What is Founders’ Day?  Who are our founders?  Why do we celebrate it in February?  These are some questions that you might be asking yourself when celebrating our Founders’ Day Mass in February.

By the mid 1990s, Maryknoll School was still Maryknoll yet, although two Sisters were still on staff, there were no more Maryknoll Sisters actually teaching at the school; the presidency was no longer under the governance of the Maryknoll Order but rather a layperson; and Sacred Heart Church was no longer run by the Maryknoll Fathers.  Without the physical presence of the Maryknoll religious – the Fathers, Brothers, and most importantly, Sisters - on campus, the overarching question became, ‘How do we, as Maryknoll School, continue the Maryknoll legacy and honor the Maryknoll charism?”

In response, Founders’ Day was designed and initiated to commemorate our school’s founders and their life’s work as well as to be a reminder of the values upon which the school was founded.  To begin, Founders’ Day happens in February because the Maryknoll Sisters were finally recognized as a religious order by the Catholic Church in February, 1912. 

Now, however, instead of just one day, (which in not nearly enough time to honor all that Maryknoll represents!), Founders’ Day has morphed over the years into almost an entire week -long celebration.  During the week, there is an all school Praise and Worship ceremony, when people share their testimonies about their journeys of faith at Maryknoll.  The Junior Commitment ceremony also takes place during this week.  The juniors receive their pins and/or rings and pledge their allegiance to Maryknoll and the practice of Noblesse Oblige.  And there is, of course, the annual Founders’ Day Mass, celebrated on the altar made from the gold tree that used to be a part of the Sisters’ garden and convent.  Founders’ Day allows us at Maryknoll to remember our founders – the Maryknoll Fathers, Brothers, and, most importantly, the Maryknoll Sisters; remember the work that they have done over the years ‘making God’s love visible;’ and to rededicate ourselves to our founding legacy.  As we celebrate Founders’ Day this year, please take some time to not only reflect on the work of our founders, but to find a way to practice it yourself so as to continue the legacy of Noblesse Oblige.

Celebrating 100 years of ‘”Making God’s Love Visible” is a monumental task, yet that is exactly what Maryknoll School set out to do this year to honor the Maryknoll Sisters’ Centennial and their lasting legacy.  Maryknoll School, currently celebrating its 85^th anniversary, created a partnership with Catholic Charities, an organization also established by the Maryknoll Sisters, 65 years ago, to further commemorate the Sisters.  All together, because of the Sisters, Maryknoll as a name has achieved 250 years of service here in Hawaii.

To highlight the partnership amongst the Sisters, the School and Catholic Charities, Maryknoll School has held different drives and volunteered numerous hours over the course of the Centennial Year.  To kick it all off, Maryknoll Grade School collected toiletries throughout the year.  The donations were a part of the offerings at each monthly school mass, being brought to the altar by students, and then donated to Catholic Charities.  Catholic Charities was particularly grateful for the toiletries as these basic necessities that are sometimes overlooked but are very important to living decently.  Also, a Grade School canned food drive was held during November under the direction of 8^th grade teacher, Mr. Wendell Bacnis.  Students, working through their homerooms, made a conscious effort to find and select food and other requested items for families.  By doing random acts of kindness and giving from their personal allowance, the students earned enough canned food and other miscellaneous items to successfully meet the wants and needs of thirty deserving families.  Also in November, high school students spent an afternoon at one of Catholic Charities Senior Housing Residences, making Thanksgiving crafts, playing bingo, and sharing some ono food with the residents.  In December, Maryknoll families and high school students spent many hours helping to wrap gifts that had been donated to Catholic Charities.  High school students once again devoted their time, talents and energy to residents of the Wisteria Nursing home, holding a fun filled Christmas party for the seniors, enjoying the holidays together.

Furthermore, Maryknoll School hosted an anniversary celebration for the Sisters in October, with nearly 300 guests coming to honor, thank and congratulate the Sisters on 100 years of giving.  Although the Maryknoll Sisters’ Centennial Year comes to an end in January, the Sisters’ legacy, “Making God’s Love Visible,” continues to touch the lives of many and, we hope, will do so for at least another 250 years!

Recently, Maryknoll 6^th graders had their first experience with an organized, spiritual retreat at St. Stephen’s Diocesan Center.  The day, spent away from school, was a time for the students to learn more about their faith, their relationship with God and even about themselves.  The students participated in activities based on the theme Light of Christ, realizing that we all have a call to bring light wherever there is darkness as well as to work towards not dimming other people’s lights by our own actions.  The retreat itself was organized and led by a selected group of Maryknoll 9^th and 10^th graders.  Here are some reflections from both the retreat participants and the leaders:

This retreat…

            “inspired me to be nicer to people”

            “proved that God will always be there.  He’ll lead me out of darkness in to the light.”

            “helped me by showing me how others act based upon what I do.”

            “was a time when I actually felt God and His great presence.”

            “taught me that God will help me to help others.  He will also help me to help myself.  Every person needs help in life sometime.”

