Transfiguration

Transfiguration statue by Carlo Darmanin in Lija church, Malta

On this Second Sunday of Lent, we see Jesus choosing Peter, James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him." We can ask ourselves a simple question today: Are we listening to Him? He still talks to us through Scripture, through miracles that still happen daily, through the Eucharist, through recommendations we receive from the Pope, our Bishops, and priests. Are we listening to them? Because if we don't listen to them, we're not listening to Him! And to listen attentively to them and Him, we have to learn to be silent. And notice also that the same letters that are in LISTEN are found in the word SILENT. 

Lent is doing less....

                   
Lent is also time to do a little less.....

- Less complaining about how terrible everything is around you.
- Less wasting time, idling doing nothing when you can do so much with your precious time.
- Less browsing aimlessly at worthless websites.
- Less expecting others to do things for you, while you can do so much for others yourself.
- Less finding excuses why you cannot participate in religious events.
- Less worrying about the future or regretting your mistakes of the past.
- Less finding excuses why you cannot go to confession.
- Less procrastinating and avoiding work that is expected of you.
- Less texting, while you can talk face to face with others, especially family members.
- Less keeping off physical exercise and refusing to focus on your health and well-being.
- Less clutter in your life, your room, your house, your soul.

- Less socializing until the coronavirus is eliminated from our midst.

- Less being careless about not wearing the mask and not sanitizing properly.
- Less blaming others and being irresponsible.

Lent is doing more...

Lent is a time to do a little more and a little less.....

- More of tolerating others, especially members of your family at home.
- More of showing kindness and respect to family members, because as we often say, charity begins at home.
- More patience with the elderly and with children, especially if they appear too demanding at times.
- More spending time in prayer, and you don’t have to be in a church to do this, even your room, your home.
- More spiritual reading, or even selections from the Bible.
- More browsing through spiritual websites. My blog helps set the tone for the entire day, especially during Lent, when most post are of a religious nature - just two minutes at the most.
- More time spent in silence and quiet, whenever and wherever you can find it.
- More attempts to attend daily Mass, even if at least once a week, or every other week.
- More talking positively about others and to others.
- More volunteering and giving some of your time and talent to help others.
- More affirming those around you and speak highly of everyone.
(To be continued tomorrow)

Prayer for work

Jean Francoise Millet - The Gleaners (1857)

A few days ago, I shared with you a famous painting called the 'Angelus' by J.F. Millet. Today I offer you another of his paintings called the Gleaners, as we reflect on the gift and blessing of work. Many people look at work as a chore, but our commitment to what we do is a big blessing, especially when we put our mind and heart into the work we are doing. So I offer you also this prayer on work:

For the gift of work, we are grateful in this prayer, as sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. 
We follow in the steps of our first parents, who before their fall, worked joyfully with their hands, in Your garden of Eden, Lord and Creator.
We are thankful for the dignity and creative challenge of our unique tasks.
For the work that ennobles us, that lifts up our spirits, we are grateful.
Today we take time to thank you, for those common tasks that we must perform each day, those necessary labors of life by which, according to Your divine plan, are also able to create the Kingdom here in our midst.

We daily follow in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth. With His mother Mary who gracefully worked at the domestic tasks of her home, with St Joseph working at his carpenter’s shop, with St Paul the tent-maker, with St Peter the fisherman, we too labor in love as we proclaim the mysteries of Your Gospel.

And whatever we do, as mechanics, writers, film-makers, photographers, chefs, doctors, nurses, artists, drivers, sportspeople, musicians - let everything be done with dignity, love and devotion to our duty.
Help us Lord our God, to use the work of this day to perform it with mindfulness and attention, with care and devotion - that it will be holy and healing, for us and for all the earth.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, who enhances our lives with work.

