Each Advent we are given the joy of supporting HUGS Hawaii with our Angel tree.  We are grateful to Sue and Jeff Moniz for coordinating this event each year.  Here is additional information regarding the positive impact this organization has on families in Hawaii.  

HUGS was founded in 1982 by a small group of volunteers at Unity Church on Oahu. They learned of the financial, spiritual, and emotional challenges affecting these families and their lives at home and wanted to support them. 
 
How it became named HUGS has a tender story that underscores their mission.  First it was called the "Center," and then became the Young People's Support Center before becoming officially known as HUGS (Help, Understanding & Group Support) in 1989. A family came up with the acronym, HUGS, while receiving support for their son, who had a cancerous tumor. "When your child is diagnosed with having a terminal illness, sometimes the only thing even a doctor can do is give you a hug," said Pleaman Shaver. "There are days when I wake up wanting nothing more or less than a big hug. It says so much -- I care, I hurt with you, hang in there."  

HUGS has grown and supports families with children, ages birth to 21 years, who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness that ranges from cancer, cardiac issues, and liver and kidney ailments, to chromosomal defects. Visit HUGS website (https://www.hugshawaii.org/), to learn more about how you and your family can support these families within our community.
  
At Holy Trinity we support and sustain a culture of LIFE.  Join us on each First Friday, after the 9:00 AM Mass as we pray the rosary while in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  We appreciate the support of your prayers. If you are interested in joining our Respect Life Committee, please contact Debbie at [email protected]

October is Respect Life Month 
October 22nd is the feast of Pope St. John Paul II. In 1995, he wrote Evangelium vitae, also known as, The Gospel of Life. 
Here are excerpts from The Gospel of Life…
The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ saving message to the world. Through the Incarnation and birth of Christ, God reveals to us the dignity of all human life. Human life, as a gift of God, is sacred and inviolable. The Son of God has united himself with every human being and desires for us to share eternal life with him. For this reason, direct attacks on human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, are always unacceptable. Yet, sadly we see new and expanding threats to human life emerging on an alarming scale. 
…Each of us is made in the image and likeness of God, and we reflect his glory in the world. God made the human person with the capacity to love and reason and share in a relationship with the Creator. The human person bears an indelible imprint of God and is the pinnacle of all creation. 
…Governments and international institutions promote abortion and euthanasia as marks of progress and freedom. But this is a false and perverse understanding in which freedom is equated with absolute individualism. True freedom is inherently relational, recognizing that God has entrusted us to one another.
Society must respect, defend and promote the dignity of every human person, at every moment and in every condition of that person's life. Our lives are a gift from God and ultimately belong to him. He has sole authority over life and death. We are therefore called to reverence and love every human person, loving our neighbors as ourselves. 
Having received the gift of the Gospel of Life, we are the people of life and a people for life. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of Life to the world. To proclaim Jesus is to proclaim life itself... In every child which is born and in every person who lives or dies we see the image of God's glory. We celebrate this glory in every human being, a sign of the living God, an icon of Jesus Christ.
At Holy Trinity we support and sustain a culture of LIFE. Join us on each First Friday, after the 9:00 AM Mass as we pray the rosary while in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We appreciate the support of your prayers and ideas to pursue. If you would like to join our Respect Life Committee, please contact Debbie at [email protected].
 
We are each called by God to be that light of Christ that breaks through the darkness. We are called to be his disciples, continually transformed by our encounter with him and sharing in his mission. Jesus came that we might have life.

Even though our human senses perceive bread and wine, the Eucharist is Jesus—body, blood, soul, and divinity. Similarly, many people do not realize or acknowledge the sanctity of human life when it is hidden in the womb. Both instances call for us to help others recognize these sacred gifts that may not be perceivable through our human senses.

          Read the entire Reflection here.