St Leonard

Scenes from St Leonard's life in the Kirkop church's ceiling.

The feast of St Leonard is celebrated in St Leonard-de-Noblat in France, where he lived, and the small parish at Kirkop, Malta, where I preached on the saint on November 6, 2020 during the celebration of his life.  Two years later I was asked to lead a Parish Mission in Kirkop, which in Malta are called Spiritual Excercises during 5 weekdays during Lent. So I developed a certain fondness for this saint with whom I wasn’t very familiar with before 2020.  St Leonard lived in the 6th century, son of nobles but wanted no honors and wanted to serve only his Lord Jesus Christ. He spent much of his life in the forests among wild animals, attracting many people towards Christianity by his example of humility and austerity. The people were very anti-Christian, but he changed many people’s lives as many men joined him in the convent he created. One of the miracles attributed to him was the healing of Queen Misigarda who was able to deliver a healthy baby thanks to his prayers. As a result, King Teodoberto offered him part of the forest and built for him a church and a convent. St Leonard tended to many of the local prisoners and prayed that they will be released, as many of them became monks, following him and living a very religious life thereafter. Various people who were sick, blind, deaf, and mute came to him and were often healed of their infirmities. He died on November 6, 569, and a bigger church in his honor was built in St Leonard-de-Noblat in Central France.

Three-legged chicken

                               
I was driving one day along a country road, and came across a chicken running side by side with my car. Since I was driving pretty fast, I was surprised how the chicken could keep up with me. Until I noticed that it had three legs ! At one moment the chicken stopped at a bar, and being curious I followed her in the bar, which was filled with three-legged chicken snacking on junk food and whatever they could nibble on. In their midst was someone who looked like a farmer and I asked him about these incredible  creatures. He actually told me that he was the one who was able to develop a third leg on the chicken. When I asked him why he did this, his answer was pretty simple....’well, that’s because  my wife likes drumsticks, my twin boys  love drumsticks, and I happen to like them too...’  And my next question was expected and obvious...’and what do they taste like....?’His answer left me laughing hysterically: ‘I don’t know what they taste like.....,  I haven’t been able to catch one of them yet !’

St Charles Borromeo

St. Charles was the son of Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medici, sister of Pope Pius IV. He was born at the family castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy on October 2, 1538. He received the clerical tonsure when he was twelve and was sent to a Benedictine abbey at Arona for his education. In 1559 his uncle was elected Pope Pius IV and the following year, named him his Secretary of State and created him a cardinal and administrator of the see of Milan. He served as Pius' legate on numerous diplomatic missions and in 1562, was instrumental in having Pius reconvene the Council of Trent, which had been suspended in 1552. He was ordained a priest in 1563, and was consecrated bishop of Milan the same year. Before being allowed to take possession of his see, he oversaw the catechism, missal, and breviary called for by the Council of Trent. When he finally did arrive at Trent (which had been without a resident bishop for eighty years) in 1556, he instituted radical reforms despite great opposition, with such effectiveness that it became a model diocese. He put into effect new measures to improve the morals and manners of the clergy and laity, raised the effectiveness of the diocese, established seminaries for the education of the clergy, founded a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the religious instruction of children and encouraged the Jesuits to be more visible and active. He increased the systems to the poor and the needy, and during his bishopric held eleven diocesan synods and six provincial councils. He founded a society of secular priests, Oblates of St. Ambrose (now Oblates of St. Charles) in 1578, and was active in preaching, resisting the inroads of Protestantism, and bringing back lapsed Catholics to the Church. He encountered opposition from many sources in his efforts to reform people and institutions. He died at Milan on the night of November 3-4, 1584 and was canonized in 1610. He was one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and unselfishness to reform the Church, of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and the nobles of the times.

