Saints & Relics Speaking Presentation, 12/1/2018: Nakamura Residence, Kailua

It happened again.  I conducted another presentation and something strange occurred - not a good kind of strange, but it was more so a bad kind of strange.  Allow me to explain.

This afternoon I was invited to a friend's house in Kailua to conduct my usual presentation about Saints and Relics for a group of people from different parts of the island.  Prior to the talk I was excited because another friend of mine had just donated a projector to my ministry - a used one that still worked and it was much, much brighter compared to the projector I've been using all these past years.  I couldn't wait to break it in at this presentation.

The makeshift display-altar set up for this

presentation in the Nakamura home.  16 relics

from Jesus, Mary, and various Saints and

Blesseds were presented.

So I arrived at the house before the appointed time to set up the display-altar of relics and my equipment... and this is where the weird comes in - the projector wouldn't work, despite the fact that it worked just fine when I tested it a couple of nights before.  I did everything I could to troubleshoot the potential issues but nothing I did could make the projector work.  A participant even tried to help me but with no success so I finally resorted to my old projector, which I had on standby.  That projector worked, although my slideshow was not as bright and as sharp as I had wanted it to be for my audience.  I was a little disappointed but at least we had something to look at.  

We ended up starting late because of the setback but the presentation proceeded smoothly once I had the equipment set to go.  The 20 or so people attending were extremely receptive to the message I shared... and, based on feedback I received after, most enjoyed the presentation and learned new things about the sainthood process; the lives of various modern Saints/Blesseds I featured; and about devotion to relics.  I could also see by their reactions at the altar that there were "connections" happening between certain individuals and the Saints/Blesseds whose relics were displayed.  Souls were being touched in a profound manner - perhaps even spiritually healed or fortified - which is the main reason why I do these talks.  It turned out to be a successful presentation despite the rocky start.

Some of the attendees lined up to view

and venerate the relics on display.

Through today's presentation, I was able to acquaint a good number of people - youth and adults - with 16 authentic 1st and 2nd Class Relics from Servant of God Anne Louise Lateau, St. Annibale di Francia, St. Bernadette of Lourdes, Bl. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, St, Faustina Kowalska, St. Louis & Zelie Martin, St. Maria Katharina Kasper, Bl. Marie Deluil-Martiny, St. Peregrine Laziosi, St. Philomena, St. Padre Pio, Bl. Rolando Rivi, St. Therese the Little Flower, and my ministry's veil-relic of the Blessed Virgin and a piece of the True Cross of Jesus Christ.

After all the visitors left and I started to pack up, on a whim I decided to try the new projector again and guess what happened?  It started right up and was in perfect working order!  I could hardly believe it.  Strange, I tell you... very, very strange.

I later told the person who donated the projector about what happened and all he had to say were four words spoken with conviction: It was the devil.  These temporary equipment malfunctions have happened a few times before during past presentations so I'm inclined to agree with my friend.  I can imagine how much Satan loathes the Saints and the good they accomplish from Heaven so it makes sense to me that the devil would do whatever it takes to prevent people from getting to know these dear friends of God better... but, thankfully, things always work-out, some way or some how - like it did today - which just goes to show that God always wins at the end.  Amen.