Kailua Celebrates the Month of the Rosary

This ministry is happy to report that several special events have been ongoing in Kailua to celebrate the "Month of the Holy Rosary" ...

🌹 First Saturday Rosary for Peace & Sunday Rosaries

First off, St. Anthony of Padua Church's longstanding monthly First Saturday Rosary for Peace had hit another major milestone on 10/4/2025 - it's 15th Anniversary and what abundant graces we've received since we started!

In addition, Rosaries are being prayed by our congregation, 35 minutes prior to every Mass during the month of October.  Come and pray with us ... and in the months ahead, consider making the Five First Saturdays Devotion (see above) at our parish.  We continue to have Confession, Rosary, and Vigil Mass every Saturday afternoon beginning at 4pm.

(NOTE: At neighboring St. John Vianney Church, for the month of October, the congregation is praying the Rosary every Saturday morning after the 8am Mass led by the parish's Sodality of Mary.)

🌹 Pilgrim Madonna Home Visits

Initially implemented by our Pastor, Fr. Tony, for the month of October 2024, then again in May 2025, we started with 2 statues that traveled at 3-day intervals between 26 homes in Kailua.  The statues were a Fatima image provided by a friend and a Lady of Grace statue owned by this ministry.

   

The two original Pilgrim Madonnas and Fr. Tony commissioning

4 (of 5) Pilgrim Madonnas for October 2025.

This October 2025, our parishioners responded so enthusiastically, we had to add more 3 images, which includes this ministry's Queen of Peace Icon with its three stones collected from sites in Medjugorje sanctified by the Virgin Mary’s continuing apparitions there: Apparition Hill, Cross Mountain, and the Blue Cross locations.  With the additional Pilgrim Madonnas, our Blessed Mother will now get to visit over 60 homes in which parishioners have committed themselves to pray the Rosary for the duration of the visitation - I personally anticipate great graces for our families and general community!

   

ABOVE & BELOW:  A few photos of the Pilgrim Madonnas

visiting parish homes.

🌹 America Needs Fatima (ANF) Rosary Rally 2025

Once again, Auntie Patty Vargas and her extended family hosted its annual ANF Rosary Rally at their Kailua home.  This wonderful family has been faithfully hosting uninterrupted annual rallies since 2009 (except for 2020 due to the covid pandemic).  The event is something many of us, fortunate enough to be invited, look forward to each year because of its devout atmosphere ... and the light-hearted fellowship and delicious luncheon that follows the prayers.  This year's rally did not disappoint.

The Vargas Ohana's 2025 Rosary Rally in

Kailua (Oahu), Hawaii ...

An annual event of Prayer, Faith, Food & Fellowship!

🌹 Affirmations

With all these special observances honoring the Holy Mother of Christ in our parish, spiritual fruits have inevitably followed: increased Mass attendance; increased OCIA enrollments this year; increased participation in parish-sponsored special events/celebrations (e.g. the Rosary Marathon, Pilgrim Madonna program, etc.); increased membership with our FIAT: Faith In Action Today Prayer Group; and, lastly, seemingly increased signs in the skies above our two Kailua parishes (St. Anthony of Padua Church and St. John Vianney Church)!

On the morning of the 10/11/2025 Rally:

the Holy Mother's figure was witnessed from

St. John Vianney Church's garden shrine.  She

expressed her joy over all the Rosary Rallies

being held around the world!

It all goes to show that wherever Our Lady is venerated through the Rosary, her loving, motherly presence is there ... and, trust me - she comes loaded with gifts!

Ave Maria & Thanks be to God!

Saint of the Month - October 2025: Saint Maria Crescentia Hoss

St. Maria Crescentia Höss

A Life of Faith & Service

+ Early Life and Calling

Maria Crescentia Höss was born on October 20, 1682, in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, Germany.  She was the sixth of eight children in a poor weaving family, and from an early age, she displayed a profound devotion to prayer and charity.  Despite her family's financial struggles, Crescentia felt a strong calling to religious life and desired to join the Franciscan Tertiaries in Kaufbeuren.  However, due to her lack of a dowry, she was initially denied entry into the convent.

Her fate changed when the Protestant mayor of Kaufbeuren, recognizing her virtue, intervened on her behalf.  He purchased a tavern adjacent to the convent and donated it to the sisters, requesting that Crescentia be admitted in return.  Though reluctantly accepted, she faced harsh treatment from the superior, who saw her as a burden.  She was assigned the most difficult and menial tasks, and was even denied a room in the convent so had to sleep on the floor in the cells of sympathetic nuns.  She endured this humiliation for years, yet remained steadfast in her faith and humility.

