Monday 31 October 2022

A windmill sunset

Just this week they installed a beautiful windmill close to our Retirement Home at Hilltop Gardens in Naxxar. And of course, I was waiting for a spectacular sunset to get some photos with the windmill in the foreground. So, enjoy these four photos as I look forward to more similar photos with a landmark that is by far much more attractive than the tower cranes, electricity poles and wires hanging all over the place. 

Sunday 30 October 2022

Enlightening our churches

A very wealthy person built a new church high in the mountains. It was a very beautiful church, and all the neighbors went to see it when it opened officially. However, an older parishioner noticed that there were no lights, and when it got dark in the evening, the church was pitch dark. The wealthy man spoke in place of the pastor and told them: ‘We are giving a light bulb to each family, and when you come to church, bring it along and place it in one of the hundreds of sockets we left visible and accessible at eye level. If you don’t attend, your place will be left in the dark, and the more people attend, the more lit up the church would be. The parishioners got the message loud and clear, and were always present for Mass, even daily Mass. We can ask ourselves: how much are we enlightening our churches by our presence.

Saturday 29 October 2022

Flores, bursting with vocations

A church in the diocese of Flores

While 85% of Indonesians are Muslims, the island of Flores, which is part of this archipelago, with a population of 1.9 million, is happy to report that 70% of the inhabitants are Catholic. The Seminary in this island is bursting to the seams with seminarians. The Verbite Missionaries, who run the local Seminary takes care of no less than 1200 seminarians. The 5 dioceses that are in Flores have 847 priests, and 646 local seminarians studying. The local Bishop said he is sending hundreds of missionary priests, because the family soil is very fertile, and parents are very proud of their sons who are called to the priesthood. Most of the inhabitants are poor farmers, but they emphasize good education for their children, and even here the local church helps out too. And everyone is very appreciative of their priests, whom they admire and hold in high regard. 

Friday 28 October 2022

These children......

Back in 2006, I was starting my 8-year stay at the Cathedral of Baker City in Eastern Oregon. I learned early in life to always be prepared for what the children come up with, as these two cute episodes describe. From my unpublished auto-biography.....

Children are so unpredictable, and you have no idea what they come out with. Two really funny situations happened with two 3-year-olds. One of them was a boy who apparently was brought to the nursery class for the first time, and another older child was showing him around the hall, the office and the church, and while climbing the steps towards the Rectory, he met me as he started saying all that he knew.....”I am three years old....I know the whole alphabet.....I know the numbers up to 20.......I’m a good boy.....and.... I am potty-trained!” Apparently, it is a big accomplishment for any child to be potty-trained.

Then towards the end of the classes when the children were leaving, a young girl was being led out by one of the teachers, Cathy Fisk. This girl was not Catholic but comes to class and is always enthused by everything she sees. Cathy was introducing her to me, and telling her that I live right there, in the Rectory. Not being convinced enough, she asked “Where do you live?” I told her I live right there, and my room is up the steps, to which she answered, “And is your honey up there too?”

Earlier in my years in New York, I was invited for dinner at a large family, and arriving a few minutes late, I was greeted with a chorus of children saying at the door, ‘Good evening, Father Julian, but you are 7 minutes late!’ So eager where they to have me in their company.

Thursday 27 October 2022

Padre Pio and the media

St Pio of Pietrelcina died in 1968, before the computer and cell-phone-age, but he was aware that movies were very popular at his time, and mass-media was changing the world, as it actually has. In his book ‘Padre Pio: The True story,’ the author, Bernard Ruffin, says that Padre Pio rarely watched the TV they had in their convent, other than the funeral of Pope Pius XII and John XXIII. He didn’t really like TV because he knew the danger it was causing to many people. Certainly, his confessional was a witness to this. He used to say, ‘Whoever invented the refrigerator is going to heaven, but whoever invented Television, is going down under....’ His prophecy became so true as we see this happening in just about every family....’instead of talking among themselves, the members of each family spend the evening staring at the TV set.’ He didn’t like cinema either, and often compared it to the work of the devil. However, many films were made even about him and religious themes, and thanks to these, we can learn about his life and the lives of other saints.