St Martin de Porres

"Father unknown" is the cold legal phrase sometimes used on baptismal records. Like many others, Martin might have grown to be a bitter man, but he did not. It was said that even as a child he gave his heart and his goods to the poor and despised. St. Martin de Porres was born in 1579 as an illegitimate son of a freed woman of Panama, probably black but also possibly of Native American stock, and a Spanish grandee of Lima, Peru. Martin inherited the features and dark complexion of his mother. That irked his father, who finally acknowledged his son after eight years. After the birth of a sister, the father abandoned the family. Martin was reared in poverty, and when he was 12, his mother apprenticed him to be a barber-surgeon. He learned how to cut hair and also how to draw blood (a standard medical treatment then), care for wounds and prepare and administer medicines. After a few years in this medical apostolate, Martin applied to the Dominicans to be a "lay helper," not feeling himself worthy to be a religious brother. After nine years, the example of his prayer and penance, charity and humility led the community to request him to make full religious profession. Many of his nights were spent in prayer and penitential practices; his days were filled with nursing the sick and caring for the poor. It was particularly impressive that he treated all people regardless of their color, race or status. He was instrumental in founding an orphanage, took care of slaves brought from Africa and managed the daily alms of the priory with practicality as well as generosity. His charity extended to beasts of the field and even to the vermin of the kitchen. He would excuse the raids of mice and rats on the grounds that they were underfed; he kept stray cats and dogs at his sister’s house. He became a formidable fundraiser, obtaining thousands of dollars for dowries for poor girls so that they could marry or enter a convent. Many of his fellow religious took him as their spiritual director, but he continued to call himself a "poor slave." He was a good friend of another Dominican saint of Peru, Rose of Lima, whose feast is on August 23. He died in 1639 and was canonized by Pope St. John XXIII in 1962.

As I'm posting today, I realize that there have been 999,989 hits so far since I started this blog. So, sometime today, probably within a few minutes I will hit the one millionth hit. Let me know by an email (dungiljan@gmail.com) who is the lucky person who hit 1,000,000. Congratulations to all visitors, and continue to visit daily for some food for thought, inspiration and something to reflect on.

All Souls

The celebration of All Souls follows that of All Saints. Today thousands of people visit cemeteries to pay their last respects towards their loved ones. In my home country of Malta in particular, families decorate tombstones with flowers, candles and photos. These 2 photos show one of the old tombstones and an overview of a section of the cemetery, which, as you can see, is very crowded. The church today honors the canonized, the living and those suffering in purgatory, known better as the Triumphant Church, the Militant Church and the Suffering Church. 

Mother and son by Gregorio Zappala

Let us pray especially today for those who have left us this year, especially those closest to us, and the thousands killed in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan and as a result of other tragedies and accidents. Eternal rest grant unto them o Lord, and may the perpetual light shine on them.

As I'm posting today, I realize that there have been 999,353 hits so far since I started this blog. So, sometime today, I will hit the one millionth hit. Congratulations to all visitors, and continue to visit daily for some food for thought, inspiration and something to reflect on.

All Saints

Johann König - All Saints

The church celebrates today the Solemnity of  All Saints.  This paintings shows Jesus presiding over a gathering of all those saints, known and unknown.  We recognize Jesus from other representations we have seen of him.  He is Christ of the fair skin, bearded, long haired, cloaked in the red that is a symbol of his resurrection.  He sits in a cloud-filled heaven, surrounded by a halo of soft light shot through with gold, a halo that confirms that he is divine.  His arms reach out toward all those around him.  His feet rest on a blue globe, a symbol of unity and completeness. His mother Mary sits by his feet, a little below him in the hierarchy.  She is dressed in white and blue, colors symbolic of purity and spirituality.  A dove flies in the halo above him, a symbol of the Holy Ghost.  The third halo above them all completes the Christian trinity. The saints are gathered around him, resting on clouds.  Some of the figures are familiar to those who know their stories – like Moses with his tablets, Noah with his ark, King David with his harp. Above them the angels hover.  They hold other symbols – a cross, symbol of Christ’s crucifixion; a column, symbol of Christ’s flagellation; a ladder, symbol of his transcending the human condition. When Johann König painted this luminous work sometime in the early 17th century he was following many of the conventions of his time. We are drawn to the painting by the way it is composed. Our eyes take in the lively figures in the ranks of the saints and angels and follow their looks and gestures toward the figure of Christ and the halo of light around him. His outward gesture leads our gaze back again to look at those around him.  It helps that the figures look natural and full of life, and that the colors have a richness and beauty of their own. We remember today also our loved ones, many of whom are certainly saints in heaven. Some others may still be waiting for admittance into heaven, those whom we remember tomorrow, All Souls.

Stan “the Man” Musial

Stan Musial meeting Pope John Paul II in 1999.

