“The people of St. Michael are amazing. They are very generous and kind-hearted people — full of aloha!”
Back in February 2020, Larry Denis joined our parish. He was a seminarian studying at St. Patrick Seminary and University in California when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“We were sent home, and I was blessed that Fr. Lio let me live and work at St. Michael while I attended online classes,” Larry says. “I could have lived and gone to school in O’ahu with other seminarians, but it was a real blessing to be on Hawaiʻi Island where I grew up.”
Additionally, Larry says it was a blessing for him to work so closely with Fr. Lio while he was deep in the discernment process.
“I really enjoyed seeing how Fr. Lio practiced his priesthood,” Larry says. “Fr. Lio was so good to me. When restrictions eased up, I worked with Fr. Lio and the good people of the parish to start opening up the church for worship again.”
Then, in August 2020, Larry returned to St. Patrick to continue his studies, and this past June 9, he was ordained to the transitional diaconate.
As we congratulate Deacon Larry on his ordination, we wanted to take some time to get to know his vocation story a bit better.
Deacon Larry’s story started well before the COVID lockdowns brought him to St. Michael. As a young child, his parents raised him in the faith, and he credits much of his ability to hear the Lord call him to the priesthood to the foundation of faith his parents provided for him.
Larry was born and raised in Hilo where he and his family attended St. Joseph Church. There, he was first exposed to the beauty of the priesthood, an experience he says made a big impact on him.
“We were blessed to have many good priests at St. Joseph, but one in particular was very special to us — Fr. Scott Bush,” Deacon Larry says. “He recently went home to our Lord, but his model of being a good pastor has stuck with me.”
Then, shortly after high school, God began calling Larry to serve the Church as a priest himself,
“I remember being out of high school for a little while and hearing God say, ‘You should be a priest,’” Deacon Larry says. “I quickly dismissed it, because I wanted to be a teacher or a pilot instead.”
But God continued to call him.
“In college, I heard Him say it again, and again I dismissed it,” Deacon Larry says. “I was on my way to becoming an elementary school teacher.”
Larry did, in fact, become a teacher. But God continued calling him. And one day, in November 2017, while driving with Fr. Steve Macedo, he turned to Fr. Steve and declared that he wanted to discern the diaconate.
“I told him that I wanted to go on a discernment weekend to become a deacon,” Deacon Larry says. “That way I could still teach but also be of service. He said, ‘No, boss! You aren’t married. You don’t have any kids. Discern the priesthood instead.’”
Upon that prompting, Deacon Larry began to heavily discern his vocation. Shortly thereafter, he visited his sister in California, and he spent a great deal of time in adoration. There, he heard God call him again.
“I was visiting my sister in Folsom, Calif., and spent time in front of the Blessed Sacrament in their adoration chapel,” Deacon Larry says. “It was in that chapel that I heard Jesus say, ‘Come and follow me.’”
After that encounter, Larry began the application process, and in 2019, after 15 years of teaching, he began seminary.
Today, now ordained to the transitional diaconate and eagerly awaiting his priestly ordination next year, God-willing, Deacon Larry says he is utterly grateful to the many St. Michael parishioners who encouraged him and prayed for him throughout his discernment process.
“The people of St. Michael are amazing,” Deacon Larry says. “They are very generous and kind-hearted people — full of aloha!”
Deacon Larry, we are thrilled for you! Congratulations on your diaconate ordination. May God continue to bless your time in seminary and give you the grace you need to follow His call. We look forward to watching God use you to build His kingdom as a deacon and then as a priest. May you be blessed in all you do, and may God be praised!
Courtesy of Catholic Stewardship Consultants
Aug/Sept 2024 Edition
Photos courtesy of Dann Ebina
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