Saints & Relics Presentation: Sts. Peter & Paul Church, Honolulu

Yesterday, on the Feast of the great Apostles, St. Peter & Paul, I was invited by the adult coordinators of a Youth Group to speak at their parish of Sts. Peter & Paul!  Their teens had inquired about Saints recently and the coordinators were familiar with this ministry through past presentations ... so there I was again this afternoon with 9 different relics in tow.

Today's line up of holy people/relics included St. Bernadette of Lourdes; Ven. Alexia Gonzales-Barros; the Blessed Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro; St. Damien of Molokai; Bl. Pierina Morosini; Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassatti; St. Margaret of Castello; St. Maximilian Kolbe; and St. Anthony of Padua.

Judging by the reaction and feedback from the teens and adults, the Saints again made a deep, positive impression on many of them.  I can always see it by how the audience members behave after each talk, when they're invited to approach the relic displayed to have a personal encounter with each Saint/Blessed I talked about.

Usually, their subtle facial expressions while standing in front of a relic almost seem as though they've come upon a wondrous treasure!  People pause for a bit in awe and reflection before reaching out to carefully touch the relics with their hands or with religious articles; mouths sometimes move silently, which I know is prayer ... and some are even teary-eyed during these moments of connection.  Then the cellphones come out for picture taking and to scan the QR codes I make available that link to biographies of each holy person.  It goes beyond mere curiosity.

Seeing the above reaction never gets old for me ... and it's especially encouraging to see our youth displaying such piety because I then have certainty that something that I shared about each holy person had managed to "stick" in their young hearts ... and better the Saints to have as role models than most of the superficial celebrities they tend to admire these days.

So may God bless my new Ohana in Christ at Sts. Peter & Paul Parish.  I Am looking forward to seeing them again this August for another scheduled presentation!