One of the most beloved baseball players ever to play in the USA was Stan Musial. He played for the St Louis Cardinals for 22 years, between 1941 and 1963, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. He was born of Polish parents in Pennsylvania in 1920 and died in Missouri in 2013 . During his career, he hit an average of .331 and also hit 475 home runs, with 1,951 runs batted in. In the 1960s Musial paid a visit to Communist-ruled Poland, striving to learn more about what prosperous Polish-Americans, such as himself, could do to aid their ancestral homeland. Musial, a devout Catholic, first met the Bishop of Krakow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, during that visit. They remained in touch over the years. When Wojtyla became Pope, he included St. Louis among his 1999 U.S. visit stops, reportedly at Musial’s urging. Musial didn’t shy away from offering his gift of friendship to those among the clergy.

Bamboo

A Filipino worker at a bamboo treatment centre

Bamboo appears to have remarkable qualities of seismic resistance. Now it's being used to try to protect people from earthquakes. Bamboo has been used as a building material for millennia in South America, Africa and Asia, and grows in abundance in many countries in these regions. But only recently has its seismic resilience started to be more widely recognised through a growing body of research and laboratory shock tests, which indicate that its remarkable natural properties could make it ideal for withstanding earthquakes. Today, construction projects across the world, from the Philippines to Pakistan to Ecuador, are seeking to utilise the natural material that engineers and architects compare favorably to steel. Bamboo culms (the upright, hollow stems) are lightweight, reducing the mass of a structure, and research shows that the ductility that allows them to withstand high winds also allows them to absorb seismic shock. Buildings should move in an earthquake, ans scientists just want to control how much they move. A post-earthquake survey of over 1,200 buildings in Ecuador found that overall, reinforced concrete buildings experienced greater levels of damage than timber and bamboo buildings. Architects will always say that natural bamboo is a gift of God. Because nature created these kinds of plants in a hollow way. We know that koala bears love to munch on them, but we now also know that they can save lives when an earthquake hits unexpectedly.

Remembering

Al altarcito, a memorial for loved ones deceased.

As we approach the celebration of All Souls' Day — a special day to commemorate our loved ones who are no longer with us — let us remember the witness of priests and sisters who have touched our lives. These people lived their lives serving, healing, ministering, administering the sacraments and celebrating Mass. Yet others in the contemplative life, lived their lives mostly within the quiet rhythm of community life, radiating compassion, serenity, wisdom and a peaceful, reassuring presence. In the silence of their hearts, they lived their call with fidelity, participating in the mission of the church. Some Hispanic communities celebrate the lives of their loved ones by setting up an altarcito — a small place or shrine where their silent presence will serve as a powerful reminder of their lives of sacrifice. Each of us can light a candle, say a prayer and reflect on their influence in our lives and in the world. Let us not forget their contributions, but rather, let us honor and celebrate them, for they are an integral part of our faith community. Maybe you can build a special place to remember your loved ones, by placing a few photos of parents, relatives and friends who have gone to their eternal reward, maybe some flowers, candles, personal knickknacks they loved, religious images, etc . After all, November is the month for remembrance, a month to say: "¡Gracias!" Thank you! Let us remember them.....

More quotable gems.....

                    
Two separated hands with all the muscle power can’t beat 100 people. Yet two folded palms with no muscle power but with devotion and humility can win the hearts of the whole world.

 Degrees, honors and certificates are just a piece of paper. Your real education is seen in your behavior.

Regardless of what trial we are going through, what mistake we have made, or what sin we have committed, God still loves and He always welcomes us to come to Him for forgiveness and assistance.

‘Cry’ and ‘Try’ have only one letter in spelling that is different. But a lot in meaning. ‘Cry’ collapses your confidence, while ‘Try’ builds it up.

True happiness blooms from the compassion you show, the affection you offer and the generosity you spread.

Life can be happier and stressless if we remember one simple thought ‘we can’t have all that we desire, but time will give us all that we deserve.’

Trust and Truth, the two pillars of a strong relationship. If you don’t trust a person, you won’t speak the truth, and if you don’t say the truth, the person won’t trust you.

One hand of help, one word of sympathy, one act of humanity, one act of charity, and one sweet Hello can change someone’s mood and life.

A seed grows with no sound, but a tree falls with a huge noise. Destruction has noise, while creation is quiet. This is the power of silence.....Grow silently.

