Speaking Presentation & Holy Relics Presentation: Sacred Heart Church, 2/27/2018

This is the 4th time I've spoken at this particular parish... and the welcome me and the Saints/Relics received tonight was as warm and enthusiastic as the first time I spoke here back in September 2016.  My audience was comprised of unfamiliar people who had recently started their faith-journey into the Catholic Church and their respective sponsors, but there were also individuals well known to me - people I readily recognized because they've attended my last three presentations at this church.

So tonight's talk was no different than the others.  I follow the same outline and format for each presentation I conduct but what I do change, from one talk to another, is the line-up of Blesseds/Saints whose lives I feature, and whose relics I display for public veneration.  I think a small group at this church had figured that out and that's what keeps them coming back to my presentations - like me, they have fallen under the blessed charm of our spiritual heroes and are very open to the positive, inspirational faith-message that each individual Blessed/Saint has to offer.

The display altar at tonight's presentation

- 13 relics were displayed for the audience

at Sacred Heart Church, Waianae.

With the above being stated, the Blesseds/Saints whose sacred relics I brought, and whose intercession we called upon tonight were, as follows: St. Anthony of Padua (bone); St. Bernadette of Lourdes (bone relic); St. Damien de Veuster of Molokai (coffin wood relic); Bl. Elena Guerra (flesh); St. John Paul II (clothing); St. Margaret of Cortona (clothing relic); St. Maximilian Kolbe (hair & clothing relics); the Martyrs of Chimbote, Peru - Bl. Michal Tomaszek & Bl. Zbigniew Strzalkowski (clothing relics); St. Padre Pio (stigmata bandage relic); Bl. Savina Petrilli (bone)... and rare relics of St. Joseph (cloak relic) and Our Lady (veil relic).

Based on several hugs and feedback I received after I was done speaking, this evening's presentation was again well-received.  What gives me a sense of satisfaction after each talk is seeing how most who attend for the first time gain a certain "look" during the course of a presentation - a look that tells me the person had an "aha moment" and I saw it again tonight on many faces.  For those who happen to be returnees, in addition to that aha look, a few have a newly acquired "aura" to them; a noticeable brightness that's indicative, in my opinion, of spiritual growth since I last saw the person... and I saw that beaming expression on some of the returnees, especially a couple of young people who I remember from my last talk here in August 2017.  It's simply awesome to see and I know that it's a sign that the Holy Spirit is working in the lives of these individuals - His Light shining through.  I'm sure the prayers and intercession of the Blessed Mother and the Saints/Blesseds have been a factor too.  

 

Several audience members around the

display altar, paying their respect to the

Blesseds & Saints. 

Again, thank you Lord... thank you and praise you for all the blessings being rained down on this small community of Waianae Faithful.  May the Lord, his Holy Mother, and the all Saints continue to bless and guide them!  Come Holy Spirit, come!

Monthly Messages from the Queen of Peace of Medjugorje: February 2018

Our Lady, Queen of Peace,

pray for us...

Our Lady's Monthly Message to the World on February 25th:

   "Dear children! In this time of grace I am calling all of you to open yourselves and to live the commandments which God has given you, that they may lead you through the Sacraments on the way of conversion. The world and worldly temptations are testing you, but you, little children, look at God’s creatures which He has given to you in beauty and humility and, little children, love God above everything and He will lead you on the way of salvation.  Thank you for having responded to my call."

Our Lady's Special Message to Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo on February 2nd:

   "Dear children, you whom my Son loves, you whom I love with an immeasurable motherly love, do not permit for selfishness, for self love, to rule the world. Do not permit for love and goodness to be hidden. You who are loved, who have come to know the love of my Son, remember that to be loved means to love. My children, have faith. When you have faith you are happy and are spreading peace; your soul trembles with joy. My Son is in such a soul. When you are giving yourself for the faith, when you are giving yourself for love, when you are doing good to your neighbor, my Son smiles in your soul. Apostles of my love, I am turning to you as a mother. I am gathering you around myself and I desire to lead you on the way of love and faith, on the way which leads to the light of the world. I am here for the sake of love, for the sake of faith, because with my motherly blessing I desire to give you hope and strength on your way - because the way which leads to my Son is not easy. It is full of renunciation, giving, sacrifice, forgiveness and much, much love. But this way leads to peace and happiness. My children, do not believe lying voices which speak to you about false things, false glitter. You, my children, return to the Scripture. I am looking at you with immeasurable love, and through God's grace am making myself evident to you.  My children, set out with me.  May your soul tremble with joy.  Thank you."

Saint of the Month - February 2018: Venerable Sr. Maria Fidelis Weiss

Ven. Sr. Maria

Fidelis Weiss

A Witness to Faithfulness to God

Her name in religion was Sr. Maria Fidelis and it basically means "Mary of Faithfulness"; a most fitting name for this worthy nun since she was a model of faithfulness to God's Divine Will in her difficult, yet remarkable, vocation.  Note - she isn't officially a Saint yet; nor is she even a Blessed... but she is certainly on her way... and being that she is virtually unknown outside of her native country of Germany, I am especially enthusiastic to share about her life here on my blog.

