The Marquee

Another flashback from my past – from my journals..... Between 1991 and 1996 I was Associate Pastor at St. Anthony of Padua, Rocky Point, New York. In front of the church, right on the main road, the church had a Marquee which was hardly used before I got there. But during the time I spent at St. Anthony’s, it became quite an attraction as I took care of it religiously, changing the message every week. It had only 4 lines, so my messages and quotes had to be brief and covering only 4 lines with a maximum of 15 letters on each line. Besides any major announcements we had to make for upcoming events, celebrations, etc, I made sure to have a captivating quote which people, drivers and walkers could think about and reflect on as they go by this popular Marquee. Among the signs which were quite a hit were these: ‘Love your enemies, and you’ll drive them nuts!’ ‘Do your best, and God will do the rest,’ ‘A great man does small things in life – with a big heart,’ ‘3 marks of a good Christian – giving, loving and forgiving,’  and on Christmas Day, ‘It’s a Boy! And His name is Jesus. Let us rejoice.’

The Christmas quote on our Marquee in Rocky Point, NY.

I made sure to keep them short and sweet, so that we won’t have any traffic accidents, as usually many drivers slow down to read the message. Since it was on the main road, and also lit up at night, thousands of people would read the message as they pass by, and frequently I used to get calls from parishioners, thanking me for a particular message, especially those who tell me ‘that quote hit home today....I was very depressed and it cheered me up....’ ‘great quote today Father – it was meant for me – it’s quite an eye-opener,’ ‘good message Father today....if all of us listen to them and act on them!’ It was a labor of love for me as I enjoyed coming up with interesting quotes, and since it has two sides, I always did two different sayings, one on each side. Who knows how many blessings a simple idea like that gave to parishioners, as well as drivers who may not be Catholic, but read them with a smile nonetheless. The last quote I used was my farewell message before moving to my next parish 'Thanks for the Memories- God bless you, Fr Julian' seen above.

Pope St John Paul II

We celebrate today the liturgical feast of one whom we can call 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. John Paul II is recognized as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. He significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. He was one of the most traveled 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. 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.  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.

Tinos with 1000 chapels

One of the churches on Tinos island, Greece.

The small island of Tinos in the Aegean Sea, Greece claims to have 1000 chapels spread around the island, two-thirds the size of Malta with an area of 75 square miles. Most of these chapels belong to residents, who inherited them from their parents and grand-parents over the years.  They are Greek Orthodox, Catholics and even atheists, but are very proud of their chapels. Owners are young couples or could even be elderly couples. They even celebrate certain feasts which include religious services, singing, dancing, and other festive events. By the way, Malta has 365 churches or chapels, one for each day of the calendar year.

Salve Regina

The Benedictine friar Blessed Hermann of Reichenau 1013-1054) was born with a cleft palate, cerebral palsy  and spina bifida. However he had an extraordinary mind, a scholar in astronomy, theology and mathematics, history and poetry, and spoke among other languages, Arabic, Latin and Greek. He was always smiling and towards the end of his life, he lost his eyesight.  Yet he composed beautiful religious hymns, among them the Salve Regina and Alma Redemptoris Mater. When St Bernard heard the monks sing the Salve Regina in Latin, he exclaimed ‘Oh  clement, Oh loving, Oh sweet Virgin Mary,’ and these words were added to the words of Blessed Hermann. This virtual choir recording was done in April 2020 during the Covid epidemic, with 450 participants from 30 different countries offering their voices to create a sublime version of the Salve Regina. The choir comes in at 1:24.

St Bartolo Longo

Today at the Vatican, along with a few other Blesseds, Bartolo Longo will be canonized. Unbelievably, he was a satanist as a young man, even being a leader in the satanic cult, but after his conversion, his life turned around to such an extent that after spreading the devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary, he will be reaching sainthood today. In October 1872, Bartolo Longo came to the valley close to Naples, in Pompeii. He was the husband of the Countess of Fusco, who had some property there; and Bartolo came to see what condition it was in. He had been reared a Catholic and was probably still one in name, although it seems he was not very devout. On October 9th, a few days after his arrival, he was walking along a rather desolate road when suddenly a voice seemed to speak to him. It told him that if he wished to be saved, he should spread devotion to the Rosary. His early efforts to interest people in the Rosary devotion did not seem to have been successful at first, but he persisted and within 2 years, he had gathered quite a group of people to pray in the little chapel. The Bishop visited the valley in 1875 and complimented Bartolo on the good work he had done. He suggested that a church be built there in honor of Our Lady of Pompeii. As the number of devotees grew, it was decided to obtain a picture of the Blessed Virgin to help the people meditate as they prayed. On October 13, 1875, Bartolo Longo went to Naples, and after searching for a good picture, he found one that cost nothing less than 400 francs, and he had nothing close to that amount to spend.

