Aloha nui to everyone and to all of our ohana! The Lord be with you on this Monday of the 5th Week of Easter!

Today, from St. Joseph’s chapel in Kamalo, Molokai, I said Mass in honor of the Feast Day of Father Damien, whose actual feast day, May 10, was yesterday. But, since the Sunday Mass of the 5th Week of Easter took precedence, the Mass for St. Damien was today. And it was followed by 30 minutes of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.

A Reflection by Fr. Brian:

(a personal story of Hurricane Harvey, continued from May 10th)

We found out that we were the last plane allowed to land at Bush airport before they closed it to all incoming traffic. If it wasn’t a jumbo jet, we could not have made it. And, even at that, it took us two tries!

So, we entered the terminal to discover that all flights out of Bush airport were cancelled! We could hear the torrential rain pounding on the roof of the terminal as we checked with United airlines as to our connection from Houston to the Rio Grande Valley. We could look out the windows of the terminal and see the driving wind and rain of Hurricane Harvey in full force as we discovered that we would have to spend the night in the terminal. They had closed it completely, not even any shuttles to nearby hotels. So, we were stuck. You could see the worried look of passengers in the terminal as the numbers of passengers was not nearly as many as was usual at this time of year.

We also noticed that the restaurants were beginning to close down because they couldn’t bring any personnel into the terminal and couldn’t get supplies to the terminal. People began to call family and relatives on their cell phones. We began to worry, not knowing what was going to happen to us and how long this would last. We found a place near one of the gates and crashed! That first night in the terminal was brutal! It was so cold, we thought it was going to snow. The air conditioning was cranked way up because normally the terminal would be full of people. But, now less than half of expected travelers were in the terminal because of the hurricane.

We tried to get as much sleep as we could that night, listening to Hurricane Harvey outside pelting the roof of the terminal with buckets and buckets of rain, bundled up in any blankets we could get our hands on, mostly some from the plane. As the evening got later, some of the skeleton terminal staff brought by some carts of snacks for us. Thank goodness! Chips, small sandwiches, drinks. And, that was our dinner. Some of our people needed to take some of their drugs, but couldn’t because they were stashed in their luggage and we could not access the luggage.

(Stay tuned tomorrow for the continuing saga of the Damien pilgrims!)

Scripture:

The Scriptures we read on the Feast of St. Damien reflect his sacrifice, as a martyr, for the lepers of Hawaii who had been sent to Molokai to live, many separated from family and relatives.

The Scriptures remind us that God asks of us many things, including suffering and pain and challenge.

I believe we can associate with these things right now as we continue to adapt to a new normal of social distancing and masks.

The Scriptures have a funny way of repeating themselves, from the time of Damien and the ravages of leprosy to the present and the corona virus pandemic.

It is soothing and comforting to know that we can turn to the Bible anytime for consolation and hope, especially in times of challenge in our lives.

So, read a passage or two from Holy Scriptures today! And, know that God loves you, no matter what happens!

May God bless you, + In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Alleluia!