Decorating altars

Going back to the year 2000, you are here at St. Stanislaus Kostka parish in Pleasant Valley, NY, where I served for 4 glorious years between 1998 and 2002. When I arrived there the parish was a dormant community, but my involvement with the youth, the children and liturgical functions revived the life of the parish community. The pastor was even inspired to lead a renovation of the sanctuary area. One of my favorite duties was decorating the altar with symbols that pertain to that liturgical season. 

Here you see 2 different arrangements relating to Lent and Easter, the first one before the renovation, and the second one after the renovation. In the first photo you would notice various symbols relating to Holy Week with a purple backdrop in front of the altar. Among them you can see a bible, a crown of thorns, a candle, rosary beads, a prayer, a purple stole, a small cross, a container with ashes, and some forsythia, which bloomed inside after the branches were frozen in the cold New York winter months. This arrangement helped people focus more on their prayer, and created a spiritual atmosphere as they were led through Lent and Holy Week with our daily reflections during Mass. The second photo shows the arrangement with Easter lilies and geraniums of various colors, and you can admire the renovated sanctuary area with a dominant crucifix.

The saga of migration

Migration has become a topic of conversation over the past 30 to 40 years, especially since so many immigrants are trying to escape their violent and despotic tyrants and find a better home for them and their families. Someone created this clever poem, which you have to read twice. The second time, please read from the last first to the first, in reverse, and you get a totally new perspective of how we should look at immigrants.

They have no need for our help

So do not tell me

These haggard faces could belong to you and me

Should life have dealt a different hand

We need to see them for who they really are

Chancers and scroungers

Layabouts and loungers

With bombs up their sleeves

Cut-throats and thieves

They are not

Welcome here

We should make them

Go back to where they came from

They cannot

Share our food

Share our homes

Share our countries

Instead let us

Build a wall to keep them out

It is not Okay to say

These are people just like us

A place should only belong to those who are born there

Do not be so stupid to think that

The world can be looked at another way.

 

(now read from bottom to top)

 

Brian Bilston

 

The Chair of St Peter

Today the church celebrates the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, representing the primacy and leadership of the Pope as the Vicar of Christ and successor of St Peter, the first Pope. This leadership is symbolized by the symbolic chair which is situated behind the main altar at the St Peter’s Basilica. Each Cathedral in the world also has a cathedra, or chair of the Bishop, Archbishop or Cardinal that serves in that particular Diocese. The Pope’s symbolic chair has been immortalized in a magnificent sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini behind the main altar at St Peter’s Basilica. It is actually a part of the colonnade above the main altar, the massive chocolate-colored Baldacchino that dominates the interior of the basilica. Next to the chair are the 4 Fathers of the early church, St Ambrose, St John Chrysostom, St Augustine, and St Athanasius. Above the chair is a stained-glass window of the Holy Spirit in yellow texture. The bronze sculptures (statues, chair and colonnade) were crafted between 1647 and 1653 by Bernini.

Repent and Believe

On this first Sunday of Lent, we see Jesus being tempted by the devil in the desert, and then we see him in prayer, while encouraging the people to “repent and believe in the gospel.” This was the same message of John the Baptist in Advent as it was last Wednesday on Ash Wednesday. May I suggest this guideline to help you throughout your Lenten journey:
Repent - admit of your weaknesses and ask for forgiveness.
Return - come back to church where you can find comfort and consolation.
Reorient yourself - make the adjustments you need.

Re-charge yourself - to feel a better Christian.
Resolve to change - ask God to help you make the changes you need for a better life.
Rejoice - be happy with the person that is your NEW YOU.
Remember - the blessings you received, so that you don’t start taking God for granted.

Morning Prayers

O God, our Father, who makes the Light to shine out of the darkness, we thank You for waking us to see the light of this new day. Grant to us to waste none of its hours; to soil none of its moments; to neglect none of its opportunities; to fail in none of its duties. And bring us to the evening time undefeated by any temptation, at peace with ourselves, at peace with our fellow-men and women, and at peace with You.

