The extraordinary human body

When people question the existence of God, I always think of our human body and intricacies of detail of how everything functions to perfection. Who else could have created such an engineering marvel? Only some superior being could have thought of every little detail and magical way of how everything works.

Just think of our eyesight, how we can see in color, in 3-D. Just think of our heart beating for close to 100 years non-stop. Just think of our reproductive system and how babies are formed for 9 miraculous months and born in such a fascinating way. Just think of all the miles of vessels and veins and arteries filled with blood, pumping through our bodies. Just look at your hands and their dexterity and how we can play sensational music on the piano and flute and harp, with 10 coordinated fingers. Just look at your feet where one-third of our bones are located, how they can keep us going, walking the equivalent of 4 times around the world in a lifetime. Just think of the ordinary growth we take for granted, fingernails, hair, eyebrows, tears. Just think of how the digestive system takes care of what we eat and drink, and for a lifetime, everything we put in our mouths ends in our toilet, flushed away, and life goes on. Just think of the human sexual attraction, that a man can be attracted to the beauty of a female, and vice-versa, and the rest is history. So who can doubt God’s existence? Who but God could have created this ingenious human structure, possibly thousands, maybe millions of years ago!

St Peter and St Paul

The two pillars of the church are honored today on their liturgical feast day. Even though they became known as the most popular apostles, their beginning was not as pleasant. Peter was the rough and tough type fisherman who had to be fine-tuned and polished by Jesus and eventually became the first Pope. However, there were some conflicting moments in his life, especially during Jesus’ passion when Peter three times denied even knowing Jesus. Some friend eh! However, Jesus forgave him, after the triple affirmation of faith, and changing his name from Simon to Peter, the Rock, on which the church was to be built. It must have worked, because, from the 12 apostles, we are now up to 1.2 billion Catholics.

St Paul, on the other hand, was even more aggressive as he used to persecute Christians, only to be converted on his way to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him, and his complete turnaround started. He eventually traveled all over Eastern Europe, through Greece, modern-day Turkey and even venturing on the sea being shipwrecked on my homeland of Malta where he baptized all the inhabitants. He also wrote letters to the many communities he visited, beautiful theological reflections which we read every Sunday in our 2nd reading at Mass. Both Peter and Paul were martyred, Peter being crucified upside down, and Paul being beheaded in Rome.

The Loving Heart of Jesus

'Sacred Heart' by Gianni Vella at Discalced Carmelites, Birkirkara.

Heart of Jesus, give us the strength to persevere in your footsteps.
Heart of Jesus, enlighten our path to stay faithful in our journey of faith.
Heart of Jesus, remind us always to love others as You loved us, always and unconditionally.
Heart of Jesus, teach us to be patient with those we don’t seem to tolerate that easily.
Heart of Jesus, help us to find time to pray, to listen to You and to act kindly towards others.
Heart of Jesus, encourage everyone to appreciate the gift of the Eucharist, and our meeting You daily at Mass.
Heart of Jesus, protect our children and our youth, and mold them into strong future leaders of our church.
Heart of Jesus, may we appreciate the simple things in life, and accept Your blessings on us and our families.
Heart of Jesus, inspire us to give that word of encouragement to those who have given up hope.
Heart of Jesus, take us to Mary Your Mother, and keep us close to her.
Heart of Jesus, shower us with your abundant love, and never let us take You for granted.
Heart of Jesus, help us to live one day at a time.
Heart of Jesus, send Your peace on our world.
Heart of Jesus, thank you for loving us so much, maybe when we didn’t even deserve it.

Early Ordination and Death

Fr Michal Łos being ordained by his bishop in the hospital.

Special extraordinary permission was given to a Polish seminarian who was dying of cancer, to be ordained a priest in the hospital. Fr Michał Łos was ordained on May 24, by special dispensation, given his failing health. The day before his ordination, he took his vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and a special closeness to the Pope. Fr Łos’ testimony has moved all of Poland and the world. In fact, on June 7, Fr Michal’s birthday, he was visited by the president of Poland, who knelt before him and asked for his blessing. He was able to celebrate a few Masses, assisted by other priests and seminarians. Fr Łos passed away June 17. 

Fr Michal celebrating his first Mass.

Fr Tarcisio Vieira, director general of the Sons of Divine Providence, said that death didn’t take his life from him; he himself wanted to give his life for love of Christ and of the poor. “This message of his, and his testimony have taught something to all of us, and we’ll be sure these lessons won’t be lost. We thank the Lord for having given him to us as a witness of great faith and of love.”

