Lords Day and start of Special Novena

Aloha YA,

We will be gathering tonight at 7:30pm at StarBucks for our Lords Day celebration as well as to start off our Novena for the upcoming election. See you there!!!

(Picture from flickr.com ,a 'miqul' photo under creative commons license)

Dallas Michael Lanakila Carter was born!

On Friday September 26th, Dallas Michael Lanakila Carter was born! 6 pound 13oz and 18.5 inches long! He came out like a champ too! Monica and I arrived at the hospital at 6:45am on Friday morning and she gave birth at 8:30am! All natural, no meds! Honestly, she is XTREME!!!

His hawaiian name, Lanakila, means 'Victorious'. I hope to raise him to fulfill his name :) With a name like Lanakila, he needs to be strong!!!!

I dont have lots of time right now,,, gotta get back to tending to my wife,newborn son, and baby daughter. But I wanted to share the good news with everyone! Above is a picture of my son and I . . . And guess what . . . unlike at the birth of my daughter when I was 350+ pounds, I was fit and energetic for this birth,,, and I had no problem holding my baby as close as I wanted!!

Peace

Dallas

Home Assistance

OLGC Young Adults,

An elderly couple (husband has cancer and his wife receives dialysis) who live in Mililani need home assistance two mornings a week (7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.) and two same evenings a week (6:00 p.m. to 10 p.m.). If you know of anyone who can assist them, please contact Me and I will pass on their private contact information

God bless you. Sincerely in Christ,

Dallas

Bible Study on Faithful Citizenship

Aloha Young Adults,

In light of the upcoming election we will be embarking on a 6 week bible study of the United States Conference of Bishop's 'Faithful Citizenship'. We will begin this Thursday at 7pm at Starbucks in Pearl City (where we normally do Lord's Day). You may download the bible study below to get prepped for the Bible Study :)

Special Homeless Outreach this Friday

Aloha Young Adults,

We have a very special Homeless Outreach scheduled for this Friday. We will be going to the shelter this Frida to participate in their monthly 'Keiki Birthday'. We will leave OLGC at 530pm to go to the shelter. Call me or text me if you have any questions :)

Dallas

(Picture from flickr.com ,a 'ThreeErin' photo under creative commons license)

BISHOPS INTENSIFY EFFORTS TO COMMUNICATE WITH CATHOLIC VOTERS;

WASHINGTON—As the nation moves closer to the presidential election, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is intensifying efforts to communicate to U.S. Catholics the messages in the bishops' statement on Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. The Bishops' statement is on the Web at www.faithfulcitizenship.org.

First, to encourage Catholics to visit and explore the Web site, the USCCB will give an iPod to a person randomly selected from those who register between now and November 4, to be notified about new Faithful Citizenship resources at www.faithfulcitizenship.org.

Second, Faithful Citizenship: A Matter of Conscience and the Video Quiz with Steve Angrisano, both from the Faithful Citizenship Web site, have been uploaded to YouTube for viewing by the general public. Angrisano is a dynamic singer, songwriter and storyteller popular with Christian youth.

Third, a Faithful Citizenship page has been created on the popular social networking site, Facebook.

"We hope these efforts will encourage Catholics to respond to the call by the bishops of the United States to bring the values of their faith to public life," Joan Rosenhauer, Associate Director for the USCCB's Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, said.

The initiatives build upon previous efforts to make this year's statement more accessible to Catholics in the pews. For example, the Faithful Citizenship Web site at www.faithfulcitizenship.org highlights interactive features such as videos and downloadable podcasts, including the recently produced Novena for Faithful Citizenship. A youth Web site at www.faithfulcitizenship.org/youth features quizzes and a discussion guide and was developed to reach younger audiences. # # # # #08-137SEC,DD,BlogPolitics,CNS,RNS,Crux

www.CatholicVote.com

Palin fuses politics and motherhood in new way

(Picture from flickr.com ,a 'Thomas Roche' photo under creative commons license)

Click Here to read article

Manaolana (September) and the 2008 voter guide

Aloha YA,

Thanks to everyone who helped at Homeless Ministry last night. It is such a blessing to see less and less folks at the shelter. It indicates progress on the part of AHA and H5 in getting more housing for our homeless! Remember we have the 'Walk the Talk' coming up soon! Time to get in shape and prepare for our walk around the island!!!