O God, our Father, who have told us to live in fellowship with one another, keep us from everything which would make us difficult to live with today. Help us never to thoughtlessly or deliberately speak in such a way that we would hurt another person’s feelings, or wound another’s heart. Keep us from all impatience, from all irritability, and from a temper which is too quick. Keep us from eyes which are focused to find fault and from a tongue which is tuned to criticize. Keep us from being touchy, and quick to take offense, and slow to forget it. Help us not to be stubborn or obstinate, and keep us from selfishness which can see nothing but its own point of view, and which wants nothing but its own way.

Grant unto us all through this day something of the grace and beauty which shone upon our Blessed Lord. Eternal and ever blessed God, we do not know what will come to us and what will happen to us today. Whatever comes, we ask You to be our leader to guide and strengthen us, to comfort and control. If temptation comes to us, give us grace to overcome evil and to do what is right. If we have to make important decisions, give us the grace to choose the right way, and to refuse the wrong way. If it will be difficult to witness for You, give us the courage never to be ashamed to show whose we are and whom we serve. If things go well with us, keep us from all pride, and keep us from thinking we do not need You. If we shall know sorrow, failure, disappointment or loss, keep us from all despair, and help us never to give up.

Spreading Goodness

Surrounded by corruption, let me not be corrupted.

Surrounded by lies and deception, let me deal only with what is true.

Surrounded by egoism, let me be humble and altruistic.

Surrounded by envy, let me not be the cause of it.

Surrounded by hatred, let me give only love and understanding.

Surrounded by selfishness, let me give generously and freely.

Surrounded by despair, let me give hope.

Surrounded by grief, let me be charitable and caring.

Surrounded by self-importance, let me serve others.

Surrounded by killings, let me give life.

Surrounded by hunger, let me give food.

Surrounded by loneliness, let me give solace and companionship.

Surrounded by beauty, let me be thankful.

Fasting and Abstinence

Prior to 1966, Catholics practiced what some folks today might consider heavy-duty fasting. Catholics who were 21 years of age and who had not begun their 60th year were obliged under pain of mortal sin to fast every day in Lent except on Sundays. On fast days, only one full meal was allowed (either at noon or in the evening), with about two ounces of bread with coffee, tea or chocolate in the morning, and about eight ounces of food except meat for lunch or supper. On Holy Saturday, the fast ended at noon. People excused from fasting included the sick, the infirm, the convalescent, those engaged in hard labor, the poor who could not get sufficient food for their principal meal, and women bearing or nursing children. Before Vatican II, even December 24 was a day of fasting and abstinence. That’s why, to this day, many families have the tradition of eating fish on Christmas Eve. Pope St. John XXIII in 1959 said that Catholics could fast on December 23 instead if they wished. In 2014, the Archbishop of New Orleans, Louisiana said that alligator meat was permissible on Fridays during Lent, because alligator is considered part of the fish family. According to the US bishops: “Abstinence laws consider that meat comes only from animals such as chicken, cows, sheep and pigs - all of which live on land. Birds are also considered meat.” Presently, abstaining from meat is only on Ash Wednesdays and the Fridays of Lent, while fasting is only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In particular cases where a person's health prohibits fasting, they may instead try to give up some pleasure, or do more positive outreach, like almsgiving, praying, be more forgiving and helping out. 

The meaning of Lent

Naxxar parish church decorated for the Lenten season.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first of 40 days of Lent, leading towards Holy Week and Easter. The 40 days are synonymous with the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, praying before starting his public ministry. But the number 40 features in other events that are found in the Old Testament. Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with God. Elijah spent 40 days and nights walking to Mount Horeb. Moreover God sent 40 days of rain in the great flood of Noah. Finally, remember that the Hebrew people spent 40 years in the desert while travelling to the Promised Land. The word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon old word Lencten, meaning ‘spring season.’ Counting from Ash Wednesday, the 40th day is on Palm Sunday. This leads to Holy Week, which includes the Holy Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Catholics and members of other Christian religions will this year have minimal participation in the celebrations because of the coronavirus. The annual processions on Good Friday here in Malta will once again be cancelled, but all parishioners are encouraged to pray, attend daily Mass when possible, do works of charity and offer some form of penance like fasting from daily pleasures. Pope Francis has stressed the importance of focusing on these three values:  Believe, Hope and Love. As usual I will be sharing some more reflections over the Lenten season through my daily posts in this blog.

