Molokai History: (From "The Separating Sickness: Ma'i Ho'oka'awale: Interviews with Exiled Leprosy Patients at Kalaupapa, Hawaii" by Ted Gugelyk and Milton Bloombaum, Ma'i Ho'oka'awale Foundation, Honolulu, HI, 1979) Female, Japanese Disfigured, Blind 70 years of age 40 years at Kalaupapa Akerameru My family had many problems after I got the disease. [...]
Aloha nui to all! Pray that all of you are keeping your pono! Keep up your pule! In these challenging times, it is a good thing that they correspond to our season of Easter because Easter brings with it new hope and new life. And, this is exactly what we need right now. God has [...]
Molokai History: (from "The Separating Sickness: Ma'i Ho'oka'awale: Interviews with Exiled Leprosy Patients at Kalaupapa, Hawaii" by Ted Gugelyk and Milton Bloombaum, Ma'i Ho'oka'awale Foundation, Honolulu, HI, 1979) Male, Japanese Blind Age: 62 34 years at Kalaupapa No More Family Ties Orientals have the most fear of this disease. Like I said, I [...]
Blessings to all, this Friday of Easter Week! Jesus invites us to breakfast today! Are you hungry? In today's Gospel, we hear of Jesus' post-Resurrection appearance to some of his disciples, including Simon Peter, at the Sea of Tiberias. We see another of Jesus' miracles, an abundant catch of fish. It is but another revelation [...]
Molokai History: (from "The Separating Sickness: Ma'i Ho'oka'awale: Interviews with Exiled Leprosy Patients at Kalaupapa, Hawaii" by Ted Gugelyk and Milton Bloombaum, Ma'i Ho'oka'awale Foundation, Honolulu, HI, 1979) Female, Portuguese Widowed Age: 61 42 years at Kalaupapa I was nineteen when they first diagnosed this disease. Like the rest of the patients, they [...]
Blessed be the Risen Lord! The Lord be with you! As we pray this Thursday morning of Easter Week, let us give thanks for the glory and hope of the Resurrection. That the Risen Christ will strengthen each one of us in mind, body and spirit. Let us pray in the words [...]
Molokai History: (from "The Separating Sickness: Ma'i Ho'oka'awale: Interviews with Exiled Leprosy Patients at Kalaupapa, Hawaii" by Ted Gugelyk and Milton Bloombaum, Ma'i Ho'oka'awale Foundation, Honolulu, HI, 1979) Male, Part-Hawaiian Blind, Disfigured, Married Age: 48 34 years at Kalaupapa How did I get this disease? Well, I had eight other relatives in Kalaupapa. [...]
On the Road Again! Got to get back on the road again! These lyrics of a Willie Nelson song, beckon us to stay on the path. This Easter season, we are like the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. We are sad, yet, we have faith & hope that the Risen Lord will remain [...]
Hawaii History: (from "Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism" by Noenoe K. Silva, Duke University Press, Durham, NC, 2004) Conservative estimates of Hawaii's population in 1778 range from 400,000 to 1,000,000; just forty five years later, in 1823, that number was reduced to about 135,000 due to disease. The first epidemic, called ma'i'oku'u [...]
Life has conquered death! Alleluia! The Lord be with you and your ohana! We celebrate the Lord's Resurrection this Tuesday of Easter Week! Let us rejoice and be glad! As we continue to adapt to the challenges of our times, may we never forget that the Lord lives! We place our faith, hope and love [...]