+ Life in the Convent

In 1703, Crescentia officially entered the convent, and by 1704, she professed her vows.  Over time, her patience and evident holiness won the respect of her fellow sisters.  In 1726, she was appointed novice mistress, a role in which she guided young women in their spiritual formation.  Her wisdom and deep prayer life made her a sought-after advisor, and even princes, bishops, and cardinals consulted her.

In 1741, our Saint was elected superior of the convent, despite her initial reluctance to accept the position.  She emphasized silence, recollection, and devotion to Christ Crucified, encouraging her sisters to deepen their spiritual lives.  She also promoted trust in Divine Providence, ensuring that the convent remained focused on virtue rather than material wealth.

+ Mystical Experiences

A significant aspect of Crescentia's legacy was her remarkable mystical experiences, which enriched her spiritual life and influenced those around her.  She frequently had visions of heavenly mysteries, particularly after receiving Holy Communion, and she also performed miracles.  One of her most striking supernatural feats was reportedly carrying water in a sieve after she was ordered to do so by her superior.  The task was likely imposed on her to test her obedience, as well as to break her resolve but it backfired in a spectacular manner!  This miraculous act demonstrated to her companions her sincerity and unwavering faith, and the tide began turning in her favor.  

Though her visions initially troubled her, she eventually embraced them as divine graces, recognizing them as gifts meant to strengthen her devotion and guide others in their spiritual journeys.  Furthermore, St. Crescentia's connection to the Holy Spirit was so alive that she saw Him as a beautiful youth dressed in a long white robe, which was a departure from the common iconography of the white dove; a depiction of her visions of the Holy Spirit was later painted in 1728.

The Holy Spirit, as He appeared

to St. Crescentia.

And lastly, this mystic was one of the rare souls who participated in the Passion of Christ in a physical manner - a Stigmatic - who relived the Lord's sufferings every Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM while in a state of prolonged ecstasy.

+ Spiritual Legacy and Canonization

Throughout her life, Crescentia not only endured spiritual trials but she also had various maladies, including severe headaches, toothaches, and crippling chronic pain that eventually left her bedridden.  Despite her afflictions, she remained joyful and continued to offer spiritual counsel.  She passed away on April 5, 1744, which was an Easter Sunday; a fitting end for a woman completely devoted to following Christ even to the Cross.

An A.I.-generated portrait of the Saint based

on the image shown above.

The deceased nun's enduring reputation for holiness in Germany eventually led to her Beatification in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII, and her Canonization in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.  Her relics are venerated at the Crescentiakloster in Kaufbeuren, where pilgrims continue to seek inspiration from her holy life.

The Saint’s tomb in her Franciscan Convent

+ Conclusion

St. Crescentia Höss exemplified unwavering faith, humility, and perseverance.  From enduring rejection and cruel treatment to becoming a revered spiritual leader, her life serves as a testament to the power of trust in God.  Her legacy continues to inspire those who seek a deeper connection with our Faith.

St. Maria Crescentia Hoss,

pray for us!

Jubilee Rosary Marathon, 9/24/2025: Did Our Lady descend?

This past Wednesday, as part of my parish's program of activities coinciding with the visit of our Diocese's Jubilee Pilgrim Cross, members of our FIAT Prayer Group lead a "Rosary Marathon" in our church ... and, boy, was it powerful!

   

The hour and twenty minutes it took for the congregation to pray all four Mysteries of the Rosary was like a spiritual pilgrimage - a reflective and intimate journey with our Lord and Blessed Mother through the key events of their earthly lives.

What's more is that throughout our prayer time, the presence of the Divine seemed to be especially tangible and several parishioners commented to me about it.  In fact, I snapped a few photos for this blog and one pic seemed to affirm our sense - see below:

What do you see?

I can't say for certain that the curious figure captured in the pic is a special sign from our Blessed Mother because there's a group of statues in a garden out there, and it could just be a natural play of light and shadows on one of them ... but what's puzzling is that the silhouette simply doesn't look anything like any one of the outdoor statues (see below).  Instead, it coincidentally has a striking resemblance to the statue we had displayed in the church Sanctuary - Our Lady of Grace - with its distinctive cloak and arms extended downward.  So it has me and those who I showed the photo to wondering if there's something more to the image.

   

To the right: The beautiful statuary in our

parish, depicting the Crucifixion

But regardless of the photo, I have no doubt our parishioners were indeed abundantly showered with grace from above ... through the True Presence of our Eucharistic Lord in the Tabernacle; through the maternal intercession of Our Lady and her promised graces associated with the Rosary Prayer; through the Pilgrim Cross and the Plenary Indulgence attached to it; and through the light-hearted fellowship that bonds our parish community together.  These are where the greatest blessings come from.

Refreshments and fellowship time

It goes without saying that this night's event was a spiritual success and left us all filled with HOPE in keeping with the Jubilee Year of Hope.  Our awesome GOD was present - THANKS BE TO HIM.