A Poem for Computer users over 50

A computer was something on TV

From a science fiction show of note

A window was something you hated to clean

And ram was the cousin of a goat.

Meg was the name of my girlfriend

And gig was a job for the nights

Now they all mean different things

And that really mega bytes.

An application was for employment

A program was a TV show

A cursor used profanity

A keyboard was a piano.

Memory was something that you lost with age

A CD was a bank account

And if you had a 3‑in. floppy

You hoped nobody found out.

Compress was something you did to the garbage

Not something you did to a file

And if you unzipped anything in public

You'd be in jail for a while.

Log on was adding wood to the fire

Hard drive was a long trip on the road

A mouse pad was where a mouse lived

And a backup happened to your commode.

Cut you did with a pocket knife

Paste you did with glue

A web was a spider's home

And a virus was the flu.

I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper

And the memory in my head

I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash

But when it happens they wish they were dead!

Prayer for police officers and firemen

On this feast of the Archangels, today I want to share a prayer I wrote, offered for police officers and firefighters, whose patron saint is St. Michael. The other two Archangels are the Angel Gabriel and St Raphael.

Heavenly Father, on this feast of Saint Michael, we pray for the protection of all police officers who risk their lives to defend our safety and livelihood. May they serve us faithfully and dutifully as they try to keep order in our towns and villages. May St Michael intercede for them in tough times and in stressful situations. As they drive around and patrol neighborhoods, we pray for caution as they intervene in critical domestic situations. May we always thank them for their selfless love and dedication they have for their vocation. We pray also for all fire-fighters whose job is also always critical and dangerous. As their duty is to save people from fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other calamities, may they find the support, encouragement, and motivation not to give up in their challenging duties.  We are grateful for the sacrifices they go through in keeping everyone safe and sound. Let us remember also those 300+ police officers and fire-fighters who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, as we pray for their families and promise support and our heartfelt thoughts.

The moon and the planes

The moon serves as a sail to a yacht 

I share with you two photos of the moon at an unusual angle and planes in photos taken at the right time. 

The moon floats on a Dubai building

A plane rises up to meet the Divine Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro

A seagull competing with the Red Arrows

St Vincent de Paul

St. Vincent was born of poor parents in the village of Pouy in Gascony, France, in 1581. He attended school under the Franciscan Fathers and he impressed so many people that a gentleman chose him as guardian to his children, and he was thus able to continue his studies without being a burden to his parents. In 1596, he went to the University of Toulouse for theological studies, and there he was ordained priest in 1600.
In 1605, on a voyage by sea from Marseilles to Narbonne, he fell into the hands of African pirates and was carried as a slave to Tunis. His captivity lasted about two years until Divine Providence enabled him to escape. After a brief visit to Rome, he returned to France, where he became chaplain to the family of Emmanuel de Gondy, a Count and General of the galleys of France. It was the Countess de Gondy who persuaded her husband to support a group of able and zealous missionaries under the leadership of St Vincent, who would work among poor tenant farmers.
In 1617, De Paul founded the "Ladies of Charity” from a group of women within his parish. He organized these wealthy women of Paris to collect funds for missionary projects, found hospitals, and gather relief funds for the victims of war. In this, he had the help of St. Louise De Marillac, and they eventually became known as the Daughters of Charity. After working for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley-slaves, St Vincent returned to be the leader of what is now known as the Vincentians. These priests, with vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and stability, were to devote themselves entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages. At the same time, he began to preach missions.
It would be impossible to enumerate all the works of St Vincent, but charity was his predominant virtue. It extended to all classes of persons, from forsaken childhood to old age. In the midst of the most distracting occupations, his soul was always intimately united with God. Though honored by the great ones of the world, he remained deeply rooted in humility. The Apostle of Charity, the immortal Vincent de Paul, died at Paris, September 27, 1660, at the age of eighty. He was canonized in 1737 and he is the patron of charitable societies.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul, a charitable organization dedicated to the service of the poor, was established by French university students in 1833, led by the Blessed Fredric Ozanam. The Society is today present in 132 countries. De Paul University in Chicago takes its name from Vincent de Paul and St. John's University in Queens, New York was founded in 1870 by the Vincentians, as was Niagara University in 1856.