The Missing Carnival

Obviously there was no Carnival this year, not in Rio, nor in Venice, and neither in Malta. We hope people can celebrate next year, and realizing they were lucky last year as most events were cancelled because of Covid-19 just a few days after Carnival celebrations were over. However, I share with you three photos from past Carnivals here in Malta, all of them over the last 4 years. You may recognize some of the characters included, various personalities in the news who are chosen to be featured in the floats, just for fun. The last 2 photos, with the Floriana church in the background, shows that now everything turns to the season of Lent, which starts tomorrow.

3 new watercolors

I share with you today three new watercolours I did over the last few weeks. I actually started with one, then after a little research, I added a second one, and with some more deep thinking, I came up with a third one, all with the same theme – Fruits and Vegetables. You are welcome to print them and hang them in your kitchen as they will fit perfectly in there. In case you cannot name all the fruits and veggies represented, here they are. The first one shows from top to bottom: peas, pineapple, watermelon, kiwi, turnips, carrots, olives, oranges, tomatoes, avocado, eggplant, asparagus, star-fruit.

 The second painting features these veggies and fruits: bananas, artichokes, mushrooms, pumpkin, onion, purple grapes, apples, green grapes , strawberries, pears, hot peppers, pomegranate, blueberries.

The third painting features these veggies and fruits: broccoli, figs, parsnips, peppers, radishes, corn, kohl-rhabi, peaches, leek, cherries, string beans and prickly pears.

Love among us

                    

                    The Bleeding Heart, my favorite flower, known as Dicentra spectabilis

I pray that these difficult times will teach us

That health is more important than wealth.

That people we love are more precious than the things we have.

That the little things are truly the big things.

That life can be better when it’s simpler.

And most importantly that love holds us together,

And it’s the only thing that truly matters.

 

True love is when you touch someone with your spirit,

and in return they touch your soul with their heart.

 

What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things

 instead of using people and loving things.

God’s love letter - part 2

Continuing the Love Letter from God, here is the second part:

I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul ~ Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvellous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires ~ Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are broken-hearted, I am close to you ~ Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart ~ Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:3-4

 

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you ~ 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again ~ Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is ~ Will you be my child? ~ John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32

                                                                         Love, Your Dad, Almighty God 

God’s love letter – part 1

This entry is divided into 2 parts, the second part appearing tomorrow, mainly because it is a little long, but also so that you will have enough time to meditate on these scriptural quotes that shows God's continuous care of each and every one of us. It is presented as a Love Letter from God, our Creator, and it comes in as a very consoling entry to those who may be going through some rough time.

My Child ~
You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book ~ Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalm 139:13 

 

And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me ~ John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you ~ 1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your father ~ 1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father ~ Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17