St. Josemaría Escrivá

St. Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975)

St. Josemaría Escrivá was born in Barbastro, Spain on January 9, 1902. He felt the call to the priesthood from a young age, and this was solidified when he saw a monk leaving footprints in the snow. He studied at Zaragoza and was ordained on March 28, 1925, 2 days after my own father was born. He studied civil law along with his ecclesiastical studies, and in 1927, he moved to Madrid to obtain a doctorate in law. While there, he worked hard with the poor and sick, and also with students, workers, and professionals.
On October 2, 1928, he saw by divine inspiration, that he was being called to start a new order within the Church – Opus Dei – to spread this call throughout the world. There are now around 90,000 people in Opus Dei and his spiritual message has reached millions. His apostolic work was not limited to Opus Dei, however. He helped numerous people discern vocations to the priesthood and religious life, both active and contemplative. In 1943, he founded the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, an association inseparably united to Opus Dei, to which belong thousands of diocesan priests around the world. Escrivá was always a proponent of understanding and dialogue, and in 1950 he won the Holy See's approval to allow Opus Dei to appoint Cooperators, who could be Catholics, non-Catholic Christians or even non-believers.
Inspired by Escrivá's teaching and his promotion of the apostolic and social responsibility of Christians, the members and Cooperators of Opus Dei have started hundreds of evangelical works and social initiatives all over the world, especially among the poor and disadvantaged. Willing to innovate, but always faithful to the Magisterium of the Church, Escrivá was described by Pope John Paul II as a precursor of the Second Vatican Council. He anticipated by thirty years many of the teachings devised by the Council. He is the author of books of spirituality which are read around the world. His best-known book is The Way, which has sold nearly four million copies in 43 languages. Escrivá died in Rome on June 26, 1975. He was beatified on May 17, 1992, in St. Peter's Square. He was canonized by John Paul II in the same place on October 6, 2002, before a crowd of 350,000.

Four Oklahoma heroes

The 4 heroes with Catherine Ritchie

We often hear negative comments and remarks about teenagers, sometimes getting in trouble and ignoring the values that we treasure so much. But then once in a while, we hear of a special story like the one that took place in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, 15 miles south-west of Tulsa. An elderly 90-year-old woman was trapped inside her house on fire. 4 teenagers smelled burning rubber and were alerted that something was not right. Moving to the neighboring house, they realized that a house was on fire with Catherine Ritchie inside, all by herself.

The 4 boys, Wyatt Hall, Seth Byrd, Dylan Wick, and Nick Byrd went inside and brought the woman out safely. Her house was severely damaged, especially on the inside, but thankfully she was not even hurt. Well done to 4 unsung heroes who saved the life of Catherine, who felt so grateful to these 4 Sapulpa high-schoolers.

St. John the Baptist

A section of the massive ceiling by Mattia Preti at St John's Cathedral, Valletta.

John the Baptist as a prophet had a tough role to play - to point out the sins which were keeping the people from truly knowing, loving and serving God. He prepared the way of the Lord by calling people to lives of repentance. This is the message we receive today, the feast of the birth of St. John the Baptist. His life was a life-long journey of preparation, setting the stage for Jesus’ arrival - doing all the rough work and then disappear, getting hardly any credit. But that was his role and never complained about it. In the Gospel of John the Evangelist (Jn 3:30,) we read that John the Baptist said about Jesus: “He must increase, while I must decrease.” This is very indicative of what will happen after Jesus’ baptism. Jesus became well known, while John disappeared in the background. Yet while the popularity of Jesus increased, John faded away, and we see him again being arrested and then being beheaded by Herod. Yet there is another interesting twist to the phrase “He must increase and I must decrease.” John’s birthday falls close to the summer solstice, one of the longest days of the year, and from now on, the days will start decreasing, leading to one of the shortest days of the year, which is Christmas, the birthday of Jesus, close to the winter’s solstice, and from then on, the days will start getting longer. “I must decrease, while He must increase.”
It’s a notion worth adapting to in our daily lives - we must decrease our yearnings, our dreams, our wishes, while we should let Him increase in us, increasing our potential to love, increase our prayer life, our devotion to duty, our commitment to our faith. This is the message the church wants us to remember today. We can obviously decrease the clutter from our lives and increase the goodness that is certainly already in our heart.

Corpus Christi

The procession of Corpus Christi held in Ostia last year, led by Pope Francis.