Good friends care for each other. Close friends understand each other. But true friends stay forever beyond words, beyond distance and beyond time.

Teenagers on their mothers

When a group of teenagers were asked what their mother did during the day, their answers were quite surprising: watches TV, plays the LOTTO, spoil the grandchildren, check their Facebook, attend a coffee morning, go shopping to decorate the house, they say NO to everything we ask for, check their Mobile phone, call their friends, yell ‘don’t walk here, don’t go through there!’ Just about every teenager mentioned the negatives they see in their mother, and never see them wash, clean, cook, fix their beds, shop for food, some of them work for 8 hours, then come home exhausted, and quickly puts a meal together for 6 people, besides ironing clothes, dusting shelves and tables, do loads of laundry, plus answer emergency calls from the school principal !

Sleeping St. Joseph

Pope Francis always had a statue on his desk of St Joseph sleeping. This may sound strange, but the Pope claims that even when he is asleep, he is still taking care of the church. He says further ‘when I have a problem, I write a small note and leave it under his statue, so that he can dream about it himself and find a solution. In other words, I am telling him – please take care of this problem for me !’ We can all rely on St Joseph for his intervention. As St John the apostle felt so blessed when he rested his head on Jesus‘ chest during the Last Supper, imagine what St Joseph must have felt whenever young Jesus laid his head on Joseph’s shoulder and slept peacefully within a few minutes !

Sophia’s miracle

Sophia Forchas and her neurosurgeon Dr. Galicich.

Twelve-year-old Sophia Forchas is finally home — after spending 57 days in the hospital with severe injuries sustained from the deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the first school Mass of the year that claimed the lives of two students. Sophia’s parents, Tom and Amy Forchas, wrote: “Today marks one of the most extraordinary days of our lives! Our beloved daughter, Sophia, is coming home! We thank the team of doctors from the depths of our hearts. We will never forget your world-class care that sustained her. Your commitment carried us through.” Neurosurgeon Dr. Walt Galicich of Hennepin County Medical Center told reporters that in treating Sophia’s injuries he would attempt to “go through the normal brain to get there” and potentially cause more damage. Given the pressure in her brain, Sophia’s survival was extremely low. The neurosurgeon led a team in performing a decompressive craniectomy, which removed the left half of her skull to allow the pressure in her brain to be relieved. “If you had told me at this juncture that, 10 days later, we’d be standing here with any ray of hope, I would have said, ‘It would take a miracle.’” And a miracle it was, as Sophia is now back home.  Her speech is improving daily, her personality shining through once more, and her ability to walk, swim, and even dribble a basketball. Each step she takes is a living testament to the boundless grace of God and the miraculous power of prayer.

Funny Animals

                    

These are three photos of animals in unusual postures. The first photo is mine, when I took this photo of a chipmunk praying. Very often they run away from you, but this particular one was very friendly, eating some food I gave him and then all of a sudden, he struck this prayerful pose. The other three were taken from the Internet, showing a loon landing on water, looking like the Concorde, two lizards hugging each other, and a duck or mallard having a smoke !  Click on each of them to enlarge.

The Marquee

Another flashback from my past – from my journals..... Between 1991 and 1996 I was Associate Pastor at St. Anthony of Padua, Rocky Point, New York. In front of the church, right on the main road, the church had a Marquee which was hardly used before I got there. But during the time I spent at St. Anthony’s, it became quite an attraction as I took care of it religiously, changing the message every week. It had only 4 lines, so my messages and quotes had to be brief and covering only 4 lines with a maximum of 15 letters on each line. Besides any major announcements we had to make for upcoming events, celebrations, etc, I made sure to have a captivating quote which people, drivers and walkers could think about and reflect on as they go by this popular Marquee. Among the signs which were quite a hit were these: ‘Love your enemies, and you’ll drive them nuts!’ ‘Do your best, and God will do the rest,’ ‘A great man does small things in life – with a big heart,’ ‘3 marks of a good Christian – giving, loving and forgiving,’  and on Christmas Day, ‘It’s a Boy! And His name is Jesus. Let us rejoice.’

The Christmas quote on our Marquee in Rocky Point, NY.