Our Lady of Lourdes

The main Basilica at Lourdes

In 2019 I was able to visit Lourdes with a group of Maltese pilgrims. I celebrated Mass for them and visited many landmarks, both in Lourdes itself and in the outskirts. But the thing that impressed me the most is the holiness and sacredness of the entire place. Yes, there were of course hotels and restaurants, but every shop and souvenir stand sold only religious articles, and absolutely nothing else. And once you enter the territory of Lourdes, you feel like you really entered a sanctuary, and you have the feeling that you were in a church, even with thousands of other pilgrims around. It was a very special time for me and one really felt the presence of the Blessed Mother with you wherever you went. Of course we participated in the aux flambeaux procession in the evening and I led the Way of the Cross and other prayers. Today we commemorate the first apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes to the young girl Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. Bernadette described the Lady as dressed in white with a blue sash around her waist and two golden roses on each of her feet, and with the Rosary beads in her hands. The Lady told her that she was the 'Immaculate Conception.' The church had just proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception 4 years earlier. It took the church a few years to declare the apparitions as truly authentic, and since then over 70 miracles have taken place to people visiting Lourdes, the tiny place nestled between Spain and France at the base of the Pyrenees Mountains. The famous movie ‘The Song of Bernadette’ portrays the story of Lourdes. In it the main actress, Jennifer Jones won the Oscar for best actress.

The Shipwreck of St Paul

Jan Luyken, Shipwreck of St. Paul on Malta, 1729

Today is the national holy day as Malta celebrates the day when the faith arrived on our shores. It was the day in 60 AD when St Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta in a fierce north-easterly storm that is graphically recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, the entire chapter 27. It is a chapter that is frequently studied by sailors, oceanographers and maritime experts since it gives detailed account of how ships moved, how currents were controlled and how people travelled by primitive boats and galleys. Then chapter 28 gives us the account of the welcome that St Paul and St Luke received by the inhabitants. This first part of this beloved chapter speaks about three great qualities the Maltese people have shown to their unexpected visitors: hospitality, kindness and generosity. We are all so honored to read these chapters in our Masses today. The most popular verse in the entire Bible for all of the Maltese people is certainly this one: "Once we were on ground, we realized that the island was called Malta. The inhabitants showed us extraordinary kindness by lighting a fire and gathering us all around it." Unfortunately, because of Covid-19, the  much longed-for procession through the streets of the capital city Valletta, will not be held this year. 

Jean Millet’s Angelus

The French painter Jean Millet (1814-1875) was the son of poor people, and yet he had a talent for painting, and often he would be found painting on any piece of canvas he would find. Since his parents could not afford it, his neighbors collected enough money for his family to be able to send him to Paris to study further. However city life was not for him and he was upset his friends gave up their religious affiliation. So after he finished his course of studies, he returned to the fields of Normandy, with his wife and children, working as a farmer, and painting in the evenings scenes that were imprinted in his mind from the countryside. Among these works of art is the famous ‘Angelus’ done in 1859, where a husband and wife pause from their work as they recite the Angelus at 6PM.

St Josephine Bakhita

                                   
                         
This is an incredible story of a saint who is not well-known, but please read on. Her story is truly remarkable. She was born about 1869 in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. Her prosperous father was brother of the village chief and she was surrounded by a loving family of three brothers and three sisters. But aged 9, she was kidnapped by Arab slave traders, and was cruelly forced to walk about 600 miles in her bare feet. Over the course of twelve years (1877–1889) she was resold again three more times and then given away. The trauma of her abduction caused her to forget her own name; she took a name given to her by the slavers, bakhita, Arabic for lucky. She was also forcibly converted to Islam. In 1883 Bakhita was bought by the Italian Vice Consul Callisto Legnani, who was a very kind man. For the first time since her captivity she was able to enjoy some peace and tranquility. Two years later, when Legnani himself had to return to Italy, Bakhita begged to go with him. In April 1885 they arrived at the Italian port of Genoa, and she was greeted by Augusto Michieli, who took her to the family villa near Venice. She lived there for three years and became nanny to the Michieli's daughter Alice. The Michaelis bought some property in Sudan and wanted to move back there, but Josephine refused. Nothing saintly so far, you might say.

The tomb of St Josephine Bakhita in Schio, Italy.

