Thursday, November 24, 2011

Oahu school inspired by Blessed Marianne unveils statue of nun who cared for leprosy patients | The Republic

Oahu school inspired by Blessed Marianne unveils statue of nun who cared for leprosy patients The Republic

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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Sacred Hearts Consolidation is Complete

The Rev. Johnathan Hurrell, elected Wednesday as the head of the consolidated chapter, at the St. Anthony's retreat center.
Star Advertiser: Nov. 20 2011:    The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, which brought the first Catholic missionaries to Hawaii in 1827, formally merged its Hawaii chapter with a mainland contingent this week to expand its resources and invigorate its ministries.
The Rev. Johnathan Hurrell, an assistant pastor of St. Michael's Church in Waialua, was elected Wednesday as head of the consolidated chapter. The reorganization and election were part of a weeklong conference at St. Anthony Retreat Center in Kalihi Valley, presided over by the Rev. Javier Alvarez-Ossorio, the Rome-based superior general of the global organization's governing body.
"My big push will be vocations (recruiting priests). That will be an absolute priority — to bring new life into the community," Hurrell said.
Consolidating the two chapters into the new United States Province "is an exciting time," Hurrell said. "We will have more resources to pool from. We can discover our potential, which will increase with the merger. I hope to animate the brothers and make them feel encouraged and challenged."
Hurrell, 46, said he was elected probably because "they were looking for youth, a vigor for change and for energy to move ahead with positive changes. I hope to have the courage to embrace the changes the community is looking for."
The Hawaii Province had consisted of 15 priests and six brothers who staff four Oahu parishes: St. Augustine-by-the-Sea in Waikiki, St. Patrick Church in Kaimuki, St. Ann Church in Kaneohe and St. Michael Church in Waialua; and the two Molokai parishes, St. Damien Church in Kaunakakai and St. FrancisChurch in Kalaupapa, according to a Sacred Hearts news release.
The former U.S. East Province included 31 priests and three brothers at seven parishes in Massachusetts, Texas, Mexico and Washington, D.C., and a mission in India.
The merger had been under consideration for 20 years as the Sacred Hearts Congregation, like other Catholic organizations, faces a dwindling corps of priests and brothers due to retirement, and because few young men are choosing to take vows of celibacy, obedience and poverty to enter priesthood, the news release said. Sisters of the Sacred Hearts, who are organized separately, are not party to the merger.
Fr General: Javier Alverez-Ossorio sscc
Alvarez-Ossorio said the consolidation of provinces in general ends duplication of some functions and facilities. It will also allow smaller chapters to expand their resources to take advantage of strengths the other province might have, and thus increase the creativity and broadening of outreaches to new communities. Mergers have worked well with the Mozambique and Congo provinces, and the Japan and Philippine provinces, which have different languages and cultures, Alvarez-Ossorio added.
Hurrell, a native of New Zealand, said being chosen was "a big of a shock for me," as senior ministers are usually selected for the top job. He has been an assistant pastor at St. Michael's the past few years, and worked at various parishes on Oahu in the 16 years he's lived in Hawaii, he said. He was ordained by Catholic Diocese of Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva six years ago.
Hurrell will lead a management team of four councilors, including the Revs. Herman Gomes, pastor of St. Ann's Church in Kaneohe; Chris Santangelo and Stan Kolasa from Massachusetts; and Bob Charlton of Texas, who was elected vicar provincial.
The Sacred Hearts Center in Kaneohe will be the residence of the new provincial, and the administrative offices of the U.S. Province will be in Fairhaven, Mass. Hawaii and Massachusetts maintain retirement homes for members.
The Rev. Christopher Keahi, who headed the Hawaii Province, said Hawaii has played a key role in the history of Sacred Hearts.
"We were the first mission of the order after it was founded in France. We are the land that produced its great Saint Damien of Molokai," he said in the release. A parish priest will continue to be provided at Kalaupapa, which has been staffed by the Sacred Hearts since Father Damien de Veuster served leprosy patients for 16 years until his death from the disease in 1889, the release said. Damien was canonized by the Catholic Church in 2009.
"It is the memory and witness and spirit of Damien that inspires the whole world and directs us to take care of the poor people, suffering people everywhere," Alvarez-Ossorio said. "It is up to us to live out his spirit as we are in service in our own time, to the forgotten."
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Thursday, November 3, 2011

Hawaiian Missionaries book release October 2011



Hawaiian Missionaries is a new narrative non-fiction book. The book contains amazing stories of the opportunities and obstacles the American Missionaries faced. Kassel discovered that the American Missionaries created their own Post Office and linked it with the United States when Hawaii was still a Kingdom. The book ISBN 1461157560 is available on Amazon.com and directly from the publisher at https://www.createspace.com/3607362

Anthony R. Kassel announces his new book Hawaiian Missionaries and an associated website http://www.HawaiianMissionaries.com The book deals with a controversial subject and will find a host of readers with diverse backgrounds. The actions of the adult children of the Protestant missionaries prompted an attitude in the islands that still lingers today. It is said that the missionaries came to do good and they did very well. The conflict between the Catholics and the Protestant sects continued in Hawaii until it was solved via French Gunboat Diplomacy. The Catholic Priest now known as Saint Damian of Molokai would not have been able to ease the suffering of the Lepers on Molokai if it had not been for the action of the French navy.
Kassel says his new book is the result of five years of research. The project started when Kassel read an intriguing story of the Grinnell Hawaiian Missionary postage stamps. Those stamps were seized by the US Secret Service when they became the subject of a Superior Court case. Kassel discovered new information that indicates that those stamps are in fact a genuine first printing. In the book Kassel investigates a story that has been circulating for years in philatelic journals. As the story goes a wealthy stamp collector was murdered in Paris. The motive of the murderer was a desire to possess a two cent Hawaiian Missionary postage stamp.
Kassel says, "Hawaiian Missionaries contains amazing stories that are the Gems of Hawaiian History." Kassel found a common denominator in these stories in the Emerson mission family; the book is dedicated to them in appreciation of the selfless acts they performed to better the lives of the Hawaiian people. More information on this fascinating book can be found at http://www.HawaiianMissionaries.com

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No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Mozlink’ for any or all of the articles/images placed here. The placing of an article does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise. 
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