I have had the opportunity to attend Mass in the four area Catholic churches in the Hilo area over the past twelve days, and St. Joseph is the largest, warmest, sunniest and best-lit of them all. The religious order that staffs this church, the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, was founded in Paris in 1856, and has missions all over the world. The priests at St. Joseph all hail from the Philippines, and know of the order with which I have been associated since arriving in KC 38 years ago: SOLT, or the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. I feel so blessed to have this wonderful relationship with these priests and church.
Because I am leaving Hawaii this afternoon, I went to a different church this morning, Sacred Heart Church in nearby Pahoa. I was privileged to catch a Holy Hour after Mass that included an opportunity for confession. A lot of folks my age (59) joke about never passing up a bathroom visit, and I would add to that another "should not miss": the opportunity to go to (frequent) confession. When I got back to the house and told Karol about one of the "fruits" of my confession, she in turn joked that it's never a bad idea to get to confession before leaving on a 4000 mile, two-stop-over, plane trip! But what I found was a great confessor who took the time to address some of my failings in such a thoughtful and insightful manner. Fr. Joey is a great priest, and he remembered me from my past visits, and led me this morning to a deeper union with God.
What blessings I have received on this visit "home". Now, its back to work in the near-winter conditions of KC!
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