Here is the September 5th edition of Manaolana, the Diocesan News Page for Young Adults :) It also has a list of upcoming events and has interesting articles about island Young adults. The download link is

Manaolana (September 5th)

Also, The Hawaii Family Forum put out this years local voter guide. In essence what they have done is ask the various public office candidates a series of questions that address particular issues important to Catholics. Quite often, we vote without sufficient knowledge of the candidates. This guide will give us a nice heads up on important issues. The link is below:

2008 Voter Guide

(Picture from flickr.com ,a 'matsuda.yukihiro' photo under creative commons license)

Homeless Ministry Tonight . . .

Homeless Ministry this evening. We will leave OLGC at 5:30pm on the dot :)

There will be no Lords Day Celebration this evening so please come to Homeless if you can!


(Picture from flickr.com ,a 'Janice Yuvallos' photo under creative commons license)

Pro Life Youth Rally on October 4th!!!

Aloha YA :)

Please mark your calenders for October 4th :) There will be a pro-life rally at Holy Family Parish from 1pm - 8pm :) Please see the below flier for more information :)

http://www.mediafire.com/?hwal6b2lvvt

(Picture from flickr.com ,a 'Steve Rhodes' photo under creative commons license)

Try Twitter!

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Its a very cool way to communicate and to keep everyone up to date on everything :) Sign up when you have a second! My Twitter is at http://www.twitter.com/DallasCarter

Dallas, Paji, and Vance were on TV!!!!

I was interviewed by Ron Mizutani!

http://www.khon2.com/news/local/27301984.html

A Farewell BBQ for Rob :)

Aloha YA,

Tonight, in place of our normal Holy Hour and Lords Day, we are going to have a BBQ at Rob's house in honor of his departure to go serve our country in the middle east. Please come by anytime after 7:00pm tonight and join us for fellowship, prayer, and fun!

(Picture from flickr.com ,a 'Harris Graber' photo under creative commons license)

Save the date! D.M. Conference Oct 3 - 5 , 2008

Our Lady of Good Counsel and the Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy present a special celebration of the 10th Year anniversary of establishing a perpetual adoration of the blessed sacrament chapel here in Pearl City with the 2008 Divine Mercy Conference on October 3 - 5, 2008. Please see the bulletin and check here in the weeks ahead for more information.

My new hero! And not because he is a good swimmer!

YA, check this out article when you have a second: CLICK HERE

This Guy eats 12,000 calories a day! For Breakfast he has:

1)Three Fried Egg Sandwiches with Tomato, lettuce, and mayo 2)A bowl of grits
3)Two cups of coffee
4)A five egg omelet
5)Three Pieces of French toast with powdered sugar
6)Three Chocolate Chip Pancakes

AND THATS JUST BREAKFAST

For Dinner he has a POUND of pasta and an ENTIRE PIZZA

INSANE! This guy is my new hero, not because he is the greatest olympian to ever walk the planet, but because he eats MASSIVE AMOUNTS of food and still stays lean!

Sorry Batman, I have a new hero!

Voter Registration Campaign!

OLGC Young Adults! We have been asked by Eva Andrade, from the Hawaii Family Forum, to help with the Voter Registration Campaign. This is a chance for us to express our call to be responsible citizens!


Here is The letter from Eva:

Hi there!

Here is the link.

