With Elsa at the Holy Family Chapel, a few days after my encounter with her. |
I recognized she was an African girl and
told her to follow me as I was going to church to celebrate Mass. I finished
saying the Rosary on my Ipad, as I do every time I’m heading to church quietly walking
alone, and then asked her where is she from. “From Ethiopia, my name is Elsa,”
came the quick response as she showed me a set of white teeth with a big smile.
When I asked where she works, she said she is a carer at the Holy Family Home,
where I celebrate Mass three times a week. I wished her a happy New Year and
proceeded to the sacristy, as she found a place in the church, attending my 7 AM
Mass. This unexpected encounter consoles me give me the motivation to work harder
– as if God was talking to me through this girl to bring people back to the
church, something I always did in my past parishes. What a great example Elsa
gave us! When everyone had spent the night celebrating and partying, her first
thought was to attend Mass at the early hours of the morning of a New Year.
This brief meeting was one of the best gifts God gave me
this Christmas season. He was telling me there is hope for the church and the
Catholic faith. I believe it was God who placed this Ethiopian girl in my path,
the first person I met and spoke to at 6:15 AM in the New Year, with a simple
question ‘where is the church?’ I realized that many of the immigrants we have
in Malta have strong faith, and maybe God is using them to bring back the
Maltese who have abandoned their faith, which according to the last survey,
only 38% attend church regularly. I asked myself, was it accidental that I met
this girl? I don’t think so. I believe that God was giving me a message that
2020 is going to be a good year for opportunities to bring people back to
church, and encourage them to be more active.
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