Sodality of Our Blessed Lady Presentation, 9-12-2026: 200 Years of Catholicism in Hawaii

For the third time, this ministry had the privilege of sharing about the history of the Catholic Faith in Hawaii.  This time around, the presentation was conducted during a Day of Recollection, a one-day retreat held by St. John Vianney Church's Sodality of Our Blessed Lady, a women's religious lay-association dedicated to promoting devotion to the Virgin Mary in their parish, as well as charitable works.

The Lourdes Grotto at the St. Anthony Retreat Center.

The retreat was held in Kalihi Valley at the beautiful St. Anthony Retreat Center, a place I personally consider to be holy ground.  In particular, there is a large replica of the Lourdes Grotto on the far end of the compound, where the presence of God and the Holy Virgin is particularly tangible ... and special graces have occasionally been reported.  I always enjoy time spent here whenever I visit.

A participant prayerfully reaching for a Saint's

intercession through contact with a relic.

All in all, the presentation was well-received by the 30+ women who attended, several of whom are close friends and acquaintances of mine through my weekly attendance at St. John Vianney Church; feedback was consistently positive as the stories I shared touched hearts ... and the presence of certain relics allowed for meaningful, personal connections with their respective Saints.

Having done this presentation three times already in a short period of time, I am finding that there is something about the sacrifices of the early Hawaiian Catholics that deeply resonates with my audiences.  Most are surprised to learn that extraordinary sanctity in our islands existed decades before our official Saints of Kalaupapa!

     

Lastly, there may have been a special blessing granted by our Lord to the pious women of the Sodality, inadvertently captured in a photo this author took of the holy grotto before my presentation started.  I had been praying for the group before the pic was snapped so it may just be an affirmation that our Lord has His loving gaze upon them!

Saint of the Month - September 2026: Blessed Maria Bolognesi

Bl. Maria Bolognesi

A Mystic of Suffering & Unwavering Charity

Memorial: September 7th

Early Years

Maria Bolognesi was born on October 21, 1924, in Bosaro, in the province of Rovigo, Italy.  Her entry into the world was marked by difficult family circumstances; her natural father, who was himself illegitimate, refused to marry her mother and separated from her shortly before Maria's birth.  For the first several years of her life, she lived with her mother under humble and impoverished conditions.  A profound anchor during her early childhood was her maternal grandmother, Cesira, who instilled in young Maria a deep-seated love for God, prayer, and the Catholic faith.

In 1929, her mother married Giuseppe Bolognesi, and the family moved to San Cassiano.  Though her stepfather proved to have an abrasive and sometimes violent temperament toward her mother, Maria was embraced by her new home and later helped raise her younger siblings.  Due to the family's extreme poverty, Maria was only able to complete the first two grades of elementary school before dropping out to work as an agricultural laborer in the fields.  Despite these early hardships, she gravitated intensely toward the Church, desiring to attend Holy Mass daily, participate in catechism, and spend hours in prayer.  A pivotal moment of her youth occurred in 1932 when she fell severely ill with a high fever at the same time her mother contracted life-threatening meningitis.  Encouraged by a nun preparing her for her First Communion that Jesus would grant her a sincere wish, Maria prayed for her mother’s recovery—a prayer that was miraculously answered, allowing Maria to receive her First Communion with deep emotional devotion later that year.

Diabolic Possession & Deliverance

As Maria entered young adulthood, her life became the battleground for an extraordinary and terrifying spiritual trial.  Beginning in the summer of 1940 (or mid-1941 according to alternate accounts), she underwent a severe and harrowing period of diabolical possession.  During this dark chapter, she experienced acute physical and spiritual torment; she was physically repelled and rendered unable to enter a church, and standard prayers or blessings from local priests initially failed to help her.  At one point, Maria's family and clergy were so desperate that she was bound to a chair so that her priest—Fr. Santo Magro—could attempt an exorcism or blessing, which also proved unsuccessful.

Maria (center) with friends

Misunderstood by those around her, she was even sent to a psychiatric hospital for medical evaluation.  However, before she arrived, the Bishop of Rovigo, Guido Maria Mazzocco, blessed her from his residence window, and examining doctors ultimately confirmed that she exhibited no underlying psychological disorders.  This intense spiritual warfare—which local tradition attributed to the effects of an evil spell—finally broke in April 1942, culminating in her ultimate deliverance.