Wednesday 26 October 2022

From 40 years ago

Priests and sisters at Holy Spirit, New Hyde Park, NY.
When I first arrived in New York in 1981, in Holy Spirit Parish in New Hyde Park, on Long Island, we were 6 priests in the Rectory and there were 13 nuns in the adjacent convent. But 6 years later, we ended up only 3 priests, and there were 3 sisters left. I would imagine that the majority of them are deceased by now, probably one still alive, and of the priests, 3 of them had died by 1988. The first photo shows the whole group together, with the13 Dominican nuns and the 6 priests, including a Filipino priest and a Jesuit. 
8 of the Dominican sisters with my parents in 1982
My parents had visited me on a few occasions, and they stayed in the convent with the nuns, where you can see them with some of the nuns in their garden. Both these photos were taken in 1982, 40 years ago.

Tuesday 25 October 2022

Alec Guinness’ conversion

Alec Guinness played the part of Father Brown, the fictitious character created by G. K. Chesterton. One day while filming in France, he was walking back to the hotel still in his cassock, when a young boy approached him, took his hand and walked with him, feeling very safe with ‘the priest.’ The boy talked to him in French, but Alec did not know any French but kept walking with the boy. At one moment the boy told him ‘Au revoir, mon pere’ (Goodbye, Father.) Alec Guinness was so impressed by this incident and realized how much of an impact the image of a priest has on people, including young children. He reflected on how the Catholic church can have such a big impact on people and inspire trust even in young children. After the filming, Guinness used to stop by daily at a church. He had a son with polio, and promised God that if his son recovers, he will not obstruct his wish to be baptized. In fact, his son Matthew was fully healed by the age of 15. Then even Alec himself started talking to a priest, made a retreat in a Trappist monastery. While filming in Los Angeles one day, he even attended a Mass with Grace Kelly. Within a few months he became Catholic and so did his wife and they remained practicing Catholics all their life. 

Monday 24 October 2022

Some interesting trivia

The dot over the letter "i" is called a tittle. 

 A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top. 

 Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood. 

 There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with orange, purple and silver. 

 The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin in World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo. 

 The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the USA.' 

 The original name for butterfly was flutterby. (And that is a more accurate description) 

 Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.  

 Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying. 

 The glue on Israeli postage is certified kosher. 

 The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from public libraries. 

 Bats always turn left when exiting a cave!

The Marx Brothers were Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo and Chico.

The Three Stooges were Larry, Curly and Moe.

The Seven Dwarfs were: Happy, Doc, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Bashful, Dopey.

Sunday 23 October 2022

Elvis and the Rosary

Elvis Presley, who was baptized within an Evangelical Christian community, was no stranger to Christian music. He released several albums of Gospel music, with tunes like: “He Touched Me,” “Amazing Grace,” and “How Great Thou Art.” Still, it seems strange that a Protestant would record a song about the Rosary.  His song “Miracle of the Rosary” is not one of his most famous songs, but it is an interesting and mysterious one. This is how “Miracle of the Rosary” came to be. It was written by Presley’s long-time friend, Lee Denson. Lee was the son of Rev. James Denson, who ran the Poplar Street Mission, a Pentecostal church, which the Presley family attended after moving to Memphis in 1948. Lee is the one who taught Elvis to play the guitar when he was 13. In 1960, Denson wrote an English version of “Ave Maria,” which his publisher had no interest in. Remembering his friend Elvis’ love of Gospel music, he dropped in and played it for “The King.” Elvis enjoyed the tune, but nothing ever came of it. Then, over a decade later, Presley surprised Denson with a recording of “Miracle of the Rosary” for his 1972 album, Elvis Now. “Miracle of the Rosary” is truly miraculous in its own way, as it is the only song about the Rosary to ever be recorded by a major artist and released on a major label. It is also a bit of a miracle Elvis remembered it for over a decade, after hearing it only once. And it is miraculous and mysterious that two Pentecostal boys felt called to record a song about one of the most sacred Catholic devotions and sacramentals. Listen to it in this short video......

Saturday 22 October 2022

St John Paul the Great

Pope John Paul with saints he canonized
We celebrate today the liturgical feast of the Man of the 20th century. Pope Saint John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18th, 1920 in Poland and became the first non-Italian Pope in almost 400 years. Also known as John Paul the Great, he reigned from October 16th, 1978, until his death on April 2nd, 2005. He was the second longest-serving Pope in modern history after Pope Pius IX who served for nearly 32 years from 1846 to 1878.

