Photo courtesy of Marianists

Dennis Bautista, Brandon Alana and Norman Capinpin

Why Marianist?

Three local boys tell why they chose the Society of Mary

Time, patience and prayer. That’s what it takes to discern a life vocation to serve God and the church. The decision needs more care when confronted with the many ways available to express this commitment, from the diocesan priesthood to the variety of religious orders.

For three “local boys” — Brandon Alana, Dennis Bautista and Norman Capinpin — following the call to join the Society of Mary, or Marianists, was an obvious choice. It was all about the affinity between the Marianist charism and local island culture.

Here is how they describe it.

By Brother Brandon Alana

Imagine a family luau at home in the backyard. Aunty Moani and Uncle Eddy serenade everyone with beautiful Hawaiian music while cousin Malia dances the hula. There’s an abundance of food from fried noodles to chicken long rice. All of your aunties, uncles, cousins and close family friends are there. It’s a typical island luau, where the aloha spirit is most tangible.

The same can be said about the Marianists.

We are men and women — both religious and lay —committed to our mother Mary and her mission of bringing Jesus into our world. Like at the family luau where even close family friends are part of the ohana, the Marianist family is of one family and spirit. It is in this close relationship that our family spirit, our ohana, is most tangible.

Our local and Hawaiian culture is family-centered and community-oriented, just like our Marianist charism, which places a high value on community life and family spirit. These similarities makes the Marianist vocation an attractive option for someone from Hawaii.

By Brother Dennis Bautista

Aloha, which is at the heart of Hawaiian culture, is expressed in Marianist spirituality through the concept of love. As written in our Rule of Life, God, who is Love (Aloha ke Akua), “asks us to follow in a special way Jesus Christ, Son of God, become Son of Mary for the salvation of all.

Our goal, as expressed in the Marianist “Rule of Life,” is to be transformed into his likeness and to work for the coming of his kingdom.”

Therefore, as Marianists, we strive to build relationships in community rooted in aloha that is reflective of God’s love for others. Our kuleana is that of Mary’s: to bring forth Jesus’ presence in our world, drawing others closer to God through our words, but most importantly, our actions.

Despite the challenge of building a faith-based community of diverse members with different personalities, preferences and temperaments, the call to be a Marianist religious inspires us to be a true “brother” to all.

As a Marianist brother, I am reminded daily of my life-commitment to assist Mary in leading others to Christ. Mary’s “yes” to God inspires me to persevere in faith to honor God through word and deed.

By Aspirant Norman Capinpin

“Eh Norman, you have to pray for us now.”

When I was a kid, these once painful words from my aunties would often cause me to hide so I could avoid having to bless the food at our Ewa Beach family barbecues. If we ever complained or made a face about it, they’d all respond with the same, unarguable words, ‘You go private school … you should know how!’

They always got me there, because they were right. I was fortunate that I learned my prayers at St. Joseph School and am grateful that I was able to continue praying at Damien Memorial. But, for some reason, I had a hard time wanting to pray.

I can’t pinpoint exactly when the realization came, but sometime between my Agape Youth Ministry and Chaminade University days, I came to understand the simple difference between praying for people as opposed to praying with people. This understanding more than changed my outlook.

When I attended Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help or St. Joseph’s, there seemed to be something much more special when sitting with family and friends than when sitting alone — not to chat during the Mass or distract each other from the message of the Gospel, but just to be able to sit with others and pray together with them.

The Marianists pray together as a family. They carry prayer in their ministry, the people they interact with, and with each other in chapel. I want prayer to be my focus. That’s why I chose to explore religious life. I am with the Society of Mary because, as I have learned growing up on the island, it’s valuable for me to share in prayer with others.”