HCH photo by Anna Weaver
Red Mass attendees led by Bishop Larry Silva bless public officials at the end of the Jan. 22 service.
At Red Mass, Damien presented as model of public service today
By Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald
Bishop Larry Silva made the connection right at the beginning, right after he greeted the government officials heading the list of guests at the 2009 Red Mass, the morning of Jan. 22, in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu.
“We gather in this sacred place where, in 1864, Damien was ordained a priest and became a public servant.”
The particular theme for this year’s Red Mass was Father Damien of Molokai, who will soon be canonized a saint. The permanent theme for the Red Mass is public service.
“We pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit,” the bishop said, “so that we may better serve those we have been called to serve.”
Bishop Silva presided at the Mass, traditionally held the day after the opening of the state legislature. Joining him were 25 priests and 21 deacons.
Four Almuena family children were the altar servers — Cyrene, Joseph, Ashley and Faith.
More than 300 people filled the church. Twenty-two of them were public officials, including Gov. Linda Lingle, Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona, chief justice Ronald Moon, associate justice James E. Duffy, speaker of the state House of Representatives Calvin K.Y. Say, Honolulu police chief Boise Correa and Honolulu fire chief Kenneth Silva.
Damien expert, Sacred Hearts Father Herman Gomes, in a 30-minute homily, offered insight into the 19th century Belgian missionary’s background and growth in sanctity. (See his full text on page 6)
“Damien enters the scene armed with his deep faith in God and profound respect for each person and we find a turning point, things start to change,” Father Gomes said. “His simple life and work transformed the settlement from a place of death and darkness to a place of life and hope.”
Gov. Linda Lingle, Vivian Aiona, Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona’s wife, (partially hidden to the right) and Sen. Fred Hemmings (in back) are seen through the second floor balcony of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace.
“Our religion is all about transformation,” he said. “Each of us individually being transformed into the likeness of Christ.”
“A quick glimpse of his [Damien’s] life will tell us that his trust and reliance in God permeated his life,” Father Gomes said. “He unites himself with his Lord and Master at every moment.”
What made Father Damien extraordinary, he said, was that he saw his disease “as yet another way to holiness.”
“If this is what the good God wants for my sanctification,” Father Gomes paraphrased the saint as saying, “then all I can say is: ‘Thy will be done.’”
Father Gomes, who is the pastor of St. Ann Parish in Kaneohe, briefly described the steps to sainthood. He also introduced to the congregation Audrey Toguchi, the woman whose cure from terminal cancer 10 years ago was determined by the church to be a miracle credited to Father Damien’s intercession, the final miracle needed for his canonization.
Father Gomes said that Damien’s example can be followed with the help of the Holy Spirit, symbolized by liturgy’s red theme.
“We are confident that this same Spirit will stir us up with a renewed zeal for our work so that we can be agents of change and transformation,” he said. “All of us can contribute something because we are all gifted by our Creator.”
Before the singing of the final hymn, “America, the Beautiful,” the public officials gathered in a semicircle facing the bishop, between him and the altar, and bowed their heads to receive his blessing. The rest of the assembly silently joined the bishop by raising their right hands in the direction of the officials.
Then speaking in Hawaiian, the bishop blessed everyone: “Na ke Akua manaloa e hoopomaikai mai ea oe, ka makua, ke keiki, kauhane hemolele. Amene.”