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.
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.
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.
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 From my unpublished auto-biography.....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.
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.
Priests and sisters at Holy Spirit, New Hyde Park, NY.
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.
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.
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......
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.