Mystical Gifts & Stigmata

The conclusion of her diabolic trials ushered in a profound era of extraordinary mystical phenomena.  On the evening of Holy Thursday, April 2, 1942, Maria received her first apparition of Jesus Christ.  In this encounter, our Lord presented her with a mysterious gold engagement ring embedded with five rubies (signifying his Holy Wounds) and invited her to deeper union with him through the Passion.  Christ also assured the Beata that she would miraculously learn to read.  On the following day—Good Friday—she experienced stigmata for the first time, but invisibly, an event that was repeated weekly.  Under the guidance of her spiritual director, Fr. Bassiano Paiato, she began keeping a detailed spiritual diary.

Maria's mystical wedding ring from Jesus, which replaced

the original ring of engagement he gave her in 1942.

Over the ensuing decades, Maria's mystical experiences escalated.  She continued to see Christ and, occasionally, our Blessed Mother; was granted visions of Heaven and Purgatory; foretold future events; could read the hearts of those around her; and was often surrounded by a heavenly fragrance, especially during episodes of ecstasy.  Beginning in 1944, the hidden stigmata slowly began to manifest visibly—she started to regularly sweat blood on Fridays ... then in January 1954, the first visible stigmatic wound appeared on her right hand, followed by lesions on her feet and left hand during subsequent retreats and visions.  On Good Friday 1955, during a visit from Jesus in San Giovanni Rotondo where St. Padre Pio lived (Maria had a special mystical kinship with St. Pio), she was sealed with the final stigmata: a deep chest-wound in her left side.  At the same time, Jesus exchanged the betrothal ring he initially gave her with another one bearing a likeness of his crucified face, thus completing their Mystical Marriage.

Later Years

Despite her immense physical burdens and profound mystical experiences, Maria lived a life deeply integrated into practical charity and apostolic work.  In the 1940s and 1950s, she moved into a period of active service, working closely with neighbors and local families to care for orphans, teach catechism, and assist children whose parents were laboring in the fields.  She became a familiar, comforting presence in local hospitals, dedicating herself entirely to the sick and the destitute.

However, inspite her many good works, the Beata's life was not without external persecution; in March 1948, she was brutally attacked by three criminal men who left her severely injured and unconscious in the snow—an ordeal she endured with remarkable forgiveness, even as local authorities initially cast skeptical doubt on her account.  Additionally, she suffered relentless physical illnesses, including severe arthritis, colitis, appendicitis, and near-blindness.

After a heart attack in 1971, she turned to painting as an outlet while maintaining a quiet, hidden life of holiness, anchored by an unshakeable devotion to the Eucharist and a total surrender to Divine Providence, willingly offering her intense personal pains and mystical stigmata as sacrifices for the conversion of sinners and the spiritual strength of priests.  On this difficult path she found guidance and support in successive spiritual directors such as Mgr. Rodolfo Barbieri, Mgr. Adelino Marenga, and Mgr. Aldo Balduin.

Death & Beatification

Maria Bolognesi’s earthly life came to a peaceful end on January 30, 1980, when she suffered a fatal heart attack at 2:00 a.m. in Rovigo, at the age of 56.  Her passing marked the end of a life defined by intense redemptive suffering, yet her spiritual legacy immediately began to flourish among the faithful.  Her remains were later transferred to her home parish in Bosaro.

Bl. Maria had a special affinity with children.

Maria's formal Cause for Canonization opened on February 18, 1992, under Pope John Paul II, granting her the title of Servant of God.  Following rigorous diocesan investigations into her heroic virtues—which led Pope Benedict XVI to name her Venerable in 2012—attention turned to a verified miracle required for beatification.  This involved the inexplicable medical healing of a man named Marco, which was thoroughly vetted and approved by medical boards and theologians.  On May 2, 2013, Pope Francis officially promulgated the decree recognizing the miracle and Maria Bolognesi was officially Beatified on September 7, 2013.  This ceremony cemented her place in the Church as an extraordinary role model of endurance, mystical grace, and silent charity.

Bl. Maria Bolognesi, pray for us!

