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December 30, 2025 - Octave of Christmas
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Tuesday within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (V51)
Click on Web Version above for best viewing of this eNewsLetter.
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Bishop's Homily for Christmas Day
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Joigny, France: Stained glass of the Christmas Nativity Scene with Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, and Jesus baby. (Joan Sutter / Shutterstock.com)
[Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace Community, Honolulu; Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, Honolulu]
Last week I spoke to a long-time friend who is suffering severe depression. The darkness in his life is very thick and heavy. I also spoke to someone whose wife recently died. He is in his 70’s, and she had been his high school sweetheart. He, too, is living in a deep darkness of grief. A friend of mine in Myanmar, where there has been a civil war for almost five years, tells me the people there are living in a very dark fear of what could happen to them. Our own streets are lined with people who are so destitute that they seem to be in a dark tunnel of hopelessness. Read more...
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Bishop's Homily for the Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
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Asti, Italy: Marble relief of the Flight to Egypt in the church Santuario di Nostra Signora Porta Paradisi. (Renata Sedmakova / Shutterstock.com)
[Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, Honolulu (Diocesan Closing of the Jubilee Year)]
There is always something romantic about hope!
Hope is not something that is fulfilled or certain. It is an act of faith that God will make the future bright according to his own light. We may not see it immediately, but we are romantic enough – in love enough, if you will – to trust in what we do not yet see.
This Jubilee Year, whose them is “Pilgrims of Hope,” is officially being closed today in dioceses across the world, even though it will be completely closed in Rome on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, which is celebrated there on January 6. We might ask if we have become more hopeful this year, or if we have given in to cynicism that sees only the bleakness of the present reality. Read more...
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St. Joseph Students, Staff Pay Holiday Visit to Franciscan Sisters
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The group of Franciscan sisters and St. Joseph School visitors at The Plaza in Kaneohe. (Photo courtesy of Maile Kipapa)
By Maile Kipapa
Special to the Hawaii Catholic Herald
In 1900, Franciscan sisters began running St. Joseph School, then a girls’ school, helping to establish a strong foundation for Catholic education in Hilo. In 1944, the purchase of land at Ululani and Hualalai streets secured the future site of St. Joseph elementary and high schools.
Just a few years after the land purchase, a preexisting boys’ school and the girls’ school were consolidated on the new campus, enrolling 963 students.
Meanwhile, at St. Joseph Church, Franciscan sisters continued their ministry for many decades before departing in 2009. Several Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians from India came to serve the parish, remaining until 2011.
Students and staff had the special opportunity this month to visit one of the most influential Franciscan educators from that era: Sister Rose Annette Ahuna, a Sister of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, retired religious educator and 63 years perpetually professed. Read more...
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Welcoming Emmanuel in Hawaiʻi
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(mojekadry / Shutterstock.com)
From the Office for Social Ministry
When the fragility of others penetrates our hearts, when their pain shatters our rigid certainties, then peace has already begun.” Pope Leo XIV Christmas Day Homily 2025
Reflecting upon that peaceful night of the very first Christmas, we often think of the humble stable where Jesus was born. We can picture the rough wood of the manger, animals breathing warmth into the cold air, and shepherds standing in awe at an invitation they never expected to receive. The Holy Family appears front and center—poor, displaced, fragile, and yet entrusted with the hope of the world. It is a scene so familiar that we risk overlooking how radical it truly is.
In his Christmas message this year, Pope Leo XIV invites the Church not to rush past the manger, but to linger there long enough to be changed by it. “God comes to us in the lowliness of a child...the Word became flesh. Human flesh asks for care; it pleads for welcome and recognition, it seeks hands capable of tenderness.” This is not sentimentality—it is revelation. The stable shows us who God is, and His loving missionary outreach to all. Read more...
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Find Food Assistance Across Hawaiʻi
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(Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock.com)
From the Office for Social Ministry
Hawaiʻi Foodbank is committed to providing safe food access to everyone who needs it. You may be eligible for federally funded programs like The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), or you may just need temporary food assistance until you get back on your feet. Additionally, other food pantries and food distribution sites remain open across the state. With more than 250 hunger relief partners across Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, help is likely available in or near your neighborhood. Read more...
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GIVEN Leadership Program
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Called to lead? Called to serve? Join the GIVEN Leadership Program! Apply before December 31, 2025.
The GIVEN Institute’s Catholic Young Women’s Leadership Program offers leadership development, faith formation, and dedicated mentorship for Catholic young women ages 21-35 seeking to live out their unique vocation and mission. Women accepted to the program participate in The Leadership Forum from June 24-28, 2026 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and are then paired with an established Catholic female leader for 1-on-1 mentorship and support to develop and launch an Action Plan – a new initiative activating personal gifts in service to others. GIVEN is also accepting applications from lay and consecrated women (ages 36+) who would like to serve as mentors or volunteer at the 2026 Forum. All women are encouraged to become part of GIVEN!
To learn more and apply for the 2026 Cohort, please visit: https://giveninstitute.com/leadership-program/.
The diocese has had a few young women participate in this program. If you are a young woman interested in this and would like to talk with someone locally about this program, please email oyyam@rcchawaii.org.
Flyer available HERE.
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Saint Marianne Cope Feast Day Celebration, Jan 23
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Talks for Families, Adults, and Youth, Jan 20 - Mar 10
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All are warmly invited to join talks on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7–8 PM at St. John the Baptist Parish in Kalihi. These sessions share the Good News of Christ, who offers guidance and hope in the challenges of life, along with the gift of love and forgiveness. Through this program of Catholic formation in small parish communities, we can explore and deepen the richness of our baptism. For more information, please contact Dr. Anthony Ramos at 808-721-0557.
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Rest in Peace
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Please pray for the happy repose of the soul of Father Albert Garcia, SS.CC., who died at the age of 83 on December 29, 2025 after suffering Alzheimer’s Disease for several years. Funeral services are pending. May he rest in peace!
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Word of Life for December
Word of Life is a monthly resource from the USCCB's Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. Each month includes resources for print and are adaptable for digital efforts including Feature of the Month, Intercessions for Life, Bulletin Quotes, and Bulletin Art. Learn more at www.respectlife.org.
Available in English: PDF | Word
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Saint of the Week
Saint Sylvester I
c. Late Third Century–335
Memorial - December 31
Little is known about the early life of Pope Saint Sylvester I, but many legends have emerged over the centuries. He is believed to have been born in Rome to Christian parents and raised as a devout follower of Christ. He was ordained a priest in Rome where he served during one of the severe persecutions of the Church. Read more...
(Image: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons) Copyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission. www.mycatholic.life
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Online Giving for Parishes
Support your local parish online! You can give directly to your parish on the Diocese of Honolulu's Offertory page at www.catholichawaii.org/offertory.
On behalf of the parishes in the Diocese of Honolulu, thank you for your gift of support. Mahalo nui loa!
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Events and Previous Announcements
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Subscribe to the Hawaii Catholic Herald
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Members of Hawaii Catholic parishes may receive a subscription free through the Hawaii Catholic Herald Parish Plan.
Others: $28 Hawaii, $32 Mainland, $35 foreign.
Visit: www.hawaiicatholicherald.com/subscriptions
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