Without any doubt, the greatest gift Jesus could have left us was in the Eucharist. He also gave us His mother Mary as our Mother, just before He died on the cross, but a few hours earlier, he gave us His Body and His Blood, literally and figuratively, as our everlasting spiritual food. We are also honored to adore His presence every day. Not only in our own church, but in every church around the world. The Blessed Sacrament is present for Adoration, prayer and private time with the Lord. When people pray in His presence, miracles happen, as many people can tell you. Today’s celebration of Corpus Christi further accentuates the respect and reverence we should all show to the Eucharist. Processions are held in various countries, a tradition started by St Juliana of Liege in the 12th century. Customarily, the children who have just received their first Holy Communion, usually accompany in these processions held around each town and village. Last year Pope Francis broke from tradition by holding the procession in Ostia, instead of Rome, where it’s been held for over 40 years.

St Thomas More and St John Fisher

These two British martyrs are among the most beloved in the English Catholic Church. St Thomas More was born at London in 1478. After a thorough grounding in religion and the classics, he entered Oxford to study law. Upon leaving the university he embarked on a legal career which took him to Parliament. In 1505, he married his beloved Jane Colt who bore him four children, and when she died at a young age, he married a widow, Alice Middleton, to be a mother for his young children. A great reformer, Thomas More numbered Bishops and scholars among his friends, and by 1516 wrote his world-famous book "Utopia". He attracted the attention of Henry VIII who appointed him to a succession of high posts, and finally made him Lord Chancellor in 1529. However, he resigned in 1532, at the height of his career, when Henry persisted in holding his own opinions regarding marriage and the supremacy of the Pope, while strongly opposing Henry's thirst for a divorce. This is when the Church of England broke away from the Catholic religion. The rest of Thomas’ life was spent in writing mostly in defense of the Church. In 1534, with his close friend, St John Fisher, he refused to render allegiance to the King as the Head of the Church of England and was confined to the Tower of London. Fifteen months later, he was tried and convicted of treason. On the scaffold, he told the crowd of spectators that he was dying as "the King's good servant- but God's first." He was beheaded on July 6, 1535. His life is depicted in the classic movie “A Man for all Seasons,” with Paul Scofield acting in an Oscar-winning performance.

St. John Fisher was born at Yorkshire in 1459, and educated at Cambridge. In 1504, he became Bishop of Rochester and Chancellor of Cambridge, in which capacity he also tutored Prince Henry who was to become Henry VIII. St John was dedicated to the welfare of his diocese and his university. From 1527, he actively opposed the King's divorce proceedings against Catherine, his wife in the sight of God. Unlike the other Bishops, St John refused to take the oath of succession, and he was imprisoned in the tower in April 1534. The next year he was made a Cardinal by Pope Paul III and Henry retaliated by having him beheaded within a month. A half hour before his execution, John Fisher opened his New Testament for the last time and his eyes fell on the following words from St. John's Gospel: "Eternal life is this: to know You, the only true God, and Him Whom You have sent, Jesus Christ. I have given You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave me to do. Do You now, Father, give me glory at Your side". Closing the book, he observed: "There is enough learning in that to last me the rest of my life." They were both canonized on May 19th, 1935, with Thomas More becoming the patron of lawyers and politicians.

St Aloysius Gonzaga

St Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591)

One of the patrons of youth, St Aloysius Gonzaga was an Italian Jesuit saint of the 16th century. Quite a few Jesuit colleges are named after him, including Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, and St Aloysius College, in Malta. Aloysius is the Latin form of his given name, Luigi, in English known as Louis. The Gonzaga name is well known in Italy. Aloysius Gonzaga was born at Castiglione near Mantua, Italy, in 1568 to a celebrated family of wealth and prestige. As the firstborn son of his father, Ferrante, and his mother, Marta, he was in line to inherit his father's title of Marquis. He grew up amid the violence and brutality of Renaissance Italy and witnessed the murder of two of his brothers. In 1576, Aloysius' parents sent him to attend the court of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco de Medici, in Florence. Later, accompanied by his parents, he traveled to Spain to join the court of Philip II in Madrid.
In Spain, Aloysius decided he wanted to join the newly founded religious order, the Society of Jesus. His father resisted his decision and there followed a struggle of wills that continued after his return to Castiglione in 1584. But Aloysius eventually prevailed. Renouncing his right to the title of Marquis and to the vast wealth he was destined to inherit, he entered the Society of Jesus in Rome on November 25, 1585. During his early studies in Rome, he would regularly go out into the streets of the city to care for victims of the plague. He himself contracted the disease as a result of his efforts for the suffering and died on June 21, 1591, at the age of twenty-three, six years short of his ordination as a Jesuit priest.
Even before his time as a Jesuit, Aloysius was known for his love of prayer and fasting. He received his First Communion from St. Charles Borromeo. As a Jesuit at the Roman College, he continued to devote his time to prayer and practices of austerity. His spiritual director was Robert Bellarmine who later was canonized and declared a doctor of the church. When Robert was dying, he asked to be buried next to the grave of Aloysius. Today, they rest next to each other in the church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Rome. Pope Benedict XIII canonized Aloysius in 1726, and three years later declared him to be the patron of youth in the Catholic Church, an honor later confirmed by Pope Pius XI in 1926. Gonzaga University in Spokane is the only Jesuit university in the world named after St. Aloysius.