I made sure to keep them short and sweet, so that we won’t have any traffic accidents, as usually many drivers slow down to read the message. Since it was on the main road, and also lit up at night, thousands of people would read the message as they pass by, and frequently I used to get calls from parishioners, thanking me for a particular message, especially those who tell me ‘that quote hit home today....I was very depressed and it cheered me up....’ ‘great quote today Father – it was meant for me – it’s quite an eye-opener,’ ‘good message Father today....if all of us listen to them and act on them!’ It was a labor of love for me as I enjoyed coming up with interesting quotes, and since it has two sides, I always did two different sayings, one on each side. Who knows how many blessings a simple idea like that gave to parishioners, as well as drivers who may not be Catholic, but read them with a smile nonetheless. The last quote I used was my farewell message before moving to my next parish 'Thanks for the Memories- God bless you, Fr Julian' seen above.

Pope St John Paul II

We celebrate today the liturgical feast of one whom we can call the Man of the 20th century. Pope Saint John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18th, 1920 in Poland and became the first non-Italian Pope in almost 400 years. Also known as John Paul the Great, he reigned from October 16th, 1978 until his death on April 2nd, 2005. He was the second longest-serving Pope in modern history after Pope Pius IX who served for nearly 32 years from 1846 to 1878. As a young boy, he lost his mother at the age of 8 and his father when he was 21. He even had to work at a limestone quarry, but then started his studies at the underground seminary run by Cardinal Sapieha in Krakow. He was ordained a priest on November 1, 1946, and after further studies, he ended up teaching at the Jagiellonian University. He was made a bishop on July 4, 1958 and later became Archbishop of Krakow on June 26, 1967. He remained very staunch to his faith in Poland, even when he became a Cardinal 3 years later. His election as Pope was a big surprise as Pope John Paul I died suddenly after 33 days, and the trend was to elect Italian Popes, but the white smoke showed that a new Pope was chosen on October 16, 1978, aged 58, relatively young for a Pope. John Paul II is recognized as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. He significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. He was one of the most traveled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,340 people and canonized 483 saints. He was very much devoted to the Blessed Mother, well respected in his native Poland, especially with the famous Black Madonna, and he even chose his motto as Totus Tuus, “Totally Yours,” even with the letter M on his coat-of-arms.  His successor Pope Benedict XVI beatified him on May 1st 2011 after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints attributed one miracle to him, the healing of a French nun from Parkinson's disease. A second miracle, attributed to the late pope, was approved and confirmed by Pope Francis two days later. John Paul II was canonized on 27 April 2014, alongside Pope John XXIII.

Tinos with 1000 chapels

One of the churches on Tinos island, Greece.

The small island of Tinos in the Aegean Sea, Greece claims to have 1000 chapels spread around the island, two-thirds the size of Malta with an area of 75 square miles. Most of these chapels belong to residents, who inherited them from their parents and grand-parents over the years.  They are Greek Orthodox, Catholics and even atheists, but are very proud of their chapels. Owners are young couples or could even be elderly couples. They even celebrate certain feasts which include religious services, singing, dancing, and other festive events. By the way, Malta has 365 churches or chapels, one for each day of the calendar year.

Salve Regina

The Benedictine friar Blessed Hermann of Reichenau 1013-1054) was born with a cleft palate, cerebral palsy  and spina bifida. However he had an extraordinary mind, a scholar in astronomy, theology and mathematics, history and poetry, and spoke among other languages, Arabic, Latin and Greek. He was always smiling and towards the end of his life, he lost his eyesight.  Yet he composed beautiful religious hymns, among them the Salve Regina and Alma Redemptoris Mater. When St Bernard heard the monks sing the Salve Regina in Latin, he exclaimed ‘Oh  clement, Oh loving, Oh sweet Virgin Mary,’ and these words were added to the words of Blessed Hermann. This virtual choir recording was done in April 2020 during the Covid epidemic, with 450 participants from 30 different countries offering their voices to create a sublime version of the Salve Regina. The choir comes in at 1:24.

