Congratulations to St. George Parish and all the priests who served there and its parishioners on their 70th anniversary. What a historic milestone reached for this religious community on Windward Oahu. The success of St. George’s longevity comes at the hands of many – first and foremost the blessings from God our savior and keeper of our Catholic faith, the Diocese of Honolulu, the early pioneering consecrated leaders of priests and nuns of St. George and neighboring support parishes St. Ann in Kaneohe and St Anthony in Kailua, the Sacred Hearts Fathers, and the multiple active parishioners and ministries of St. George Parish, and the current Rev. Fr. Raymund Ellorin, Pastor of St. George Parish.
Kudos also to the newly formed Filipino Catholic Ministry (FCM) of St. George on their First Grand Santacruzan, May Flower Celebration in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary recently held on May 31. The event was a resounding success. This celebration is a popular Catholic tradition carried over from the Philippines perpetuating our Catholic religious culture and serves also to evangelize our youth into the Church. The Santacruzan commemorates the story of Queen Helena, mother of Constantine the Great who found the Holy Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The Cross reminds of Jesus’ sacrifice for all of humanity and the ransom he paid for our sins. The Santacruzan also pays tribute to our Blessed Holy Mother and her love for her son Jesus.
God, Home, Community and the Holy Eucharist
Like all Catholic parishes across the globe, Catholics turn to the Church to strengthen our faith and connection to God (the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Parishes are our “home” away from home and they provide a holy sanctuary amid the secular world. We worship together and see those around us and alongside us at Mass as a community not just on Earth, but a glimpse of what our heavenly community could resemble.
And that church community extends to the greater community in the wonderful works of charity for the poor, the homeless, the sick and ministerial outreach to spread the Gospels and truth of our Savior Jesus Christ.
What’s special of St. George and all Catholic parishes, cathedrals and basilicas is the Holy Eucharist which is God’s second covenant with man, that we receive Jesus’ body and blood of Christ as one means for eternal life. The transubstantiation, the change by which the substance (though not the appearance) of the bread and wine in the Eucharist is in fact the real presence of Christ, that is His body and blood. This is what we Catholics believe and is an essential part to Mass and the church where we gather to worship.
Religious and spiritual role models
St. George and other Catholic churches is where we can also find role models outside of what is typically considered role models in the secular world. Jesus Christ is our first role model. We look to Jesus’ life, the way He lived, what He valued and His teachings.
Often what society considers to be a role model not only reflects societal values, but it also shapes society itself. Typically, today’s society holds high in esteem and as our role models — individuals who are rich, powerful, leaders in business, academe or the military.
Certainly, such individuals are in some cases deserving of such respect in the secular world. But there should also be space for other role models – the downtrodden who are rich in spirit and continue the fight to survive with the help of God, our parents who work arduously to put food on our table with the help of God, or everyday people who hold their families and communities together with the help of God. The list can go on and on of people not typically deemed to be “role models” according to secular standards, but who with the help of God have abundant gifts to give, to teach us through their sacrifices and are making our world fuller and not just one note, one brushstroke.
Many in our Filipino community who grew up going to Catholic school or Sunday school recall our teachers who stressed not only secular values of what a role model is, but religious ones – an individual who puts God first, those who have taken up a consecrated life and professed solemn holy vows – our priests, deacons, nuns and missionaries. Wouldn’t you want to be a priest, a nun, or even a saint? – these questions were often asked of us as youth.
Yet, somehow, such religious values and morals have been overshadowed to where our religious communities are not as influential and our spiritual role models are no longer held in great value in secular society. But if we hold our faith high in importance – we can find abundant role models at St. George Parish and other places of holy worship.
An example, how refreshing that recently Pope Francis announced that Carlo Acutis will be the first saint of the millennial generation. Known as the “God Influencer,” soon to be Saint Carlo, was a digital evangelist. Carlo died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15. In his lifetime, he had a special love for God and the Holy Eucharist. He inspired all those around him to attend Mass. The Eucharist was the center of his life, and he would receive it almost daily. He interacted with the homeless and would bring Tupperware filled with food out to people living on the streets.
Within our own Filipino community, we have bountiful spiritual role models. Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle is one — the current Pro-Prefect for the Section of Evangelization of Dicastery for Evangelization since 2022. Often fondly called “Chito” – this humble and scholarly priest is said to be among the papabile, a shortlist of cardinals who could be a future pope. We have our Filipino saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungod, as well as many others beatified and venerated by the Roman Catholic Church.
The community of St. George is doing far more than what can be seen in the visible band of sight. They are doing God’s work. May God bless St. George Parish to have many more anniversaries.
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