We are getting close to our Golden Jubilee of Priesthood. As usual we did our annual retreat the past two days, and later on today we’ll concelebrate together, in the presence of our family and friends. Most of us are in our early 70s, semi-retired but all of us still active in various parishes and diocesan organizations. But I look back today to that historic day on Sunday June 19, 1977 when along with 13 other classmates, I was ordained a priest by Archbishop Joseph Mercieca at St John’s Cathedral in Valletta, Malta. After 7 happy years living at the Seminary with all my classmates and about another 60 seminarians, we were all assigned to different parishes, myself ending up in my hometown parish of St Julian’s, where I spent 4 years before leaving for the USA in September 1981. Then after 22 years in New York and 13 years in Oregon, I returned to Malta in April 2016, where I’ve been serving as a chaplain ata Retirement Home, while also helping almost daily in the local parish of Naxxar. At the same time I continue to share my talents of presenting interesting Power Point talks, playing the flute, doing watercolors, writing articles in local Catholic newspaper, taking photos and doing this blog.
To end I share this beautiful poem by Henri Lacordaire, a
French Dominican priest, which I have recited every year on my anniversary Mass:
To live in the midst of the world, without desiring its
pleasures.
To be a member of each family, yet belonging to none.
To share all sufferings, to heal all wounds.
To penetrate all secrets, without being curious.
To go from men to God and offer Him their prayers.
To return from God to men, to bring pardon, hope and peace.
To have a heart of gold for charity, and a heart of bronze
for chastity
To teach, to listen, to forgive. To lead, to console, to
bless always.
This is your life, o priest of Christ.
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