St Bartolo Longo

Today at the Vatican, along with a few other Blesseds, Bartolo Longo will be canonized. Unbelievably, he was a satanist as a young man, even being a leader in the satanic cult, but after his conversion, his life turned around to such an extent that after spreading the devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary, he will be reaching sainthood today. In October 1872, Bartolo Longo came to the valley close to Naples, in Pompeii. He was the husband of the Countess of Fusco, who had some property there; and Bartolo came to see what condition it was in. He had been reared a Catholic and was probably still one in name, although it seems he was not very devout. On October 9th, a few days after his arrival, he was walking along a rather desolate road when suddenly a voice seemed to speak to him. It told him that if he wished to be saved, he should spread devotion to the Rosary. His early efforts to interest people in the Rosary devotion did not seem to have been successful at first, but he persisted and within 2 years, he had gathered quite a group of people to pray in the little chapel. The Bishop visited the valley in 1875 and complimented Bartolo on the good work he had done. He suggested that a church be built there in honor of Our Lady of Pompeii. As the number of devotees grew, it was decided to obtain a picture of the Blessed Virgin to help the people meditate as they prayed. On October 13, 1875, Bartolo Longo went to Naples, and after searching for a good picture, he found one that cost nothing less than 400 francs, and he had nothing close to that amount to spend.

St Bartolo Longo with children in Pompeii

But not wanting to go back empty handed, he reluctantly accepted a second-hand painting from a junk store for 5 lire. The painting shows the Blessed Mother with baby Jesus and St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena near her, as they are handed Rosary beads by Mary and Jesus. The painting arrived safely on a truck and the people accepted it willingly, and enshrined it in their chapel. After a meticulous restoration of the painting, almost immediately, several miracles took place through Mary’s intercession as Our Lady of Pompeii. A bigger church was built on the initiative of Bartolo Longo between 1876 and 1891, and a bigger basilica was ordered by Pope Pius XII and opened in 1939. But we acknowledge today Bartolo Longo for pursuing his dream to build  a beautiful church and spread the Marian devotion. From now on he will be called Saint Bartolo Longo.

Greenland – one parish

Christ the King Catholic church, Nuuk, Greenland

The island of Greenland, which has only parish and is run and governed by Denmark, has an area of 836,000 square miles (2,166,000 square kilometres.) Its area is the size of these countries combined: Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, England and Italy. 80% of it is covered in snow. The one parish is Christ the King in Nuuk, and giving pastoral service there is Slovenian priest Father Tomaz Majcen. He’s been its pastor since 2017, helped by two other priests. There are around 300 Catholics in Nuuk, with 500 Catholics all over Greenland, most of them from the Philippines, and a few from South America and Europe, and a few from Denmark. Father Tomaz celebrates Mass on Sunday in English, and occasionally they have a baptism, 7 in total all of last year.  They had one confirmation and 7 First Holy Communions. Isolation is one of the biggest problems in Greenland, and besides, most of the time, it’s sunny, with midnight sun a regular occurrence in the summer months. In the winter months of course, it’s pretty dark for 21 hours.

Three more Malta scenes

Once again going back to my black-and-white photography period, I share three more photos from the 1970s. The first one shows a young boy looking out at the sea in the area around St. Paul’s Bay, as the sun sets after another long summer day.  The second one was actually chosen and exhibited in the Malta Photographic Society competition back in 1974, and shows a fisherman peacefully waiting for some fish to bite. This was close to home in what was back then a quite Balluta Bay, early in the morning when the sun was shining in all its brilliance. Now it is always crowded with tourists, swimmers, joggers, walkers and waterpolo players in the Neptunes pitch a few feet away from where this photo was taken.

The third photo is a close up of a collection of prickly pears, which grow wild in the Malta climate. Many people love to eat them when they’re pealed off, especially if someone else would peal the outsides covered with annoying thorns, The inside is a seedy fruit that tastes delicious especially when it’s cold, but it has many seeds, which can create digestive and bowel problems. They are usually green or yellow or red, which children especially love.

Malta scenes

Once again I’m happy to share with you as I go through my collection of black and white photos, which I tend to appreciate even more now, 50 years after I shot these scenes. These three are of a religious nature. The first one shows two fellow classmates when we were still seminarians – here they are in a corridor in our seminary atrium, which saw many celebrations, volleyball games and other activities. The columns are all around the atrium and create a nice effect with shadows as the two characters walk by reading from a Breviary.

The second photo shows one of our large baroque churches in Msida, dedicated to St. Joseph as the entire structure is reflected in the water, part of an inlet that reaches to the front of this church. This scenes is even more spectacular when the church is lit up during the summer celebration of St Joseph. That’s another photo for another day. Presently lots of construction is going on in this area where some flyovers are being constructed to alleviate the heavy traffic that usually jams up this busy area. The third photo is the facade of St Mary’s church in Birkirkara, some intricate stone carving that’s at least 350 years old. Built around 1670, it is typical Renaissance architecture that has been preserved immaculately, even though the dome collapsed and there are various critical sections that need restoration.