Our Lady, the "God-Bearer"

It's another First Saturday, a day revered by countless Marian Devotees throughout the world.  Me included.  You'll usually find this blogger at St. John Vianney Church in Kailua on the mornings of First Saturdays because of what happens there each month: the Pastor, Fr. Vincent, celebrates morning Mass; he offers the Sacrament of Healing; an hour of Eucharistic Adoration immediately follows the Mass; and there's Confession during and after Adoration.  It's a Marian devotee's paradise and I get to enjoy it every First Saturday, including today.

Fr. Vincent leading us in the Divine Praises.

In this blog, I'd like to share another curious pic concerning the outdoor Marian Shrine at St. John Vianney Parish.  I snapped it before the Mass, as I waited for the church doors to open.  I was looking at the shrine and praying to Our Lady ... then felt prompted to take a few photos from where I stood near the entrance.  Later, I noticed that in one of the pics - if you zoom in at the statue - the light reflected on it seems to form the luminous profile of a pregnant woman (note the large "baby bump").  It definitely doesn't look anything like the statue and my immediate thought is that it reminds me of the Holy Virgin's sublime role as the THEOTOKOS or the "God-Bearer" ... and of all days and of all places, the image appeared on a First Saturday when Mother Mary is especially honored ... and in a shrine dedicated to her.  I'm not saying the figure is a miracle, but I don't believe in coincidences either.

       

The garden shrine (left) and is that the luminous figure of

the Blessed Virgin as a pregnant woman (circled)?

Regardless what the figure is, I feel incredibly blessed and grateful for this morning's events.  It's a comfort to think that Our Lady is always nearby but the Holy Mass and the other Sacraments I partook of, and time spent in Adoration, are actually the gifts from God that are of much greater value.  All Thanks and Praises be to Him!

Beneath your mercy, we take refuge,

O Virgin Theotokos.  Disdain not our

supplications in our distress, but

deliver us from perils, O only pure

and blessed one.

- from the Sub Tuum Praesidium

(ancient prayer to Mary, 250 AD)

Presentation, 8-28-2026: 200 Years of Catholicism in Hawaii

At St. George Church in Waimanalo ... another successful presentation about the history of Catholicism in Hawaii.  200 years of abundant good fruit!

Relics of Hawaii's most popular Saints:

Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. Anthony of Padua,

& St. Therese of Lisieux on display ...

The parish's beautiful stained-glass

depictions of Sts. Damien and Marianne,

and Servant of God Bro. Joseph Dutton.

"Thank you, Peter, for a very inspiring sharing

of the work of God in Hawaii. My belief in the spirit

of sacrifice to follow Christ was strengthened by

the life of these heroic souls. May God bless you

for being an instrument of God's word."

- Fr. Ray Ellorin

Monthly Message from the Queen of Peace of Medjugorje: August 2026

Click/Tap on the image above or here to hear

this month's message from Medjugorje.

Presentation, 8-17-2026: 200 Years of Catholicism in Hawaii

This past July 2026, my Diocese of Honolulu officially inaugurated a year of observances that will culminate in the July 2027 Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Catholic Church in Hawaii.  The celebration is timed to coincide with the reopening of our Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace next year.  As part of the festivities, 8 altar panels representing each of the major Hawaiian islands are currently touring their respective islands.  These beautiful mosaic panels will eventually be incorporated into the new altar in our Cathedral Basilica.  The Oahu Panel is currently at my parish of St. Anthony of Padua Church and, as a result, my Pastor has organized a week of various devotional events.

The Oahu Altar Panel on display in my

Kailua parish church.

For last night's event, this ministry had the privilege of presenting about the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Hawaii. This author has to admit that when I was first asked to do this talk by our priest, I was a little apprehensive, but after doing my research, I was so inspired, I couldn't wait to share what I learned - our story is rich, beautiful ... and HOLY; filled with the lives of several "hidden saints" who were just waiting to be discovered!

One of our yet to be officially recognized Hawaiian

saints - this man converted 4,000 souls!

I related our local church's illustrious history and paid special emphasis on the lives of several native Hawaiians - "Dry Martyrs" - whose faith and sacrifices kept the faith alive in an underground Church during the "Dark Decade".  I then went on to share highlights from our timeline and the abundance of good fruit that followed in the wake of the Catholic Church's establishment in these islands ...

