Seven couples stand at the altar after getting their marriages convalidated at Sacred Hearts Church in Lanai, Nov. 10. From left to right, the couples are: Ryan and Danette Rodrigues, Brandon and Regina Agliam, Carlo and Jerrilyn Yumol, Charlie and Jane Palumbo, Eddienyl and Medigale Badillo, Rodel and Myrah Llamelo, and Elmer and Glendaile Llamelo. With them, at center, are Bishop Larry Silva and Sacred Hearts pastor Father Jose Macoy.
Lanai’s tiny Sacred Hearts parish celebrates the convalidations of seven Island marriages
Story and photos by Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz
Hawaii Catholic Herald
LANAI CITY — The night of Nov. 10 will be one of joyful memories for the Catholic community of Lanai, as seven couples from Sacred Hearts Church had their marriages convalidated during a special Mass that celebrated faith, family and love.
Roughly 300 people gathered at the church in the heart of Lanai City for the ceremony presided over by Bishop Larry Silva. “Convalidation” allows couples that have been previously married “outside the church” to make their unions valid through the sacrament of matrimony.
Sacred Hearts is the only Catholic parish on Lanai, an island whose population, last tallied in 2010, was a little more than 3,000. The small, plantation-style church was beautifully decorated for the nuptial Mass with wedding-white ribbons and arrangements of red and pink Island flowers in the sanctuary.
At the start of the 5 p.m. liturgy, Bishop Silva processed to the altar with Sacred Hearts pastor Father Jose Macoy and Maui deacons Cornelio Pulido and Pat Constantino. Following the clergy were children of the seven convalidation couples serving as ring bearers and flower girls.
Receiving applause from their warm and vibrant parish ohana as they entered the church and walked down the aisle were the brides and grooms:
- Brandon and Regina Agliam
- Eddienyl and Medigale Badillo
- Elmer and Glendaile Llamelo
- Rodel and Myrah Llamelo
- Ryan and Danette Rodrigues
- Charlie and Jane Palumbo
- Carlo and Jerrilyn Yumol
Bishop Silva welcomed the standing-room-only congregation and called the occasion a day full of joy, “seven times over.”
The couples are all Lanai residents and parishioners at Sacred Hearts. Their journey to this unique ceremony began with announcements made at the church earlier this year by Father Macoy who invited any couple interested in receiving the sacrament of matrimony or convalidation to contact him via text message.
The pastor then arranged for an Engaged Encounter team comprised of members from across the diocese to prepare the Lanai couples to validate their marriages. At an Engaged Encounter weekend retreat Oct. 24-25, the couples participated in prayer, catechesis and reflection.
Leading up to the Nov. 10 Mass, they also met personally with Father Macoy and the parish staff.
The liturgy underscored themes of fidelity and unconditional service in marriage. The first reading from the Book of Sirach, for example, noted, “The choicest of blessings is a modest wife.” A popular wedding passage from 1Corinthians 13 was the second reading, highlighting the attributes of genuine love.
Bishop Silva in his homily recounted the tale of Don Quixote, the title character of a classic Spanish novel. In some adaptations of the literary work, Don Quixote falls in love with a woman named Aldonza, whom he sees as beautiful despite having what Bishop Silva summed up as a “loose” lifestyle.
The bishop explained that Aldonza became a “virtuous woman” through Don Quixote’s fervent belief in her. True married love, he said, can also transform hearts and lives with grace.
“Very few of us can say we are always virtuous,” Bishop Silva said. “Yet Jesus has come to tell us, ‘You are my beloved. You are the ones that I love so much that I gave my life for you.’”
“When we keep hearing that story over and over again, we believe it,” he added. “We begin to be patient and kind and loving and forgiving.”
Marriage, he noted, is a powerful testimony of God’s love that couples embody in all they do for a lifetime.
“Matrimony is not ‘what is in it for me,’” Bishop Silva said. “You are called to this beautiful sacrament to give yourself totally to each other, so that joy can be fruitful in your children and grandchildren someday, to witness your commitment no matter what.”
“Doesn’t the world need that so much?”
After the homily, each of the seven couples took turns stepping forward to the altar to profess their marital vows. Bishop Silva then blessed the rings carried to the sanctuary by the couples’ children, and all of the couples stood before the congregation as they exchanged their wedding bands.
The church rang with cheers as the sacramental rite concluded.
After Communion, Ryan Rodrigues, representing the couples, thanked the Sacred Hearts parish council and finance committee, and the Engaged Encounter team.
Rodrigues encouraged those not yet married in the church to have their unions convalidated.
“It is our hope that what you have witnessed here this evening may be shared with others in our parish and community,” he said.
Father Macoy ended the Mass with heartfelt words of advice for the newly convalidated couples.
“Enjoy your married life, but do not forget the one that gives you this grace,” he said. “The couple and the family that prays together, stays together.”
“There is nothing impossible with God,” he added.