St Teresa of Avila

'Ecstasy of St Teresa' by Bellini, in Santa Maria della Vittoria.

A great Carmelite mystic and nun, today we celebrate the feast of St Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church, author of Way of Perfection, Interior Castle and Meditations on the Canticle. A great reformer of the Carmelite Order, she was born in 1515 and died in 1582. This is a famous quote of this great saint:

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received,
and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones,
and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks Compassion on this world
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good
Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands; Yours are the feet
Yours are the eyes; You are His body
Christ has no body now on earth but yours

Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away: God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.

Palestine craftwork

As we see the people of Gaza and Palestine return to their homes, whatever was left of them, our hearts go out to them as they try to rebuild their lives, hoping they will find a big heart from the rest of the world to help them build new homes.  This reminds me of some Holy Land craftspeople who carved various religious statues from olive wood trees. A few salesmen and women used to  call me in my parishes in Oregon asking if they could sell these articles. They told me that they were done by people from the Holy Land and Palestine, and they used only dead trees, using the wood that was still good to carve and sculpture. 

Of course all proceeds was used to help the poor people we’ve been seeing in recent photos, begging for food with their pots and pans. I am sure that many of those carvers who created these little masterpieces, will be busy carving more statues and nativities in time for Christmas, (like the one you see in the second photo) using whatever wood they can find from the destruction they’ve experienced over the past 2 years.

Peace on Earth

I know this may seem like a Christmas message and I just found myself celebrating the festive season, but this is a celebration of Peace on our planet, as it had been finally reached in one of the most troublesome areas of the world. Let's hope that the ceasefire in Gaza and Palestine will last forever, as we hope it will soon happen also in Ukraine. Listen to the words carefully as it is sung by Vince Gill and his daughter Jenny in this inspirational performance.

Why ?

Why do we have wide open streets and closed minds?

Why do we spend more and have fun less?

Why do we have more experts, and yet many more problems?

Why do we drive so fast, and always arrive late at meetings?

Why do we stay up late, and wake up tired?

Why do we watch so much TV, and read less, especially our Bible?

Why has living become so important, but life is not worth much anymore?

Why is it we went to the moon, and yet we cannot cross the street to help a neighbor?

Why do we create bigger things, but not better?

Why did we spoil not only the air, but also our souls?

Why is it that we were able to destroy the atom, but not our prejudices?

Why is it we learned how to run, but never learned how to wait?

Why did we build big stronger computers, but we communicate less and less.

Why do we have bigger and more beautiful homes, but broken families?

Pope St. John XXIII

Although few people had as great an impact on the 20th century as Pope St. John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as much as possible. The firstborn son of a farming family in Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo in northern Italy, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was always proud of his down-to-earth roots. After his ordination in 1904, Angelo returned to Rome for canon law studies. He soon worked as his bishop’s secretary, Church history teacher in the seminary, and as publisher of the diocesan paper. His service as a stretcher-bearer for the Italian army during World War I gave him a first-hand knowledge of war. In 1921 he was made national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. He also found time to teach patristics at a seminary in the Eternal City.  In 1925 he became a papal diplomat, serving first in Bulgaria, then in Turkey, and finally in France (1944-53). During World War II, with the help of Germany’s ambassador to Turkey, Archbishop Roncalli helped save an estimated 24,000 Jewish people. Named a cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice in 1953, he was finally a residential bishop. A month short of entering his 78th year, he was elected pope, taking the name John after his father and the two patrons of Rome’s cathedral, St. John Lateran. He took his work very seriously but not himself. His wit soon became proverbial, and he began meeting with political and religious leaders from around the world. His most famous encyclicals were Mother and Teacher (1961) and Peace on Earth (1963). Pope John XXIII enlarged the membership in the College of Cardinals and made it more international. In 1962 he convened the Second Vatican Council where all the bishops gathered in Rome to discuss many issues facing the church, and this led to great reform, especially in the way we celebrate the liturgy. "Good Pope John" died on June 3, 1963. St. John Paul II beatified him in 2000, and Pope Francis canonized him in 2014.