Speaking Presentation & Pilgrim Visitations, 5/4 & 5/5/2013: St. Anthony of Padua Church, Kailua

What a busy and productive weekend this turned out to be.  This little ministry was involved with two events at my parish church... and the common theme for both was definitely FATIMA and the Holy Rosary.

 

May 4th: First Saturday Rosary

 

My Fatima Pilgrim Virgin Statue

and relics of the Fatima child-seers

were the focal points of this month's

Rosary for Peace at St. Anthony

of Padua Church.

The first event was our parish's monthly Rosary for Peace, which we offer on the First Saturday of every month in our Day Chapel.  Being that it was May - the month in which Our Lady began her celebrated series of six apparitions at Fatima, Portugal - I decided to give my Rosa Mystica statue a break and brought my Fatima pilgrim statue, instead, to the Rosary Meeting.  In addition, I also brought along relics of the Fatima seers - Blessed Francisco & Jacinta Marto - along with two recently acquired statuettes of them.

 

We welcomed back a couple of friends who we hadn't seen in a long while and also a new participant - a young man who recently moved to Kailua.  With the Fatima statue and the relics of the child-seers in our midst, our focus yesterday was naturally on the urgent and timeless message that Our Lady delivered at Fatima in 1917:  Conversion & Praying the Holy Rosary for World Peace.

 

I spoke about the Fatima Message and its continuing relevance in our present times... and emphasized the lives of the Blessed Fatima children as examples of how to apply the message in our own personal lives.  Our Lady of Fatima also bears a special significance for our regular participants since it was this particular devotion that inspired the start of our parish's First Saturday Rosary devotion almost three years ago.

 

 

May 5th:  Pilgrim Statue & Holy Relics Visitation & Presentation

 

Sharing about Our Lady of Fatima

and the Holy Rosary with our children

(click on the photos to see larger images)

 

This morning, I was invited to participate in a May Celebration for our CCD children in honor of our Blessed Mother.  I gave a brief talk to the kids - tailored to their young ages - about the events in Fatima, with special emphasis on the lives of Blesseds Francisco & Jacinta who the children could relate to.  They seemed especially tuned-in, given that there were statues of Our Lady and the seers present during the celebration.

 

Praying the rosary with our children, along

with our parish's Scriptural Rosary DVD.

 

After my talk, the CCD teachers passed out Rosaries to their respective students and together we prayed a few decades of the prayer while viewing and listening to our parish's very own Scriptural Rosary DVD.  The children were then served refreshments and given the opportunity to venerate the statues and the holy relics of the Fatima seers.  The figurines of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta were of special interest, as many of the children seemed fascinated and charmed by their appearance.

 

    

Children venerating the statues and

relics of two of their own: Blds. Francisco

& Jacinta Marto of Fatima

 

All in all, I felt both events made for a spiritually fruitful weekend, thanks to Our Lady of Fatima and her little messengers. Many hearts - young and old - were touched for the greater glory of Jesus.  Ad Jesum per Mariam!

 

"Say the Rosary every day,

to bring peace to the world and

the end of the war."

~ Words of Our Lady at Fatima, 6/13/1917