Young Eleonore Margarete Weiss,
the future Sr. Maria Fidelis of Reutberg

Based on information I was able to gather from the internet, Sr. Maria Fidelis was born on June 12, 1882, in a town called Kempten in Bavaria, Germany. Her birth name was Eleonore Margarete Weiss and her family was highly devoted, which contributed greatly to the piety displayed early on by the young Eleonore.  Her First Holy Communion was a decisive moment in the child's life as she experienced a profound awareness and union with Christ that only increased with time.

By aged 16, Eleonore had already decided to enter a convent and was directed to the Franciscan community in Reutberg by her confessor. Due to her youthful age, the Sisters delayed her admittance with them so for the next few years she continued her schooling in the Franciscan convent in Lenzfried where she learned needlework and how to play the organ.

In October 1902, being 20-years-old, Eleonore bid goodbye to the secular world and reapplied with the Reutberg convent where she was accepted the second time around.  There, she received the religious name by which she is now more commonly known - Maria Fidelis, or simply Sr. Fidelis.  

"I belong to the dear Mother of God

and she is my mother."

~ Words of Sr. Maria Fidelis

In the convent Sr. Fidelis professed her final vows on June 21, 1904, and was assigned the task of organist and handwork teacher at the girls' school run by her community.  By all the accounts I've read, she was an exemplary religious and outwardly displayed a sincere love for neighbor; an even deeper love for Christ; and a most tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin.  As for her interior life, it ran even deeper and most of what transpired within her soul was only shared with her spiritual director - a Fr. Johann Mühlbauer - to whom she revealed everything out of holy obedience.

"Everything for Jesus and for souls!"

~ Sr. Maria Fidelis' personal motto

What we do know of Sr. Fidelis' interior spirituality was that she quickly blossomed into a mystical and self-sacrificing soul, generous in her desire to cooperate with the Lord in saving those headed down the wide road to perdition.  In fact, she offered herself wholeheartedly to Jesus for the salvation of sinners, going so far as to practice various forms of self-mortification such as fasting.

Eventually, the nun began experiencing supernatural graces from God, which included ecstasies, heavenly visions, and the hidden Stigmata (she felt the pain of the wounds in her limbs every week between Thursday evening and Friday).  It appears she was partly prepared and purified to receive these grand favors through a period of the "dark night of the soul", which she endured from sometime in 1908 through 1911... and also through the patient suffering of episodes of diabolic attack (on one occasion she was seen being violently thrown against a pillar by invisible hands).

"You are wedded to me forever.

You are mine as I am all yours."

~ Words of Jesus to Sr. Maria Fidelis

Through all of her sufferings, Sr. Maria Fidelis admirably lived up to her second name - "Fidelis" - by maintaining faithfulness to God's unique plan for her.  For each severe trial she successfully endured for the good of sinners, she was compensated with divine consolations and with even richer spiritual gifts.  In 1920 she received the most pinnacle of graces that any soul could possibly attain in this life - the Mystical Marriage, which she celebrated in the sublime presence of the Holy Trinity.  It was then that she heard from the lips of Jesus, himself, the profound words referenced above.

"A little violet I want to be,

which blooms silently in secret

for God alone."

~ Words of Sr. Maria Fidelis

Another photo of Sr. Maria Fidelis
(note the reliquaries on the table)

After living a seemingly routine life of prayer and service at the convent/school, Sr. Fidelis died at the age of 40 on February 11, 1923; it was the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes to whom she was deeply devoted.   It was only at her funeral that her spiritual director revealed to the rest of the Sisters and the outside community in Reutberg what an extraordinary mystic they had in the deceased nun.  The Franciscans were astonished, but it just goes to show how truly humble Sr. Fidelis had been in life and how successful she was in passing herself off as just another [normal] member of her convent.

After being enlightened about the hidden sanctity of Sr. Fidelis, the other nuns privately prayed to her for all sorts of help and favors... and their requests were often answered.  News of the dead nun's power to effectively intercede with God spread outside of the convent walls and a popular cultus developed around her memory, which lead to the opening of her Cause for Sainthood in 1936.  The Cause is still ongoing and in June 2007 she was declared Venerable.

Promoters of Sr. Maria Fidelis are eagerly seeking two verifiable miracles to help advance her Cause to Sainthood.  Let us pray together with them for her speedy Canonization...

Prayer for the Glorification of

Ven. Maria Fidelis of Reutberg

(translated and adapted from

the official German prayer)

   O God, give us the spirit of your love with which you have granted your faithful servant, Maria Fidelis, so lavishly!  Multiply our trust and hear our prayer, that you will soon, for your greater honor and for the blessing of our people, bestow upon her public devotion and glorification!  Amen.

* *  Visit the official website for the Cause of

Ven. Maria Fidelis Weiss by clicking here.  * *