Blessed Pope Paul VI

Giovanni Battista Montini is the 4th Pope to be canonized from the 20th century and will be elevated to sainthood on Sunday, October 14, along with Archbishop Oscar Romero. I treasure a photo I have with him kissing his ring as an altar-boy at the Vatican in 1966. His liturgical feast will be celebrated on this day, the day he was born.

Born in Concesio, near Brescia on September 26, 1897, from a well-respected family, his father was in the Italian parliament and two other brothers were a doctor and a lawyer. He studied at the Brescia Seminary and was ordained on May 29, 1920. Montini started working at the Vatican Secretary of State office and has never worked in a parish atmosphere. He was very much admired by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII,) and was his secretary for many years.

He used to take care of much of the correspondence of the office and helped many refugees of the war by finding a place for them. Around 15,000 of them were given shelter in Castelgandolfo, besides many others that were hidden at the Vatican and around Rome. This led Mussolini to criticize Pius XII as well as Montini saying that he pokes his nose where he shouldn’t.

In 1954 Montini was made Archbishop of Milan with 1000 parishes and 2,500 priests and 3 and a half million Catholics, possibly the largest Archdiocese in the world. He was very beloved and probably would have been elected Pope in 1958, but was not made a Cardinal yet. But Pope John XXIII elevated him to a Cardinal right away after his election and was close to him when St John XXIII started the Vatican Council in 1962. When he died, Montini was elected Pope with the name of Paul VI, and one of his main duties was to finish the work of Vatican Council II. He also did many other reforms at the Roman Curia, like eliminating many Vatican soldiers and keeping only the Swiss Guards. He traveled outside Rome and was very influential in many ecumenical projects. Among the most famous encyclicals were Populorum Progressio, Mysterium Fidei, and Humanae Vitae on birth control and procreation. Paul VI died of a heart attack on August 6, 1978. The process of canonization was started in 1993, and he was beatified in 2014.

Bus seat

Last Sunday I had to use a bus, and as soon as I got in a very crowded one, I was ready to spend at least 30 minutes standing crushed with other passengers as is usually the case with many of the buses in Malta. However, a young lady, maybe 20 to 25 years old, probably a tourist, as soon as she saw me, gave up her seat for me to sit. At first, I politely refused, but she insisted, and I sat down. My first thought, of course, was 'do I look like an elderly person?' We were always taught to give up our seat for an elderly person, nuns, priests and pregnant women. And many times I did that gesture which was always appreciated. But I never thought the time will come that younger people would offer me their seat. However, I instantly made a resolution that if an elderly person comes on the bus, I will give up my seat, and sure enough, two stages later, an elderly lady comes on and I gave her my seat. So here I was standing again crushed, this time close to the young girl who had originally given me her seat. I wanted to thank her, but she was so absorbed listening to her iPod with ear-phones, that she must have realized that the elderly lady deserved the seat more than I did. Yes, there are good samaritans still in this world, and as they say, a kind gesture deserves another one. A good deed by an unknown tourist ended up in one of my blog posts and surely will end up in one of my homilies, sooner or later.

Malta Military Tattoo

All the participants together, with the people showing appreciation by lighting their cell-phones.

I attended yesterday to a spectacular Military Tattoo held in the capital city of Valletta. Among the participants were the Malta Police Force Band and the Armed Forces of Malta Band, as well as their precision Drill Teams, a group of bagpipers from around various Maltese Boys Scouts groups, Irish step-dancers, a US New Orleans type jazz group, and the Italian Bersaglieri. The Tattoo was held three times, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and everyone enjoyed the displays and the sound of marching bands.

The Irish step-dancers were quite a hit.

The Armed Forces of Malta marching band

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

St Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968)

Today we commemorate two anniversaries relating to Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. It was exactly 100 years ago on September 20, 1918 that he received the stigmata, the wounds of the crucified Christ on his hands and feet and side. And it was 50 years ago today, September 23, 1968, that he died, at which time the stigmata disappeared from his body. He was beatified in 1999 and canonized in 2002 both celebrations led by Pope St John Paul II. St Pio was born on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, Italy and was ordained a Capuchin priest in 1910. His popularity brought many people to confession and was instrumental in having a large hospital built in San Giovanni Rotondo, where he lived most of his life. The hospital is called Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (The House for the relief of suffering.) Padre Pio suffered a lot during his life, not just because of his stigmata. He was stopped for a while from saying Mass in public and from hearing confessions. But he was re-instated and the crowds at San Giovanni Rotondo increased. He once heard young Karol Wojtyla's confession and predicted that one day he would become a Pope - he became Pope St John Paul II.