And, of course, a Guadalupe House Ministry Presentation would not be complete without relics being present.  So, I brought along 3 relics of the Saints who have the distinction of having the most parishes dedicated to them throughout our Diocese ...

        

Relics of Our Lady, St. Joseph,

and St. Therese of Lisieux on display

for veneration during the talk.

All in all, feedback was highly positive from the attendees ... and the night ended with a delicious Mexican dinner, courtesy of the Garcia Ohana, fellow parishioners who own Los Garcia's Mexican Restaurant in Kailua.  What a treat!

All Thanks and Praises be to God Almighty!

Saint of the Month - August 2026: Saint Dominic de Guzman

St. Dominic de Guzman

The "Hound of God" - Feast: August 8th

For this month, this ministry is particularly happy to feature this great Saint - founder of one of the most prolific Religious Orders in the history of the Catholic Church and spiritual father to all Rosary devotees throughout the world.

HIS EARLY YEARS

Born around 1170 in the village of Caleruega, in the Diocese of Osma, Old Castile (modern-day Spain), Dominic de Guzman came from a noble and deeply pious family.  His father was Felix de Guzman, and his mother was Juana de Aza (now known as Blessed Juana de Aza), an exemplary woman renowned for her charity and holiness.  According to pious tradition, before Dominic was born, his mother made a pilgrimage to the monastery of Silos, where she dreamed she gave birth to a dog holding a glowing torch in its mouth—a prophetic vision symbolizing that her son would set the world on fire with the light of Christ.

Showing an early inclination toward scholarship and piety, Dominic was sent at the age of fourteen to the prestigious University of Palencia, where he spent six years studying the liberal arts and theology.  During a severe famine in Spain, Dominic demonstrated his profound compassion by selling his treasured books, notes, and even his furniture to feed the starving poor, famously stating: "Would you have me study from these dead skins when men are dying of hunger?"

The prophetic dream of Bl. Juana de Aza

VOCATION TO RELIGIOUS LIFE

Upon completing his studies, Dominic was ordained a priest and appointed a canon of the cathedral chapter of Osma around 1194.  In this role, he adopted the Rule of St. Augustine, living a life of rigorous communal prayer, austerity, and study.

His life changed dramatically in 1203 when he accompanied Bishop Diego of Osma on a diplomatic mission for King Alfonso VIII of Castile to secure a bride in Denmark.  Traveling through southern France, Dominic was exposed to the Albigensian (Cathar) heresy, a dualistic movement that rejected the Catholic Church, the Sacraments, and the goodness of the material world, teaching instead that all matter was inherently evil.

Observing that the papal legates sent to convert the Albigensians traveled in lavish luxury—which alienated the common people who valued radical poverty—Dominic and Bishop Diego proposed a radical shift.  They dismissed their horses and attendants, traveling on foot, barefoot, and begging for their food.  They engaged the heretics in humble, intellectual, and charitable public debates, demonstrating that the Catholic Faith could be preached through authentic apostolic poverty and profound theological knowledge.

FOUNDER OF A NEW ORDER

Dominic’s spirituality was anchored in a deep synthesis of contemplation and action—to contemplate and to give to others the fruits of contemplation.  He spent his days in active ministry, preaching and teaching, and his nights in intense prayer, penance, and weeping for the salvation of souls.

Recognizing the urgent need for a permanent, highly educated preaching force to combat heresy and renew the Church.  In 1215, Dominic laid the foundations for a new religious community by gathering a small group of followers in Toulouse, France, to establish a new order structured around:

     *  Academic Excellence

     *  Mendicant Poverty

     * Apostolic Mobility

In December 1216 and February 1217, Pope Honorius III officially approved the order as the Order of Preachers (Ordo Praedicatorum), otherwise popularly known as the "Dominicans" after their spiritual father.

Dominic quickly dispersed his friars across Europe, establishing houses near major university centers.

HIS MIRACLES AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS

Dominic was gifted with extraordinary mystical graces.  He possessed the gift of tears, often weeping uncontrollably during prayer for the sins of the world and the conversion of souls.  He was also known for astonishing episodes of levitation during prayer, ecstasies ... and he also read hearts.  Other documented miracles, include the following:

* A Trial by Fire: When Dominic was debating Albigensian leaders in Fanjeaux, France, both sides wrote down their arguments and threw them into a blazing fire to let God judge the truth.  The heretics' papers burned instantly, but Dominic’s manuscript was miraculously ejected unharmed from the flames three times.

