Monthly Messages from the Queen of Peace of Medjugorje: June 2018

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

   "Dear children! This is the day that the Lord gave me to give Him thanks for each of you, for those who have converted and have accepted my messages and have set out on the way of conversion and holiness. Rejoice, little children, because God is merciful and loves you all with His immeasurable love and leads you to the way of salvation through my coming here.  I love you all and give you my Son that He may give you peace.  Thank you for having responded to my call."

Our Lady's Special Message to Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo on June 2nd:

   “Dear children, I am calling you to accept my words which I am speaking to you as a mother, with a simplicity of heart, so that you may set out on the way of complete light and purity, of the singular love of my Son, man and God. A joy — a light indescribable in human words — will penetrate your soul and the peace and love of my Son will take hold of you. I desire this for all of my children. Therefore, you, apostles of my love, you who know how to love and forgive, you who do not judge, you whom I encourage, you be an example to all those who are not going on the way of light and love or who have diverted from it. By your life show them the truth. Show them love because love overcomes all difficulties, and all of my children thirst for love. Your unity in love is a gift to my Son and me. But, my children, remember that to love also means to desire the good for your neighbor and to desire conversion of your neighbor’s soul. As I am looking at you gathered around me, my heart is sad, because I see so little brotherly love, merciful love. My children, the Eucharist — my Son alive among you — His words will help you comprehend, because His word is life, His word makes the soul breathe, His word brings about cognition of love. Dear children, anew, I am imploring you as a mother who desires the good for her children: love your shepherds, pray for them.  Thank you.”

Feast Day Celebrations: St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua, 6/13/2018

Today is the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua and, this evening, it was all about this Saint... and at where else?  Of course, at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua!  For the most part it was the usual festivities - Mass and parish potluck celebration.  But I also sensed something a little different this year - something really good - and it was largely due to our priests.  This time around, it seemed they were more vocal about St. Anthony in their homilies and announcements leading up to today's Feast... and in a manner that one could feel heartfelt appreciation for the Saint's patronage of our parish.  Plus, they seemed to be more personally involved in the various events, which was a pleasant surprise.  'not trying to imply that our priests take St. Anthony and his Feast for granted... but it just seemed different this year.  At least I thought so.

Parishioners during our Feast Day Potluck.

So our evening celebration was kicked off in our parish hall with many parishioners coming together to pray the Holy Rosary, lead by my friend, Monica, whose large Portuguese family holds a monthly Rosary/potluck dinner every 13th of the month in honor of Our Lady of Fatima.  Their meetings are usually held in their various homes, but every June 13th, they pray the Rosary at the church in order to participate in the Feast Day events.

Parishioners lined-up to kiss our relic

of St. Anthony of Padua.

After the prayer, I did a repeat of the "All About St. Anthony of Padua" speaking presentation that I first conducted on June 3rd, which was immediately followed by another opportunity for the people to invoke the intercession of our Saint and to venerate his bone relic guarded by our parish.  I was moved watching the people approach and kiss the reliquary, as I also sensed in many a newfound appreciation for St. Anthony; more reverence towards his memory, which our Saint certainly deserves to receive from us.

      

Me, with our parish priest - Fr. Exse

and other parishioners of St. Anthony

of Padua Church, Kailua.

Everyone then proceeded to Mass before returning to the parish hall for our celebratory potluck, which was simply FUN; good food and great company!  What made it extra-enjoyable for me was hearing from people who attended my talk about their own little miracles worked by St. Anthony on their behalf.  These stories ranged from the expected finding of lost items... to an entertaining testimonial of how the Saint never fails to provide a parking stall - a convenient one - for an elderly parishioner whenever she drives to a certain medical building in town where the parking lot is always full.  It all just goes to show how deeply ingrained devotion to St. Anthony is in the hearts of our Kailua parishioners.  More than what I initially realized.

Thank you, St. Anthony, for watching out for all of us; for interceding with Jesus on our behalf - Happy Feast Day, my friend and brother!

"All About St. Anthony of Padua" Speaking Presentation, 6/3/2018: St. Anthony of Padua Church, Kailua

The makeshift display altar for
the presentation

For sure, St. Anthony of Padua is one of the more popular Saints we have in the Church. Familiar statues of him with the Christ-Child in his arms are enshrined in many Catholic churches around the world... and, of course, when Catholics lose stuff, he's the likely go-to-Saint to help remedy the situation. But despite St. Anthony's enduring popularity, not many people know the details of his illustrious life - his zeal and passion for our Faith; his exceeding virtues and good works; his remarkable miracles; or even the reason why he's the designated Patron Saint of Finding Lost Objects. I think my priest and our parish council are aware of this, which is why they invited me to give today's presentation about St. Anthony to our parishioners.

Also, with St. Anthony's June 13th Feast Day just right around the corner, our parish is preparing for the Feast with a novena to our Patron Saint, beginning tomorrow that will be prayed for 9 consecutive days after every early-morning Mass. On the actual Feast Day, itself, there will be a special evening Mass, followed by our annual potluck celebration. So to make these festivities a bit more meaningful for our community members, our priest felt the need to somehow educate our parishioners about the life of our Patron Saint.

With my host's goal in mind, during my presentation I recounted the life of St. Anthony of Padua to the attendees; spoke about some of the big and small miracles he performed; and invited a close friend/fellow parishioner to testify about a favor she received through the intercession of St. Anthony. Furthermore, I also took the opportunity to speak about the relevance of Saints and Relics in our Catholic faith-life and, because we had the parish's 1st Class [bone] Relic of St. Anthony present with us, we concluded the presentation with a rare veneration service to invoke the intercession of our Saint for our personal intentions. I felt the spiritual presence of the Saint as people prayed silently for their needs before coming forward to kiss the relic as a mark of respect.

   

Fr. Marlon (one of our parish's Parochial

Vicars) venerating the relic of St. Anthony

of Padua seen in closer view to the right.

And now let the festivities begin!  It's a time of celebration in our Kailua parish and rightfully so.  Our Patron Saint is a holy man whose accomplishments for God are astounding and who's intercession has proven to be continuously potent up to the present time.  If you're a fan of St. Anthony and live on Oahu, or happen to be visiting our island, below is the schedule of my parish's Feast Day events for your consideration...

All are welcome to honor St. Anthony of Padua with us and to venerate our precious relic!  If any questions, please contact the parish office of St. Anthony of Padua Church by calling (808) 266-2222.