As a young boy, he lost his mother at the age of 8 and his father when he was 21. He even had to work at a limestone quarry, but then started his studies at the underground seminary run by Cardinal Sapieha in Krakow. He was ordained a priest on November 1, 1946, and after further studies, he ended up teaching at the Jagiellonian University. He was made a bishop on July 4, 1958, and later became Archbishop of Krakow on June 26, 1967. He remained very staunch to his faith in Poland, even when he became a Cardinal 3 years later. His election as Pope was a big surprise as Pope John Paul I died suddenly after 33 days, and the trend was to elect Italian Popes, but the white smoke showed that a new Pope was chosen on October 16, 1978, aged 58, relatively young for a Pope.
At the balcony he waved to the thousands gathered in the Piazza and said “the cardinals have called for a new bishop of Rome. They called him from a faraway land — far and yet always close because of our communion in faith and Christian traditions. I was afraid to accept that responsibility, yet I do so in a spirit of obedience to the Lord and total faithfulness to Mary, our most Holy Mother.”

John Paul II is recognized as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. He upheld the Church's teachings against artificial contraception and the ordination of women, supported the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reform, and in general held firm to orthodox Catholic stances. He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,340 people and canonized 483 saints, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. He was very much devoted to the Blessed Mother, well respected in his native Poland, especially with the famous Black Madonna, and he even chose his motto as Totus Tuus, “Totally Yours,” even with the letter M on his coat-of-arms.
John Paul II's cause for canonization commenced in 2005 one month after his death with the traditional five-year waiting period waived. His successor Pope Benedict XVI beatified him on May 1st, 2011, after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints attributed one miracle to him, the healing of a French nun from Parkinson's disease. A second miracle, attributed to the late pope, was approved and confirmed by Pope Francis two days later. John Paul II was canonized on 27 April 2014, alongside Pope John XXIII.


Friday 21 October 2022

Strange Language ?

Among the many e-mails I receive, there’s always one that sticks out of all the others for a sense of originality. This one came to me and I read it with a breeze, but some people cannot manage it so easily. It’s easier than you may think.....

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55% of the  plepoe can.i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Thursday 20 October 2022

Prayer by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This prayer was written by Lutheran minister Dietrich Bonhoeffer, while awaiting execution in a Nazi prison.

In me there is darkness, but with You, there is Light.
I am lonely, but You do not leave me.
I am feeble in heart, but with You there is help.
I am restless, but with You there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with You there is patience.
I do not understand Your ways, but You know the way for me.
Restore me to liberty and enable me so to live now.
That I may answer before You and before me.
Lord, whatever this day may bring, may Your name be praised.

Wednesday 19 October 2022

Heather Bell

One day, a renowned botanist was examining the Heather Bell, a flower that grows in the Highlands around Scotland. As he was looking through a microscope, a shepherd herding sheep approached him, and asked what he was doing. Instead of trying to explain to him what he was doing, the botanist invited him to look through the microscope. The lonely shepherd was amazed at what he saw and exclaimed ‘Oh my God! and I’ve been stepping on them all my life!’ Maybe we too can look around the small minute miracles God gives us daily and see if we can observe something even more beautiful than a few leaves with flowers. Then again, we can look at people whom we tend to take for granted sometimes and see how much kindness and generosity and talents they are gifted with. 

Tuesday 18 October 2022

BBC – 100 years old

It was on October 18, 1922, when the British Broadcasting Corporation was founded. It actually started transmissions on November 14, 1922, with the voice of Arthur Burrows, the director of programmes saying with a crackling voice on Short Wave radio: ‘This is 2LO, Marconi House, London Calling.’ One hundred years later, it still is a media giant, even though budget cuts and changing media scenarios are raising repeated questions about its future. BBC World Service broadcasts in 42 languages to about 464 million people a week globally. I was a fan of Short-Wave radio in my teenage years, and I even used to receive the monthly magazine ‘London Calling,’ while trying to listen to various programmes with all the expected interference and atmospheric noise. We wish the very best to a priceless service that have kept us connected for the past 100 years.