6 best doctors

Steve Jobs (1955-2011) founder of Apple died at the age of 56, a billionaire, and beloved by everyone who owns an iPod, Ipad, and iPhone. This is what he wrote when he was nearing the end of his life: “I reached the peak of my success in the business world,,,,but other than my work, I have little happiness. After all, all the wealth that I have is something I am now used to. At this stage of my life, as I rest on my bed looking back on my life, I realize that all the wealth I was so proud of, does not make any sense to me. You can employ someone to drive you around in your car or find someone to generate more money for you, but you can never find anyone to take away your sickness. You can always find things that you have lost or misplaced, but there is one thing that, when you lose it, you cannot find it again – your life! Whichever stage of life you are in right now, you will someday have to come face to face with death. So, treasure the love for your family, love your wife, love your friends. Take care of yourself and others too.

We think that the older we get, we also become wiser. We start to discover that a watch that costs $300 shows the exact time as a watch that’s worth $30. We start to understand that inner joy does not come from the material things we own. When traveling on a plane, whether you fly first-class or economy, if the plane crashes, you will probably die either way. So please understand that true joy is found in having good friends, siblings with whom you can talk to, laugh and share jokes. Do not educate your children to be rich – rather educate them to be happy. To such an extent that when they grow up, they will appreciate not the price of things, but their true value. Eat your food as if it was your medicine. You were loved when you were born. You will be likewise loved when you die. There is a big difference between being a man and being human. The best 6 doctors in the world are: the light of the sun, rest, exercise, diet, trust in yourself and your friends.”

Malta’s Independence Day

Prime Minister George Borg Olivier on September 21, 1964

Malta was ruled over the past 2 millennia by the Romans, the Arabs, the Normans, the Spanish, the Knights of St John, the French and the British. Following a Maltese constitutional referendum in 1964, approved by 54.5% of voters, on September 21st 1964, Malta became an independent state as a Constitutional Monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its Head of State.  So September 21st every year is celebrated as Independence Day or Jum l-Indipendenza in Maltese, this year being the 54th anniversary. One can say that both Labor Leader Dom Mintoff, as well as Nationalist Leader and Prime Minister George Borg Olivier contributed towards the attainment of Independence. On December 1st 1964, Malta was admitted to the United Nations. In 1965 Malta joined the Council of Europe, and in 1970, Malta signed an Association Treaty with the European Community. Malta was declared a republic on December 13th, 1974 and in 2004, Malta finally became the 25th nation to join the European Union. 

The plaque that celebrates this historic date is placed in the capital city Valletta, and says: 'Il-poplu Malti jifraħ bir-rebħa ta' l-Indipendenza ta' dawn il-gzejjer il-lum 21 ta' Settembru 1964' (The Maltese people rejoices with the victory of the Independence of these islands, today September 21st, 1964) 

The Korean Martyrs

With North Korea and South Korea talking to each other and hinting at peace in the war-stricken peninsula, it is appropriate that the church honors today the Korean martyrs, men, and women who were slain because they refused to deny Christ in the nation of Korea. The faith was brought to Korea in a unique fashion. The intellectuals of that land, eager to learn about the world, discovered some Christian books procured through Korea’s embassy to the Chinese capital. One Korean, Ni-seung-houn, went to Beijing in 1784 to study Catholicism and was baptized Peter Ri. Returning to Korea, he converted many others. In 1791, when these Christians were suddenly viewed as foreign traitors, two of Peter Ri’s converts, named Paul and Jacques, were martyred.
The faith endured, however, and when Father James Tsiou, a Chinese, entered Korea three years later, he was greeted by four thousand Catholics. Father Tsiou worked in Korea until 1801 when he was slain by authorities. Three decades later the Prefecture Apostolic of Korea was established by Pope Leo XII, after he received a letter smuggled out of Korea by faithful Catholics. In 1836, Monsignor Lawrence Imbert managed to enter Korea. Others arrived, and they worked until 1839, when a full persecution started, bringing about the martyrdom of the European priests. Young Korean seminarians were sent to Macau for ordination.
The first native priest, Andrew Kim Taegon, returned to Korea in 1845 and was martyred the following year. Severe persecution followed, and Catholics fled to the mountains, still spreading the faith. In 1864, a new persecution claimed the lives of two bishops, six French missionaries, another Korean priest, and eight thousand Korean Catholics. The Korean martyrs of 1839, 1846, and 1867 were canonized in Korea in 1984 by Pope John Paul II. During that ceremony, the Pope said: “The Korean Church is unique because it was founded entirely by lay people. This fledgling Church, so young and yet so strong in faith, withstood wave after wave of fierce persecution. Thus, in less than a century, it could boast of 10,000 martyrs. The death of these martyrs became the leaven of the Church and led to today's splendid flowering of the Church in Korea.”