42nd Anniversary Mass

I share three photos from yesterday’s concelebrated Mass at Siggiewi parish church, in the presence of our relatives and friends. The group photo is a tradition, although three classmates were missing from yesterday’s celebration. A friendly reception was held afterwards with some light refreshments and a Happy Anniversary cake. It’s very nostalgic to see the changes, differences, and transformations year after year, some family members getting older, others passing away, while others bring their newborn babies along. At the same time our hair is getting greyer and whiter, while for those of us who lost it decades ago, we just keep looking just about the same.

And yet all of us, in our late sixties, keep working in various pastoral roles. And for this, we thank the Lord for keeping us healthy and spiritually focused. Ad Multos Annos!

42nd Anniversary

This is a group photo from last year's anniversary Mass at my chapel.

Today I celebrate 42 years since my ordination to the priesthood. Over the past 30 hours, I spent time on retreat with my classmates, as we reminisced through the past years and recollected many happy memories, even though for many years I was far away from my classmates. Nonetheless, they always met every year to concelebrate together, not to mention the monthly meetings we have to update, learn, discuss and follow up on various teachings of the church. Today we will again concelebrate Mass at the Siggiewi parish church.

This is a prayer I love to share on this anniversary, written by a French Dominican priest, Lacordaire:

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.                   

How great is Love.

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived together: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, Richness, Vanity, and all others, including Love. One day it was announced to all the feelings that the island was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. So all the feelings prepared their boats to leave. Love was the only one that stayed. She wanted to preserve the island paradise until the last possible moment. When the island was almost totally under, Love decided it was time to leave. She began looking for someone to ask for help.

Just then Richness was passing by in a grand boat. Love asked: “Richness, can I come with you on your boat?” Richness answered, “I’m sorry, but there is a lot of silver and gold on my boat and there would be no room for you anywhere.” Then Love decided to ask Vanity for help who was passing in a beautiful vessel. “Vanity, help me, please!” Love cried out. “I can’t help you,” Vanity said, “you are all wet and will damage my beautiful boat.” Next Love saw Sadness passing by. Love said, “Sadness, please let me go with you.” Sadness answered emotionally “Love, I’m sorry, but I need to be alone now.” Then, Love saw Happiness. Love cried out, “Happiness, please take me with you.” But happiness was so overjoyed that he didn’t hear Love calling to him.

Love began t cry. Then she heard a voice say, “Come, Love, I will take you with me.” Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that she forgot to ask for his name. When they arrived on land, the other boat went on his way. Love realized how much she owed him. Love then found Knowledge and asked, “Who was it that helped me?” Knowledge answered “It was Time.” “But why did Time help me when no one else would?” asked Love. Knowledge smiled and with deep wisdom and sincerity, answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is.”

Franco Zeffirelli (1923-2019)

Franco Zeffirelli on the set of 'Jesus of Nazareth' with Robert Powell.

We lost on Saturday, June 15 one of the best movie directors that ever lived. Franco Zeffirelli was 96, born on February 12, 1923, in Florence and will always be remembered for a series of operas and plays by Shakespeare which he made into classic movies. From ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ in 1967 to Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ in 1982, from ‘Romeo and Juliet ‘ in 1968 to Puccini’s ‘Turandot’ and Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ as recently as 2010. He also produced ‘Brother Sun, Sister Moon’ on the life of St Francis in 1972, ‘The Champ’ in 1979, and the extended movie for which he will always be remembered ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ directed in 1977, released in two parts. I was enamored with this movie when it came out in the year I was ordained a priest. Many film strips of scenes from the movie were also released by religious companies, also in the form of slides which catechists used before the advent of computers and digital photography. It was a blessing having so many scenes from the life of Christ in slides to use to teach children and adults. Who can forget that stunning image of Jesus, played by Robert Powell! Zeffirelli was nominated twice for an Oscar, for ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘La Traviata.’ Thank you Franco for a life well lived and for giving us so many classic films to cherish for eternity.

