Hawaii
Red Mass: ‘Negativity’ hampers efforts to solve Hawaii’s problems
Red Mass speaker: Eva Andrade
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
“Many pressing issues challenge our state,” Eva Andrade told Hawaii lawmakers and other public servants at the Red Mass celebrated by Bishop Larry Silva Jan. 16 at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, however an unrelenting climate of “negativity” is smothering efforts working toward the common good.
Andrade, director of the Hawaii Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the Diocese of Honolulu, was the featured speaker at the diocese’s annual prayer to the Holy Spirit for courage and wisdom for Hawaii’s public servants.
She praised the civic leaders for their commitment to making people’s lives better.
“Homelessness, a lack of living wages, high vacancies in our state government that cripple our ability to provide needed services, families leaving our islands to find affordable living elsewhere, a rise in suicides, recovery from the devasting fire in Lahaina,” are serious challenges facing Island leaders, she said, but making them worse is “a relentless stream of critics.”
“Negativity has grown to the point of crisis,” said Andrade, who is also president of Hawaii Family Forum. “Over the past several years, I have witnessed more, and more vicious, verbal attacks against people in leadership positions including the governor, our state legislators, police officers, military personnel, judges, church leaders and just about everyone else.”
She said that participation in the legislative process is a right that should be encouraged, however, “personal attacks via emails, phone calls, text messages and rallies have turned into harassment.”
“This verbal abuse must cease,” she said.
“This does not align with the spirit of the Aloha State,” she said. “We are all created in the image of God, deserving respect and consideration.”
“For all of us, courage becomes the trait that propels us to action. The outcome of our efforts, whether we ‘win’ or ‘lose’ an issue, pales in comparison to the transformative power that unfolds in the aftermath. It is in the post-battle moments that our character is truly shaped and defined. Building good moral character is how we can best shape politics in Hawaii,” Andrade said.
“We work together because we love Hawaii and its people. We all do what we do because we want to make a difference. Whether we are the governor, the bishop, or a stay-at-home mom, we matter. Our values matter. Our decisions matter. Our lives matter,” she said.
Andrade used St. Marianne of Molokai as an example of a successful collaboration between state and church in the service of Hawaii’s people.
“I gained a profound understanding of the compassionate spirit embodied by a woman from Syracuse who journeyed to Hawaii at the desperate request of King Kalakaua to care for his citizens afflicted by Hansen’s disease,” she said.
“When it came to serving the people of Hawaii, Mother Marianne seamlessly bridged the gap between church and state,” Andrade said. “She set a positive example of what can be achieved.”
The Mass began with a Hawaiian chant by Ikaika Maliikapu Bantolina. State senators Brandon Elefante and Mike Gabbard read the two readings.
In his homily, Bishop Silva thanked God “for all of you public officials who are here with us today to join in prayer and worship. You are hereby affirming what our ancestors knew very well must be the basis of all our common living, acknowledging before all that God is our maker.”
Clerics raise their hands in blessing over the public servants at the annual diocesan Red Mass Jan. 16 at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace. (HCH photo | Jennifer Rector)
Divine law as foundation
The bishop told the lawmakers that secular law should have divine law as its foundation.
“We can only thrive in liberty and justice when we conform ourselves with the inner law that God has placed in every human heart,” he said.
“How scary it is when others go their own way without any reference to the ultimate one, whose laws are our freedom,” the bishop said. “How blessed it is when we discern carefully so that the laws of our land will all correspond to the law of the God who made us, sustains us, and loves us always.”
The Mass, celebrated during the week of the opening of the state legislature, was sparsely attended this year, with only six priests and eight deacons, and about a third of the general public’s pews empty. Royal Hawaiian orders, who attend yearly, were well represented with about two dozen men and women dressed in black and wearing red and yellow capes and feather lei.
Members of royal Hawaiian societies attend the Diocese of Honolulu’s annual Red Mass, Jan. 16 at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace. (HCH photo | Jennifer Rector)
Also in attendance were members of the Equestrian Order of the Most Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and the Knights of Columbus.
The civic leaders who attended included Gov. Josh Green and Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke; state representatives Henry Aquino, Lauren Matsumoto and David Tarnas; state senators Brandon Elefante and Mike Gabbard; and Honolulu city councilman Calvin Say.
Also present were Anton Krucky from the Department of Community Services, Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Keoni Souza, circuit court Judge Catherine Remigio and former state representative Marcus Oshiro.
Gov. Green, who was attending the Red Mass for the first time as governor, said he has been to the Red Mass “many times.”
“I try to come every year,” he told the Hawaii Catholic Herald. “I have just a lot of dear friends that are in the Christian Church, including my mother. And in spite of the fact that I’m Jewish it is very fortifying to kind of show that we’re together.”
“And for me, it helps guide me as I govern, because then I get people’s perspectives who I care about.”
At the end of the Mass, Bishop Silva invited the civic leaders to stand for a blessing from himself, the priests, deacons and Protestant ministers. With palms extended, he prayed that the Holy Spirit descend on them and give them the grace “to discharge your duties with honesty and ability.”
Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| East Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Occasional showers. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||
| Winds | North winds 5 to 10 mph. | ||||
|
|||||
| Weather | Partly sunny. Scattered showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | Around 80. | |||||
| Winds | Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. | |||||
|
||||||
| Sunrise | 5:52 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:43 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy until 12 AM, then partly cloudy. Scattered showers. |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||||
| Winds | East winds around 5 mph. | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Weather | Mostly sunny. Isolated showers. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the lower 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | South winds around 5 mph. | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Sunrise | 5:56 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:47 PM HST. | ||||||||
Surf along north and west facing shores will remain small tonight before a small bump is possible on Wednesday. An upward trend is then expected during the second half of the week as another northwest swell arrives as early as Wednesday night. This swell originates from a storm-force low that tracked into the Bering Sea this past weekend, as confirmed by scatterometry. Therefore, this swell appears more likely to materialize. Looking further ahead, a storm-force low east of Japan will send a moderate, longer-period northwest swell toward the islands for Friday and Saturday, with surf heights potentially approaching advisory levels along exposed north and west facing shores.
Surf along south-facing shores will remain small through much of the week, with mainly background south to southwest swell expected. Another south-southwest pulse may arrive by this weekend from recent activity within our swell window east of New Zealand, providing a small increase in surf.
Surf along east-facing shores will remain relatively small and choppy through midweek, with a slight rise possible Thursday and Friday as trades strengthen.
NORTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NNW winds 5-10mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting to the WNW.
SOUTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Sideshore texture/chop with NE winds 10-15mph.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (KHON) — A strange glow in the night sky over Hawaiʻi Island is raising eyebrows – and questions – after a Kona resident captured unusual green lights on camera over the weekend.
Jake Asuncion says he was filming sunset near Keahole Point when he unknowingly recorded the phenomenon. It wasn’t until he got home and reviewed the footage that he noticed a faint green glow appear in the sky.
“I got home, I was going to post it, and then towards the end of the video I saw the green come out—I said, what was that?” Asuncion said. He said he enhanced the color to show the movement.
Curious, he returned the following night—and saw it again.
“I wanted to go back the next night and see if I could capture the same thing—and it came out even more the second night,” he said.
He said the glow appeared roughly 15 to 20 minutes after sunset, looking northwest toward Maui. While faint to the naked eye, the green hue was more visible through his phone camera.
The sightings have caught the attention of local astronomers, including Nick Bradley with Stargazers of Hawaiʻi, who says the color resembles aurora, but likely isn’t.
“It looked very interesting. The green color looks like aurora, but honestly, we don’t really get that in Hawaiʻi,” Bradley explained.
Data from the weekend shows no significant geomagnetic storm activity that would produce aurora visible in the islands. The KP index—a measure used to track aurora strength—was only between 3 and 4. By comparison, a rare aurora visible in Hawaiʻi in 2024 required a KP index of 8.
Bradley says other common explanations don’t seem to match what was captured either.
“Satellites look like small pinpoint lights moving across the sky, we see them every night. This doesn’t look like that,” he said.
He also ruled out meteor showers, lasers, and the well-known “green flash” that sometimes occurs at sunset, noting the lights appeared well after the sun had already set and higher in the sky.
The Army said there were no lasers being used or any training in that area.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation said Kona airport used to have a laser bird hazing gun, but it was red and would not come close in scale to what is shown in the photos. Standard airport rotating beacons also would not have the scale as shown in the photos.
Keck Observatories suggest it could be STEVE or ‘strong thermal emissions velocity enhancement,’ which is similar to aurora but seen further south than aurora. But not as much is known about STEVE and it’s typically seen with aurora present.
Astronomers note that smartphone cameras can enhance colors in low-light conditions, meaning the green glow may appear brighter on video than in real life.
Still, the exact cause remains unknown — and experts are asking the public to keep an eye out and capture the moment if they can.
“I would love more eyes on it — more data, the better,” Bradley said.
As for Asuncion, he plans to keep watching the skies.
“I just appreciate the beauty of nature and whatever comes,” he said.
Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Tuesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| East Facing | 3-5 | 3-5 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Occasional showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | |||||
| Winds | Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming north after midnight. |
|||||
|
||||||
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Numerous showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | Around 80. | |||||
| Winds | Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. | |||||
|
||||||
| Sunrise | 5:53 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:42 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Tuesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy until 12 AM, then partly cloudy. Scattered showers. |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | Around 70. | ||||||||
| Winds | Northwest winds around 5 mph, becoming east in the evening, then becoming southeast after midnight. |
||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Weather | Mostly sunny. Scattered showers. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the lower 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | Southwest winds around 5 mph. | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Sunrise | 5:57 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:46 PM HST. | ||||||||
Surf along north and west facing shores will remain small through midweek. A small bump in surf is expected with the arrival of a northwest swell on Tuesday. An upward trend is expected during the second half of the week as another northwest swell arrives. This is likely to be followed by a larger northwest swell over the weekend, with surf heights nearing advisory level.
Surf along south-facing shores will remain small through much of the week, with mainly background south to southwest swell expected. Another south-southwest pulse may arrive by this weekend from recent activity within our swell window east of New Zealand, providing a small increase in surf. Surf along east-facing shores will remain relatively small and choppy through midweek, with a slight rise possible later in the week as trades strengthen.
NORTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NNW winds 5-10mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting to the WNW.
SOUTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Sideshore texture/chop with NE winds 10-15mph.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
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