It should be relatively easy for the YAM or Outreach ministry to do this. They just need to have forms available and some pens. They cannot collect the completed forms unless there is an adult there who is certified as a registrar. (That information is in the packet on the back of the purple form that says How to Conduct a Voter Registration)

Their whole job is just to ensure that people are reminded to register (maybe via a pulpit announcement) and if they haven’t they can pick up forms at the table outside the church (manned by the Young Adult Ministry). It’s always good to remind people that if they have moved or changed their name they need to reregister. Also, it really works to have people encouraged to vote absentee (especially if they are elderly or have mobility issues.) I vote absentee every year so I don’t have to stand in lines or miss work. LOL

The office of elections is right down the street from OLGC. (Past the intersection by McDonalds and Longs). You can pick up WikiWiki forms from them if you want to save on some money for the photocopying. I think they let you pick up 300 of those. If you do that, ask for both Absentee and the regular voter registration forms. If you want to do that, just call 453-VOTE and tell them you want to pick up some forms.

Let me know if you need any more information.

Thanks so much,

Eva

So YOUNG ADULTS, please text me, or email me if you are interested in helping with this project. Thanks!

Dallas

*Picture from flickr.com ,a 'hjl' photo, under the Creative Commons License*

Creating a 'Landscape of Reality'

By Dallas Carter, MPT

Understanding Catholic Theology may be a life-time task. It is Important , however, to equip ourselves with a template of Christian theology, or a ‘landscape of reality’ as my favorite Theologian Frank Sheed coins it, that prepares each young catholic for that life-time task of contemplation and constant theological reflection.

So where does Catholic Theology start? Where does it come from? All of it must start from a Christian explanation of who God is and how he relates to mankind from the very beginning. God’s plan starts from the very beginning of creation which was done as a sheer act of goodness. As the Catechism states: “God, infinitely blessed in Himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in His own blessed life.” (CCC1). So God, out of His love created us to share in the innermost blessed life of the trinity. He created all things and disclosed the call to worship. He created the angelic spirits in aveternity, then he created the material realm (in time), the created order, in which the human person is on top. He created humans in His image and likeness (Gen1:27) and blessed them with the powers of the mind: memory, intellect, and Will. This blessing granted mankind to be able to have the desire to share in God’s blessed life and the ability to either choose or even reject this life.

So God called our first parents (Adam and Eve) into this intimate communion with him and by their original sin they shattered this unity. God however, promised a redemption of humanity and sought to save humanity part by part. This part of God’s plan was worked in the Old Testament in the Magnalia Dei that God blessed mankind with. It was manifested in acts like the Exodus, the gift of the promise land, the birth of Isaac, the election of David, etc. God constantly sought to bring his people back to Him, but each time they fell away. These great works and the fullness of the revelation of His very self to mankind , and his plan for mankind, culminated in the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ Christ’s life, death and resurrection, discloses God;s plan of bringing us to Himself. Jesus discloses mystery of the plan of salvation in the Old Testament. Christ “bought us back” the ability to once again share in the innermost blessed life of the Trinity. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In his coming he discloses the Way to the Father in the fullness of the Truth that lie in him, and he shows us the Life we ought to lead on our way back to the Father.

Christ, in teaching us the Way to the Father and showing us the Life, institutes the Church, which is the “sacrament of Salvation” (CCC740). Through the Church, Christ makes it possible for us to participate in the life of grace. Through baptism we are granted the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. We strive to live out these virtues through the Christian life set forth by the Church. By participating in the sacramental and prayer life of the Church we participate in the worship of Christ through the exercise of our memory (anamnesis); we live the truth of the Creed in fulfillment of our intellect, and we follow the Code through the Will by the Holy Spirit. By participating in this graced life through the sacraments, we engage our very selves into the plan of salvation, on our way to the blessed life of the Trinity.

