COLLEEN O’BRIEN SATHRE

The Road Map and family ethnicity

As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, I’m reminded of how important family culture and ethnicity can be for all of us. It is evident in the food we prefer, holiday customs we practice, music we like, names given to children, language we speak, and in so many other ways.

For me personally, it seemed important when I married to both take my husband’s Norwegian surname, Sathre, but also retain my personal Irish identity by using my maiden name, O’Brien, as my middle name. The Irish, God bless them, seem to have a special need to retain and celebrate their Irish identity. It may date to “the troubles” of a people who struggled to retain their culture and identity and endured severe hardships and poverty in the process. The same can be said of many populations.

We only have to listen to the news or be aware of events in our lifetimes to know that identity with ethnicity can also lead to unhealthy, destructive, and sometimes brutal behavior. But we also know that loyalty to family ethnicity and culture, when kept in perspective, is a positive bond in families, communities, and our church.

One of the planning principles that laid the foundation for our diocesan Road Map is recognition that we are “One People of God.” We are a diocese that is blessed and enriched by the diversity of our people. We are aware that our diversity can be a challenge; we can be pulled apart by our differences. “One People of God” emphasizes our existence as one family of God and the importance of bringing a unifying perspective to difficult issues before us.

There is so much that can divide us — economic standing, educational attainment, and political preferences — and some of these differences can surface as our task forces, committees, parishes, and other entities strive to implement our diocesan Road Map. When this happens, the principle that we are one people of God calls us to step back and focus on the reality that our church is united, not just across these islands, but across the world by a common sacramental life and a common liturgy.

We may be many parts, but we are all one people bound together by the Eucharist and our faith in the Risen Lord. As we approach Easter and the great celebration of the Triduum, it is a particularly good time to focus on the core beliefs that unite us.

In this reality we come to a deeper understanding of the importance of honoring and respecting the unique gifts represented by our ethnic, cultural, and social differences. We can bring these gifts and practices to our larger Catholic community for the good of all. For Irish descendants that can mean, among other things, genuine Irish smiles, laughter, and a love for story telling and learning, turning a phrase, and Irish coffee. By remembering St. Patrick, we honor a patron saint who, like many other patron saints, was instrumental in spreading the teachings of Christ that were then passed down through the centuries and are the basis of our faith in the Risen Lord.

As we continue to implement the Road Map, it is for all of us to bring the gifts of our ancestry to initiatives that strive to integrate all of our Hawaii Catholic communities as “One People of God.”