The big event of the month was the pre-Christmas bazaar. A great amount of time goes into the preparation of this once-a-year Saturday morning festival. Many bring crafts and homemade specialties to go along with the lau-laus and Portuguese bean soup. Doors opened at 7 a.m. When I went over just before noon, they were already beginning to close up shop. After all bills were paid, the organizers reported over $12,000 in net earnings to support various church programs and activities.

Parishioners bring us nice things from their gardens. One lady makes a seaweed and onion combination that is very good. Another brings avocados which are the biggest and best I’ve ever seen – I can eat only a quarter at a time! Other parishioners bring bananas and lemons. Moreover the staff continually shares pastries and cookies with us. When our regular cook was out for a while, Brother Jim Vorndran was busy and creative in keeping us well supplied, so we never go hungry!

In the course of the month we received from the Provincial office a packet of new Marianist crosses and lapel pins along with a special prayer service emphasizing our Marianist identity. Among Brother Jim’s ever increasing list of activities is his effort to gather the Marianist Affiliates more frequently. Ordinarily, it takes a visit from Father Jack Rielly (from Cupertino) to bring the group together, but on the first Sunday of November Brother Jim met with several for a brief prayer and discussion session subsequently enlivened by coffee and malasadas (Portuguese donuts).

Brother Dan Stupka had arranged his return from India to Cincinnati to include a visit with us. He was a lively addition to our community and an avid observer of life at Saint Anthony’s. We had glorious weather for most of his visit, and even the Sunday rain was welcomed. Brother Jim took care of Brother Dan in faithfully following his guide book “Maui Revealed.” I was the chauffeur for the drive to Haleakala which took us up 10,000 feet through the clouds into glorious sunshine. But on the return drive we inched our way down the crater road through a dense fog. The descent was challenging because there were many bikers on the road or waiting by the roadside. It is estimated that 120,000 cyclists make the run down from the crater every year. On our way home we visited the Holy Ghost Church, the octagonal marvel and pride of the Maui Portuguese community.

Brother Bob Metzger and Brother Tom Payne flew over from Honolulu for a day’s visit. And as the month came to a close Sister Doris Rauenhorst, OP, flew in from the Twin Cities for retreat. The Maui invitational basketball tournament gave Chaminade University, the host school, great publicity. Father Ray and I had the usual ministerial activities. Fortunately the hospital is only ten minutes away. Unfortunately, many wait until the last minute to call for a priest – the term “last rites” is difficult to eradicate! One day I was called to ICU in the morning before blessing a home and later a car.

The week after celebrating the great feast of Christ the King, we began Advent. At the 5 p.m. Saturday Mass, Jo Fernandez leads the singing and her husband Manny plays the drums – I call him our “drummer boy” – while others play guitars. It is a lively group! After many years, Manny has a new set of drums and so we had a special blessing after Mass to complement the blessing of the Advent wreath we had before Mass. The end of the month also featured confessions for the grade school students, including the first confessions of one class. We were able to celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas with a large and beautifully decorated Christmas Tree in our community room. Meanwhile, our maintenance man erected the large star over the entrance to the Church. We’ve had glorious weather all month: always “partly sunny” or “partly cloudy.” The trade winds continue to keep us refreshed, but the breeze disappeared for a few days and we were treated to some vog (volcanic haze) coming from the Big Island of Hawaii.

On behalf of the Marianist community, I want to offer our heartiest greetings for the Christmas Season and the New Year.

ST