* Multiplication of Bread: During the early days of the community in Prouille, the friars had nothing to eat.  Dominic prayed over a small crust of bread, and suddenly a basket of fresh, white bread materialized, abundantly feeding all the brothers.

* Saving Travelers from a Storm: While traveling with his friars, a violent tempest threatened to drown them crossing a swollen river.  Through Dominic's fervent prayer, the waters miraculously receded, allowing the group to cross safely.

THE ROSARY DEVOTION

Tradition holds that in 1214, while preaching against the Albigensians in Toulouse, Dominic experienced an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  According to the story, Our Lady presented him with the Rosary as a powerful weapon against heresy and sin, instructing him to teach its use to the faithful.

While historical scholarship notes that elements of Marian prayer-beads predated the Saint, he and the Dominican Order became the primary instruments for organizing, promoting, and spreading the Rosary throughout the Catholic world.  The devotion became a cornerstone of Dominican spirituality, combining vocal prayer with the meditation of the mysteries of Christ's life.

DEATH AND LEGACY

Exhausted by decades of relentless traveling, fasting, and preaching across Spain, France, and Italy, Dominic fell gravely ill in the summer of 1221.  He arrived at the monastery of St. Nicolas in Bologna, where he died on August 6, 1221, at roughly fifty-one years of age.  True to his vow of poverty, he did not own a cell of his own and died lying on a borrowed wooden plank.

A facial reconstruction of St. Dominic's face based

on first-hand recorded descriptions of him.

Canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1234, St. Dominic's Feast Day is celebrated on August 8th.  The Saint's illustrious legacy lives on through the Dominican Order, which has produced some of the greatest minds and Saints in Church history, including St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Albert the Great, and St. Catherine of Siena.  Even centuries later, the spiritual sons and daughters of St. Dominic continue to serve the Church globally through teaching, preaching, and fruitful missionary work.

St. Dominic de Guzman,

pray for us!

Monthly Message from the Queen of Peace of Medjugorje: July 2026

Click/Tap on the image above or here to hear

this month's message from Medjugorje.

A New Book for Families: "Jake the Parish Pup"

Please pray for the success of this special labor of love: one of my fellow Kailua parishioners at St. Anthony of Padua Church - Julie Strivens - wrote and recently published a children's book called "Jake the Parish Pup", which this blogger had the honor of providing the illustrations for.  The book is now available in Amazon.com - click/tap here or scan the QR code below to view the book.

May it be a blessing to entire families, especially children growing up in our Catholic Faith!

FOR DISCERNMENT: PRAY FOR AMERICA

Happy 4th of July!

I feel a special need to share another extraordinary photo.  After today's First Saturday Rosary for Peace and evening Vigil Mass at my parish, I witnessed a figure in the sky - it looked like our Blessed Mother holding the infant Jesus.  I asked her what was going on, then had an interior impression that it was a silent message for our country since it's the 4th of July ... and the 250th Anniversary of the USA.  I snapped a few pics.

     

One of the clearer photos ... the figure enlarged on the right

with the Holy Virgin outlined by this author.

Now looking at the photos, it seems to me that the Baby Jesus is transformed into a cross in Our Lady's hands (some still perceive a baby).  A First Saturday ... on a historic and significant date for America ... the Rosary for Peace ... this appearance ... and a cross in her hands.  It doesn't seem to be random.  Rather, as a whole, it's all a coherent and urgent message - a silent request to pray and sacrifice for our country - and I'm not surprised.  Our culture has more and more, with the passing of each decade, sunken into deeper lows.  Our beloved country indeed needs prayer - pray, pray, pray for America!

A Prayer for America's 250th Anniversary

(By Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke)

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, King of Heaven and Earth,

I place today my nation, the United States of America,

into Your Heart pierced for love of us.  On the 250th

Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,

I acknowledge that true liberty is Your gift, and that

our lasting homeland is the eternal Kingdom of God.

Under the mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe,

Patroness of the Americas, and through the

intercession of her Immaculate Heart, bless my

homeland anew, purify her from sin, and guide her

leaders in truth, justice, and peace, so that she may

safeguard all human life, respect the integrity of

marriage and the family, and honor the practice of

religion.  Reign in my home and in my nation.

