NKCC

Email from a Tourist

“We visited the Church in Kona twice last week during a visit to the island, and tonight I thought I'd see if the parish had a website.  I was completely overwhelmed at the high quality of your site.  I've developed sites for various clients, and teach several web development courses at Idaho State University.  You are to be commended for the high quality of your site and your wonderful work.  Fantastic job! “

Kevin R. Parker, Ph.D.
Professor Computer Information
Systems, Idaho State University

Visit our website at
www.onecatholicohana.org

Golf Tournament 2012

The 3rd Annual St. Michael’s Golf Tournament will be held on Saturday – January 28, 2012 at the Kona Country Club (Mountain Course) starting at 7:00 am.  The primary objective of this event is to raise money for rebuilding a new place of worship for St. Michael’s Parish.  It is also an opportunity to foster community building in the parish.  The tournament entry fee of $125 includes a round of golf, chef-prepared lunch and prizes.  Lunch will be held at Hale Halawai.  Non-players are welcome to lunch at $20 per person.  We need your help to make this Golf Tournament a highly successful and well-attended event.  You can get involved by participating in any of the following ways:  as a player or inviting other players; soliciting hole sponsors and prize donors; volunteering to help with registration, set up and clean-up, and as witnesses in the hole-in-1 contest; donating cash, prizes or items to be auctioned; and joining the lunch.  For more information, please call Peter Callahan at 315-7609 or Lito Ilagan at 322-4969.

One ‘Ohana

One ‘Ohana will be held on Sunday – January 8, 2012.  As usual, we will begin with lunch.  The first topic of the New Year will be the SACRAMENT OF HOLY EUCHARIST.  Eucharist is the heart and center of our lives as Christians.  It is a sacrament that is essential for life but can frequently be taken for granted.  In this One ‘Ohana, we will explore the sacrament that keeps us going and nourishes us along the way.

Ordination of Anthony Rapozo

We are looking forward to the ordination of Anthony Rapozo, soon to be a part of our staff at St. Michael’s Parish.  He will be ordained on Friday, December 30th at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu, and will join us here in Kona on January 13, 2013.

Request for Mass Intentions

The easiest way to request a Mass intention is to call the parish office.  We will need the name of the person, which date you’d like to have the Mass, and whether it’s for a deceased or a living person.  If you choose a date without first checking with the office to see if the date is available, the secretary will choose another date for you close to your desired date.  We are also happy to accommodate you if you would like a Mass card for your intention.  Calling one to two months prior to the desired date is preferable.

Social Justice Book Club

The Social Justice Book Club will be discussing Imagine No Religion: The Autobiography of Blasé Bonpane, by Blasé Bonpane.  This is the personal story of the life of Blasé Bonpane.  The Book Club will meet in Immaculate Conception Hall on January 12, 2012, after the noon Mass.

Respect Life

January 22nd is the 39th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision on abortion.  As Catholics, we respect all life, including the life of the unborn.  Pastors and Respect Life representatives from each parish in the West Hawaii Vicariate invite you to join them in sign-waving in Waimea on Sunday, January 22nd from 11AM to 1PM.  Meet at Annunciation Church in Waimea; then all will walk over to the Parker Center where the sign-waving will take place.  Mary Erickson is available after Mass for parishioners to sign up.

End-of-Year Decisions

At the end of the tax year, many people make last minute decisions about making extra charitable donations.  If you are one of these people, please consider St. Michael’s Building Fund a worthy recipient.  Thank you and May God reward your generosity.

St. Michael’s Feast Day 2012

It is never too soon to begin to prepare.  Therefore, Father Lio has already brought together the Feast Day Planning Team to begin meeting.  Don’t wait to be asked to volunteer – get aboard right away.  Pitch in and help doing something you enjoy.  Look for sign-up sheets soon.

The 2012 Feast Day celebration will be a community effort to build our new Church.  This is a goal that we are all anxious to achieve.

Altar Servers, Please Note!

Altar Servers with no albs are asked to stop by the Sacristy container to pick one up.  Parents will be responsible to keep them clean (wash & dry; press if needed).

Volunteer Drivers

The HOPE Services is looking for drivers to take clients to doctor’s appointments, court, probation appointments, etc.  Volunteers must have a clean driving record.  Vehicle, fuel and insurance are provided by HOPE Services.  Mon. and Wed. needed most.  Interested?  Call Jeanne Russell at 933-6062.

Isaiah 52:7-10

The familiarity of today's first reading is due, in large part, to the remarkable creativity of George Frideric Handel, whose "Messiah" has proclaimed the good news and moved countless audiences for well over 250 years. Today's verses from Isaiah conclude a lengthier passage and make the bold pronouncement: "Your God is King!" In other words, God has triumphed over all other powers. This is the "good news" that has reached Jerusalem from Babylon. And so the words of the messenger are welcome indeed. The sentinels too, those posted atop the city's walls, who eagerly await reports from afar, are cited as shouting for joy. Why? Because they see, they recognize the work of God. God is restoring Zion, comforting the people, redeeming Jerusalem.

The vocabulary found in these verses is familiar to us from other texts of Second Isaiah. Recall the very first words of chapter forty: "Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God" and verse 9 of that same chapter: "Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news!...Here is your God!" Yes, God's word is fulfilled; God's faithful word is to be celebrated.

By Maribeth Howell, OP
© 2003, OCP. All rights reserved.

John 1:1-18

Main Theme: As the WORD of God, Jesus gives us power to be CHILDREN of God.

In the biblical tradition God revealed himself through his "word," spoken through intermediaries. In this prologue to John's Gospel Jesus is portrayed as the personified "Word" of God, who was not only equivalent with God but God's intermediary from the beginning. "Life," not just ordinary life, but God's eternal and divine Life came to be through him as the light for all peoples. John the Baptist testified to this light that people might believe. But many of Jesus' own people did not believe. To those who did believe, including us, he gave the power to become "children of God," that is, to live the eternal, divine life of God the Father.

Today we celebrate the fact that this "Word" of God became flesh in the person of Jesus and thus lived among us as a human being. In becoming children of God through our faith and baptism we have all received of his "fullness," namely, the new grace or gift of revelation that surpasses the old gift of revelation. While the "law," the Jewish Torah, the old gift God's revelation, was given through Moses, the new gift of truth or God's revelation happened in the very person of Jesus Christ. In other words, unlike all previous revelations, Jesus, in and through his very person as the Son, reveals and makes visible to us the God no one has ever seen.

By John Paul Heil  © 2003
OCP. All rights reserved.

Stewardship Report - Dec. 17-18, 2011