A Testimony to the Power of Our Lady's Intercession...

Today was an extraordinary day of personal blessings for me.  In fact, it was so out-of-the ordinary, I feel compelled to post this blog as a public testimony of gratitude and love to the Blessed Virgin and the power of her maternal intercession.  I received three signal graces from her for which I am most grateful and humbled:

* The first grace Our Lady granted was the recovery of a Holy Relic of St. Lucy of Syracuse (left) that I lost yesterday in our Honolulu Cathedral after I attended the noon Mass.  I accidentally forgot the relic on a bench in the church and it was recovered this morning - safe and sound - under truly remarkable circumstances in the Cathedral's sacristy. 

* The second grace I received from Our Lady was an answer to a prayer - a peaceful resolution - to a family conflict that I had been commending to her intercession for the past couple of weeks.  The prayer was answered shortly after I reached my place of work, only minutes after having left the Cathedral.  

* And finally, the third grace Our Lady granted had to do with a small flower I found after praying in the Cathedral this morning.  As I got up from the pew to head for work, I noticed a fresh, fragrant Pikake blossom ("Sampaguita" in Filipino) lying at my feet; strange because I hadn't seen it earlier.  I decided to pick it up, and took it back to my office where I enjoyed its pleasant scent.

At the end of the work day, while I was walking to my car, I lifted the blossom to my nose to smell its sweet fragrance again, and that's when I noticed an uncanny image formed in the middle of the petals - incredibly, it resembled a shadowy likeness of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who also happens to be this writer's patroness and the namesake of this ministry!  I immediately used my cellphone to take the photo posted below to capture and preserve the moment...

 Note the figure's close likeness to the

superimposed Guadalupe image!

With all that I've experienced today, it's been somewhat overwhelming but in a good way - I can gratefully testify: our God is an AWESOME God... and our Blessed Mother is a powerful intercessor before the throne of her Divine Son.  I am at a loss for words to adequately describe her motherly love and solicitude towards us - her children.  Turn to Our Lady with Faith, Love, Humility, and Confidence during your own times of need and you will not be disappointed.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!