Monday 17 October 2022

St Ignatius of Antioch

I am always surprised by the fact that so few parents name their children for well-known saints, whose names are hardly ever chosen at baptisms. Truly, how many children or adults do you know named Ignatius, Joachim, Lazarus, Stephen, Zacchaeus, Nicodemus, Cyril, Jacinta, Gregory, Matthias, Barnabas, Benedict, Alphonsus, Pio, Jerome, Jude, Leo, Cecilia, Agatha, and may others? St Ignatius of Antioch was a disciple of St John the Evangelist. He converted to Christianity and St. Peter appointed him as Bishop of Antioch, a major city back then. He wrote various letters to communities he would visit, as St. Paul did. He was the first person to use the word Catholic. When he was condemned to death at the Coliseum, eaten by lions, very few people knew that more Christians would join the Catholic church, because of his witness and strong faith till the end. Since he knew most of the apostles, what he wrote was considered to be very authentic, because he had heard it from the mouths of those who were closest to Jesus. Too bad they were not included in the Bible.

Sunday 16 October 2022

Mo Salah, a true champion


The beloved Liverpool football player Mohammed Salah is known for his goals against opposing teams who face Liverpool. His generosity may not be known as much as his goals for the Anfield Team. Last August, a fire destroyed a Coptic church in his native Egypt, and 41 people died. Salah donated $155,000 to have the church rebuilt, and help the families. In 2019, a terrorist attack killed 20 people, and he gave $2.9 million to the Egyptian National Cancer Institute. He gave a further half a million dollars for new equipment in a Children’s Cancer hospital. In 2020, during Covid-19, he paid for the petrol of all those waiting to fill up their cars in a petrol station. The Sunday Times reported that Mo Salah is the eighth most generous person in the United Kingdom. He even had convinced a family who was robbed to give some money to the person who did the robbery! And he worked to find him a new job. Salah is a champion on the football field, but even more impressive is his kindness and generosity to those who need any kind of help. 

Saturday 15 October 2022

A Prayer by Caryll Houselander

Sunrise in Malta on October 15, 2022
Be born in us, INCARNATE LOVE.
Take our flesh and blood and give us Your humanity.
Take our eyes and give us Your vision.
Take our minds and give us Your pure thought.
Take our feet and set them in Your path.
Take our hands and fold them in Your prayer.
Take our hearts and give them Your will to love. 

Friday 14 October 2022

Lord, let me be like you....

Let me Lord, wait for You, patiently.
Speak to You, eloquently.
Think of You, thoughtfully.
Smile at You, happily.
Work for You, arduously.
Follow You, faithfully.
Dream of You, meditatingly.
Write about You, spiritually.
Yearn for You, eagerly.
Forgive like You, mercifully.
Love like You, unconditionally,
Rejoice with You, enthusiastically.
Read about You, diligently.
Feel for others like You, compassionately.
Pray like You, devotionally.
Hope like You, trustfully.
Give like You, generously.
Repent like You, sincerely.
Act like You, courageously.
Persevere like You, whole-heartedly.
Be like You, peacefully and prayerfully.

Thursday 13 October 2022

Our Lady of Fatima

Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta.

Along with Rome, Lourdes and Guadalupe, Fatima is the most visited country as far as religious pilgrimages are concerned. Very much like Lourdes and Guadalupe, the quietness of this small little village was turned upside down when the Blessed Mother appeared to 3 young children, Francisco and his sister Jacinta Marto, and Lucia dos Santos. Nobody would believe them at first, and they were almost imprisoned for fabricating lies. But eventually, religious leaders, priests and bishops in Fatima, Portugal investigated the whole story and found it to be true, with the Vatican officially proclaiming that the apparitions were believable. Francisco and Jacinta died shortly afterwards, but Lucia became a nun and lived into the third millennium in a monastery in Portugal, being visited by 2 Popes. A huge basilica was built on the spot where the Blessed Mother appeared to the children, encouraging them to pray the Rosary, and pray for the conversion of souls. She even gave the children some well-kept secrets, which were only shown to the reigning Popes, but we know now that they spoke about the conversion of Russia and other tragic events that took place over the years, and other historic events which were predicted, like the end of World War I. Thousands of pilgrims visit Fatima every year, and the devotion to the Blessed Mother and the Rosary spread far and wide. The prayer that is said between each decade of the Rosary was devised after the Fatima apparition: O my Jesus forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who have most need of thy mercy.

