16 May 2024
As I write this column, showers from on high are soaking the dry earth of Kapahulu. It is a quiet day except for the gentle sound of the rainfall. I am grateful that the church has replaced every roof on the property in recent memory.
Today is the Octave of the Ascension, and I must thank everyone for the beautiful worship we enjoyed this past week. The choir was superb at the Ascension Day Sung Mass, as well as at our Sung Mass for Saints Damien and Marianne last Saturday. We must also thank the Altar and Flower Guilds for their devotion, and for the acolytes and ushers who faithfully served at the liturgies.
On Wednesday night we gathered for the monthly requiem mass, and this included our parishioners who are members of the Guild of All Souls. The Guild of All Souls is one of the historic Anglo-Catholic devotional societies committed to praying for the dead and affirming the doctrine of the resurrection. The next Requiem Mass has been scheduled for Wednesday, June 12. We begin with Vespers of the Dead and the Holy Rosary at 6:00 pm, followed by a Sung Requiem Mass at 7:00 pm. All are welcome to join us, as we remember those with death anniversaries within the current month. More and more, we have been receiving names of the faithful departed from Christians beyond Hawai‘i, as many churches no longer remember the dead at their liturgies.
Sunday is the fiftieth day of Easter - the Day of Pentecost - and our celebration of the Holy Spirit will spread over an octave, culminating on Trinity Sunday. Unbeknownst to most Christians, Pentecost Day is second only to Easter Day, and as a feast it is much more important than Christmas. You are welcome to wear red this Sunday, and please do join us at the Cathedral on Saturday night for the Vigil Mass when Joan and Kali will be confirmed. On Sunday after the High Mass I will lead a forum in the Parish Hall on Pentecost Day and other upcoming feasts.
Regarding upcoming feasts, I made the decision to cancel the scheduled high mass for the Feast of the Visitation on Friday, May 31. The 12:00 noon mass will be celebrated as usual for those desiring to celebrate the day. We also have a delightful Marian morning scheduled for Saturday, June 8. Those who are interested in being a part of our parish Marian Society are especially encouraged to join us for this time of worship and fellowship.
We will celebrate Corpus Christi as a parish on Sunday, June 2. At the 11:00 am High Mass our hope is to finally succeed in having a neighborhood procession of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by Benediction in the church. This hope for a Sacramental Procession through the streets has been foiled year after year recently. The pandemic squashed some years, inclement weather ruined plans other years, and last year my sabbatical required that particular feasts be simplified.
Our hope is to process around a couple of our neighborhood blocks. The choir will lead us with familiar hymns, and we have devised a reasonable route that does not require crossing Kapahulu Avenue, due to the city's removal of several crosswalks. If we succeed, the procession will be a witness and reminder of our presence in the neighborhood. When we have done neighborhood processions before, bystanders have enjoyed and encouraged our presence, snapping selfies and waving shakas. Without St. Mark's, Kapahulu is not really Kapahulu.
I wish you and your loved ones a happy Pentecost feast.
Father Paul Lillie +
