HOLY FAMILY

CATHOLIC CHURCH
830 Main Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818

September 6 , 2 01 5
Father S eb asti an

MASS SCHEDULE

Last Sunday, we were told by Jesus, not to be like the

Pharisees. In general, most of the Pharisees were hypocrites.
Saturday Vigil

5:00PM They
paid
attention to the external observance of the laws,
but
t
heir
hearts were not internally moved to love. They were
Sunday 8:30AM, 11:00AM, 7:00PM
spiritually mute and deaf.
1st Sunday Samoan Mass
4:00PM
In this weekend, we read from Saint Mark the story of a
3rd Sunday Pohnpeian Mass 3:00PM
deaf and mute person who was completely healed by Jesus.

Through the events of each day, our successes and our
CONFESSIONS
failures, the problems and solutions that we come up with,
Saturday 4:00 4:45PM
God is helping us to open our eyes and our ears and our
and after daily Masses
mouths to thank and praise God. Isaiah says that God can

make the desert bloom and the rivers flow with fresh water.
BENEDI CTION
Like the deer that yearns for running waters, we need to long
First Friday of the Month after Mass
for Gods Love, Justice, and Peace. Then our hearts will be

opened. When we are partial and do not practice our faith,
!
then we are weak and in fact, we are closing our eyes, and our
BAPTISM AND MARRIAGE
hearts to the grace of God that will work miracles in us and
Please contact Fr. Sebastian
through us.
Phone: (808) 422-1135 or
Mrs. Malins (808) 423-9611 ext.302
Our Holy Father has declared September 1, in union with
Email: HFC830@gmail.com or
our Greek Orthodox Christians, to be a Day of Prayer to thank
Sebchacko@hawaii.rr.com
God for the beauty of the Earth. We are called to take good

care of the Environment. Let us open our eyes and ears to see
Certificates ~ For all certificates a
written application is necessary. Send by
the beauty of the Earth and to pay attention to the sounds of
post or email with your address, or hand
the birds, the noise of the rustling waters and waves, the
over personally.
whisper of the winds, and to praise the Lord, for His

wonderful gifts to us.
!
WEBSITES
I have entered the final month of my sabbatical. Now, I
http://holyfamilyhonolulu.org
have begun counting the days left. The spiritual journey of the
http://hfcahawaii.org
past two months has been encouraging. However, I am
http://catholic.com
looking forward to the end. See you in another months time.
http://catholic.org
Hictv.com & Cable133.3
Fr. Sebastian
Catholictv.com
Monday Saturday

7:15AM

COLLECTION TOTAL FOR AUGUST 29-30: $4,797.63

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23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Isaiah 35:4-7a
Ps 146:(1b) 7-10
James 2:1-5
Mark 7:31-37

Todays readings show us

God's concern for the disabled. How closely do we
share in his concern?

Monday September 7
Colossians1:24--2:3
Ps 62:6-7,9
Luke 6:6-11

We're all disabled, one way

or another. We can have
eyes that see and still be
blind. In fact, the scripture
from James shows us just
how blind we can be!

Tuesday September 8
Nativity of Virgin Mary
Mi 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30
Ps 13:6ab,6c
Matthew 1:1-16,18-23
Wednesday September 9
St. Peter Claver
Colossians3:1-11
Ps 145:2-3,10-13
Luke 6:20-26
Thursday September 10
Colossians3:12-17
Ps 150:1b-6
Luke 6:27-38
Friday September 11
1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-14
Ps 16:1b-2a,5,7-8,11
Luke 6:39-42
Saturday September 12
1 Timothy 1:15-17
Ps 113:1b-7
Luke 6:43-49

If we see only how a person

dresses, for example, without seeing their giftedness,
we are being judgmental. If
we are more impressed by a
person's wealth or title or
college degrees than we are
by his/her insights or willingness to serve, we are being
judgmental.
Only God can see all the
good that's in a person's
heart, and yet we make assumptions about others. Only God can hear the motives
and longings behind a person's words, and yet we
quickly judge what is being
said as if we know exactly
what is meant.

Judgmentalism shows us nothing more than how truly

blind we are.
Jesus wants to say to each of us: "Ephphatha! May
your eyes and ears and mind be opened to the truth!"
However, so that we can receive this healing, we have
to slow down and stop reacting to what's visible and
audible. We cannot trust what we see and hear. We
need to take time to prayerfully pause for wisdom and
discernment and new discoveries.

This is one of the reasons why Jesus gave us his Holy Spirit. When
we let God's Spirit interpret everything for us, instead of reacting, we
will act the way the Lord wants us to.
Instead of reacting to partial information, we will act with faith and
compassion.

Reflect & Discuss:

1. In what ways do you show partiality toward some people?
What types of people do you
tend to automatically prefer,
based on outward appearances?
2. And whom do you tend to dislike
until you get to know them better?
3. How will you begin to change
this automatic reaction by relying
on the Holy Spirit?
4. In what ways have you been
judged unfairly? How does it
feel? Are you judging those who
judged you, neglecting to look
deeper inside of them?
5. In your faith sharing community
or family discussion, take turns
in your group naming a false accusation that caused suffering,
followed by other members describing the goodness that the
accusers were too blind to see.
(This last part is very important
it is Jesus providing healing!)

2015 by Terry Modica Catholic Digital Resources: catholicdr.com Reprinted by

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