Draw every heart into communion with You, that

Your truth, love, justice, mercy, and peace may

triumph in America and throughout the world.

Amen.

God bless the United States of America!

In the light of the Eucharist ...

It's 1:14 AM and I can't sleep. Just got home from my parish of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua, where there's an overnight Eucharistic Adoration currently ongoing; my parish does this on the Thursday evenings preceding the First Fridays and they're wonderful!

The true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is always very palpable to me during these nocturnal events ... but tonight was extra-special - Jesus may have given us visible affirmations of his True Presence in the Blessed Sacrament and I was fortunate enough to capture them with my camera.

     

ABOVE: A photo taken during the first hour.  I didn't

notice anything unusual while snapping the pic ... but note

how the light formation on the monstrance looks like

a glowing silhouette of a baby in swaddling cloths

reaching out.  Was it the Holy Infant?

BELOW:  A photo snapped during the second hour.

An image resembling the head and shoulders of a young

boy was seen near the base of our unique crucifix.

Was it the Christ Child?

     

The four of us who were present in the church could clearly see the ghostly image of a boy next to the crucifix.  We all agreed as to what we saw and discerned that it represented the Christ Child lovingly watching over us; another affirmation of Jesus's presence.  It goes without saying that my time in Adoration and prayer was made more fervent by the sighting, and I believe it was the same for my fellow parishioners.

This blogger doesn't believe in coincidences ... but regardless whether the figures are signs, or not, how blessed we are as Catholics to have Jesus present and so close to us in the Eucharist.  HE literally dwells in our Tabernacles - Thanks and Praises be to GOD!

Saint of the Month - July 2026: Bl. Maria Maddalena Martinengo

Bl. Maria Maddalena Martinengo

A Passion Flower of the Capuchin Order

Memorial: July 27th

Noble Roots and a Contested Calling

Margherita Martinengo was born on October 5, 1687, into the illustrious Martinengo clan of Brescia, Italy.  Her father, Francesco Leopoldo Martinengo, Count of Barco, and her mother, Margherita Secchi d'Aragona, possessed immense wealth and societal influence.  Tragically, her mother died a mere five months after her birth due to complications from giving birth.  

Margherita was a highly intelligent and sensitive child who received an extensive secular and religious education thanks to her social status.  Entrusted to the Ursuline sisters at the age of six, and heavily influenced by her pious teacher, Isabella Marazzi, Margherita developed deep faith and devotion.  She kept a rosary continually in her hand and favored reading the Breviary over typical childhood pastimes.

At the age of thirteen, feeling a strong internal pull toward the Divine, Margherita made a private vow of virginity.  However, as she approached her sixteenth birthday, the pressures of her aristocratic status began to mount.  Her father actively sought to arrange a prestigious marriage for her, promising her hand to the son of a prominent Venetian senator.  Her brothers, hoping to sway her from her pious inclinations, showered her with romantic literature and worldly entertainment.  Margherita later confessed that these secular distractions temporarily seduced her, later referring to the romantic novels she received as "books from hell" for the spiritual turmoil they caused her.

Following a period of interior struggle, Margherita emerged with absolute clarity during a family vacation in the mountains surrounding Lake Iseo.  Against the fierce opposition of her father, her siblings, the household servants, and even her confessor, she announced her intention to join a local cloistered Capuchin Poor Clare monastery.  On Christmas Day, 1704, the seventeen-year-old countess presented herself at the monastery of Santa Maria della Neve in Brescia, famously declaring: "I want to become holy."

On September 8, 1705, she was clothed in the coarse Franciscan habit, taking the religious name Sr. Maria Maddalena.

Heroic Virtues and Humility

Despite her delicate appearance—described by her contemporaries as being "like wax"—Maria Maddalena exhibited astonishing fortitude.  Immersed in the grueling daily realities of a poor eighteenth-century monastery, she utterly disregarded her aristocratic background.

Among her sisters, she became affectionately known as "il facchino del monastero" (the monastery's porter).  With an absolute dedication to humility and obedience, she actively sought out the lowest, most physically demanding chores.  The former countess happily served as the community's dishwasher, kitchen hand, gardener, baker, sweeper, laundress, wool weaver, and shoemaker.  She requested no exemptions, accepted no privileges of rank, and deliberately pursued hardships to strip away any remaining worldly pride.