            “showed me that through out your life, there will always be someone to show you the light of God.”

The 6^th graders are well on their way to internalizing the Maryknoll motto, Noblesse Oblige, which stems from a quote often said by Maryknoll’s foundress, Mother Mary Joseph:

            “As one lamp lights another, nor grows less,
            So nobleness enkindleth nobleness.”  (James Russell Lowell)

The Maryknoll School and Community, including Board Members and Maryknoll Sisters, celebrated our 85^th Anniversary Mass on Thursday, September 6^th.  Father Gordy’s homily touched upon the journey of the Maryknoll sisters and the risks they took, the courage they possessed and the faith they demonstrated, 85 years ago coming to the island.  When the school first opened, it had 170 students.  Now, Maryknoll is a well established, thriving Catholic school with 1400 children.

"transformation"..."changed"..."lasting friendships"..."closer to God"..."better understanding of who I am" - Maryknoll LIFE Team reflections

As a teen, there is a definitive challenge of opening yourself up to others and to God among those whom you have met for the first time. However, a mixed team of juniors and seniors from Maryknoll responded faithfully by saying YES to this retreat experience. Venturing to Occidental, CA along with other students from O`ahu, Maui, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Saint Louis, they embraced the journey of the Marianist LIFE Retreat. This six day retreat involved faith formation, community building and leadership development. Heeding the call to be spiritual leaders at Maryknoll, the team's main focus this year will be to develop small Christian communities so that others may be able to share and grow in their faith, develop personal relationships with others and Jesus, and to build a stronger community at Maryknoll.

Interested 6-12th grade students as well as Administration, Faculty and Staff will be invited to participate in these monthly activities.

To learn more about this retreat and its history, go to http://www.marianist.com/life

This summer, twelve Maryknoll students will spend their summer on two great programs that will enable them to have a greater understanding of Christ’s commission for all to become his disciples and be missionaries.

1. Marianist L.I.F.E. (Living In Faith Experience)– a program that trains students how to create and lead Small Christian Communities in school. Most, if not all, students who have been to L.I.F.E. have credited their experience as truly a “Life Changing” experience. L.I.F.E. will be from June 17-22, 2012, at the CYO Camp, Occidental, California.
2. Majuro Mission – a true community immersion program where students actually live with host families in Majuro, the Republic of the Marshall Islands. It is a three-week program that enables our student-missioners to assist the incoming 9^th Grade of Assumption High School. They will have a great socio-cultural, academic, religious exchange. As in the L.I.F.E. program, most, if not all, students who have gone to Majuro, say that this is a great eye-opener about the realities of life in another part of the world.  The Majuro Mission will be from July 6-30, 2012.

Video produced by Cadge Productions www.cadgeproductions.com

This video is a gift for our founders, the Maryknoll Sisters, who are celebrating their centennial anniversary this year. Having established our school 85 years ago, the Maryknoll Sister's gifted our community with a legacy of service, as is evident in our school motto: "Noblesse Oblige, to whom much is given, much is expected." This touching video seeks to bring our school community closer to the Sisters, educate people about the Mother House in Ossining, New York and give them an idea of the breadth and scope of the Sister’s 100 years of service.

Dear Maryknoll Parents,

The season of Lent offers us many important points of reflection on our lives: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and reconciliation. Each of these is a discipline that not only enhances our well-being, but our families and community.

We believe parents are the primary faith models and disciplinarians for their children. Disciplining Children With LOVE is a parent workshop designed to assist parents with identifying disciplinary techniques that are effective in addressing behavioral issues while also displaying unconditional love to children. This workshop will discuss issues such as: Stages of Moral Development, Discipline or Punishment, Tips and Roadblocks to Effective Discipline, Effective Consequences, Forms of Parenting, and the Five Languages of Love of Children.

Our guest speaker Ms. Lianne Casupang, a current Maryknoll parent, is a licensed mental health counselor for the State of Hawai`i. She is a Family Advocacy Specialist for the United States Coast Guard where she assesses abusive situations and provides treatment for offenders and victims of domestic abuse. Ms. Casupang also provides classes for service members and civilians in assisting them to improve and maintain their family relationships. Prior to working for the Coast Guard, she was a clinical counselor with the United States Navy as well as the Hawai`i Youth Correctional Facility. She also taught and counseled at Saint Louis School.

If you are interested in attending, please call 952-7382 or email campusministry@maryknollschool.org.

Peace,

Campus Ministry

Maryknoll School and Catholic Charities Hawaii, both of which were founded by the Maryknoll Sisters, have created an exciting opportunity to honor the Sisters through a year-long drive to provide assistance to families in need on Oahu.

For 100 years, the Maryknoll Sisters have reached out to the world to meet fundamental human needs through their mission of crossing borders to make God’s love visible. Maryknoll School and Catholic Charities Hawaii seek to embody the spirit of their mission by helping those less fortunate within our community. It is a momentous year for the Maryknoll Sisters as well as Catholic Charities Hawaii, who celebrates their 65^th anniversary this year, and Maryknoll School, who is celebrating their 85^th.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to partner with Maryknoll School in this year-long venture. We share the same heritage having both been established by the Maryknoll Sisters whose motto is ‘Making God’s Love Visible.’ Both organizations strive to do that daily,” said Catholic Charities Hawaii President and Chief Executive Officer, Jerry Rauckhorst.

