Marian Apparitions & Saints Speaking Presentation, 4/15/2018: St. Anthony of Padua Church, Kailua

This morning I had the privilege of sharing all the devotions I am highly passionate about - Mary, Marian Apparitions, Saints, and Relics - in one of my presentations that pretty much combines it all.  This time around, the presentation was conducted for the RCIA team and participants at St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Kailua.

I spoke to the group giving them an overview of public versus private revelations; informed them about several approved Marian apparitions; provided a summary of their respective messages; narrated the bios of several canonized Marian visionaries (e.g. St. Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes) and Marian devotees (e.g. St. Padre Pio); and displayed relics of the saints I spoke about.

Some of the RCIA team and participants

at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua

waiting for the presentation to begin.

At the end of the talk several who sat in took the time to approach me to say thank you for the information that was relayed to them, as well as, to share their own experiences about the Blessed Mother.  Although I'm always very grateful and touched by the show of appreciation, it's the personal stories I enjoy most.

For example, one of the RCIA Team leaders - Dennis Muth - had been to Medjugorje twice and his experiences inspired him so deeply that he wrote a book called, "Mother Mary Comes to Me, Words of Wisdom from Medjugorje" (click here for more information).  We were able to faith-share a bit about our personal take on the alleged Medjugorje events and the big impact they've had on our lives.  I could easily relate to everything Dennis shared and listening to his backstory was like hearing my own faith-journey from someone else's lips.  I sensed that he understood the ministry-work I was doing, too.

Another conversation that stood out was with a woman who recently converted to Catholicism.  She approached me with her husband to inquire if the reliquary of St. Catherine Laboure (of the Miraculous Medal fame) that I had on the makeshift altar was "magnetic".  Somewhat puzzled by her question, I replied that it wasn't, which made her give me a puzzled look of her own... and which caused her husband to exclaim, "I told you it's not magnetic - it's the energy of the saint!" to which the wife incredulously responded, "No, it has to be!  It has to be magnetic!"

Relics of Marian Saints on display

at today's presentation (left to right): St.

Catherine Laboure, St. Padre Pio, Sts.

Francisco & Jacinta of Fatima, St. Teresa

of Calcutta, & St. Bernadette of Lourdes.

Curious about the back and forth dialogue between the couple, I asked them what happened.  The lady then pulled out from under her blouse a large Miraculous Medal that she was wearing on a long chain necklace around her neck.  The woman went on to explain that she had touched the medal to St. Catherine's reliquary but when she moved to pull it away, she found that it was somehow "stuck" to the reliquary!  After giving the chain a little tug, the medal detached itself, which is why she had the impression that the reliquary was magnetized.  I smiled and reassured the woman that the reliquary wasn't magnetized (it really isn't) and suggested that perhaps St. Catherine Laboure had taken hold of her medal to give it a special blessing just for her.  She looked a little freaked-out when I said what I said, but the husband wholeheartedly agreed with me.  When they both finally left, the lady kept looking back at the altar with the confused expression still on her face.

In the past eight years that I've been giving talks with relics, I've heard a lot of testimonies from participants concerning unusual things they've noticed during or after the presentation; stuff that ranged from the scent of roses to manifestations of escarchas... but a medal getting mysteriously stuck to a reliquary?  I haven't heard that one before!

And so ended another Guadalupe House presentation; one that I'll recall with a sense of amusement.  Thank you, Blessed Mother... and thank you to all the Saints who were present through their relics!