Her practice of the virtues was so noteworthy, she was eventually elected by the community to the position of Novice Mistress and later as Abbess.  Yet, even in roles of authority, she led entirely by example, maintaining her rigorous adherence to the Franciscan Rule and treating the sisters with immense maternal warmth.

A Hidden and Radical Asceticism

Bl. Maria Maddalena is particularly noted for the severity of her physical mortification and penances, a practice rooted in the ascetic traditions of her time.  Driven by a horror of sin and a sincere desire to share in the sufferings of Christ's Passion, she embraced extreme bodily mortifications.

She wore a cilice (spiked belt), a hairshirt, restricted her sleep, fasted intensely, and subjected her body to disciplines meant to closely unite her physical state with Christ on the cross.  Remarkably, despite these rigorous practices, she maintained a joyful, robust exterior.  Until the very end of her life, she managed to conceal the true extent of her penances and bodily infirmities from even the most observant members of her community.  She firmly believed that penance was not merely a way to overcome the weaknesses of the flesh, but a transformative fire meant to clear away self-love in the soul in order to make room for Divine Grace.

To her physical sufferings can be added moral ones.  There were four nuns in the monastery who did not believe in her holiness.  They frequently undermined her authority, but the Abbess patiently withstood their humiliations and loved them just the same as their companions.

Bl. Maria Maddalena experienced the mystical

exchange of hearts with Jesus - He took hers and replaced

it with His own Sacred Heart!

Spiritual Gifts and Mystical Encounters

Beneath the monotonous surface of her manual labor lay a rich and active mystical interior life.  By order of her confessor, Maria Maddalena reluctantly recorded her spiritual experiences in an autobiography and various journals, leaving behind a rich theological treasury.

Her spiritual gifts were charismatic and profound.  She was highly regarded for her spiritual discernment, often accurately reading the hearts of her novices and offering appropriate spiritual direction.  Furthermore, her writings reveal ecstatic raptures and deep union with God.  In fact, one of the most famous mystical phenomena attributed to her is the "exchange of hearts" with Jesus.  She recorded a vision in which she prayed: "Lord, take my heart.  I no longer want it."  Christ was apparently pleased with her offer, and she described the sensation of Jesus removing her physical heart and replacing it with His own, which she felt was "all on fire with love".  From henceforth, she felt herself physically inflamed by an all-consuming love for her Divine Spouse that burned within her (the "Incendium Amoris").

The Beata also experienced private revelations concerning the sufferings of Christ that inspired the devotion of the "Fifteen Secret Pains of Jesus" in which Christ disclosed to her the unrecorded physical and emotional tortures He endured in the dark hours preceding His crucifixion ... and, not surprisingly, beginning in 1713, she also participated in the Lord's sorrowful Passion every Friday, via the sufferings of the invisible Stigmata.  Small wounds around her head representing the crown of thorns reportedly did open and bleed, but she successfully hid them under her wimple and veil.  Through these mystical experiences, she achieved a total identification with Christ Crucified, enduring periods of immense spiritual desolation (the "dark night of the soul") alongside ecstatic consolations.

Death and Enduring Legacy

In her later years, Maria Maddalena contracted tuberculosis, bearing the painful, wasting disease with the same serene resignation she had applied to the rest of her life.  Her drastic ascetic practices and exhausting schedule also finally caught up with her, leaving her in a gravely weakened state while her soul maintained its extraordinary peace.

She died on July 27, 1737, at the age of 49; her body remained supple and flexible, resisting rigor mortis.  It was after her death, that the extent of her voluntary penances was revealed on her corpse, including the marks of the crown of thorns on her brow.  When the news of her passing spread beyond the convent walls, the people of Brescia—who had long revered the Abbess as a living Saint—gathered in mourning.  Her remains are venerated to this day in the Church of the Convent of the Capuchin Poor Clares in Brescia.

Following her death, the careful theological examination of her writings and the reporting of numerous miracles (including the miraculous healings of Isabella Groppelli Gromi and Giuseppe Tosi) propelled her cause for Sainthood.  Pope Leo XIII officially Beatified Maria Maddalena Martinengo on June 3, 1900.