St Januarius

St. Januarius (San Gennaro) is a patron saint of and former bishop of Naples in the 4th century. Januarius and his friends were initially sentenced to be eaten by the lions, tigers, and bears at the Naples amphitheater. Although the beasts had been starved for several days before the day of the planned transformation of the Christians into animal crackers, the beasts refused to attack Januarius and his colleagues. The spectators at the amphitheater were frightened by the indifference of the starving animals to the Christians and rumors began to circulate that the Christians had magical powers and were possibly protected by their god. The governor of Campania ordered their immediate beheading and Januarius' body was later returned to the Cathedral in Naples.
Over a century later, it was purported that a vial of St. Januarius' blood surfaced and was preserved and permanently fixed in the metal reliquary in the Cathedral of Naples. Thousands of people assembled to witness this event in the Cathedral, three times a year: on September 19 (Saint Januarius day, to commemorate his martyrdom), on December 16 (to celebrate his patronage of both Naples and of the archdiocese), and on the Saturday before the first Sunday of May (to commemorate the reunification of his relics). 

The Cardinal of Naples shows the liquified vial of San Gennaro's blood.

Sometimes the "blood" liquefies immediately, other times it takes hours. When the Cardinal brings the vial to the altar that holds the saint's blood, the people, who gather by the thousands, pray that the blood becomes liquid once again. If the miracle takes place, the officiant proclaims, "Il miracolo é fatto!" and waves a white handkerchief. Then a Te Deum is sung and the reliquary is taken to the altar rail so the faithful can kiss the vial. The priest conducting the service chants "The miracle has happened." The choir and the congregation respond with a Te Deum, and prayers are offered to St. Januarius. There have been a few instances when the substance in the vial had not liquefied and the faithful believes that it is a sign of impending peril. Five times when liquefaction has failed there have been major disasters, the latest being an earthquake in southern Italy that killed 3,000 people in 1980.

The Maltese

The Maltese cross, seen here replicated in a gate.

Not everyone outside of Malta heard of our tiny island. Many Americans cannot recollect hearing about it, until the mention of ‘The Maltese Falcon,’ the classic movie with Humphrey Bogart. But there are a few things that are called Maltese or relate to Malta in some way, shape, and form. 

The Maltese Dog

The Maltese hunting dog with 5 puppies

There is the Maltese dog, a popular dog that is frequently one of the most popular breeds in Dog Shows. Another breed of dogs, known as the Maltese hunting dog has been certified as a new pedigree. There is also the Maltese flower, a small reddish flower that resembles the cross with the same name. 

A position in the rings gymnastics for men, known as Maltese

Then there is a position in gymnastics, for men done on the rings, when the gymnasts lie horizontally with arms outstretched on the rings. And of course there is the Maltese cross, symbolic of the 8 Beatitudes, and representing the 8 values that the Knights of Malta vow to obey as they join the knighthood.

