From October 6-18, I was in Japan, the culmination of the diamond and golden jubilee celebrations of the past two years. It was also the silver jubilee of my last visit with the Marianists in Japan. It was a whirlwind trip as I revisited schools and communities I had not seen since the late seventies. I was pleasantly surprised to find many connections between Japan and Hawaii: remembrance of Marianists from Hawaii who had visited Japan; and lay teachers who came from Maui. On my return I wrote a long report about this memorable visit. Here are some excerpts from that report:

This jubilee celebration was made possible by my friend Father Dominique Tagawa and the current Regional Superior, Father Francois Tomiki. Father Tagawa and I have been friends since our seminary years together in Fribourg. Since Father Tagawa and I both made our first vows in 1944, this seemed to be an appropriate time for me to accept his invitation. For most of the visit I lived in the Regional Administration Community in Tokyo, near the Imperial Palace. Every morning when I went down to chapel I found Brother Mathias Satowaki with his portable oxygen tank, reading his prayer book. He is remarkably alert and, at 103, enjoys his status as the oldest Marianist in history. As I traveled from Tokyo to Nagasaki to Sapporo I continually admired what can be done when comparative little money is spent on defense. Japan, in fact, is the only nation in the world where there are more postal workers than military armed forces. Respect and courtesy are hallmarks of this exquisitely polite people.

In 1944 Brother Jim Masur and I made our first vows in Beacon, New York. Sixty years later we celebrated our diamond anniversary in Sapporo. Many years ago Brother Jim became a Japanese citizen and is now identified as Jimmie Masuura. My visit with the Marianist Sisters was set up so that I could also greet the General Council of our Marianist Sisters who were just completing their official visit. That day also happened to be the Marianist World Day of Prayer which we celebrated with a Holy Hour. My final days in Japan were spent with Father Tagawa at Gyosei International School, now an independent offshoot of the original Gyosei School in Tokyo.

While I was out of town our combined residence and office building was tented to destroy insects – especially termites – which thrive in Hawaii. On October 20, having waited patiently for me to complete my scheduled travel, Father Ray went to California to visit his family and friends and take a long delayed vacation. So far all has gone smoothly here at least from my point of view! I had a flurry of hospital calls, several blessings of new homes and the usual blessings of rosaries and candles and medals. Our secretary gives me detailed driving directions. I am quickly learning my way around the new subdivisions. All kinds of meetings take place around me, but I am not involved. And when a water line blew up, others found the cutoff. I lock the Blessed Sacrament chapel at night, but others open it in the morning. I anoint the sick but others bring communion. Once when I answered the phone at night the caller politely asked me to hang up so that she could leave a message for the secretary! The last weekend of the month I did have four emergency calls for what people here still call “the last rites.” The nurses at Maui Memorial Medical Center are very solicitous and helpful.

We began our celebration of Halloween on the last school day of the month, Friday, October 29. A group of pre-school and grade school children sang for us on the lawn in front of the office and a concert followed in chapel.

It is still in the mid-to-upper eighties during the day and pleasantly in the seventies at night. Most of the time the trade winds give relief from what would otherwise be sweltering days. We have had no rain to speak of, but Honolulu has had some heavy rain with thunder and lightning – something quite rare in Hawaii. Shortly after I left Japan a typhoon hit there followed by an earthquake.

In my walk through the neighborhood I noted the Halloween decorations were the same as last year – except for a realistic image of an old man slouched in an easy chair at the entrance of one of the homes. I am not quite sure what the message was there. Maui Memorial Medical Center even had fake cobwebs to go with the bright orange and black! My biggest surprise, however, was when I heard Christmas carols as I picked up some supplies at our local K-Mart! The first whale of the season was sighted just about the time the full moon appeared. Maui is famous for whale watching, but so far I haven’t had the patience to wait for these huge creatures to appear.

The Diocesan Office seems to be functioning smoothly under the provisional leadership of an administrator, Father Thomas Gross. I have been especially impressed by the work of the Office of Social Ministry which continually supplies helpful materials for parish use. Hawaii has no Daylight Saving Time, nor is All Saints Day a Holy Day. But All Souls Day is a big day. More about that in my next report.

ST