Our Lady of Sorrows

Mater Dolorosa statue at Zejtun parish

Even though the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on September 15, there is a special devotion which culminates today in many European countries, in particular my native Malta. It is by far the most devotional feast in the entire year, where people go to confession, and participate in Masses celebrated throughout the day, even in factories and places of work. This is something which I did in a Car Assembly plant between 1977 and 1981, and presently at 2 places of work at AX offices, the company that runs Hilltop Gardens. But the highlight of the day is usually the procession with the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, held in practically every parish, through the streets of the respective town or village. 

Thousands of people follow the statue of Mary

Normal life stops for a few hours as people follow the statue of the Sorrowful Mother, pray rosaries, sing hymns and some even walk barefoot in a sense of deeper penance. Some women who had experienced a rough pregnancy make a vow to the Blessed Mother that they would walk with their baby in their arms if they had a safe delivery. They even go as far as kneel down when the procession pauses or stops for a brief time. Some men walk in hooded masks to protect their anonymity as they too make vows of their own, especially after a healing, a job promotion, or something good that they prayed for. It is a blessing seeing churches filled with people as I just did this morning. I told the people that as they showed up to honor Mary today, remember that Her Son is here every day, along with his mother, and you can also receive Him in your heart every single day.  It is the official start of Holy Week celebrations, which culminates on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Please stay tuned as more memories from Malta will appear here over the next week.

A true Catholic artist

                           

                                     The artist with the Padre Pio sculpture
One of the most popular, realistic and devout artists is Timothy Schmalz, a 54 year old sculptor from Ontario, Canada. I’ve been following his career for over 2 decades, and recently he came up with two fascinating projects. The first one shows Padre Pio of Pietrelcina encircled with Jesus’ mother, Mary, sculpted in a ribbon. “It's the ribbon for breast cancer, and many people around the world have that ribbon as a symbol of all cancer,” Schmalz said, adding that people frequently pray to Padre Pio when they have a family member suffering from cancer. But the ribbon doubles as something else: a fish — an ancient symbol of Christianity — facing upward toward the sky. Inside the outline of the ribbon (or fish), Mary is depicted looking down on Padre Pio in a way that Schmalz likens to a pietà. Padre Pio’s gloved hands reach out, inviting passersby to touch them.

Timothy Schmalz with one of the stations in Orlando, FL

His second project, once finished, will be a life-size set of the 14 Stations of the Cross — scenes depicting Christ’s journey from being condemned to death to his burial — placed right next to Disney World. The faithful will be able to encounter the 12-foot-tall, 11-feet-wide sculptures at the Basilica of Our Lady, Queen of the Universe, in Orlando, Florida. His new Stations of the Cross, he hopes, will serve as a tool for evangelization and conversion for the roughly 50 million people who visit Disney each year. “I hope to rival Universal Studios, Walt Disney and every other feature in Orlando by creating what has never been done before, and that is one of the biggest, most complex Stations of the Cross,” Schmalz said.

Prayer for Christ Crucified

All you who are crying, come to Him, because He is crying too.

All you who are suffering, come to Him, because he can heal you.

All you who are afraid, come to Him, because He always has a smile waiting for you.

All you who are hungry, come to Him, because He’ll feed you the Living Bread.

All you who are in darkness, come to Him, because He will guide you with His Light.

All you who are lost, search for His guiding hand, and you will never get lost from now on.

All you who feel persecuted, come to Him because He had his share of persecution too.

All you who are lonely, come close to Him, because He too was very lonely on the Cross.

All you who feel being punished unfairly, just look at Him. He died for you, unfairly.

All you who are dying, come to Him, and you will live forever.

Hurry ! Hurry ! Hurry !

In this frenetic world we are living in, all we hear around are shouts of ‘Hurry! Run ! Quick! I don’t have time to waste...don’t be late...don’t delay, Hurry !’ Hurried people complain that others are so slow. Busy folks complain that they don’t have time for the little things others ask them about. We’ve heard the phrase ‘Haste makes waste,’ and so we have to do things all over again if they are done carelessly. We are always rushing around going from one project to another. We put a tea-bag for some tea, and we can’t wait an extra two minutes, but have to squeeze that tea-bag and hope it cools off quickly. We make some coffee, and we can’t wait until it cools off, and some of us, including myself, sometimes place an ice-cube to speed up cooling. We all know that the best soup is that which is cooked slowly on ‘medium’ and longer on ‘low.’ Yet others go as far as micro-waving a bowl of soup! Not to mention our impatience in traffic. Horns beeping, drivers shouting and cursing each other, road rage galore, near misses as someone may be 5 seconds late for a meeting. And how often you encounter a crazy young driver in a red sports car, like a Camaro or Corvette, speeding by your side, and then find him stuck at the traffic light down the road, just in front of you! Thank God in Malta they raised the fine for using a cell-phone while driving a car, and so far the number of accidents have decreased. So, slow down!