The Maltese flower

St Robert Bellarmine

Born at Montepulciano, Italy, October 4, 1542, St. Robert Bellarmine was the third of ten children. His mother, Cinzia Cervini, a niece of Pope Marcellus II, was dedicated to almsgiving, prayer, meditation, fasting, and mortification of the body. Robert entered the newly formed Society of Jesus in 1560 and after his ordination went on to teach at Louvain (1570-1576) where he became famous for his Latin sermons. In 1576, he was appointed to the chair of controversial theology at the Roman College, becoming Rector in 1592; he went on to become Provincial of Naples in 1594 and Cardinal in 1598. This outstanding scholar and devoted servant of God defended the Apostolic See against the anti-clericals in Venice and against the political tenets of James I of England. He composed an exhaustive apologetic work against the prevailing heretics of his day. In the field of church-state relations, he was also very effective in a time of major upheaval all over Europe. Remember that these were the days of the Protestant Reformation, with various leaders starting their own religion, King Henry VIII and the Anglican/Episcopalian religion, Luther with Lutheranism, Calvin and Zwingli in central Europe, and others. And like other well-known priest saints of this era, Robert was able to defend the church with the likes of St Vincent de Paul, St Ignatius of Loyola, St Francis Xavier, St Julian Peter Eymard, St Francis De Sales, St John Baptist Vianney, St Charles Borromeo, and many others.
Robert Bellarmine was the spiritual father of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a Jesuit novice, and also helped St. Francis de Sales obtain formal approval of the Visitation Order, the female order founded by St Jane Frances de Chantal. He has left us a host of important writings, including works of devotion and instruction, as well as controversy. He died in 1621 and was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930; the following year he was declared a Doctor of the Church. His remains, in a cardinal's red robes, are displayed behind glass under a side altar in the Church of Saint Ignatius, the chapel of the Roman College, next to the body of his student, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, as he himself had wished.

St Augustine's Prayer

Lord Jesus, may I know myself and know you.

And desire nothing save only you.

May I hate myself and love you.

May I do everything for the sake of you.

May I humble myself and exalt you.

May I think of nothing except you.

May I die to myself and live in you.

May I receive whatever happens as from you.

May I banish self and follow you, and ever desire to follow you.

May I fly from myself and fly to you, that I may deserve to be defended by you.

May I fear for myself and fear you, and be among those who are chosen by you.

May I distrust myself and trust in you.

May I be willing to obey on account of you.

May I cling to nothing but to you.

May I be poor for the sake of you.

Look upon me that I may love you.

Call me that I may see you.

            And ever and ever enjoy you. Amen.             

Our Lady of Sorrows

'Our Lady of Sorrows' by  Adriaen Isenbrant

The liturgical feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated a day after the feast of the Cross, and even though we are far from the Lenten season, the church asks us to reflect on the 7 sorrows that Mary experienced, as beautifully depicted in this image by Adriaen Isenbrant from the 16th century, a panel visible in Bruges, Belgium.
The 7 sorrows that Mary had to face were these, as described in each of the panels surrounding the image of the Sorrowful Mother:
1. Jesus’ circumcision.
2. The escape into Egypt.
3. Jesus lost and found in the temple.
4. Seeing Jesus carrying the cross and meeting him on the way to Calvary.
5. The crucifixion of Jesus.
6. The Pieta, as the dead body of Jesus is laid on her lap.
7. The burial of Jesus.
The beautiful hymn Stabat Mater Dolorosa is sung frequently during Lent, especially during the Stations of the Cross. The first three words mean Stood the mournful Mother weeping, and the poem was written by Jacopone de Todi in the 13th century and was set to music by various composers including Palestrina, Pergolesi, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Haydn, Rossini, and Dvorák. Here are the first 2 verses:
At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to her Son to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length, the sword has passed.

Finding of the Cross

Early in the fourth century St. Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ's life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior's tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher over the tomb. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman.
The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus' head: Then "all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on."
To this day the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica's dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim. The cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. In the eyes of the first Christians, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome's authority—including Christians who refused sacrifice to Roman gods. We adore o Christ and we praise You, because, by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.

A prayer by St Benedict

Bestow upon me, O Gracious Holy Father:

Intellect to understand you,

Perceptions to perceive you purely,

Reason to discern you,

Diligence to seek you,

Wisdom to find you,

A spirit to know you.

                                                    A heart to meditate upon you,                                      
          Ears to hear you,

Eyes to behold you,

A tongue to proclaim you,

A conversation pleasing to you,

Patience to wait for you,

And perseverance to look for you.

Grant me a perfect end - your Holy Presence.

Grant me a blessed resurrection, and your recompense, everlasting life. Amen.