Wednesday 12 October 2022

Madonna of the Street

                       
I am sure you have all seen this painting sometime in your life. It is known as the ‘Madonna of the Street,’ ‘The Madonna of Rest,’ and also simply as ‘the Madonna of Ferruzzi,’ the name of the artist. The painting was made in 1896 by the painter Roberto Ferruzzi (1853-1934). The story of how it came about is quite striking. In Luvigliano, Angelina Cian, still eleven years old, was noticed by a painter, holding her little brother in her arms. The artist was struck by the beauty and candor of the scene, and decided to make a portrait of it, an oil on canvas which he titled "the Gypsy". With it, the author won the second Venice Biennale in 1897, in which he participated with the intent of representing a "Maternity". Thanks to the extraordinary expressive sweetness, the painting had an enormous popular success, so much so that the second name of "Maternity" was changed, by popular acclaim, to "Madonnina". The work was purchased for 30,000 lire, an astronomical figure for those times. The Alinari brothers, owners of the well-known photographic house, also bought the painting. However, before reselling it, they reserved the right of reproduction of any kind. Unfortunately, traces of the original have been lost. Purchased by an American during the Second World War, it seems to have perished with the sinking of the ship that transported it to America. Some argue because of a storm, others because of the torpedoing of the Germans. We know of this masterpiece thanks to the photographic reproductions of the Alinari Brothers, who made it known to us in a thousand reproductions. Angelina Cian (the mother), in 1906, married to Antonio Bovo, emigrated to the United States of America to look for a job. She eventually entered a convent and became a nun.

Detail of Ferruzzi's lost painting of the Madonna.

Then in 1984, in California, the mother in the picture, Sister Angelina Bovo, who was orphaned at an early age, wanted to know more about her parents, their country of origin and the reasons for their emigration to America in Oakland, California. She obtained permission from her superiors to travel to Italy to research her origins. Two elderly aunts, her mother's sisters, were alive: 88-year-old Aunt Elisa and 80-year-old Aunt Giulia. Aunt Giulia took her to visit the family home, the one where her mother grew up in Luvigliano. In one room there was a painting, the reproduction of the Madonna by Ferruzzi. "This Madonna is your mother," says Aunt Giulia. "I know," replied the nun, expressing faith in the Madonna, Mother of all believers.

Tuesday 11 October 2022

Vatican Council II – 60 years ago

Vatican Council II in session in St. Peter's Basilica
Being elected Pope on October 28, 1958, Pope St. John XXIII waited only three months to shock the Roman Curia when he announced that he will convene the 21st Ecumenical Council in the history of the Church. It has been 92 years since the last one was held in 1870, and preparations started immediately for the Vatican to be transformed into a huge meeting hall for the arrival of all the Bishops and Cardinals. Cardinal Montini remarked to a friend that "this holy old boy doesn't realize what a hornet's nest he's stirring up". From the Second Vatican Council came changes that reshaped the face of Catholicism: a comprehensively revised liturgy, a stronger emphasis on ecumenism, and a new approach to the world. Probably the most visible and tangible change was the way we celebrate Mass nowadays, from the former Latin to the vernacular. 
Pope St. John XXIII, and Bishops in procession.
Succeeding St. John XXIII, St. Paul VI fostered improved ecumenical relations with Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants, which resulted in a number of historic meetings and agreements. Paul VI was the Pope of Vatican II and the reforms emanating from it.  Four future Popes would also be present at the Council, St. Paul VI, Blessed John Paul I, St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who were either Cardinals, Bishops or special invitees to the Council. 16 Documents were promulgated during the Council, between Constitutions, Decrees, or Declarations, all of which are today considered important Documents. Four major sessions were held, usually between October and December of 4 successive years, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965, when the Council ended in December. As many as 2,200 bishops attended, seated inside the Basilica in specially arranged platforms on each side, with a main aisle in the center.

Monday 10 October 2022

Norman Rockwell’s funniest

I have always admired Norman Rockwell’ posters, as being patriotic, realistic and outright funny. Rockwell was born in New York City on February 3, 1894, and died in Stockbridge, Massachusetts on November 8, 1978, aged 84. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was a prolific artist who painted hundreds of posters of American life in the 1920s, 1930s and beyond. Many of them have featured in the front page of the Saturday Evening Post. He is also noted for his 64-year relationship with the Boys Scouts of America, during which he produced covers for their publication ‘Boy’s Life’, calendars, and other illustrations. This poster I feature today is one of the funniest I found and shows a sailor being tattooed on his arm. The funny thing about it is, you can see from the detail shown hereunder is the list of girls he must have dated in his life. So, starting from the top of his shoulder, the names are listed in order, and repeatedly crossed out when he must have found another girlfriend while touring the many bays and harbors while in the Navy.

