Young Faces of Holiness Presentation, 2/26/2022: St. John Vianney Church, Kailua

"Let the little children come to me; do

not stop them; for it is to such as these

that the kingdom of God belongs."

~ Mark 10:14

The passage cited above was part of the Gospel reading we heard proclaimed at Mass this morning... and it made a deep impression on this author because after the Mass I was scheduled to give a presentation to catechism students, their parents, and/or their adult sponsors at the parish of St. John Vianney Church in Kailua.  Through his own words, we clearly see the tremendous love Jesus has for children; his desire for them to approach him so as to know him.  So to be able to share about young Saints/Blesseds with the children - Spiritual Heroes whose faith-examples have the potential to deeply inspire our kids to know Jesus, too - is both a joy and a privilege for this ministry.

As with all my talks on Saints, the main theme is - God desires us to be Saints and anyone can become a Saint, regardless of race, vocation, social status, and AGE; it's simply possible, even for children!  So to prove the point to our kids the young Saints/Blesseds I featured were Bl. Imelda Lambertini, St. Rose of Viterbo, and Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati but I also included St. Martin de Porres so the adults in the audience wouldn't feel left out.

In between talking about the lives of our holy ones, I engaged the children through games such as spotting the difference between two similar images of St. Rose and finding hidden mice in a drawing I did of St. Martin (see below).  So while the children were learning, they also had fun doing so, which is integral in helping the information stick.

Can you spot St. Martin's mice-friends?

(Hint: 6 are hidden in this drawing ... along

with a sneaky little cat)

Towards the end of the talk, I briefly spoke about relics and described the relics I brought for the children to see.  After I was done, all were invited to safely approach the relics to take a closer look and to ask the intercession of their respective Saints/Blesseds if they wished to.  Steffanie, the Religious Education Coordinator for the parish, did a great job printing large images of the Saints and Blesseds for the kids to see, as well as, providing holy cards for the group to take.  The rest of the program was then dedicated to having the audience paint little wooden peg dolls of their favorite Saints, which I thought was brilliant!

     

The relics and devotional items that

were included at this presentation.

     

Judging by how the audience enthusiastically came up to view the relics with many taking prayer cards, including the adults, the presentation must have struck a chord with a lot of them (thanks be to God!).  Now we pray that the Saints/Blesseds will do their part in inspiring them all to go to Jesus with confidence and joy.

Children and adults viewing the relics

(Note: the relics were spread wide apart

and the parish required the audience to

be temperature-checked and to wear

masks for health safety reasons).

Monthly Message from the Queen of Peace of Medjugorje: February 25th, 2022

  “Dear children!  I am with you and we pray together.  Help me with prayer, little children, that Satan may not prevail.  His power of death, hatred, and fear has visited the earth.  Therefore, little children, return to God and to prayer, to fasting and to renunciation, for all those who are downtrodden, poor, and have no voice in this world without God.  Little children, if you do not return to God and His Commandments, you do not have a future.  That is why He sent me to you to guide you.  Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Eucharistic Presentation, 2/18/2022: St. John Vianney School Faculty Retreat

Yesterday morning, this author was invited to speak to staff and teachers of St. John Vianney School at their annual faculty retreat.  They allowed me to pick the topic and I chose the Eucharist, given the lack of faith many Catholics of today have in the True Presence.

Thankfully, the audience was very receptive.  I explained the Church's teachings on the Eucharist and shared about various Church-approved Eucharistic Miracles, while showing images of them, via a slideshow.  All the while I emphasized the Eucharist is the ultimate gift of Divine Love to us from Jesus, himself!

    
Two, of several, Eucharistic Miracles I shared

about: Lanciano (c. 700) & Sokolka (2008).

As for relics, which this ministry is known for, I felt prompted to bring just one - a relic of the True Cross.  I directed the group to pass the relic around while reflecting on the truth that the same body that was nailed to the cross on Calvary - a splinter of which they now held in their own hands - is the very same body and blood of Jesus we're privileged to receive in Holy Communion at every Mass we attend.

At the end I had the sense that the majority of the group was positively touched by what they heard and saw... and by the presence of the relic.  Several women later approached me to express gratitude, including one who shared that she had been away from the Church for a while but was now ready to come back.  Praises be to God!

This ministry's True Cross relic.

My eventual hope is that these teachers, in turn, will take some of what they learned from the presentation - or what inspired them - and somehow pass it along to the children they teach.  Our kids need to understand the Eucharist, too... today, more than ever.  So please pray for this hardworking group of educators... and for this ministry, too.  God bless us all.