The Holy Trinity

On this feast of the Holy Trinity, may I suggest a practical prayer that we can all do every night so that the Holy Trinity may become an important part of our lives. So, as an examination of conscience, every night before you get to bed, take 3 minutes or even one minute divided into 20 seconds. In the first minute, think of a positive event that happened to you during the day, maybe a piece of good news you received, a good deed you accomplished, and thank God the Father for it. In the second minute, think of a negative thing that you experienced, maybe a conflict, an argument or quarrel with someone else, and ask God the Son, Jesus, to forgive you for it. Then during the last minute, think of something you have to do tomorrow, maybe an important decision you have to make, talking to another person on an important issue, and talk to God the Holy Spirit while asking or guidance and inspiration. A simple, yet effective way to feel connected with the Trinity.

The gift of smiling

There are many people who lost their teeth and are embarrassed when smiling with missing teeth. Yet when someone is truly happy and full of joy, they smile even with a few missing teeth. You see this most obviously in young children who have lost their front teeth and are waiting for their second set to replace the missing ones. And still the most important thing is that a smile is genuine and sincere, and never forced, like those pretty girls showing a perfect set of sparkling teeth advertising toothpaste. Because a true smile is a mirror of the joy that’s in your heart. Truly a smile is the key to your heart, a reflection of what is going on inside of you.  Another thing, when we frown or show anger we are using over 90 muscles of our body, while when we smile we are using only around 40 – so let’s exert less effort and smile more.

Blood Donors Day

 Letter to Times of Malta, published June 13, 2019 - Click to enlarge 

As the entire world celebrates Blood Donors day, I share with you a letter I wrote to the editor of Malta’s biggest newspaper, the Times of Malta. It is self-explanatory and I continue to wait for an answer, which may never come. But I look back when I was able to donate blood in the USA, 118 times, which I’ve recorded with dates and locations, 5 to 6 times a year, basically every 56 days.

Donating my 100th pint of blood - June 2012

Back in June 2012 I donated my 100th pint of blood and was given a certificate and a black nylon carry-all bag when I was in Baker City, Oregon. I have cherished memories of blood drives I ran in former parishes, including a record-breaking total of 157 donations I raised in 1993, when I was in Rocky Point, New York. Back then it was a record for parish blood drives – all this within 6 hours.

St Anthony

St. Anthony of Padua was born August 15, 1195 near Lisbon, to a wealthy family and given the name Fernando. He was sent to the cathedral school in Lisbon, but in 1210, at the age of 15 he entered the Augustinian monastery of Sao Vicente in Lisbon, against the wishes of his family. But in their monastery near his native city he was distracted by visits from relatives and friends. After two years, Fernando asked to be transferred. He was sent to Holy Cross in Coimbra, a great center of learning and capital of Portugal at that time. He devoted the next eight years of his life to study and prayer, immersing himself in Sacred Scripture. When news of the Franciscan martyrs in Morocco reached him, he joined the Franciscan Order in 1221, when he was 26 years old. At his own request, he was sent as a missionary to Morocco with the mission of preaching among the Moors. He had to return to Europe because of ill health. After this, St Anthony was moved to Romagna (Italy) and spent 9 months as a chaplain to hermits. He was so modest that he thought nothing of spending his days carrying on the lowliest duties of the kitchen and convent. But the Lord had bigger plans for this holy man. At an ordination ceremony, the priest who was about to give the sermon fell ill suddenly and St Anthony was called upon to give the sermon in his place. Although he refused with humility at first, he eventually had to do so because of his vow of obedience to his superior.

The last two years of his life he spent in Padua, preaching, hearing confessions and working to help the poor. St. Anthony died on June 13th, 1231 at Arcella, a suburb of Padua. He was only 36. Saint Anthony was canonized in 1232 by Pope Gregory IX and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946. He holds the record for the second fastest canonization in history: he was declared a saint 352 days after his death. In 1263, a basilica was built in his honor. Today he is one of the most famous saints and is often called upon by Catholics to help find lost possessions. Saint Anthony of Padua is usually sculpted or portrayed holding the child Jesus, or a lily or a book, or all three, in his arms.

Examinations

Painting of Cupertino in his Cathedral at Osimo, Italy.

May and June have always been engrained in my mind as the months when the final examinations are held all over Malta and all over the world for that matter. It’s a time when you see children and students acting like zombies because of lack of sleep, too much stress on their minds and so much to memorize. Well, in this atmosphere Saint John Cupertino comes to the rescue, as he is looked upon as the patron saint of examinations. He was born in 1603 in Cupertino, in the region of Calabria, southern Italy, the youngest of 6 children born to a Christan family. He was a good student but when exams arrived he would pray hard to the Blessed Mother, and under stress, he would forget much of what he studied. One day, while preparing for the priesthood, he had an exam in front of the bishop, and so he prayed to Mary that he would remember all that he had patiently studied. One of his classmates was so intelligent, that the bishop thought all the students were the same, and he passed them all. On another occasion, he was in front of the Bishop again and after praying, as usual, he could only remember a Bible passage about the Blessed Mother. And the bishop asked him to specifically comment on that particular passage which he knew so well. He passed with flying colors. So Saint Joseph of Cupertino was made the patron of students going through exams. He was known to experience levitations and died in 1663. In his Cathedral at Osimo in Italy there is a painting of him in the apse, which from a distance, he looks like he is levitating, floating above the altar. And even up there, he is praying for all those studying for their exams. So, dear students, don’t panic – help is on its way.