Holy Name of Mary

It’s hard to imagine that the Blessed Mother has many more feasts than Jesus himself in the Liturgical calendar. In one week between September 8 and 15, there are three celebrations honoring Mary. September 8 is the Nativity of Mary, September 15 is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, and today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, a feast only recently introduced, even though this was made officially a universal feast by Blessed Pope Innocent XI to commemorate victory over the Turks at the Battle of Vienna in 1683.
The feast was only a local one at its inception in 1513, when it was instituted in Cuenca, Spain. It was initially celebrated on September 15th and later on the 17th. Pope Gregory XV extended the celebration to the Archdiocese of Toledo in 1622. In 1666 the Discalced Carmelites received the faculty to recite the Office of the Name of Mary four times a year. In 1671 the feast was extended to the whole of Spain. After the victory of the Christians, led by King John III Sobieski of Poland, over the Turks in the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the feast was extended to the whole Church by Pope Innocent XI, and assigned to the Sunday after the Nativity of Mary. Before the battle, King John had placed his troops under the protection of the BVM.
Even in the past 60 years, there has been some controversy over the date of this festivity. In 1954, it was re-instated at September 12, but was removed temporarily as many thought it was a duplication of the Nativity of Mary, but in 2001, the feast of the Holy Name of Mary was once again set to be celebrated today.
Mary is Mariam in the Holy Land. The Hebrew variant of the name is Miriam. The name may have originated in the Egyptian Meri-Amun, "beloved of the God". It was incorporated in the Exodus narrative as Miriam, the name of Moses' sister. It became common in ancient Israel, hence its appearance in the gospel narrative as the name of Jesus' mother and several other women. The name is very common among Arabs, Iranians, and other Muslim cultures. However, Mary is called by an innumerable number of names that denote a connection with something special, Our Lady of Lourdes, Fatima, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of the Angels, Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Snows and many others listed in the Litany of Loreto.

Let us remember....

Back in 1988 on visiting Liberty Island with the Twin Towers in the background.

It was a tragic day 17 years ago when the whole world was shattered with images of terror and violence of cataclysmic proportions. I happened to be close to the scene when the Twin Towers collapsed and the rest of the world watched in disbelief. I lost one of the parishioners, Peter Klein and did his funeral a few days later, as I comforted his family through a horrible period of their life.  A few weeks later I visited Ground Zero and placed a note on a big tarp which allowed people to put messages of healing and comfort. In Maltese I wrote 'Il-Bambin jiftakar fikom u l-Maltin jitolbu għalikom.' (God will protect you and the Maltese will pray for you.) I led people in prayer throughout the following weeks, as people united in support of the USA and of each other.

The tarp at Ground Zero with my message on the right side.

Let us remember and pray for the 3000 victims and their families, who still suffer inconsolably. Let us continue to pray for peace and harmony among nations. Let us never forget the New York martyrs who died that day, as well as those who perished in Washington DC and Pennsylvania.

Love the Church

Live with the Church, and because of you, the Church will give life to humanity.
Pray with the Church, and your prayer will become as powerful as a river watering the whole world.
Offer with the Church, and your offering will become richer.
Work with the Church, for whoever works with the Church does not waste his energies.
Rejoice with the Church, and may her feasts be your feasts, and her victories your victories.
Decrease yourself with the Church, and repay her for the abuse that a few of her children are hurling at her.
Suffer with the Church, and you will experience the same sufferings that the Church is going through.
Hope with the Church, and you will stay with the Church till the ends of times.
Believe in the Church, and do everything in union with her.
Love the Church, as a son should love his mother.
Serve the Church, with loyal and intelligent service.
Whoever listens to the Church, listens to Me.
Whoever loves the Church, loves Me.
Whoever serves the Church, serves Me.
Because truly Me and the Church are One.

Scenes from a festa

Facade of the Peace Band Club covered with ornate artistic decorations

These are some scenes from the celebration of the Nativity of Mary held at Naxxar over this past week. Plenty of street decorations were visible all around town, displayed by many volunteers who are dedicated to their parish so generously. The first photo shows the facade of the one the Band Clubs in town, all crafted by an exceptionally talented young man Edward Azzopardi who designed and decorated the entire facade of the building.

The second one shows the statue of the Nativity of Mary being carried through the streets, flanked by two colorful banners depicting various Fathers of the Church, while the third one shows the lit facade of the parish church, framed by yet another colorful banner.

