Praying for Change


Jeremiah Carter, Damien Memorial

:
Students and staff members from Damien Memorial
pose for a picture with St. Damien’s statue before
praying for the homeless at the state capital on his
feast day, May 10. Pictured with the group are the
Bishop of Honolulu, Larry Silva (far left) and Provincial
of The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus
and Mary, Herman Gomes (far right).

Photographer:

Students and staff members from Damien Memorial pose for a picture with St. Damien’s statue before praying for the homeless at the state capital on his feast day, May 10. Pictured with the group are the Bishop of Honolulu, Larry Silva (far left) and Provincial of The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Herman Gomes (far right).

For the 3rd year Damien Memorial School students from Campus Ministry Club, Women in Leadership Class, and Student Government gathered at the Hawaii State Capitol building on Wednesday, May 10, for the feast of Saint Damien. While there, students prayed publicly for the homeless and included a prayer of thanksgiving for legislative efforts on behalf of the poor and homeless. Students also presented leis and flowers at the statue of St. Damien located prominently in front of the State Capital. Other Catholic schools, religious, clergy, faith-based, and non-profit organizations also gathered to pray at the event.

Prayer for the Homeless

May 10, 2018

Photographer:

Students and staff members from Damien Memorial pose for a picture with St. Damien’s statue before praying for the homeless at the state capital on his feast day, May 10. Pictured with the group are the Bishop of Honolulu, Larry Silva (far left) and Provincial of The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Herman Gomes (far right).

For the 3rd year Damien Memorial School students from Campus Ministry Club, Women in Leadership Class, and Student Government gathered at the Hawaii State Capitol building on Wednesday, May 10, for the feast of Saint Damien. While there, students prayed publicly for the homeless and included a prayer of thanksgiving for legislative efforts on behalf of the poor and homeless. Students also presented leis and flowers at the statue of St. Damien located prominently in front of the State Capital. Other Catholic schools, religious, clergy, faith-based, and non-profit organizations also gathered to pray at the event.

Prayer for the Homeless

May 10, 2018

Loving God, almost a century and a half ago, our inspired patron, Saint Damien of Moloka‘i, witnessed the suffering of the most needy of our islands and gave up everything to serve them. We believe that if Father Damien came to us today with the same passion and the same unselfish desire to serve the most needy among us, he would turn his attention to our brothers and sister who are homeless.

So we ask that you hear our prayer today for all women and men, boys and girls who are homeless this day. For those sleeping under banyan trees, on park benches, in doorways, or at bus-stops. For those who can only find shelter for the night but must wander in the daytime. For families broken because they could not afford to pay the rent. For those who have no relatives or friends who can take them in. For those who are afraid and hopeless. For all these people, we pray that you will provide shelter, security, and hope.

We pray for those of us with secure houses and comfortable beds that we not be lulled into complacency. O God, help us to see you in the eyes of every homeless person we meet so that we may be empowered through word and deed and through participation in the political process to bring justice and peace to those who are homeless, as we are sure Father Damien would.

Loving God, standing here at our state’s capitol and with this powerful image of our holy patron, we pray also for the Hawaii State Legislature as we thank them for being responsive to the plight of the homeless.

During the session that ended last week, our lawmakers provided $15 million in funding that will give the State flexibility to continue proven programs like Housing First, Rapid Rehousing, Outreach to Homeless, including Youths on the Streets, civil legal services, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) to divert homeless to social services instead of arresting them, and the Kakaako Family Assessment Center, operated by Catholic Charities Hawaii.

The legislature provided funding to help stop the flow into homelessness through financial aid to families facing eviction and short term help to get them back on their feet through the Coordinated Statewide Homeless Initiative: CSHI.

Funding has been provided for a partnership with hospitals to develop Emergency Department Assessment programs to lead the homeless coming to the emergency room to social services and better care, and for the partnership to develop a Medical Respite pilot project to care for the homeless being discharged who need more care versus returning straight to the streets.

We thank the Legislature for their efforts to give the homeless a safe place to temporarily live through Ohana Zones and pilot programs including wrap-around services. The Legislature took a bold step forward to create more rental housing with their $200 million allocation to the Rental Housing Revolving Fund to build new rentals for our ohana with incomes at 60% or below of the Area Median Income.

We thank our lawmakers and our governor for this and other legislation in support of the poor and homeless among us, and we ask you, loving God, to continue to open their hearts to those most in need of the people of Hawaii.

We ask all this through Jesus, our Lord and Brother. Amen.
Saint Damien. Pray for us. Blessed Edmund Rice. Pray for us. Live, Jesus, in our hearts. Forever.

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