4 December 2025
Dear Friends of St. Mark’s,
On Monday, December 8, the church celebrates the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You will not find this feast listed currently in the 1979 American Prayer Book, but it is celebrated in various churches throughout the Anglican Communion. For the Church in Hawai’i, it is important to note that this feast is included in the calendar of the Prayer Book of King Kamehameha IV published in 1862.
The celebration of Mary’s conception teaches us how in the life of Mary we begin to see how God is reversing the effects of the fall. Mary becomes the new Eve, and Christ becomes the new Adam. In Mary we see how it is that God is restoring the creation to its state of goodness as it was before Adam and Eve ate the apple. As God created humanity in the image of God, God has always desired for humanity to flourish and prosper in God’s goodness. The foil to this has been the gift of free will which humans have abused since the original fall.
During Advent we begin a new church year, and as the days are short, we are given the vision of the light arising on the horizon. Our salvation will be born in the Bethlehem stable later this December, and in the life of Mary’s “yes”, we begin to see the light of a new dawn breaking into our world and lives. Advent is a season of immense hope and quiet joy as we await the Savior who saves us from the doom of sin.
I hope you will join us for the Sundays of Advent, as well as the special high mass for the Immaculate Conception on Monday, December 8. If you have not been to the Rosary recitation before High Mass on Sundays, I commend those meditations to you as well. On Saturdays before the Vigil Mass, Vespers is sung in the church, and this service of chant and prayer is truly ethereal. Advent is also a good time to begin the practice of adding a weekday mass to one’s prayer life.
Finally, please note that I made the tough decision that the time has come to discontinue the Sunday morning Low Mass. This has been a decision I have been frankly avoiding for three years now. The Low Mass has never bounced back to life since the pandemic, and its numbers have steadily declined. It is a natural cycle that offerings come and go according to the ebb and flow of the church. A few are mourning this decision, and we must extend pastoral care to them. Necessary changes are often difficult, especially in the church. Thankfully, St. Mark’s overall is doing increasingly well, and we have much for which to rejoice.
I wish you and your loved ones a very blessed Advent.
Father Paul Lillie +