The tomb of Bl. Maria Maddalena Martinengo as

seen in Brescia, Italy (the figure inside is wax)

Today, this Beata stands as a powerful testament to the Capuchin Franciscan ideals: a woman who walked away from the heights of worldly prestige to embrace the lowest rung of monastic service, and in doing so, achieved profound mystical union with God.

Bl. Maria Maddalena Martinengo,

pray for us!

A week with our Mother Mary...

What a busy and intense week it was for me, but in a good way ... and it seemed to this author that the "veil" separating Heaven and Earth was especially thin this week; Our Lady was a factor and her influence seemed particularly palpable.  Did anyone else feel this way?

... and I think the recent events in Medjugorje was the catalyst, at least from my personal perspective.  This ongoing Church-approved Marian Apparition just celebrated its 45th Anniversary on June 24th, 2026, and the Queen of Peace again requested a special nine days of preparation - a "Novena of Rosaries" - calling for people to participate in late night vigils up on Apparition Hill, as if to encourage voluntary mortification and sacrifice amongst the pilgrims.

Marija in ecstasy during an apparition

For those familiar with this ministry, you likely already know that I personally believe in these apparitions and promote the monthly messages in this blog.  I cannot express enough how Medjugorje has deeply influenced my spiritual life for the better, and I attribute many special favors I've received to the maternal intercession of the Queen of Peace of Medjugorje.  So promoting devotion to her is the least I can do to repay her.

Two of the six Seers - Ivan and Marija -

present during an apparition

I followed that Medjugorje Rosary Novena in spiritual union, via YouTube, and performed whatever special instruction was given by the Blessed Virgin during each apparition (e.g. praying for the Poor Souls).  Then, on June 25th, a friend invited me to bring relics to her home for a prayer meeting she hosted for her parish's Fatima Pilgrim Madonna statue.  It just so happened to be the day that Our Lady gave her June monthly message for the world so I took the opportunity to speak not just about the Fatima message, but also about the events in Medjugorje.  There were a couple of people present who had actually never heard of Medjugorje and they were quite impressed by what they learned.  I also relayed how the Virgin once said to the Medjugorje seers: "What I started in Fatima, I will finish in Medjugorje.  My heart will triumph."   Our host then read the June 25th Message out loud.

   

Relic Pilgrim Visitation at the Manoa Residence in Aiea: Relics of the

Fatima Seers were displayed with the Medjugorje Peace Icon

Also making a positive impact were my ministry's relics of the three Fatima Seers (including a splinter of wood from the tree of apparitions) and my Medjugorje "Peace Icon" that has three stones taken from the shrine on Apparition Hill; from the Blue Cross shrine; and from the large cross atop Cross Mountain.  All of it, together, contributed to a certain heavenly presence that permeated the room we were in.

Finally, this morning (6/27), as I drove to St. John Vianney Church in Kailua to attend Mass, I was surprised to see a clear figure of the Blessed Virgin high in the sky ahead of me.  It looked like a cardboard cut-out of her pasted in the sky - the clearest photo is shown below.

     

Our Lady's figure in the sky above Enchanted Lakes,

Kailua (zoomed-in in the left photo)

I believe what I saw was intended as a sign for the parish priest (a friend of mine) who had asked me to pray with him for a certain, undisclosed petition (we were invoking Our Lady's intercession) ... but wait - if that weren't enough, after the Mass and joining in the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet with a few St. John Vianney parishioners, I again witnessed Our Lady's silhouette floating in the air - see below.

     

Our Lady's figure spotted in the sky above Kailua for a

second time in the same day (zoomed-in in the left photo)

So one can understand what I meant by the title of this blog.  Due to all that transpired in the past week, I really felt that I spent it with Mother Mary, the Queen of Peace ... and one might be surprised to learn that I've never been to Medjugorje despite my devotion; neither do I feel the need to go there because here's what I've learned throughout the years: one doesn't need to go to Medjugorje to experience its extraordinary grace and inspiration.  Just live the messages wherever you are - Convert, Pray "from the heart", live a Sacramental Life, and Fast regularly - and the blessed fruits of Medjugorje will come to you!  Indeed, putting her words into action is the best way we can show love and honor to our Heavenly Mother Mary.

Our Lady, Queen of Peace,

pray for us!