June 13, 2015: Fiesta Time in Kailua!

This evening, June 13th, my Kailua parish held our annual feast day celebration in honor of our church's illustrious Patron, St. Anthony of Padua (d. 1231).  The festivities started with a meaningful Mass, which was immediately followed by a potluck dinner in our church hall.  Again, the turnout was big and there was lots of lighthearted fun as parishioners mingled, ate, and were entertained with live music.

The celebration was also somewhat bittersweet.  We fondly bid farewell to Fr. Rico, our associate pastor, who is being transferred to another parish... but at the same time, we welcomed our new associate pastor - Fr. Nick Brown - who was recently ordained to the priesthood just about a month ago.  I have a sense that both men will work out just fine in their respective new assignments.

Parishioners enjoying our great

Feast Day potluck dinner.

All in all, it was another great annual celebration at St. Anthony of Padua Church.  Earlier in the day I actually wasn't feeling all that well due to some joint pains and thought of sitting this year's party out... but then I reflected on the many favors I obtained from Heaven throughout the years, via St. Anthony's intercession, and I knew I had to participate.  I'm glad I did.  I paid my respects to my personal Patron Saint, and had an awesome time, too.

Entertainment by our own Fr. Exsequel and his

backup singers - the "PP" (Pinoy Priests)

 

Posing with my friends - Donna and Cecelia -

and with our parish priests, Fr. Exsequel and

Fr. Nick... and their visiting priest-friends.

First Saturday Parish Rosary at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 6/6/2015

   

My pilgrim statue on display in the Day

Chapel of St. Anthony of Padua Church,

Kailua... and parishioners venerating the

statue and the relics after the prayers.

My Rosa Mystica statue looked glorious at today's gathering for the First Saturday Rosary for Peace! The statue's plaster features softened, it's complexion became dewy and rosy, and there was even a subtle glow that seemed to surround it.  I see this statue every day so I immediately knew it wasn't the norm.

A large group participated this month and there were several new faces in our Day Chapel.  The prayer gathering proceeded, as usual, with me sharing about a Saint before we began the Holy Rosary.  It was St. Marcellin Champagnat (d. 1840, right photo) - the founder of the Little Brothers of Mary, a.k.a. the "Marists" - who we honored this month, along with a 1st Class Relic from his body.  This particular Saint was a French priest who was once called upon to minister to a dying 17-year-old boy who knew nothing about the Lord, or the Faith.  It broke St. Marcellin's heart and he resolved to do all that he could to teach people, especially the youth, about both.  Hence, his congregation was founded for this specific and worthy purpose.

In our own way, we can all imitate St. Marcellin in his charism of teaching the Faith to others.  If you're reading this blog, chances are you are more knowledgeable about the Faith and traditional Catholic Devotions than the average Catholic.  We all have the capacity to share our spiritual knowledge with others who are ignorant of God, beginning with our own families, and especially with our children.

At the end of our prayer meeting, at least four of our regular participants commented to me about the exceptional appearance of the statue; the visible transformation in the image was apparently noticed by others, too.  In addition, there was something else that came to our attention after we finished - a single chair in the front row of the Day Chapel was discovered to be mysteriously covered with sparkles.  We knew for sure it was Escarchas when the substance began multiplying right before our eyes.  The few of us who witnessed it were in awe... and we speculated that perhaps our Blessed Mother had actually "sat" in the chair during our prayer meeting (I stress the word "speculated").

The Escarchas also manifested on the palm of my right hand, and on the hands and arms of another participant (see the video below).  It was mystifying, to say the least... but we took it as another small confirmation (along with the changes in the Rosa Mystica statue) that Our Lady's spiritual presence was with us today in a very special way.  Thank you, Blessed Mother!

Escarchas appeared on a participant's hands

and forearm after the prayer meeting ended.