St Bartolo Longo with children in Pompeii

But not wanting to go back empty handed, he reluctantly accepted a second-hand painting from a junk store for 5 lire. The painting shows the Blessed Mother with baby Jesus and St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena near her, as they are handed Rosary beads by Mary and Jesus. The painting arrived safely on a truck and the people accepted it willingly, and enshrined it in their chapel. After a meticulous restoration of the painting, almost immediately, several miracles took place through Mary’s intercession as Our Lady of Pompeii. A bigger church was built on the initiative of Bartolo Longo between 1876 and 1891, and a bigger basilica was ordered by Pope Pius XII and opened in 1939. But we acknowledge today Bartolo Longo for pursuing his dream to build  a beautiful church and spread the Marian devotion. From now on he will be called Saint Bartolo Longo.

Greenland – one parish

Christ the King Catholic church, Nuuk, Greenland

The island of Greenland, which has only parish and is run and governed by Denmark, has an area of 836,000 square miles (2,166,000 square kilometres.) Its area is the size of these countries combined: Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, England and Italy. 80% of it is covered in snow. The one parish is Christ the King in Nuuk, and giving pastoral service there is Slovenian priest Father Tomaz Majcen. He’s been its pastor since 2017, helped by two other priests. There are around 300 Catholics in Nuuk, with 500 Catholics all over Greenland, most of them from the Philippines, and a few from South America and Europe, and a few from Denmark. Father Tomaz celebrates Mass on Sunday in English, and occasionally they have a baptism, 7 in total all of last year.  They had one confirmation and 7 First Holy Communions. Isolation is one of the biggest problems in Greenland, and besides, most of the time, it’s sunny, with midnight sun a regular occurrence in the summer months. In the winter months of course, it’s pretty dark for 21 hours.

Three more Malta scenes

Once again going back to my black-and-white photography period, I share three more photos from the 1970s. The first one shows a young boy looking out at the sea in the area around St. Paul’s Bay, as the sun sets after another long summer day.  The second one was actually chosen and exhibited in the Malta Photographic Society competition back in 1974, and shows a fisherman peacefully waiting for some fish to bite. This was close to home in what was back then a quite Balluta Bay, early in the morning when the sun was shining in all its brilliance. Now it is always crowded with tourists, swimmers, joggers, walkers and waterpolo players in the Neptunes pitch a few feet away from where this photo was taken.

The third photo is a close up of a collection of prickly pears, which grow wild in the Malta climate. Many people love to eat them when they’re pealed off, especially if someone else would peal the outsides covered with annoying thorns, The inside is a seedy fruit that tastes delicious especially when it’s cold, but it has many seeds, which can create digestive and bowel problems. They are usually green or yellow or red, which children especially love.

Malta scenes

Once again I’m happy to share with you as I go through my collection of black and white photos, which I tend to appreciate even more now, 50 years after I shot these scenes. These three are of a religious nature. The first one shows two fellow classmates when we were still seminarians – here they are in a corridor in our seminary atrium, which saw many celebrations, volleyball games and other activities. The columns are all around the atrium and create a nice effect with shadows as the two characters walk by reading from a Breviary.

The second photo shows one of our large baroque churches in Msida, dedicated to St. Joseph as the entire structure is reflected in the water, part of an inlet that reaches to the front of this church. This scenes is even more spectacular when the church is lit up during the summer celebration of St Joseph. That’s another photo for another day. Presently lots of construction is going on in this area where some flyovers are being constructed to alleviate the heavy traffic that usually jams up this busy area. The third photo is the facade of St Mary’s church in Birkirkara, some intricate stone carving that’s at least 350 years old. Built around 1670, it is typical Renaissance architecture that has been preserved immaculately, even though the dome collapsed and there are various critical sections that need restoration.

St Teresa of Avila

'Ecstasy of St Teresa' by Bellini, in Santa Maria della Vittoria.

A great Carmelite mystic and nun, today we celebrate the feast of St Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church, author of Way of Perfection, Interior Castle and Meditations on the Canticle. A great reformer of the Carmelite Order, she was born in 1515 and died in 1582. This is a famous quote of this great saint:

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received,
and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones,
and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks Compassion on this world
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good
Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands; Yours are the feet
Yours are the eyes; You are His body
Christ has no body now on earth but yours

Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away: God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.

Palestine craftwork

As we see the people of Gaza and Palestine return to their homes, whatever was left of them, our hearts go out to them as they try to rebuild their lives, hoping they will find a big heart from the rest of the world to help them build new homes.  This reminds me of some Holy Land craftspeople who carved various religious statues from olive wood trees. A few salesmen and women used to  call me in my parishes in Oregon asking if they could sell these articles. They told me that they were done by people from the Holy Land and Palestine, and they used only dead trees, using the wood that was still good to carve and sculpture. 

