Enhancing our Catholic Home: On the Inside



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5th Sunday of Lent

March 21-22, 2015

Readings can be found at:



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Contact Kristina kdeneve@ or

808-230-6767

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3rd Sunday of Lent

March 7-8, 2015

Readings can be found at:



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Lent: Letting God Surprise Us

By: Kristina M. DeNeve

Adult Faith Formation Coordinator

Diocese of Honolulu

So, we’re getting into the spirit of Lent now, fasting (from something!), increasing our prayer and giving of ourselves. Today’s Gospel seems disconnected to all this, with Jesus transfigured into dazzling glory. What does this have to do with Lent?

The transfiguration reminds us of why we undertake Lenten practices. Lent is not about making ourselves more holy, more worthy of God. It is not about making us feel worthless, aware as we become of our sins, weaknesses and human limitations. Rather, this Gospel reminds us that Jesus is the reason for this season. For God so loved the world, loved human beings, that he sent himself, his Son, to show us the dazzling brilliance of his love.

Would Jesus have been transfigured if he had been alone on that mountaintop? Personally, I don’t think so. During Lent, we are reminded of Jesus’ glory, that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law, the fulfillment of the prophets. Jesus, during Lent and at all times, wants us to know him, wants us to know who he really is.

The Gospel Message No One Wants to Talk About

By: Kristina M. DeNeve

Adult Faith Formation Coordinator

Diocese of Honolulu

Jesus tells us today that we are to be a dying grains of wheat, producing much good fruit. What does this mean for us today? Not that we are supposed to become doormats, letting the world walk all over us. Nor does it mean we are to actively seek out suffering, to “play the martyr” and tell everyone around us about all the sacrifices we are making. Not even Jesus wanted to suffer!

Today’s Gospel provides an absolutely core message for us about being Christians. Yet, this message is rarely discussed in “polite circles.” The message? If we follow Jesus, we will still suffer. (Anticlimactic, right? Think about it some more and you’ll see it is actually pretty deep.) Following Jesus or not, we are still going to have heartache, pain, death.

That said, Holy Week and today’s Gospel also tell us this: though we will suffer, God promises to transform. We will grow, become. And God will also transform others through our sufferings. Die and know that God brings forth new life, through you.

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2nd Sunday of Lent

Feb. 28-March 1, 2015

Readings can be found at:



Questions, Comments Suggestions?

Contact Kristina kdeneve@ or

808-230-6767

Sacrifice as Sacrament

By: Kristina M. DeNeve

Adult Faith Formation Coordinator

Diocese of Honolulu

Why did Jesus suffer and die? And why die for me? No matter how much we try, we can never completely wrap our minds around this, can never fully understand.

This Lent, I’ve been reflecting on the sacramental approach to Jesus’ death. In contrast to Bible-only Christians, Catholics believe, as Fr. Michael Himes states, “what is always and everywhere true must be noticed, accepted and celebrated somewhere, sometime.” We love the uniqueness of our children every day of the year, but it is especially on their birthdays that we make sure to celebrate how special they are. So too with God and our understanding of the seven Sacraments.

Himes suggests this sacramental approach can also help us understand Jesus’ saving death. God is like the Prodigal Father, always, everywhere and at all times loving us. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus (who is God’s very self) shows us definitively that we are always loved, never separated.

This viewpoint also means that God didn’t stop loving us because of our sins. After Jesus’sacrifice, God doesn’t change and decide to love us again. With Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection, God doesn’t change; we do.

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Palm Sunday

March 28-29, 2015

Readings can be found at:



Questions, Comments Suggestions?

Contact Kristina kdeneve@ or

808-230-6767

About “John 3:16”

By: Kristina M. DeNeve

Adult Faith Formation Coordinator

Diocese of Honolulu

Many Catholics believe they don’t “know” Scripture, yet many of us can still paraphrase the ending to this famous line from the Bible, “For God so loved the world that…” We may not make it to Mass every Sunday, but we can trust “John 3:16” will appear on a poster in the stands of every major sporting event. John 3:16 reminds us of who Jesus is, what he did for us, how we who believe in him are destined for eternal life.

Unfortunately, many of us think of John 3:16 only in the past tense, as history. God loved us. God sent his only Son, Jesus. Past tense, yesterday.

This is a mistake. As Catholics, we believe God continues loving, creating, sending. Jesus continues redeeming, purifying, bringing us ever closer to God. The Holy Spirit makes God’s presence, Jesus’ presence known, helping us know God. Today. Not past tense. We believe not because of the past but because of God’s continuous actions in our lives.

God loves us today, continues to send Jesus and invites us to believe so we might have eternal life. This Lent, today, is John 3:16.

A Righteous Anger?!

By: Kristina M. DeNeve

Adult Faith Formation Coordinator

Diocese of Honolulu

Of all the Gospel stories about Jesus, the cleansing in the temple is perhaps the one most commonly misused by us to justify our actions. Who has not known a “righteous anger,” spoken up or done something about it, and then used this Gospel to be at peace with our actions?

There is just one problem. Nowhere in any account of the temple cleansing do the Gospel writers indicate that Jesus was angry. No Gospel writer spoke of Jesus’ internal state of mind. None used violent words to depict the table turning.

Look too at Jesus’ actions across his lifespan. Never, ever, never does Jesus “stick up for himself.” Instead, Jesus always, always, always, absorbs injustice. Absorbs it, transforms it, and then responds with openness and love.

God does not want us to be punching bags for others, absorbing abuse (physical, emotional, etc.) or letting injustice continue. God does surprise us, however, by showing us that, in the face of injustice, we are capable of acting out of centeredness, balance, goodness, love.

With Jesus’ Spirit, even righteous anger does not have to be angry.

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4th Sunday of Lent

March 14-15, 2015

Readings can be found at:



Questions, Comments Suggestions?

Contact Kristina kdeneve@ or

808-230-6767

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