NKCC

For those who were unable to greet the relic of St. Damien at the airport on Saturday, I tell you that it was a very moving ceremony. Our celebrations at St. Michael's were all occasions of joy and hope. Having St. Damien here with us served as a reminder to us of our mission to serve the needs of the poor and disenfranchised just as he did. Thank you to all who helped to make this a landmark occasion in the history of our parish. Thank you also to all those who came to venerate the relic and ask for the blessing of St. Damien.

We all want to remember the joy and pride we experienced last Sunday. We will plan as a parish to have some type of special service each month to remind us of the wonderful example St. Damien left us in his service to the poor lepers. We will let you know as soon as we have had time to plan.

Next Sunday, November 1st is a great Holy Day in the Roman Catholic Church. On this day, we honor ALL the saints. Lest you forget, numbered among them are the countless saints without names or whose names we do not know. Many of these saints are people with whom we have lived and worked and prayed. On this day, we are reminded that we are all called to sainthood.

On November 2nd, we will begin our remembrance of those who have died. I will celebrate the 7am Mass in the ceme­tery. It is fitting that we stand among those who have gone before us and have left us with their examples of what it means to live a holy Christian life. At 5:30pm, we will gather in front of the Church to say "Farewell" to a building that has had significant meaning in the lives of many of our parishioners. From "the dust" there will rise a new structure built of living stones and worthy for the presence of the Lord.

Demolition will take place within a few days after the "Farewell." It will take several weeks to be completed. The trees behind the convent (office building) and in front of the rectory must be felled. This will take place as soon as it can be arranged. The lumber will be taken from the property to be milled in preparation for use in the new Church. The altar and presider's chair can possibly be carved from the wood of the monkey pod tree. As soon as we do new landscaping, I am committed to seeing that for every tree that has to be cut down, we will plant three native trees to replace them.

The rocks from the Church will be preserved for use in the new structure. The more porous rocks will be crushed for use on the property. The architect will incorporate as many of the larger rocks as he is able into the new buildings. As things develop, I will let you know. For so long, we waited for the State Historic Preservation Dept. (SHPD) to give us their approval for our project. Now, we can look for progress.  - Fr. Lio

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