Nativity of Mary

Statue of the Nativity of Mary at Naxxar

Today we celebrate the feast of the birthday of the Blessed Mother. She was conceived in St Anne’s womb on December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and to follow the duration of a human pregnancy, the church celebrates her birth date today. Many countries, including Italy and Spain as well as Malta, celebrate this holy day with images and statues of the baby Mary, although the statues venerated in Malta are that of a young girl, all of which known as Maria Bambina (the little child Mary.) The feast of the Nativity started in the 5th century when a basilica was built in Jerusalem where St Anne lived and where Mary was born, traditionally around 12 BC. Saints Joachim and Anne have their own feast on July 26, but today we honor Mary’s birthday. Imagine the joy to see this little girl being born, in the obscurity of her town, with no angels, no shepherds, no Kings, but that’s because she didn’t want to take the attention from her Son, who would be born 16 years later. I can only imagine her as a little girl growing up at her parents’ home, a young toddler getting into mischief in her terrible twos. I can imagine her at the age of 7 or 8 helping her mother in household chores and playing with her friends. And how about as a new teenager at the age of 13, noticing her bodily changes and eyeing boys her age and ready to start dating. Until the Angel Gabriel appeared to her and changed her life forever. The rest, as we say, is history. In Malta, we also commemorate the occasion of two major victories at war. The first one was the victory of the Maltese and the Knights of Malta against the Turks, the Ottoman Empire in 1565, and the second one was the end of Fascism and Nazism at the height of World War II, a time of terrible suffering for the Maltese people. And we all thank God and the Blessed Mother for always protecting us and coming into our lives when we needed her the most.

The missing Rosary beads

Dimitri Mitropoulos

Everything was ready in a packed auditorium in New York City’s Carnegie Hall when the conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos lifted his baton to start Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. However, to everyone’s surprise, after just a few bars, he stopped the orchestra and left the stage. Nobody had any idea what could have happened. These things don’t usually happen unless it’s an extreme emergency. Mitropoulos was known for his patience, humility and was known for his charitable contributions. But many in the audience thought he felt suddenly sick. And they all waited until he would reappear to start the symphony once more. He returned after a few minutes which seemed like an eternity. He smiled at the audience as if to say that he was sorry, and started the symphony with his usual passion and enthusiasm. At the end the applause was thunderous. Some of the journalists went searching for him after the concert to ask him the reason why he had left the podium. With utter simplicity, he said: ‘I had forgotten my Rosary beads, which I always carry in my pockets. Without them I feel very distant from God.’ In all of his concerts, Dimitri Mitropoulos always carried his Rosary beads in his pocket.

Sacristan for Romero

Marcelo Perdomo next to the image of soon-to-be St Oscar Romero

As a young man in the early 1960s, Marcelo Perdomo worked in his native city of San Miguel, El Salvador, organizing the sacristy and decorating the altar among his duties as a sacristan at the local parish of El Rosario. That's where he worked with the meticulous "Father Romero," a detail-oriented priest who was particular about how things should be done and look, and Perdomo did everything he could to meet his standards. Perdomo, now 71, soon will be decorating an altar to mark a milestone for his former priest, this time at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, a predominantly Salvadoran parish in Washington, as the local community anticipates the last leg of Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero's official journey toward sainthood. The Salvadoran martyr, assassinated during the country's civil war in 1980, is set to become El Salvador's first saint Oct. 14. Did Perdomo ever get the sense he was working with a saint back then?

"Never. Never. He was normal. It never occurred to me ... but he was a man of goodness." Marcelo witnessed Blessed Romero's immense kindness toward prisoners and the poor, and his deep life of prayer. Perdomo was 12 when he first met the future saint and saw how he revived popular devotions to the country's patroness, Our Lady Queen of Peace, and the reconstruction of the cathedral in San Miguel that would ultimately become her home. When Perdomo fled El Salvador because of the civil war and went to live in Washington in 1981, he continued in his new U.S. parish the devotions to the Salvadoran Madonna that Romero had championed. "I saw him 'feel' with the poor. He 'felt' our poverty, that poverty that we the poor felt and lived.”

These days, Perdomo looks at a larger-than-life-sized framed portrait that will be displayed during a Mass at Washington's Sacred Heart shrine to mark Blessed Romero's canonization. Though Perdomo plans to be at St. Peter's Basilica when he is proclaimed a saint, he plans to leave the altar decorated at his parish before leaving for Rome. "I feel happy to have known in life a person who will now be on the highest of altars," he said. Blessed OscarRomero will be canonized on the same day as Blessed Pope Paul VI, October 14.