St. Barnabas

St. Barnabas, whose feast we celebrate today was a great friend of St. Paul and accompanied him on many of his missionary journeys he did after his conversion. He was born in Cyprus and was originally named Joseph. But when he joined the apostles and became a beloved disciple, they gave him the name Barnabas, which means ‘Son of Encouragement.’ In fact, he was the person who introduced Paul to the other apostles. He joined them in his mission of preaching and baptizing new Christians. On some of his journeys, they even had St. Mark with them, who was his nephew. But on his journey to Rome, when St Paul being shipwrecked on Malta, he had St Luke with him. But Paul and Barnabas worked very well together and many people used to call them Hermes and Zeus, referring to two Greek Gods. It is said that Barnabas could be the author of the letter to the Hebrews because it has a completely different style from the other letters which Paul wrote. He took part in the Council of Jerusalem and was influential in introducing the Orthodox church in Cyprus, where he was unfortunately martyred there in 61 AD. Barnabas worked close to sailors and cloth merchants while in Cyprus, and in Famagusta, there is a big monastery dedicated to him. He is, of course, the patron saint of Cyprus. His life teaches us to be companions to each other, especially those who are gifted with similar talents. There are people who are gifted to work with young children, others to work with youth, yet others to work with the elderly. And then there are others like myself, who always worked well with the young and the old.

Mary, Mother of the Church

Most Blessed Mother, we honor you today as the Mother of the Church. After celebrating the birthday of the church yesterday, we salute you today as the one who gave us Jesus and the community of churches spread around the world. As you gave birth to Your Divine Son, you also created the Body of Christ, the church and all of us. We thank you for protecting us, guarding us against evil, and supporting our efforts to stay close to you and Your Son. This year, in particular, we pray in respect for the churches dedicated to you, especially after one of the most historic cathedrals, Notre Dame de Paris, was engulfed in flames. We pray that it will be rebuilt to its former glory and beauty. We ask for your maternal protection on all the other churches dedicated to you, from St Mary Major in Rome to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, from the Milan Cathedral to the Sanctuary at Ta Pinu in Gozo/Malta, and so many others. We ask you in a special way to keep us all united together, as a community of Christians who pray in your sanctuaries and shrines. As a loving mother, keep nurturing us with your care and love, nursing us when in trouble and nourishing us with Your Son’s blessing.

Pentecost

Pentecost stained-glass from Baker City Cathedral, Oregon.

Pope Francis once said “The Holy Spirit is always on the go, restless, and never sits still.” He is always trying to shake things up, and makes us move from our comfort zone and challenges us to do more, to behave better and be true witnesses of the Gospel message. As we celebrate the feast of Pentecost today, let us be aware of his presence in our life, inspiring us and motivating us to be better Christians.
Cardinal Mercier's Prayer To The Holy Spirit: I am going to reveal to you a secret of sanctity and happiness. For five minutes every day quiet your imagination, close your eyes to everything visible and your ears to all external sounds and withdraw into the sanctuary of your baptized soul which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. There, speak to the Holy Spirit and say: "O Holy Spirit, soul of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten, guide, strengthen and console me. Tell me what I ought to do and command me to do it. I promise to submit to everything that you ask of me and to accept all that you allow to happen to me. Just show me what is your will."
If you do this, your life will be happy and serene. Even in the midst of troubles, you will experience great consolation, for grace will be given to strengthen and help you to cope with every difficulty.

The Maltese Ftira

Possibly this would be the main element that describes Malta to the rest of the world. As I shared with you a few days ago, 5 other items were suggested for the UNESCO selection, but the Maltese ftira could be the eventual winner. It’s a simple loaf of flat bread, sliced in half, and pasted with tomato paste, doused with oil and vinegar, and inside, a variety of vegetables are placed. These include a slice of lettuce, a few slices of cucumber, a slice or two of juicy tomato, some olives, possibly a few onion rings, a few slices of radish, some tuna or salmon, or even anchovies, salt and pepper, and any other vegetable you may find interesting to add. Then close the two parts of the ftira, and dig your teeth into it. It’s a very healthy meal or snack and is very popular here in Malta. In fact, you may use whatever bread you have, a nice-sized loaf would be ideal, but pita bread or just slices of French bread would be good too.