(Picture from flickr.com ,a 'Matt Mcgee' photo)

'On Fire' Quote of the Month (August 2008)

"You ask me whether I am in good spirits. How could I not be, so long as my trust in God gives me strength. We must always be cheerful. Sadness should be banished from all Christian souls. For suffering is a far different thing from sadness, which is the worst disease of all. It is almost always caused by lack of Faith. But the purpose for which we have been created shows us the path along which we should go, perhaps strewn with many thorns, but not a sad path. Even in the midst of intense suffering it is one of joy." - Blessed Pier Giorgio

Lord's Day Celebration

For the past year, the Our Lady of Good Counsel Young Adults have gathered together each Wednesday evening to hold a Bible Study or to participate in the ‘Lord’s Day’. The Lord's Day is an old Jewish tradition celebrating the coming of the Sabbath. During the celebration the young adults offer up special petitions, sing praise, read the upcoming Sunday Gospel, share reflections and experiences about the Gospel, give thanks for the blessings of the week, and enjoy a meal together to symbolize the importance of ‘Communio’ (community)

We would like to welcome all young adults, (18+) to join us in our weekly gathering. We meet each Wednesday at 830pm in the youth room or at other sites. The Bible Study lasts about one hour and is often followed by fellowship among the Young Adults. If you are interested in joining us in our please contact me, Dallas, at 808-223-3249 or via email at nativecatholic@gmail.com

Feel Free to visit http://www.nativecatholic.com for past Bible Studies

Hiking Ministry

Summer is bringing a great new addition to the Our Lady of Good Counsel Young Adult Ministry agenda. In following the life and ways of our patron, Blessed Pierre Giorgio Frassati, the Young Adults will be starting a monthly rosary hiking ministry. Blessed Pierre would often invite friends and neighbors to hike the hills of Turin, Italy with him while saying the rosary. He was a great witness to all he invited and many hearts were converted to the Church through their experience with Blessed Pierre.

It is our hope that through our rosary hikes we will build our faith in Christ, establish disciplined prayer habits in our lives, and learn to be stewards of God’s great creation through appreciating the beautiful mountains and valleys Gods has blessed us with here in Hawaii.

We would like to open our new ministry to our parish family and have scheduled three hikes so far. Each of them are on Saturdays, from 1pm – 4pm. We ask that each person bring a simple day pack (a back pack) with water, a small snack, extra clothes as needed (i.e. a sweater or hat), and of course a rosary (If you do not have one, one will be provided) We hope you join us as we meditate on the life of Blessed Pierre and the mysteries of the most holy rosary.

Holy Hour (Eucharistic Adoration)

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, the patron saint of OLGC Young Adult Ministry, prayed daily, offering, among other prayers, a daily rosary on his knees by his bedside. Often his agnostic father would find him asleep in this position. "He gave his whole self, both in prayer and in action, in service to Christ," Luciana Frassati writes. After Pier Giorgio began to attend Jesuit school as a boy, he received a rare permission in those days to take communion daily. "Sometimes he passed whole nights in Eucharistic adoration." For Pier Giorgio, Christ was the answer. Therefore, all of his action was oriented toward Christ and began first in contemplation of Him.

As ministers and young adults of Our Lady of Good Counsel, we spend an hour of Eucharistic Adoration every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM, with the exception of days when we have Homeless Ministry. We invite all to join us in Eucharistic Adoration, to pray before our Lord Jesus Christ.

Young Adult Choir

The Young Adult Choir practices every 2nd and 5th Friday each month from 8:00-9:30 pm. They usually sing at the Saturday 5:30 pm Mass of the 2nd and 5th Saturday of each month. We welcome all musicians and singers to our Young Adult Choir (age 18 and up). Please contact any of our young adults at the office at 455-3012 if you wish to join our Young Adult Choir.

Homeless Ministry

Inspired by the life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati the Young Adult Ministry of Our Lady of Good Counsel has been serving the homeless in Hawaii for the last three years. For the first two years of our ministry we would do weekly feedings and visits out to Ala Moana Beach Park. However, since May 1st 2006 with the eviction of homeless from the beach park by the City of Honolulu, we have been working in union with the State sponsored organization "Next Step" in providing services from the Homeless at the recently established shelter near Kakaako Beach Park.