On 9 January 1890 Bakhita was baptized with the names of Giuseppina Margherita. On the same day she was also confirmed and received communion from the Cardinal patriarch of Venice himself. On December 7, 1893 she entered the novitiate of the Canossian Sisters and on December 8, 1896 she took her vows, welcomed by the future Pope Pius X. In 1902 she was assigned to the Canossian convent at Schio, in the northern Italian province of Vicenza, where she spent the rest of her life. During her 42 years in Schio, Bakhita was employed as the cook, sacristan and door keeper and was in frequent contact with the local community. Her gentleness, calming voice, and ever-present smile became well known. People still refer to her as Sor Moretta ("little brown sister") or Madre Moretta ("black mother.") Her last years were marked by pain and sickness. She used a wheelchair, but she retained her cheerfulness. Bakhita died on February 8, 1947. For three days her body lay on display while thousands of people arrived to pay their respects. On May 17, 1992, she was declared Blessed and given February 8 as her feast day. On October 1, 2000, she was canonized and became Saint Josephine Bakhita, a modern African saint, and as a statement against the brutal history of slavery, becoming the patron saint of Sudan.

The value of Messi

Lionel Messi with the Golden boot trophy he won several times.

Being it’s Superbowl Sunday, we offer best wishes for superstar Tom Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs – may the best team win! However I write today about another superstar. Football fans worldwide were treated to some hot sporting gossip this ast week after superstar player Lionel Messi’s Barcelona contract was leaked. The four-year contract signed in 2017 stipulates that the 33-year-old striker-captain was promised an insane €555,237,619… most of which Messi has already received. Yes, that’s more than half a billion. That number is already outrageous and crazy at face value, but when you break it down further, it only gets crazier. Well beyond the multiple bonuses on offer (over €115 million just for renewing his contract and over €14 million for winning the Champions League being just two on the list), Messi was pocketing a bare minimum of €138,809,405 every single year. 

That’s €11,567,450 per month.

That’s €2,669,411 per week.

That’s €380,299 per day.

That’s €15,845 per hour.

That’s €264 per minute.

That’s €4 per second.

Really is any person worth so much, when so many millions are on the brink of starvation?

16 needs for today

These are 16 practical needs the world needs today:

A need for permanence in a civilization of transience.
A need for the Absolute when all else is becoming relative.
A need for silence in the midst of noise.
A need for gratuitousness in the face of unbelievable greed.
A need for poverty amid the flaunting of wealth.
A need for contemplation a century of action, for without contemplation, action risks becoming mere agitation.
A need for communication in a universe content with entertainment and sensationalism.
A need for peace amid today’s universal outbursts of violence.
A need for quality to counterbalance the increasingly prevalent response to quantity.
A need for humility to counteract the arrogance of power and science.
A need for human warmth when everything is being rationalized or computerized.
A need to belong to a small group rather than to be a part of the crowd.
A need to slowness to compensate the present eagerness for speed.
A need for truth when the real meaning of words is distorted in political speeches and sometimes even in religious discourses.
A need for transparency when everything seems opaque.
A need for the interior life, when you can discover God inside of you.

St Agatha

St. Agatha was born in Catania, Sicily, and died there a martyr in approximately 251 AD. In the legend of her life, we are told that she belonged to a rich, important family. When she was young, she dedicated her life to God and resisted any men who wanted to marry her or have sex with her. One of these men, Quintian, was of a high enough rank that he felt he could force her to acquiesce. Knowing she was a Christian in a time of persecution, he had her arrested. He expected her to give in when faced with torture and possible death, but she simply affirmed her belief in God.
Quintian imprisoned her in a brothel in order to get her to change her mind. He brought her back before him after she had suffered a month of assault and humiliation in the brothel, but Agatha had never wavered. Quintian sent her to prison, instead of back to the brothel - a move intended to make her more afraid, but which probably was a great relief to her. When she continued to profess her faith in Jesus, Quintian had her tortured by cutting off her breasts. He refused her any medical care but God gave her all the care she needed in the form of a vision of St. Peter.
Saint Agatha is often depicted in paintings carrying her excised breasts on a platter. The shape of her amputated breasts, especially as depicted in artistic renderings, gave rise to her attribution as the patron saint of bell-founders and of bakers, whose loaves were blessed at her feast day. More recently, she has been venerated as patron saint of breast cancer patients.
Because she was asked for help during the eruption of Mount Etna she is considered a protector against the outbreak of fire. She is the patron saint of Catania, Molise, Malta, San Marino and Segovia in Spain. She is also the patron saint of breast cancer patients, martyrs, wet nurses, fire and earthquakes.

