THE EUCHARIST IN PARADISE

 Those of you who have followed past Blogs know how much I love Hawaii, esp. the Big Island, which I did not get to this year, due to new puppies. But  our faithful Oblate, Karen, sent this to me.  At least one Bishop “gets it!”

Sunset at Puako

Good Morning,

Please see below Bishop Larry Silva’s response to Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s “CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU EMERGENCY ORDER NO. 2020-11 (COVID-19 [Novel Coronavirus])” issued on May 13,2020. 

“We have been working with government officials to see that we can reopen our churches as soon as possible, with social distancing, controlled numbers of attendees, masks, and sanitizing protocols.  While I know Mayor Caldwell is trying to be diligent about the health of our community, and am happy to see restrictions for gatherings for worship are going to be eased, the “in vehicle” services, especially with the prohibition of distributing anything, simply is not what is needed for Catholic worship.  At the heart of our service, the Eucharist, is receiving Holy Communion, and people have been longing for this communion with the Lord.  Having people “attend” a service from their vehicles when they are prohibited from receiving Communion is of little value to us.  People would be much more comfortable viewing a live-stream from home if they could not receive Communion.  We are working toward responsibly getting people back into church, so that they can receive Communion during the celebration of the Eucharist.  I hope that, just as restaurants are soon to be open with proper protocols, we will be able to open our churches VERY SOON to celebrate in a way that respects our own religious practices.”  By Most Rev. Larry Silva, Bishop of Honolulu