Prayer to Mary by the Pope – part 2

Pope Francis' prayer for the Consecration of Ukraine and Russia (first part yesterday): 

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside. Holy Mother of God, on the cross, Jesus said to John the apostle: “Behold, your Mother.” Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope,” water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen.

Prayer to Mary by the Pope – part 1

The Vatican has released the prayer that Pope Francis prayed on Friday, March 25, to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is a shorter version of the long prayer, in two parts.

O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid. At the wedding at Cana, you said to Jesus: “They have no wine.”  Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.
Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.
Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.
Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.
Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.
Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.
Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.
Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.
Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

Good Friday processions – miniature – part 2

Continuing my miniature procession I started yesterday, feast your eyes on this intricate display by very talented and patient craftsman. An entire town is displayed in the background, as the procession circles around alleys, corners, streets and squares. The last photo shows the celebration on Easter as those carrying the statue of the Risen Christ literally run with it the last few yards of the route, just before entering the church.

Good Friday processions – miniature – part 1

We now review some artistic interpretations of the Good Friday processions that are held in Malta, this time done by crafty and talented enthusiasts. This one person created the entire procession, complete with the background of a typical Maltese street, with balconies, doors and windows, lamps, and other features one finds in your average street. 

The statuettes are small, maybe 3 to 4 inches high, and the statues up to a foot high. You will see most of the procession over two days, 5 photos in each post, complete with marching bands playing funeral marches, altar servers, Roman soldiers, as well as people greeting the Risen Christ at the end, in a joyous, festive mood.

Good Friday processions - part 3

These are photos from the processions at Naxxar and Mosta, two neighboring towns which feature the set of statues that are used during the Good Friday processions. Tomorrow I will share with you a miniature procession cleverly and artistically created.

Banners with the 7 last words of Jesus, in Maltese

Good Friday Processions - part 2

This is another Good Friday procession held in the town of Rabat, back from 2010. Enjoy the photos of a long procession with various characters, soldiers, Biblical themes and of course statues. Incidentally that year, as soon as the procession was over from my standpoint, there was a major black-out all over Malta, and many of the processions were disrupted, and could only continue with the help of car headlights, when drivers turned their lights on, for everyone to follow where they were going. Around 15 parishes organize these processions, and they involve a lot of work, coordination and planning. 

Good Friday processions – part 1

Over the next few days, will share with you photos of different processions that take place in Malta during Holy Week, in particular on Good Friday, as a few parishes organize solemn and sombre processions with statues that depict the Way of the Cross. Later on I will also show you a miniature procession done by a few enthusiasts who are very crafty and creative as the entire procession is displayed on long tables. Stay tuned during this entire week. This particular procession took place in the town of Żebbuġ and shows many characters from the Bible that are somehow connected to the Passion of Christ.

St Joseph's feast

Today is the liturgical feast of St Joseph, since yesterday the church celebrated the 4th Sunday of Lent. Yet one beautiful church in Rabat, Malta celebrated the festive day in honor of the saint with a solemn procession through the streets of the town. These are just some photos of the decorated church and some outdoor decorations. It also helped that they had a beautiful day, and since this was the only church that celebrated in a festive mood, thousands of people took the opportunity to participate, visit the church and enjoy the festive mood, even though we're in the middle of Lent. Just as the young people feasted on Guinness and all brands of beer on Friday to honor St. Patrick, today, it was a different crowd that showed up to honor St. Joseph. (click on each photo to enlarge)

The sacristy being prepared for the solemn Mass

Outdoor banners with images and symbols of St. Joseph

A Letter to St. Joseph

Dear St Joseph,

Today being your feast day, I thought of writing you a few lines mainly to show my gratitude to you for all you did for Jesus and Mary his mother. Very few people are greater than you, because who was ever closer to Mary and Jesus than you. You married Mary even though many people were suspicious of you, and you were patient enough to raise Jesus from his birth to the day you died, and left him as an orphan and his mom as a widow.