We visit shelter every Thursday, rain or shine, holiday or not, to fellowship and talk-story with our homeless friends. Every week we leave the grounds of Our Lady of Good Counsel at 5:30pm and we return no later than 8:00pm. If you are interested in any aspect of our Homeless Ministry: visiting, cooking, or serving meals, please contact Dallas Carter, coordinator of young adult ministries for OLGC, at (808)223-3249 or at the OLGC office at (808)455-3012.

A LETTER FROM DALLAS CARTER, JR. REGARDING HOMELESS MINISTRY,
DATED APRIL 15, 2007

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ! Our Young Adult Ministry here at Our Lady of Good Counsel have been serving the homeless at the Kaka’ako Shelter, in union with Utu Langi and his H-5 organization, since its opening last year (in the month of May) and 3 years prior to that at Ala Moana Beach Park. In July of last year, we were informed that in order to serve food at the shelter, we needed to prepare the food in a state-certified kitchen. Our Young Adult Ministry, despite this roadblock, was undeterred and continued to serve our brothers and sisters, by preparing food in St. Joseph’s certified kitchen and ordering large amounts of food from Chun Wah Kam in Aiea.

Our group was blessed to have a kitchen available for our usage but we knew that such arrangements would not be easy for all the various community organizations that were eager to serve at the shelter. In the months that followed, we saw a sharp drop-off in the number of organizations able to provide food services for the “Next Step” Shelter because of the lack of finding available certified kitchens to prepare the food. This put unneeded strain on the H-5 organization and thus prompted many of us involved to seek to petition for a change in this particular regulation.

As of Tuesday, April 3, 2007, Governor Linda Lingle signed an emergency bill that exempts charitable organizations from this rule for 120 days while the state finds a permanent way to change this regulation that will exempt non-profit and charitable organizations from this rule. This change will no doubt empower the community at large to play a more active role in serving our island’s homeless and will allow the state organizations involved to focus their efforts on long term solutions such as job placement and housing solutions.”

Our prayers have been answered. Now we are able to serve our brothers and sisters that are in need without any worry of regulations, at least temporarily. With the help of fellow Christians, we will be able to help these people on the short term and also actively look for long term and permanent solution to our island’s homeless issue. Because of the exemption given by the State we are now in a position to be able to invite our parish organizations and families to participate in preparing and serving food to our homeless brothers and sisters. Please contact me at 223-3249 if you are interested in assisting in this ministry.

OLGC Wellness Ministry

Click on the Video Below to Begin Presentation

'On Fire' Quote of the Month (July)

The 'Roar' of the Church

"The Catholic Church is like a Lion; it doesnt need us to defend it so much as it needs us to unlock its cage and let it out. Once out it can take care of itself."

- Dr. Scott Hahn (Pentecost 1992)

Summorum Pontificum - A Motu Proprio from Benedict XVI

This was released last year. . . I have pasted an old post, from my old blog,here :)

- - - The Holy See released a Motu Proprio (of his own accord) regarding the use of the 1962 missal of John XXIII.

The three articles that seem to stand out to me are articles 2,4, and 10.It looks like the Holy Father is giving all priests permission to celebrate the 1962 missal without approval from his Ordinary (article 2) and that the faithful are free to attend (article 4) I am interested to see if our bishop here in Hawaii will be enacting article 10? I have sent emails to several diocesan administrators asking them how Bishop Silva might enforce this. If I hear anything I will post it as an update here. Below are the Latin and English translations of the document as well as the 3 articles which stood out to me

http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/litteraeapostolicae.pdf (Latin)

http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/bclnewsletterjune07.pdf (English translation)

Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his Ordinary.

Art. 4. Celebrations of Mass as mentioned above in art. 2 may - observing all the norms of law - also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted.

Art. 10. The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with can. 518 for celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a chaplain, while observing all the norms of law.

Welcome all OLGC Young Adults!

Aloha everyone my name is Dallas Carter and I am the Young Adult coordinator at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Pearl City, a catholic catechist working with the Office of Religious Education for the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu under the jurisdiction of His Excellency Bishop Larry Silva, and a health consultant.