The sailor's romantic journey - Click to enlarge

Sunday 9 October 2022

Willie Apap

Today I am planning to visit an exhibition of artwork by Willie Apap, a Maltese artist who left us a large number of paintings, which have been exhibited until today in the island of Gozo. The show was organized by my sister-in-law Maria Cassar, and on show are over 100 works. I share with you today just one of my favorites. It's an ink drawing of St Francis of Assisi. It shows the saint as lover of animals with his hands lifted up as a number of birds hover around him, rejoicing in his presence. Born in 1918, Willie Apap studied at the Malta Government School of Art and then at the Regis Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, where he eventually stayed most of his life, visiting Malta occasionally. His works include many with a religious theme, as well as scenes from Brazil, Argentina and Rome. He died at the age of 51 in Rome on February 4, 1970.

Saturday 8 October 2022

The Secret

One day, one friend asked another, ““How is it that you are always so happy? You have so much energy, and you never seem to get down.”  With her eyes smiling, she said, ““I know the Secret!””

““What secret is that?”  To which she replied, “I’ll tell you all about it, but you have to promise to share the Secret with others.” The Secret is this: "I have learned there is little I can do in my life that will make me truly happy. I must depend on God to make me happy and to meet my needs. When a need arises in my life, I have to trust God to supply according to HIS riches. I have learned most of the time I don’t need half of what I think I do. He has never let me down. Since I learned that `Secret’, I am happy.”

The questioner’s first thought was, “That’s too simple!” But upon reflecting over her own life, she recalled how she thought a bigger house would make her happy, but it didn’t! She thought a better paying job would make her happy, but it hadn’t. When did she realize her greatest happiness? Sitting on the floor with her grandchildren, playing games, eating pizza or reading a story, listening to beautiful music, watching a sunset, a simple gift from God. Now you know it too! We can’t depend on PEOPLE to make us happy. Only GOD in His infinite wisdom can do that. Trust HIM! And now I pass the Secret on to you! So, once you get it, what will you do? YOU have to tell someone the Secret, too! That GOD in His wisdom will take care of YOU!

Friday 7 October 2022

Our Lady of the Rosary

Painting in Balzan church, Malta.

October 7 is a special day for all devotees of the Rosary. The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary has an interesting history, since its name and its date were changed a few times over the decades. It all started with an apparition of the Blessed Mother to Saint Dominic in a church in Prouille, France in 1208. The ordinary people wanted a prayer they could say since the priests were able to read the 150 Psalms in Latin in their Breviary. So, they started saying 150 Hail Maries. They became monotonous, so they divided them in 50, 50 and 50, reflecting on three mysteries, Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious.  Then each 50 were divided further into decades, using Rosary beads to count. Everything stayed the same until 2002 when Pope St John Paul II introduced the Luminous Mysteries to be said on Thursdays. Incidentally these were the same 5 mysteries that the first Maltese Saint George Preca had suggested to his students to pray, back in 1955. After various plagues in the 13th and 14th centuries, the people had abandoned the recitation of the Rosary, until the Blessed Mother appeared to another Dominican, Blessed Alan de la Roche to encourage the devotion among the people. Then in 1571, Pope Pius V, himself a Dominican instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory to celebrate the victory of the Christians against the Turks at Lepanto, soon after the Great Siege of Malta, also against the Ottoman Empire.  Two years later, Pope Gregory XIII changed the name of the feast to ‘Feast of the Holy Rosary.’ Until 1716, the feast was always celebrated on the first Sunday in October, and in the 20th century, two further changes placed the feast as we know it nowadays. First it as Pope Pius X who assigned the feast for October 7th each year, and then Pope Blessed Paul VI in 1969 changed the name to Our Lady of the Rosary.

Thursday 6 October 2022

Alzheimer’s Patient

This touching story told by a nurse. But I can assure you that something like this happens every day in many nursing homes. I’ve seen them myself often. It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am, when an elderly gentleman, in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him.  I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his stitches and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. I asked him if he had a doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer Disease. As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound, I asked if she would be worried if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.  I was surprised and asked him. "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are? He smiled as he patted my hand and said... "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is."  I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps, and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life." True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

Wednesday 5 October 2022

Meaningful Prayers

This was quoted by Blessed Pope John Paul I during one of the few general audiences he led at the Vatican on September 13, 1978.

