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From the Coordinator:
"Hope in the Lord"
"I know well the plans I have in mind for you, plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope."
(Jeremiah 29:11)
After faith and before love, the second theological virtue is hope. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit." Faith and hope work hand in hand; a person of faith is a person of hope.
Like faith, hope cannot be seen or concretely known. Hope is having a deep faith that God will truly provide for all we need and entrust ourselves to His Divine Providence or plan. Lately, the topic of same-sex marriage has been so divisive in the Church, government, society, and families. It has been more destructive than constructive. Some legislators have even received death threats. So where is there hope is this situation? Our Christian faith propels us to allow God to take precedence.
Provers 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths." In order to have hope, you must first have faith. You must trust that God is in control and let Him be in control. There is no situation too destitute, too hopeless, that God cannot resolve. Even in the face of persecution that we Christians may encounter, our hope in the Lord will overcome any fear.
So when you feel like life is hopeless, that things are not going as you planned or that there's nothing left for you in this world, perhaps you should try to redirect your attention to the love of God. St. Paul wrote to the Romans, "hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us." (5:5) As Jeremiah says, God does not desire for us to have a hopeless future, but a future filled with hope. Trust in God and He will direct your paths to a hope-filled future.
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SERVICE PROJECT
On Saturday, October 12, members of our EPIC Ministry joined with patients at Shriners Hospital for Children to create Halloween crafts. It was an incredibly rewarding opportunity to work with these children and we definitely look forward to going back again.
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We were very fortunate to have Rep. Marcus Oshiro join us at our Faith Sharing on October 14 to explain the political process especially in relation to the same-sex marriage legislation. It was a real blessing for him to shed some light on this issue and provide so much information that most of us were totally unaware of.
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PLENTY MAHALOS to Ed & Christy Keaunui for leading a special Faith Sharing on October 21 focusing on an important Life Skill for all young adults: financial planning. Their testimony and example inspires a generation that is generally considered financially irresponsible. We hope they can join us again in the future!
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Happy Thanksgiving!
Join us for our EPIC THANKSGIVING GATHERING on Saturday, November 30, at 6:30 PM at the Fukumoto's House.
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