HOLY FAMILY

CATHOLIC CHURCH
830 Main Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818

September 1 3, 2 01 5
Father S eba stia n

Last Sunday, we heard about how Jesus healed a deaf

and dumb man. We are spiritually deaf and dumb when we
Monday Saturday

7:15AM
are not really taking Gods word and living by its standards.
Saturday Vigil

5:00PM
We need to be a bit more alive and active in listening to the
Sunday 8:30AM, 11:00AM, 7:00PM
Word of God. Our ears should be alert and then our
1st Sunday Samoan Mass
4:00PM mouths

should praise and thank God for all that we are and
have
t
hrough
His Providence.
3rd Sunday Pohnpeian Mass 3:00PM
This week-end, we hear from Saint Luke about the

survey that Jesus took. Peters ears heard well and his
CONFESSIONS
mouth spoke greatly about Jesus. He proclaimed that Jesus
Saturday 4:00 4:45PM
was the Christ, the Savior of the world. Jesus praised him
and after daily Masses
for his confession. However just a few minutes later,

something went wrong with his ears and his mouth. Jesus
BENEDI CTION
scolded him immediately for thinking and speaking like
First Friday of the Month after Mass
human beings.

In the First Reading Isaiah predicted that the Messiah
!
would suffer. Peter was unwilling to allow Christ to suffer.
BAPTISM AND MARRIAGE
It is in our human nature to avoid pain and suffering.
Please contact Fr. Sebastian
However, through the lesson taught to us by Christ, the
Phone: (808) 422-1135 or
Mrs. Malins (808) 423-9611 ext.302
way of a true Christian is the way of the Cross. When there
Email: HFC830@gmail.com or
are floods, when there are traffic jams, when the
Sebchacko@hawaii.rr.com
telephones do not work, or the AC has shut down, we

suffer. We complain. We are upset. We curse. That is
Certificates ~ For all certificates a
natural. As such, we think and speak like human beings.
written application is necessary. Send by
post or email with your address, or hand
We are asked today to think and speak like Christ. Accept
over personally.
our daily crosses. No disciple is greater than His Master.

I have three weeks to go. By this time next month, I hope
!
to be back in Honolulu. Please continue to pray for me as I
WEBSITES
pray for you, especially for the many volunteers who are
http://holyfamilyhonolulu.org
more active and generous with their time, talents, and
http://hfcahawaii.org
http://catholic.com
treasure in my absence. God bless you all. Fr Sebastian

MASS SCHEDULE

http://catholic.org
Hictv.com & Cable133.3
Catholictv.com

Collection Total for September 5 - 6, 2015

$4,628.52

Page 1

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Isaiah 50:5-9a
Ps 116:1-6,8-9
James 2:14-18
Mark 8:27-35
Monday September 14
Exaltation of Holy Cross
Numbers 21:4b-9
Ps 78:1bc-2,34-38
Philippians 2:6-11
John 3:13-17
Tuesday September 15
Our Lady of Sorrows
1 Timothy 3:1-13
Ps 101:1b-3,5,6
Jn 19:25-27 or Lk 2:33-35
Wednesday September 16
Sts. Cornelius & Cyprian
1 Timothy 3:14-16
Ps 111:1-6
Luke 7:31-35
Thursday September 17
1 Timothy 4:12-16
Ps 111:7-8,9,10
Luke 7:36-50
Friday September 18
1 Timothy 6:2c-12
Ps 49:6-10,17-20
Luke 8:1-3
Saturday September 19
1 Timothy 6:13-16
Ps 100:1b-2,3,4,5
Luke 8:4-15

This Sunday's second reading defines the Catholic doctrine of faith and works.
Works without faith, no matter how good the works are,
don't get us
into heaven.
Some of us
try to earn
our way into
God's heart
by serving in
church activities, saying
all the "right" prayers, and so
on. This idea comes from our
childhood when we learned:
"If I'm good enough, Mom
and Dad will reward me" and
"If I do well in school, the
teacher will give me a gold
star" or smiley face or whatever it is they paste on
homework today.
The problem is, we can never be good enough for heaven. This is why Jesus came
to earth and took our sins to
the cross.
Faith without works isn't going to get us into heaven,
either. Here's why:

Faith in Jesus starts with believing that, in his love for

us, he died for us and rose again so that we'll have
eternal life. This is what opens the door to heaven.
However, to walk through that door, we have to follow
Jesus. This requires doing more than believing in his
death and resurrection; we also believe in his life
how he lived his life. Following Jesus affects our lifestyles and our day-to-day behavior. How Christ-like is
it?

Page 2

The proof that we truly do have faith

is evidenced in the good works that
we do. Faith in Jesus means we love
him so much that we love all those
whom he loves, which is everyone
regardless of whether they deserve
it or not.
And faith in Jesus means we trust
him so much that we do
whatever he tells us
imitating him in all of
our activities, adopting
his attitudes, and responding to his calling
to serve as priests, religious, and lay ministers.
Thus, when Jesus says to us in the
Gospel reading, "Who do you say
that I am?" we answer that he is our
Savior who takes us to heaven, and
he is our Lord who teaches us how
to live, and he is our Lover who empowers us to love others even when
it becomes a cross to bear.

Reflect & Discuss:

1. Is Jesus Christ truly your Lord
and Savior? Do you believe that
he suffered and died on your behalf so that you could reach
heaven?
2. Are you doing good works because you adore him so much
that you want to go where he
goes and do what he does and
serve as his hands and feet and
voice wherever he leads you?
3. How does your life convey to
others that Jesus is your Lord
and Savior?
4. If you wore no Christian jewelry
and spoke no words, how would
you tell others who Jesus is?

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