In alignment with their mission, Maryknoll students, families, faculty and staff plan to donate personal hygiene, paper products, and school supplies for families in need who are served by Catholic Charities Hawaii over the course of the year. The items collected will be presented at Maryknoll School’s monthly all-school mass as part of offertory.

“Maryknoll School is deeply thankful to be able to honor the Maryknoll Sisters Centennial through this partnership with Catholic Charities Hawaii,” said Maryknoll School President Perry Martin, “We hope this year-long drive will encourage our students to incorporate service and giving to others into their daily lives.”

Pictured above: First graders collect donations for Catholic Charities Hawai'i as part of offertory during all-school mass

This week, we are celebrating of Founders' Week, taking time to honor those who aided in the founding of our school and also embracing the week as an opportunity to reflect on our own lives at Maryknoll. The Maryknoll Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, and affiliates have sown many a seed to cultivate an environment in which we can grow. In that journey of growth, we learn our call to serve in a similar fashion. It is a momentous year for the Maryknoll Sisters, as they celebrate their Centennial Anniversary. Maryknoll School has been educating children in our community for the past 85 years, a great legacy left by the Sisters.

Our students had a great time at the Kick-off Praise and Worship Assembly on Monday, February 13th in the Maryknoll Community Center, where they passed around candles after being called upon to share the light of Christ. This is symbolic of the Maryknoll Sister's vision to "make God's love visible."

Founded by the Maryknoll Sisters in 1947, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i celebrates 65 years of carrying out the social mission of the Church by helping people in need to help themselves, regardless of their faith or culture.

The Sisters were called to Hawai‘i by Bishop James J. Sweeney who recognized a strong need for social services  in Hawaii as a result of World War II. In 1944, Sister Victoria Francis Larmour, a pioneer in social work arrived in Honolulu with two other Maryknoll Sisters from New York to establish Catholic Social Service, now known as Catholic Charities Hawaii.

Today, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i has evolved as one of Hawai‘i’s largest providers of professional social services, providing help and hope to tens of thousands of people of all faiths and cultures each year across the State of Hawai‘i.

To learn more, visit www.CatholicCharitiesHawaii.org.

It was in 1912 when Mary Josephine Rogers and six other women gathered in Hawthorne, NY to help the newly approved Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers edit their magazine, The Field Afar. This group of women was passionate about their ultimate goal to become a religious congregation whose purpose was “to participate in the mission presence and activity of the universal Church so that God’s Reign of peace, justice and love may be proclaimed and witnessed to throughout the world.”
The Sisters profess the evangelical counsels and devote their lives in service overseas.

 Pictured above: The Maryknoll Sisters arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1927.

The Sisters currently number more than 500 members from diverse cultural backgrounds serving in a variety of fields including medicine, communications, education, agriculture, social services and spiritual formation. In the spirit of this "no two alike" diversity, the Sisters serve the needs of the people where they are missioned, in thirty different countries around the world. Their causes include: Civil and Human Rights, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health Care, Pastoral Ministry, Peace, Women's Advocacy, and Youth Issues.

This September also marks the 85th anniversary of Maryknoll School's founding. When Maryknoll School was blessed in 1927, there were 93 boys and 77 girls. The six Maryknoll Sisters, who had arrived from New York just four days before opening day, comprised the first faculty. The school was a one-story wooden frame building, containing four classrooms, on Dole Street. Learn more on the Maryknoll Sisters website.

Monthly Themes:

February ~ Maryknoll Sisters as Community Developers, Part I

March ~ Maryknoll Sisters as Community Developers, Part II

April ~ Memories of the Maryknoll Sisters

May ~ Virtual Tour of Maryknoll Sisters in New York

June ~ Maryknoll Sisters: Carrying the Torch into the World

July ~ Maryknoll Sisters Homecoming

August ~ Humble Beginnings in Hawaii

September / October ~ Friends of Maryknoll Sisters

November ~ Grateful Hearts for the Maryknoll Sisters

December ~ Maryknoll Sisters: Keeping Our Hearts on Fire

January 6th, 2013 ~ Conclusion of the Centennial Year

You are welcome to attend:

Prayer Worship for Christian Unity
“We Will All Be Changed”
Tuesday Evening – January 24, 2012 – 7:00 p.m.

at
Christ United Methodist Church
1639 Keeaumoku Street, Honolulu
(mauka of Wilder Ave.)

This year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be celebrated from January 18-25. Hawaii churches are invited to participate in this year’s service, hosted by the Hawaii District of the United Methodist Church.

The Most Reverend Larry Silva of the Honolulu Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Hawaii will be the preacher. Special music will be provided by Christ United Methodist Church and the Samoan United Methodist Churches on Oahu.