I am happy to share the news that Lahaina's Maria Lanakila Catholic Church, Maui, Hawaii seems to have survived the recent wildfires.
Maria Lanakila is a Marian Site featured in the book I edited, MAGNIFICAT: MAMA MARY'S PILGRIM SITES (Anvil 2012; copies available in Anvil's online site, and also via Kindle), which has an imprimatur by then Archibishop of Manila, Luis Antonio Tagle. I am sharing the article by Millicent Dypiangco about Maria Lanakila, indeed a place where prayers are heard and answered.
***
AT MARIA LANAKILA, OUR PRAYERS WERE
HEARD AND ANSWERED
Millicent
Dypiangco
THE
IMPACT of my visit to the Marian site of Maria Lanakila did not occur in one
instance. There were no apparitions of the Virgin that appeared to me, nor were
there dramatic changes within me at any given moment during our visit. Rather,
I would call the influence of this site as prompting a perpetual transformation
that continues to exert its power over me to this day.
My
first visit to Maria Lanakila was in January 2001. It was actually my very
first visit to Hawai’i, to the island of Maui, taken on a family trip with my
husband and his parents and youngest brother. It would be the first of many
future family trips taken with the Dypiangco clan. I say “clan” because we have
now grown to be a family of sixteen…who make it a point to go on a family
vacation every other year…together…thanks to Mom and Dad. Prompted by the idea
to finally visit what many call “paradise,” I for one was very excited to visit
Hawai’i, and to finally go on the real honeymoon that Joe and I never went on
after our wedding eleven years prior…complete with my husband’s parents at
that!
As
I do on my vacations, I try not to have any expectations of the place so that I
may be pleasantly surprised at each turn. Pleasantly surprised was exactly what
I was at each spot we visited. I experienced the peace and serenity of Hawai’i,
particularly the island of Maui, which swept me right off my feet and made me
want to linger, savor, and soak in every single experience.
From
the very first greeting of Aloha, something stirred in me and I knew that this place
was going to be special. I think that the first impression of this place for me
was its simplicity, and how for me, felt as if I had finally gotten what I have
been craving for so many years. The simplicity and purity of the island melted
away all the stress from my body. I felt it from that first day, that first
meal of kalua pork, as I sat gazing at the blue Pacific from the shores of
Lahaina Village. I think that the only thing that broke that pattern was the
row of hotels that lined Kanapali where we opted to stay. However, it only
acted as our home base as we explored everything else that Maui had to offer.
Of
course, we could not go on a vacation without spending time at mass on Sunday.
And it was our practice to attend mass that led us to Maria Lanakila. Maria
Lanakila stood in its simplicity in the residential area of Lahaina. Its
architecture reflected the ease and purity of what surrounded it. It drew me
in.
Upon
entering this little church, I immediately felt at peace. My frame of mind had
totally changed. My mind was quieted as I sat in the pew and reflected before,
during, and after the mass. The hectic life that I lived in Los Angeles was
forgotten and I gave thanks. Thanks for the opportunity to finally be here in
“paradise,” thanks for the family who had accompanied me, thanks for my health,
my home, my livelihood. I was grateful for many things and I made sure that I
said those prayers of gratitude. Most especially, I prayed for the one thing
that weighed very heavily in my heart. I prayed for a child. Despite all the
blessings that I have received, I knew that there remained an emptiness in me.
And that emptiness was to bear a child, to become a mother, and to love like I
have not loved before.