Joseph, you showed your greatness by your humility. By being humble and quiet and staying always in the background, your image shone forth majestically and we admire the simple life you led, and your courage in taking Mary as your wife, in spite of the gossip that was going on from other people. I can only imagine how special and happy was that house in Nazareth, raising Jesus as a baby, a toddler, a young boy and as a teenager. A few questions come to mind:

      Was he obedient to you and his mother? Did he go to sleep on time? Did he get up on time? Did he say his prayers? Did he obey at home? Did he have any sleepovers? Did he have any girlfriends? Did his friends knew how special he was? It hurts me to read that the people of Nazareth threw stones at him when he visited them years later! Did he play any tricks on you and Mary? Since he was an only boy, he couldn’t blame his brothers and sisters if something went missing, if something broke. Did he always do his chores? Did he go to school, which were probably different from our schools? Did he do his homework? 

Dear St Joseph, we admire your kindness in dealing with other people. When a stressful situation appeared, you always let Mary handle it, like when Jesus was lost in the temple for 3 days, or like the wedding at Cana, when they ran out of wine. You always stayed in the background, and this also shows that you were respectful of others and avoided any quarrels and conflicts.

I ask you finally St Joseph to keep our families in your prayers. Just as you protected you family from Herod, from harm and from those who hated you, your wife and your Son, please protect our families and children from danger. I beg you also, please pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. We need more priests and sisters to work in our parishes, schools, hospitals and other places. And I finally ask you to remember those who work, those looking for work, especially husbands and fathers who lost their jobs. 

Signed, your friends in Malta

Forgiveness

O God, forgive us for the faults which make us difficult to live with.
If we behave as if we were the only people for whom life is difficult;
If we behave as if we were far harder worked than anyone else;
If we behave as if we were the only people who were ever disappointed, or the only people who ever got a raw deal; If we are far too self-centered and far too full of self-pity: Forgive us, 0 God.
If we are too impatient to finish the work we have begun; If we are too impatient to listen to someone who wants to talk to us, or to give someone a helping hand; If we think that other people are fools, and make no attempt to conceal our contempt for them: Forgive us, 0 God.
If we too often rub people the wrong way;
If we spoil a good case by trying to ram it down someone's throat;
If we do things that get on people's nerves, and go on doing them, even when we are asked not to: Forgive us, 0 God.
Help us to take the selfishness and the ugliness out of life and to do better in the days to come.

St Patrick

St. Patrick was of Romano-British origin, and born about the year 389AD. After a rough youth, he became a priest and was ordained a bishop and sent to evangelize Ireland. Because of the island’s pagan background, Patrick was emphatic in encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Christ. He suffered much opposition from pagan druids and was criticized in both England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission. Patrick died about 461, and was buried in the vicinity of the future Cathedral town of Down. Enjoy some Irish quotes which as always will make you think and believe more.

Seeing Jesus

Let us pause during this Lent to enjoy the simple things in life.

Let us thank God for creating us and for our parents who loved us enough to bring us into this world.

Let us be aware of Jesus’ presence in our lives.

Let us never take Him for granted.

Let us appreciate what He has done for us.

Let us always comprehend how often He has forgiven us.

Let us open our eyes and see His hand in everything we do.

Let us see how much He suffered for us, by dying on the cross.

And just before He died, He gave us a precious gift, His mother as our own mother.

My favorite painting

Triptych of the Holy Rosary by Hans Suess Von Kulmbach 

One of the paintings that struck me the very first moment I saw it is the Triptych of the Holy Rosary by Hans Suess Von Kulmbach (1510,) which is in the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, Madrid. The two side panels show the Presentation of Mary, with St. Joachim and St. Anne at the bottom of the steps, while the other one show Mary’s parents in a loving embrace. The center and more prominent panel is very descriptive, and shows the Crucifixion encircled within the Rosary beads, each Hail Mary symbolized by a rose flower. The 5 Our Fathers are symbolized by 5 crosses, also symbolic of the 5 wounds of Christ. A scene from hell is shown in the bottom, with two angels above and two others below, one of whom I seen saving a baby and the other holding scales in his hands.

The 4 layers of saints are described as follows, from top, left to right:
1. With God the Father and the Holy Spirit are seen Mary and a variety of angels.
2. Melchizedek, David, Moses, John the Baptist - Peter, Mark, Paul and Luke.
3. Lawrence, George, Erasmus, Stephen, Holy Innocent baby - Gregory, Jerome, Nicholas, Charlemagne.
4. Clare, Agnes, Barbara, Catherine of Alexandria - Anne, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Helen.