No Excuses

by Josh and Jesica Kapika
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September 15th is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.  On this day the Church remembers and recognizes the great sorrow of our Blessed Mother, but we should also recognize her courageous actions on one of the deepest and darkest days of her life.
     The Blessed Mother, from the moment she herd the prophecy of Simeon, knew that she would have to go through great sorrow as the Mother of Jesus.  She understood that her only responsibility in life was to raise and care for her son, the Son of God.  Even though she knew that she would have to endure so much pain, she accepted willingly her role in the story of salvation.  On the day her son was condemned to death, she chose to follow Jesus all the way to the hill of Calvary.  She witnessed her son beaten and forced to carry a heavy cross.  She stood there in the midst of the crowd as he laid naked on the cross as the nails were driven into his hands and feet.  She could have stayed hidden with all the other disciples.  She could have run back to Nazareth never to be heard of again, but instead she stood at the foot of the cross crying in anguish.  
     There is no doubt that we have all gone through some sort of pain or sorrow at some point in our lives, but only a few have had the same paralyzing feeling that Mary felt, that day along the Via Dolorosa (the painful way).  Regardless of how much sorrow she was dealing with as she witnessed the passion of her son, she chose to continue along the way of the cross.  She stood by him amongst the crowd in great despair all the way to end.  How many of us have the same courage as our Blessed Mother?
     Our Blessed Mother needed to show us that nothing should ever keep us from following Christ.  How many times in our lives has fear of suffering or sorrow kept us from living for Christ?  We all know it’s not easy being his disciple, but is difficulty ever a reason to stop following him?  We have to ask ourselves.  If Mary, even in her deepest sorrow can choose to follow Christ, then why can’t we?  Our beloved Mother has left us no reason to ever back down from our responsibilities as Christian disciples.  She knows how hard it is to follow her son, but she also knows what joy awaits us if we do. 
     The great thing about being a Christian and being human is that we have every opportunity to make things right, to do them the right way.  If you are going through anything that is keeping you from doing more for Christ, it’s not too late to follow the example of Mary.  We can all look to our Blessed Mother in times of sorrow and take from her the painful lesson of the Way of the Cross.  Take courage and fear not!!!  Trust in the Lord’s promise and remember that even in the most difficult moments of our lives, there is never a good enough reason to stop following the Lord.

Josh and Jesica Kapika are long time active members of EPIC Ministry serving at different capacities to help promote the overall mission of EPIC Ministry. Josh is currently serving as the Coordinator of the Central Oahu Chapter and Vice President on the Board of Directors for EPIC Ministry. Josh is also the Pastoral Associate for St. Michael’s Parish in Waialua, and he also serves as the Grand Knight and State Family Director for the Knights of Columbus. Jesica is on EPIC Ministry staff serving as the Vice Director of Operations, and she also works full-time as the Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent to Hawaii Catholic Schools. Jesica also serves as the Vice Chair for the Woman’s Auxiliary for the Knights of Columbus. Both of them devoting much time, energy, and love in serving the Lord, their communities, and modeling discipleship and servant leadership. They are celebrating their 3rd year Marriage Anniversary this coming November.