and to pray with the families who lost loved ones in the August wildfires. He offered a special Mass at the Sacred Hearts Church in Kapalua, while commending the local community for their continuous support. “We’re people who believe in Jesus, who died and rose from the dead,” he said. “There’s tragedy, there’s pain, there’s suffering. We acknowledge that, but we don’t stay there. We continue on; and I think people here have been an inspiring example.”
As we begin this holiday season with Thanksgiving and Giving Tuesday, Bishop Silva is also sharing a special video message of gratitude featuring the uplifting story of Sacred Hearts School, which belongs to the Lahaina parish of Maria Lanakila. The video can be found on the Office for Social Ministry website homepage www.officeforsocialministry.org and the Diocese of Honolulu website www.catholichawaii.org.
The historic town of Lahaina was devasted by the deadliest fires in our nation’s recent history, killing at least 100 beloved human beings, and destroying or severely damaging thousands of livelihoods, homes and community structures. In the midst of that destruction, the fires miraculously did not touch Lahaina’s Maria Lanakila parish church, but it did destroy most of the parish’s Sacred Hearts School. Two-thirds of the parish school’s 220 students were heavily impacted by losses, including 84 students and 12 staff whose homes were decimated.
The diocese’s “thanksgiving” video is an unscripted, from the heart, narrative of faith, resilience and aloha as the Sacred Hearts School rises from the ashes like a beacon of hope beaming from its temporary classroom tents. The video beautifully opens with young school children, teachers and parents singing a song of gratitude with hand movements expressing “thanks be to God” in various languages spoken here in Hawaii. It shows how the parish school has embraced its mission of providing learning opportunities not only for the students who were previously enrolled, but also for many public school students whose schools were consumed by the fire.
Sacred Hearts School opened its doors to provide impacted keiki a safe learning space which incorporates the values of the Gospel faith at its heart. As Msgr. Terry Watanabe succinctly summarizes in the video, “Catholic education is so important because this is where we’re able to share the values of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ with our students, even if they’re not Catholic. Faith in action, aloha spirit in action … all of that is making a difference!”
The story of Sacred Hearts School is not just about surviving; it’s about thriving and rebuilding Lahaina’s future. The school needs financial donations to continue assistance with tuition for the school’s diverse population. The Sacred Hearts School Tuition Assistance Fund has already begun to help many of its students, assistance it hopes to sustain for as long as possible. For more on how to help build the Tuition Assistance Fund, please visit the Hawaii Catholic Community Foundation at www.tinyurl.com/MauiCatholic.
This year, during the holidays, let us continue to pray for all impacted by the wildfires and give thanks that brings hope by helping the remarkably resilient Maui ohana rise again. Let us remember the words of Pope Francis about thanks-giving, bringing hope during the darkest days of the pandemic: “Above all, let us not forget to thank: if we are bearers of gratitude, the world itself will become better, even if only a little bit, but that is enough to transmit a bit of hope …The world needs hope. And with gratitude, with this habit of saying thank you, we transmit a bit of hope.”
Let us also remember Bishop Silva’s inspiring message immediately after the Maui wildfires. “In our collective prayers, we ask for strength, resilience and healing for the fire victims and their families. May we find the grace to rebuild our families, their livelihoods, and the physical structures that were lost. Let our faith guide us as we navigate the challenges ahead, knowing that with the grace of God, all things are possible. May God bless you all abundantly, and may our efforts bring comfort and hope to those in need.”
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
