St. Anthony of Padua Church - Rosary for Peace Procession, 12/7/2013

“So let your light shine before men,

that they may see your good works, and

glorify your Father who is in Heaven.”

 

~ Matthew 5:16

Parishioners and guests process around

St. Anthony of Padua Church and School, in

Kailua, while holding candles symbolizing

the light of our Faith.

Last night was an awesome evening of First Saturday Marian Devotions at my parish of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua, Hawaii.  We celebrated the vigil of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with Mass, a candlelight rosary procession, and a potluck celebration.  Since it was the first time ever that we had planned something like this for our faith community, I was a little apprehensive about how the parishioners would respond to it... but my concerns turned out to be unfounded as the turn-out for the event far exceeded my expectations.  The weather was perfect - Thank you, Lord! - and I estimate over 150 parishioners, plus visitors from other parishes, were on hand to participate in the procession.  Many of them were entire families - parents with their children - which was beautiful and heartwarming to see.

 

The procession began shortly after the vigil Mass ended.  We first sang the hymn, "Gentle Woman", while lighting our candles, then the procession got on its way with the start of the Holy Rosary.  Our route took us around the perimeter of the church and adjoining school campus while we followed a magnificently decorated platform with a statue of the Blessed Mother and the Holy Child.

        

 

Above & Below:  Additional photos as

we walked around the church and adjoining

school campus.  Note the large balls of light -

"orbs" - inadvertently captured in the photos,

that mysteriously hovered above the crowd

near the statue.  I interpreted them as

signs of Our Lady's presence.

 

In keeping with the Advent Theme, we reflected and prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary while also singing "Aves" to Our Lady... but what undoubtedly made our procession even more special was how we incorporated "Living Mystery Stations" along our procession route.  We paused at these stations while our youth and students from St. Anthony of Padua School - dressed in biblical-style costumes - treated all of us to visual representations of each Joyful Mystery that we were contemplating.  Many people were very impressed and inspired by the children's efforts... and a few were even moved to tears.

 

 

 

Above:  Our youngsters, posing in the

"Living Stations" of the Joyful Mysteries (from

top-row, left to right): The Annunciation, The

Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation,

and The Finding of Jesus.

Below:  Participants viewing and reflecting

on the 3rd and 5th Joyful Mysteries at the

designated stations.

 

 

In the end, our procession again found itself in the front of our church where we contemplated the last Joyful Mystery before finishing with the closing prayers of the Rosary.  We then processed into our gathering hall, while singing "Immaculate Mary", and celebrated the rest of the evening with a tasty potluck dinner and some lively entertainment from our priests and parishioners, including karaoke.

 

  

 

Above:  A few photos from our post-

procession celebration, which included

food and entertainment.

Below:  Photos with my family,

with our Assistant Pastor (Fr. Exsequel),

and dear Friends.

  

 

All in all, I really feel this month's First Saturday Rosary for Peace was the best yet, thanks to the added component of the procession.  Judging by the many positive feedback I heard from some of the people who participated, including people from other parishes, it appears the event was not only a big success on many levels... but also a true blessing for the participants.  There's already talk of making this an annual tradition for our Kailua Parish... so December 2014 here we come!