The next First Saturday Rosary will be prayed on Saturday, July 4th, beginning at 4:25pm.  All are welcomed to participate, as we intercede for World Peace and our personal needs.  Directions to St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua may be found here.

Saint of the Month - June 2015: Venerable Matthew Talbot

Ven. Matthew

("Matt") Talbot

Reformed Alcoholic; a new creation in Christ

Although not officially canonized a Saint by the Catholic Church, or even declared a Blessed yet, I am personally convinced that this holy person lived a life of solid virtue… and I sure hope, that sometime soon, the Church will raise him to the Glory of the Altars, as an exemplary role model for our modern society.

Born on May 2, 1856, in Dublin, Ireland, Matthew “Matt” Talbot was the second of 13 children born to a working class family.  His mother was relatively pious, but his father was an alcoholic… and sadly, the father’s condition was inherited by Matt and his brothers, except for the eldest.  From the age of 12 when he began working odd jobs for a liquor merchant, Matt also started taking to the bottle, which led to him becoming an alcoholic very early in his life. He was, what would be known today, as a “sloppy drunk” - a person who became obnoxious and ill-tempered while under the influence of alcohol - and he would often use foul language, get into violent fights, and even spend every cent he had just to satisfy his need for an alcohol fix.  Consequently, Matt was often in debt and, on at least one occasion, resorted to stealing in order to support his addiction.  All the while he was on the path to self-destruction, his mother pleaded with him to mend his ways but her words kept falling on deaf ears.

The only existing photo of Matt Talbot
(man in the center)

One day in 1884, when Matt was 28-years-old, he hit the bottom of the barrel and was completely broke.  He was loitering near his job worksite (he was a manual laborer) hoping that one of his partying buddies would invite him for a drink at a nearby pub, but to his dismay, not one of his so-called “friends” extended an invitation.  Disgusted, Matt went home to his mother and resolved to take “the pledge.”  His mother replied, “Go in God's name, but don't take it unless you are going to keep it… May God give you strength to keep it."  Matt then went to confession at a nearby church and vowed not to drink for the next three months.  The next day he went to Mass and received Holy Communion, which marked his transformation into a “new creation”.

Although it wasn’t easy, Matt successfully fulfilled his initial 3-month pledge, after which he solemnly vowed not to ever drink again.  He even gave up tobacco, which he once admitted to a friend, was even worse than giving up drinking… but Matt persevered through the grace of God.  To help strengthen his resolve, he attended daily Mass (often more than one a day) and took on a rigid program of prayer, fasting, spiritual reading, and self-mortification. In particular, he had special recourse to the Blessed Mother’s intercession and prayed the rosary conscientiously.  He also secretly wore iron chains around his waist and a leg, which without a doubt, caused him a measure of pain and discomfort; it was Matt's way of making up for his past misdeeds and reminding himself of the saving Passion of Christ.

On the exterior, the new and improved Matt became good humored and personable, and the use of profanity was a thing of the past.  Since he no longer drank and smoked, he used his wages to repay his many debts, and once that was accomplished, most of his earnings went towards charitable purposes: giving to the poor and  donating to local religious institutions. His family and peers who at one time loathed him, came to deeply respect (and even venerate) the man he had become. 

The present tomb (center) of Matt Talbot in

the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Dublin (Ireland).

Matthew Talbot died on June 7, 1925, at the age of 69.  His former years of drinking had taken a toll on his health, which led to a heart attack while he was on his daily walk to attend Mass.  His life of addiction and eventual healing in body, mind, and soul inspired profound hope in all who knew him, and in others who came to know about him… and Matt's life was not forgotten; people continued to regard him as a Saint.  The local Church opened his Cause in 1947 and Matt was declared Venerable in 1975.  A verified miracle is still needed to advance his Cause - please pray for his speedy Canonization.

A Reflection

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

A Short Prayer

Lord, as you did with Ven. Matt Talbot, help us to overcome all earthly attachments and self-destructive addictions.  Make us a new creation.  Amen.