nvt. Faith, confidence; to have faith, confidence; to believe. Kumu manaʻoʻiʻo, creed. Pelika o ka manaʻoʻiʻo, covenant of faith. Manaʻoiʻo Nīkine, Nicene creed. Ua manaʻoʻiʻo i ke Akua, [he] believes in God.

This Christmas season brings to mind many hīmeni Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian hymns, that we learned growing up in a Hawaiian household and attending a kalawina (congregationalist) church. Foremost of the hīmeni that we sang from small kid time (and to this day), is ʻEkolu Mea Nui, Three Greatest Things, written by Robert Nawahine and based on I Corinthians 13:13. It speaks about the three greatest things on earth (I can hear some of you singing this hīmeni right now): ka manaʻoʻiʻo (faith), ka manaʻolana (hope), a me ke aloha (and love).

Manaʻo means thought, idea, belief, or opinion. The word, ʻiʻo, means truth, significance, reality. I like to think of manaʻoʻiʻo as a belief that is the truth. A faith in a force or forces greater than ourselves.

Sometimes things may happen in our lives that put our manaʻoʻiʻo to a test. KEEP THE FAITH! Sometimes it is all we have.

ʻO ka manaʻoʻiʻo ka mea e alakaʻi ai iā kākou ma ke ala pomo – Faith is the thing that guides us on the path of righteousness.