‘Lord, take me as I am, with my defects and shortcomings,

but make me become, what you want me to be.

Another similar prayer was shared by Fr Mychal Judge OFM Cap, one of the first victims of September 11, 2001, who was the chaplain of the NYC Fire Department.

Lord, take me where You want me to go.
Let me meet who You want me to meet.
Tell me what You want me to say.
And keep me out of Your way
.

Tuesday 4 October 2022

St Francis of Assisi

As we celebrate today the feast of the beloved Francis of Assisi, may I remind you of the prayer attributed to him: "Make me an instrument of your Peace." As we reflect on it, I decided to add a few more phrases to this prayer:

Where there is disagreement, let me create consensus.
Where there is impatience, let me create tolerance.
Where there is egoism, let me show altruism.
Where there is indifference, let me show genuine interest.
Where there is division, let me bring unity and peace.
Where there is competition, let me create a sense of teamwork.
Where there is cheating, let me create a spirit of honesty.
Where there is discouragement, let me create encouragement.
Where there is confusion, let me bring order.
Where there is struggle, let me add and instil perseverance.
Where there is loneliness, let me bring in companionship.
Where there is too much seriousness, let me bring in a sense of humor.
And where these is spiritual apathy, let me show commitment, prayerfulness and devotion.

Monday 3 October 2022

Guardian Angels

Yesterday was the feast of the Guardian Angels and we did not celebrate it since it fell on a Sunday, but I thought of sharing this reflection today, since I am very fond of angels. Praying with the angels is a heavenly blessing that even Jesus had. On Holy Thursday, he asked Peter, James and John to pray with him, but they fell asleep. Praying alone in his pain, an angel came to minister to Jesus. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.” (Luke 22:43) Our Lord Himself alludes to the great number of angels during His arrest when He tells Peter, Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53.) It’s been a common practice for Catholic nurses to recite prayers to the angel of the Garden of Gethsemane so that they could be strong in tending to the patients entrusted to their care, particularly during the long and lonely hours of the night. This traditional prayer to the Angel of Gethsemane calls down the grace of God upon those we pray for, through the intercession of the very angel who comforted Jesus on the night of His Passion.
O Angel of Gethsemane, chosen by the Father to bring strength and consolation to Jesus during His agony, I ask you to be with me now as I keep watch over my loved one who is sick and suffering. Help me to offer my best care, love and protection to this child of God. May my words and my touch be filled with gentleness, my presence bring comfort, and my prayers bring rest and healing sleep. Do what I cannot do, O loving Angel, to bring healing and strength to soul and body, according to the Father’s will. Amen.

Sunday 2 October 2022

From Fame to Faith

When I arrived in New York in the early 1980s, my first sports hero was baseball star Darryl Strawberry, a tall, slim yet strong outfielder for the New York Mets. I followed his every swing, which led him to hit 335 career homeruns, 1000 RBIs, earn three World Series rings (1 with NY Mets, and 2 with NY Yankees.) After 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, he has shared how his faith has helped him turn his life around and provided him much joy and strength. In his book Turn Your Season Around: How God Transforms Your Life, the former baseball star explains how rediscovering his faith allowed him to find the right path in life. This well-known baseball hero explained how his former life of fame and fortune led him down the wrong path. Despite all the material wealth, something was still missing. In fact, Strawberry explains, “inside I was broken.” He goes on to acknowledge his mom’s role in his transformation. As a very devout Christian, she felt her son was “lost in sin.” While many parents may wish to pray for their child’s continued outward success, Strawberry shared that his mom prayed that “God would knock me off my throne.” In finding his faith, Strawberry describes this as a victory for his mom: even though it was something she only got to witness in her eternal life. Yet, this victory is one that has brought so much joy to the sportsman. He now travels the country preaching the Gospel and his infectious love of God. In growing close to God, Strawberry has found that he gains strength in the joy of the Lord. And this ultimately has given him freedom inside, far from the baseball field and his former life of sin. In this video he talks about his life transformation and his discovery of his faith in Jesus.

Darryl interviewed about his life changing road.