The Church of the Pater Noster

The Church of the Pater Noster (Our Father) is a church located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. It is part of a Carmelite monastery, also known as the Sanctuary of the Eleona, and stands right next to the ruins of the 4th-century Byzantine Church of Eleona. In 1874 the Princesse de la Tour d'Auvergne acquired the site, then abandoned and neglected, and founded a convent of Carmelite nuns. Here she was buried in 1957, long after her death. The chapel commemorates Christ's teaching of the Lord's Prayer (Luke 11,2-4). The original church was reconstructed various times as late as 1926 when a cloister was restored to display plaques that bear the Lord’s Prayer in a total of well over 100 different languages and dialects. Among the languages there is one in Maltese, (shown above) actually in what we call the old Maltese phonetics. The present Maltese version would be this: Missierna li inti fis-smewwiet, jitqaddes Ismek, tiġi saltnatek, ikun li trid Int, kif fis-sema hekkda fl’art. Ħobżna ta’ kuljum, agħtina llum, aħfrilna dnubietna, bħalma aħna naħfru lil min hu ħati għalina, la ddaħħalniex fit-tiġrib, izda eħlisna mid-deni. Amen.

Another section of the Pater Noster church with other versions.

Capt Sir Tom Moore

 Capt Moore during his walk when he turned 100 in April 2020.

We honor today Sir Tom Moore, who died of Covid-19, an unknown person until a few months ago when he stunned the world as he turned 100, marching in laps around his home and raising tens of millions for NHS charities, to mark the approach of his 100th birthday. After an incredible life, last November the fundraising hero and Second World War veteran became the oldest person to ever appear on the cover of British GQ magazine. Sir Tom was knighted by Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle in July last year after his heroic fundraising campaign captured the nation's hearts during some of the darkest months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Captain Tom set out to raise £1,000 for the NHS by walking the length of his garden in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire. In the end he would raise more than £30 million and become a beacon of hope for Britain. On the morning of his centenary, on April 30 last year, the Second World War veteran was saluted in his garden with a flypast by a Hawker Hurricane and a Spitfire. The pilots dipped their wings in a heartfelt salute to his fundraising marathon. He turned to the TV crew across the lawn and said with a twinkle: 'I can't believe all this fuss is for me – and only because I went for a little stroll!' In fact, his efforts raised £32.8million for NHS Charities Together – plus another £6.1million in gift aid, taking the total to £38.9million. Rest in Peace, Sir Tom.

Presentation of Jesus

40 days have passed since Christmas, and this celebration of the Presentation of Jesus is very meaningful, especially when we consider some Jewish traditions which the Holy Family was obliged to observe. Whenever a mother gave birth to a first-born son, she would be considered impure for a whole week, and would not be permitted to enter the temple for a duration of 40 days. She would then spend the rest of the 33 days confined to her home. On the 40th day, which would be February 2nd, she would go to the temple for the ceremony of purification, besides having her son circumcised. The parents were also expected to present a gift to the High Priest, a pair of sheep if they were wealthy or a pair of turtle-doves if they were poor. Simeon received the infant Jesus at the temple and so on this occasion a triple ceremony was done, circumcision, purification and presentation, all of which have been combined together by the Catholic church as the Feast of the Presentation, beautifully portrayed in the above stained-glass window in the Cathedral in Baker City, Oregon, where I was pastor for 8 glorious years between 2005 and 2013. These stained-glass windows were crafted in 1923, and are now 98 years old.