Welcome home, St. Marianne!

Yesterday, 7/31, the Church in Hawaii had the joy of welcoming "home" the sacred remains of St. Marianne Cope.  We actually already had a small 1st Class [bone] Relic of our Saint enshrined in our Basilica of Our Lady of Peace (formerly the Cathedral)... but due to the upcoming relocation of the headquarters of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities (St. Marianne's congregation) to another part of Syracuse, New York... it was decided by these nuns that the Saint's entire skeletal remains would be returned to Honolulu for permanent enshrinement.  So beginning at 10:30am, yesterday, a beautiful welcoming ceremony and Thanksgiving Mass was held in our Basilica to honor Hawaii's second Saint.

 

      

Sisters of St. Francis carrying the casket

containing the relics of St. Marianne Cope...

and locals venerating the relics after the

welcome ceremony.

 

The ceremony was held with the usual Hawaiian flair... with Hawaiian-language chanting; hula dancing; dozens of fragrant leis; and with the small casket enclosing St. Marianne's entire skeleton and her habit being draped in a traditional Hawaiian quilt incorporating the Hawaii flag design.  Local members of the Sisters of St. Francis even carried the casket into the church on a canoe-shaped bier.  I wasn't able to attend the ceremony, due to my work schedule, but a few friends who were there informed me that it was a very moving and powerful event.

       

The casket of relics enshrined in

the Reliquary Shrine of St. Marianne

in the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace.

 

I was able to visit the Basilica today and venerated St. Marianne's relics after the Noon Mass.  By then the metal casket had already been encased in the large Koa wood shrine, along with the original monstrance-reliquary that holds the smaller bone relic.  The church was packed again, as many people continued to view and venerate the holy remains.  Below is a short snippet taken from www.catholicnews.com of our Bishop Larry Silva's beautiful words concerning the presence of St. Marianne's body in our Cathedral Basilica:

According to a friend who works in the diocesan office, the Honolulu Diocese is expanding the Basilica with the addition of a small, attached chapel that will enshrine both the relics of St. Marianne and St. Damien.  It will be a few more years before the planned renovations are realized, but below is a preview of what the outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace will look like with the newly constructed reliquary chapel attached to it.  'can't wait to see it finished.

 A sketch of our Honolulu Basilica showing

the exterior with the small chapel (center)

that will enshrine both the relics of St.

Marianne and St. Damien.

 

Holy Relic Visitation: Our Lady of Fatima Prayer Group, 7/26/2014

A relic of Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos was the

focus on the shrine in the Gruber/Lee Home.

Last night's meeting  of Our Lady of Fatima Prayer Group made me more conscious about the importance of Christian Fellowship; how truly satisfying and comforting it is to be part of a good group of people who come together in the same spirit of faith and love for God.  One doesn't feel so "alone" in this world that is becoming increasingly hostile towards matters of Christian belief.  We encourage each other and give each other strength to move forward along life's uneven path.

So at our prayer meeting there were several people who participated that we hadn't prayed with in quite a long while... but despite the time that has passed since we last saw each other, there is still that special bond that keeps us feeling closer than ever... and I know it's because of the Lord, who acts as our spiritual "glue".

Our July meeting progressed in the usual manner... we did our Bible scripture reading and reflection; read a message from Our Lady of Medjugorje; venerated the memory and 1st Class Relic of our Saint of the month (Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos, d. 1867); and prayed the Holy Rosary before enjoying a potluck dinner while having an impromptu catch-up session, which I think we all look forward to as an important social aspect of our monthly gathering.

Our conversation flowed smoothly and centered around one of the married couples present.  They recently returned from making the "El Camino de Santiago" - the almost 500 mile walking pilgrimage route from southern France to the shrine of St. James the Apostle in Galicia, Spain - and they shared interesting stories about their personal adventures along their journey.
  

A traditional map of the "El Camino

de Santiago", the Way of St. James.

Needless to say, the night ended with everything being simply gratifying - the prayers, the food, and the company.  I left for home feeling highly blessed [again] for having such great friends in Jesus Christ.

"For where two or three are gathered

in my name, there am I among them.”

~ Words of Our Lord,

Matthew 18:20

Monthly Messages from the Queen of Peace of Medjugorje: July 2014

O Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us...

Our Lady's Monthly Message to the World on July 25th:

   "Dear children! You are not aware of the graces that you are living at this time in which the Most High is giving you signs for you to open and convert. Return to God and to prayer, and may prayer begin to reign in your hearts, families and communities, so that the Holy Spirit may lead and inspire you to every day be more open to God's will and to His plan for each of you. I am with you and with the saints and angels intercede for you. Thank you for having responded to my call."

Our Ladys' Special Message to Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo on July 2nd:

   "Dear children, I, the mother of all of you gathered here and the mother of the entire world, am blessing you with a motherly blessing and call you to set out on the way of humility. That way leads to the coming to know the love of my Son. My Son is almighty, He is in everything. If you, my children, do not become cognizant of this, then darkness/blindness rule in your soul. Only humility can heal you. My children, I always lived humbly, courageously and in hope. I knew, I became cognizant that God is in us and we are in God. I am asking the same of you. I desire for all of you to be with me in eternity, because you are a part of me. I will help you on your way. My love will envelop you like a mantle and make of you apostles of my light - of God's light. With the love that comes forth from humility you will bring light to where darkness/blindness rule. You will be bringing my Son who is the light of the world. I am always alongside your shepherds and I pray that they may always be an example of humility for you. Thank you."