100 years ago

Monument in Valletta to honor the victims of June 7, 1919

On the 7th June 1919, exactly 100 years ago, following a series of riots by Maltese citizens, British troops fired into the local crowds, killing four and injuring 50, two of whom died a few days later. So what were they rioting about? Well, essentially, food. Or, at least, that's how things started. The first World War had just ended, and locals were pretty much over it with the no food situation. Most of Europe was going through the same thing, as the war had seriously messed with the agriculture and food industry. But in Malta, because we relied on importation for a lot of our sustenance, things got seriously out of hand. Import prices rose exponentially on the islands and food remained scarce. On top of that was an intense level of British military presence on the island, growing tensions about whether the Maltese could ever be able to play a larger role in the administration of the country, and a heated dispute over the Union Jack vs the Maltese flag. The actual 7th June date signifies the moment where all these tensions came to a serious head. With the aforementioned military presence being beefed up, a stand-off culminated in a serious fatal confrontation. Although soldiers were instructed not to fire at the crowds, shots did ring out, and in the end there were six fatalities. We honor the victims today and continue to pray for ongoing peace.

Malta’s top hits

A typical country scene with rubble walls (click to enlarge)

UNESCO has asked all countries to propose a few local elements or traditions that are particular and originating from that country. These 5 were enlisted for Malta: the making of the ftira Maltija (flat Maltese loaf), bizzilla (Maltese lace making), għana (traditional folk singing), brilli (a Gozitan game) and gold embroidery. It may take up to 18 months for the selection committee to decide on the winner/s. However, a big controversy arose lately about a sixth possible nominee, which is the traditional rubble wall. When the Arabs came to Malta in 869 AD, they found an arid land, denuded of its forests long before by Carthaginians and Romans who needed wood, loads of it, for their heated baths and galleons. With the trees gone, it only took a couple of years for the topsoil to be washed into the sea, baring the naked rock underneath.

A close up of a part of a rubble wall.

Minimalistic, diligent and ingenious as the Arabs were, they were ingenious in creating terraced fields suited for the hilly landscape, by scraping and preserving every grain of soil they collected after having removed the stones to build protective walls around the new-born fields with them. No cement, no mortar, no costs.....just skill, sweat, and diligence. The rubble wall was born - the birth of our Islands. Overnight it became possible for the population to grow its food and improve its living conditions. Maybe the rubble wall should also be also considered. Over the next few weeks, I will share with you some more reflections on the other nominees.

Perseverance at its very best

Richard Carapaz with the Giro d'Italia trophy and the Ecuadorian flag.

This is a story of perseverance, rags-to-riches type of dream that every young child dreams of. Richard Carapaz became the pride of Ecuador on Sunday when he won the classic Giro d’Italia, a 3-week grueling bicycle race of 21 stages that takes them from incredibly close sprints to harsh climbs up the Alps and Dolomites with spectacular snow-capped mountains along the route. The story starts from the little poor boy riding a bicycle without tires in his native Andes to seeing the 26-year-old's incredible rise from a humble background, riding a 'skeleton' bicycle his father found in a junk yard, to the highest level of the sport. Carapaz, now known as 'The Locomotive', used the makeshift bike to climb the dusty roads around the family's modest house in the village of Playa Alta, high in the mountains of northern Ecuador, near the border with Colombia. Selling milk represented the main source of income for the family, and young Richie worked in the fields, looking after three cows while his mother Ana was facing cancer. Then his father Antonio arrived home one day with the small BMX which had no seat, no brakes or pedals. The bicycle is now kept as a prized possession. Last year, Carapaz won the white jersey in the Giro d’Italia, won by the young rider of the race, but this year he got the pink jersey around the 14th stage and kept it till the end, as the overall winner. Carapaz raced on local teams in Ecuador before his talent captured the attention of talent scouts. Various Colombian riders have become quite successful in recent years, but this is the first Ecuadorian to triumph. His parents, his wife and his two young children were present on Sunday at Verona, for the final stage and coronation of the champion, Richard Carapaz. It’s a great story of perseverance and sheer determination.

Persecuted Christians

A desecrated church, one of many destroyed by the enemy.