St Teresa of Calcutta

St Teresa of Calcutta (27 August 1910 - 5 September 1997)

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny woman recognized throughout the world for her work among the poorest of the poor, was canonized on September 4, 2016. Among those present were hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, the order she founded in 1950 as a diocesan religious community. Today the congregation also includes over 4,500 contemplative sisters and brothers and an order of priests.
Born on August 27, 1919 to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, Macedonia (then part of the Ottoman Empire), Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children who survived. For a time, the family lived comfortably, and her father's construction business thrived. But life changed overnight following his unexpected death.
During her years in public school, Agnes participated in a Catholic sodality and showed a strong interest in the foreign missions. At age 18 she entered the Loreto Sisters of Dublin, Ireland. It was 1928 when she said goodbye to her mother for the final time and made her way to a new land and a new life. The following year she was sent to the Loreto novitiate in Darjeeling, India. There she chose the name Teresa and prepared for a life of service. She was assigned to a high school for girls in Calcutta, where she taught history and geography to the daughters of the wealthy. But she could not escape the realities around her—the poverty, the suffering, the overwhelming numbers of destitute people.
In 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling to make a retreat, Sister Teresa heard what she later explained as “a call within a call. The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” She also heard a call to give up her life with the Sisters of Loreto and, instead, to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”
After receiving permission to leave Loreto, establish a new religious community and undertake her new work, she took a nursing course for several months. She returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the slums and opened a school for poor children. Dressed in a white sari and sandals (the ordinary dress of an Indian woman) she soon began getting to know her neighbors—especially the poor and sick—and getting to know their needs through visits.
The work was exhausting, but she was not alone for long. Volunteers who came to join her in the work, some of them former students, became the core of the Missionaries of Charity. Others helped by donating food, clothing, supplies, the use of buildings. In 1952 the city of Calcutta gave Mother Teresa a former hostel, which became a home for the dying and the destitute. As the order expanded, services were also offered to orphans, abandoned children, alcoholics, the aging, and street people.
For the next four decades, Mother Teresa worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor. Her love knew no bounds. Nor did her energy, as she crisscrossed the globe pleading for support and inviting others to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor. In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On September 5, 1997, God called her home.

Festa time almost over

Procession with the statue of St Julian

The summer festa season in Malta is almost over. This last weekend has 4 towns celebrating the feast of the Nativity of Mary, and another one the feast of Our Lady of Grace. But I share with you a few photos of various church decorations and processions with the statues that are held in high regard in every locality. The outside decorations are becoming more elaborate, although because of recent threat of rain, some of them were not displayed this year, for fear that they would be damaged. However, you can nonetheless feast your eyes on some of these photos.

The main altar at a local Baroque church

The Mosta church, recently elevated to a Basilica

Saint Gregory the Great

Pope St Gregory the Great (540-604 AD)

Very few Popes were ever called the ‘Great.’ Pope St John Paul is one of them, Pope St. Leo is another one, and then there is Pope St. Gregory. He was born in 540 AD from a very noble family. His father was Giordanus and his mother Silvia. His great-grandfather was Pope Felix III, and this was at a time when priests did not take a vow of celibacy. His family had a lot of property, mostly in Sicily. During his infancy, a plague devastated one-third of the Italian population. By the age of 33, Gregory had already become a prefect in Rome, a prominent role also occupied by his father. When his father died, Gregory left his Roman villa and went to live in a monastery, and lived a very strict lifestyle. Pope Pelagius chose Gregory as ambassador to Constantinople, and when he died, Gregory was chosen as Pope. But right away, he preferred to live a monastic life and wanted to be called ‘servant of God.’

He had a missionary spirit and sent many priests to evangelize, especially in England, and also encouraged deacons to help the poor. He implemented many reforms in the way the Mass is celebrated, some of which are still in use today. He also loved music and was very instrumental in introducing plain-chant, as well as Gregorian chant, which actually is named after him. He was known to distribute money from the Vatican riches and encouraged priests to help the poor. In fact, priests who helped the poor were rewarded with a salary and a gold coin as a bonus. He would invite some of the poor to eat with him on a daily basis. Pope Gregory was a prolific writer and made many liturgical reforms. Towards the end of his life, he suffered much from arthritis and died on March 12, 604. His feast-day was always celebrated on March 12, but since it always coincided with the Lenten season, the Vatican Council moved it to September 3. He is known as the patron saint of music, singers, scholars, and teachers. Both the Lutherans and the Anglicans also commemorate his feast-day today.