Twilight in St Julian’s

One of the most picturesque scenes in Malta is in my hometown of St. Julian’s, officially called Spinola Bay. It used to be a fishing village with a few fishermen earning their livelihood through fishing. Nowadays it is just a tourist attraction, although the few boats you see in the bay belong to local folks, who may go out on a brief fishing trip once in while. But all in all, the entire bay is now filled and surrounded by restaurants, snack bars, souvenir shops and some hotels. Yet as twilights approaches, the place comes alive and stays alive until 5 am the next day. 

With an entertainment zone a few hundreds yards away, known as Paceville, many young people spend the evening and early morning in clubs, bars and socializing with friends. When I once asked my brother to drive me through around 8 PM to see what the place looks like, he said ‘Julian, if you don’t go after 10 PM, you won’t see anybody there!’ And he was right because the next morning I went down there to take photos of  the sunrise, and several young people were going home, exhausted, hobbling and despondent, probably drunk, or maybe even drugged. These two photos were taken an hour apart.

Iceland

My nephew and his wife went on a holiday to Iceland this past week, and they found a new world which we don’t see that often. I share with you today some of the photos they sent me, with no particular theme or order but just some scenic views that are breath-taking. Iceland has been the subject of various volcanic eruptions recently, mostly in the south-western area, and the lava that flowed out of the volcano destroyed a whole village. 

Iceland has a population bigger than Malta, at 399,189, with Malta now hovering around 500,000. Compared to our tiny Malta with 122 square miles area, Iceland has 39,817 square miles, the majority of it arid land, mountains and icy terrain. 

Blessed Nazju Falzon

The Maltese Islands today celebrate the feast of a holy cleric who was loved and cherished especially by the British sailors who happen to be stationed in Malta. Back in 2001, Pope St. John Paul II beatified three holy people in Malta. The first one was St George Preca, eventually canonized in 2007, the second one was the mystic Blessed Adeodata Pisani, a Benedictine nun, and the third one was Blessed Nazju (Ignatius) Falzon. He was born on July 1, 1813. He had three brothers, two of whom became lawyers and later priests. He studied for the priesthood, received the minor orders like tonsure and acolyte, but was never ordained a priest as he felt he was not worthy to celebrate the Eucharist. He learned how to speak English and taught catechism to young children as well as sailors and soldiers, since Malta was still a British colony and many of them were present in Malta. They trusted him with leaving personal belongings with him, as they feared not surviving during their travels and war-time confrontations. This way he would pass on these belongings to their respective families. Nazju Falzon was also available to give advice about legal matters without any payment, although he never actually practiced as a lawyer. He also helped many sailors and soldiers who were Anglican and used to gather them in a Jesuit church, close to the University of Malta. Some of them converted and even became priests. He published a magazine entitled “The Comfort of the Christian Soul.” He was well loved and many people found comfort and protection with him. He died on his birthday, July 1, 1865, when he turned 52. His process of beatification started in 1882 and was declared Servant of God in 1889. But 100 more years had to pass for him to be proclaimed Venerable. Then he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in May 2001, after another miracle through his intercession was approved by the Vatican.