These are the 10 nations with the worst treatment of Christians, because of ongoing persections going on in these countries:
1. North Korea – Christians here are considered enemies of the state. Between 200,000 and 400,000 are living in fear in North Korea, with between 50,000 and 70,000 in labor camps.
2. Afghanistan – people here are expected to profess the Muslim faith, and so Christians are sent to mental hospitals, tortured and killed. So Christians live their faith in secret.
3. Somalia – Muslim Militants here kill Christians when discovered. Islam is the official religion and so Christians pray in secret.
4. Libya – around 38,000 Christians here are migrant workers. They are allowed to pray in private but radical Islamists attack them, while Bibles are not allowed anywhere.
5. Pakistan – Christians here form 2% of the 3.9 million population, and are often discriminated upon. Dirty work is usually given to Christians.
6. Sudan – 2 million Christians live here in constant fear, as only Islam is accepted here
7. Eritrea – 2.3 million Christians are made up of 3 religions recognized by the Government, including Catholics. Everyone else is considered an enemy of the state. Christians are often sent to hard labor or imprisoned.
8. Yemen – Muslims who leave their religion are often killed by their own family. Christians here amount to a few thousands and live in secret all their life.
9. Iran – the 800,000 Christians living here are a constant threat to the Islamic Republic. They are not allowed to lead religious services in the Iranian language. Prison awaits those who abandon Islam.
10. India – There are 64 million Christians in India but they are only a small percentage of the population. A militant group associated with the Government want all Christians to leave the country by 2021. Every year Christians are attacked and no punishment is given to their attackers.

St Charles Lwanga and companions

One of 22 Ugandan martyrs, Charles Lwanga is the patron of youth and Catholic action in most of tropical Africa. He protected his fellow pages (aged 13 to 30) from the homosexual demands of the Bagandan ruler, Mwanga, and encouraged and instructed them in the Catholic faith during their imprisonment for refusing the ruler’s demands.
For his own unwillingness to submit to the immoral acts and his efforts to safeguard the faith of his friends, Charles was burned to death at Namugongo on June 3, 1886, by Mwanga’s order. Charles first learned of Christ’s teachings from two retainers in the court of Chief Mawulugungu. While a catechumen, he entered the royal household as an assistant to Joseph Mukaso, head of the court pages.
On the night of Mukaso’s martyrdom for encouraging the African youths to resist Mwanga, Charles requested and received baptism. Imprisoned with his friends, Charles’s courage and belief in God inspired them to remain chaste and faithful.
When Pope Paul VI canonized these 22 martyrs on October 18, 1964, he referred to the Anglican pages martyred for the same reason. Although the Anglicans could not be canonized, they were named "with the others, also deserving mention" for enduring "death for the name of Christ". The Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs was built at the site of the executions and serves as their shrine. Their remains are in Kampala. The order known as "The Brothers of St. Charles Lwanga" was founded in 1927 as an indigenous religious congregation of Ugandan men committed to providing education to the youth of their country.

The Ascension

'Ascension' by Raffaele Caruana at St. Julian's church.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Ascension, a celebration that has been transferred in many Dioceses to the 7th Sunday of Easter. This is the day that the Lord gave his final “Goodbye” to his followers, although it was more like a “So Long.” This feast has special memories for me as a child, because of a painting that is in my childhood parish, dedicated to the Ascension of Jesus. It was painted by the Maltese artist Raffaele Caruana (1820-1886.) As a child and especially as an altar-boy I frequently reflected on this painting, even connecting the faces of the apostles to men in the parish, whom they resembled. The actual church was dedicated to Saint Julian, the old parish church until 1969, but was always known as the Lapsi Church (Ascension Church.) The feast of the Ascension opens officially the swimming/summer season, and the weather usually warms up steadily from now on, with all the beaches filling up with swimmers and tourists. They are longing for some warmer weather as it’s been unusually very cool throughout May this year.

And as Jesus leaves us today, He is also empowering us to continue His work, as He did with the Apostles 2 millennia ago. They have not let Him down, and neither did the many saints and holy people that have followed. Let us not let Him down, but continue this enticing relay race of Christianity, passing the proverbial baton to our children and children’s children, as our forefathers have done over the centuries.

Treasures

There are treasures in life, but owners are few
Of money and power to buy things brand new.

Yet you can be wealthy and feel regal too,
If you will just look for the treasures in you.

These treasures in life are not hard to find
When you look in your heart, your soul, and your mind.

For when you are willing to share what's within,
Your fervent search for riches will end.

The joy and the laughter, the smile that you bring;
The heart unafraid to love and to sing;

The hand always willing to help those in need;
Ones quick to reach out, to labor and feed.

So thank you for sharing these great gifts inside;
The caring, the cheering, the hug when one cried.

Thanks for the energy, encouragement too,
And thank you for sharing the treasures in you.