I am cradle catholic born and raised on the island of Oahu. After my graduation from Kamehameha Schools in 2000 I studied Catholic Theology at the Franciscan University in Steubenville Ohio. After attaining my B.A. in Theology at Franciscan I continued my studies at Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii. In '06 I graduated with my Masters in Theology from Chaminade and have begun the prerequisites for my p.h.d studies.

By day I am a Campus Minister at a local catholic grade school here on Oahu, the OLGC Young Adult coordinator, and I have been a lecturer of theology for Diocese for nearly two years now. My experience with the young adults of OLGC and lecturing has brought many blessings to me and have given me more knowledge about the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church than any amount of books could ever provide. On the same token my experiences have opened my eyes to the reality that there is much work to be done with regard to proper catechesis and religious education with both our young adults in our diocese as well as our adults.

The present societal cliche of moral and doctrinal relativism has infiltrated the hearts of so many well meaning and good-hearted catholic young adults. It is my specific ministry to reach out and help guide our catholic young adults to a clear understanding of the teachings of Holy Mother Church, without compromise. As an catechist it is my duty not to create new interpetations of church teaching but rather to 'echein' or 'echo' what the Church and her Holy Tradition have taught since the time of Christ until this present day and to defend (apologia) her holy teachings against all those who question our faith (1 Pt 3:15) Also, Following the holy example of Blessed Pierre Giorgio Frassati, in line with the call of our Holy Father in his debut encyclical ‘Deus Caritas Est’ our Young Adults have set as our mission to strive to establish, through worship and ministry, a deeper awareness of our call as Catholics to Social Justice issues and specifically the Works of Mercy found in Matthew 25:34ff . Our young adults also serve our OLGC youth ministry.

Please check here regularly for updates and for a calendar of Young Adults Events!

In humility I ask for your prayers as our Young Adults embark on this mission.

Gods Blessings,

Dallas Carter, MPT

On Fire Ministry

On Fire!

In union with InHim Ministries Hawaii, The OLGC Young Adult Ministries holds monthly gatherings of the island's youth and young adults at St. Stephen's parish in Nuuanu. The past year was spectacular with visiting priest and speakers from around the world joining us in night of Prayer, worship, and fellowship. On Fire takes place every first Saturday of every month.

Arms of God - - Retreat and Mission

A.R.M.S. OF GOD

Retreat Ministry is strongly rooted in the belief that Agape Builds Communities which Demonstrate Evangelization and Fellowship with God. Jesus had set an example for us on earth to serve others as he did, but foremost, we should serve others through love.

Being a part of A.R.M.S. of God is committing one's self to a way of leadership, service, charity, and renewal. Our main goals are to bring people closer to Jesus and to help find their vocation in life. Meetings are scheduled every 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. As a continuation of furthering religious education after Confirmation, the A.R.M.S. of God aids those in the process of C.C.D. and Confirmation by sharing our passion and faith for Jesus.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Tiffany Joy "T.J." retreat@olgchawaii.net (Retreat Ministry Coordinator and Advisor respectfully.) Keep the faith alive and live by Jesus' example...
REQUIREMENTS: YOU MUST BE CONFIRMED IN A CATHOLIC CHURCH TO JOIN RETREAT MINISTRY!!!

Bearers of the Light

Bearers of the Light

The Young Adult Ministry of Our Lady of Good Counsel has also been of great service to the Diocesan Office of Religious Education this year. In past years, past members of our ministry held weekly "Defending the Faith" classes for all parishioners interested in learning more about our rich Catholic tradition. The classes developed and gained popularity such that the Office of Religious Education decided to make the classes a platform to administer their diocesan wide "Bearers of Light" Catechetical Training Program. Several times a month, over 40 Catechists from an array of parishes around the island come to OLGC for these classes. It has been of great service to our diocese and our brothers and sisters of neighboring parishes.

- - The Confirmation Corner - -

Question due March 8th

- - What is the 'Church'? and what model of 'Church' do you most relate to? - -