Of course all proceeds was used to help the poor people we’ve been seeing in recent photos, begging for food with their pots and pans. I am sure that many of those carvers who created these little masterpieces, will be busy carving more statues and nativities in time for Christmas, (like the one you see in the second photo) using whatever wood they can find from the destruction they’ve experienced over the past 2 years.

Peace on Earth

I know this may seem like a Christmas message and I just found myself celebrating the festive season, but this is a celebration of Peace on our planet, as it had been finally reached in one of the most troublesome areas of the world. Let's hope that the ceasefire in Gaza and Palestine will last forever, as we hope it will soon happen also in Ukraine. Listen to the words carefully as it is sung by Vince Gill and his daughter Jenny in this inspirational performance.

Why ?

Why do we have wide open streets and closed minds?

Why do we spend more and have fun less?

Why do we have more experts, and yet many more problems?

Why do we drive so fast, and always arrive late at meetings?

Why do we stay up late, and wake up tired?

Why do we watch so much TV, and read less, especially our Bible?

Why has living become so important, but life is not worth much anymore?

Why is it we went to the moon, and yet we cannot cross the street to help a neighbor?

Why do we create bigger things, but not better?

Why did we spoil not only the air, but also our souls?

Why is it that we were able to destroy the atom, but not our prejudices?

Why is it we learned how to run, but never learned how to wait?

Why did we build big stronger computers, but we communicate less and less.

Why do we have bigger and more beautiful homes, but broken families?

Pope St. John XXIII

Although few people had as great an impact on the 20th century as Pope St. John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as much as possible. The firstborn son of a farming family in Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo in northern Italy, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was always proud of his down-to-earth roots. After his ordination in 1904, Angelo returned to Rome for canon law studies. He soon worked as his bishop’s secretary, Church history teacher in the seminary, and as publisher of the diocesan paper. His service as a stretcher-bearer for the Italian army during World War I gave him a first-hand knowledge of war. In 1921 he was made national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. He also found time to teach patristics at a seminary in the Eternal City.  In 1925 he became a papal diplomat, serving first in Bulgaria, then in Turkey, and finally in France (1944-53). During World War II, with the help of Germany’s ambassador to Turkey, Archbishop Roncalli helped save an estimated 24,000 Jewish people. Named a cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice in 1953, he was finally a residential bishop. A month short of entering his 78th year, he was elected pope, taking the name John after his father and the two patrons of Rome’s cathedral, St. John Lateran. He took his work very seriously but not himself. His wit soon became proverbial, and he began meeting with political and religious leaders from around the world. His most famous encyclicals were Mother and Teacher (1961) and Peace on Earth (1963). Pope John XXIII enlarged the membership in the College of Cardinals and made it more international. In 1962 he convened the Second Vatican Council where all the bishops gathered in Rome to discuss many issues facing the church, and this led to great reform, especially in the way we celebrate the liturgy. "Good Pope John" died on June 3, 1963. St. John Paul II beatified him in 2000, and Pope Francis canonized him in 2014.

My Seminary years

My love with photography started when I was in the Seminary, from around 1970. I first had an Instamatic camera, that led to a Petri single-lens reflex camera which my father bought for me in 1972. Back then I focused on black-and-white photography, even developing some of the films myself. Of course this was before the digital age, and eventually I started taking many colored photos, having to wait a few days to be developed by the professionals. But these three photos were all taken around the Seminary in my early years. The first one was during a spectacular sunset close to the chapel dome with the cross and three seminarians in the foreground. 

The second one was in one of our smaller chapels, with this mystical silhouette which was behind the main altar. The third one was as two seminarians were walking in one of our country roads flanked by a row of trees on one side.

Peace, at last !

The entire world is rejoicing as everyone welcomed the breakthrough in the Hamas-Israeli war that has raged for the past 2 years. The United Nations Secretary General expressed his relief by claiming "I welcome the announcement of an agreement to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza. The United Nations will support full implementation and recovery efforts. This momentous opportunity must not be lost." Under the deal, Hamas is expected to release all 20 living hostages by this weekend, and the Israeli military is expected to begin withdrawing troops from most of Gaza as part of the initial phase. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, half of them women and children. So many countries that you wouldn’t have thought of have come together. It’s been so great for Israel, so great for Muslims, for the Arab countries — and so great for the United States of America. This is more than Gaza — this is peace in the Middle East. Leaders across the world are welcoming the news and describing it as a potential turning point. We pray that the entire world helps in the re-building of Gaza and Palestine, which has been turned into total destruction.

Mdina Cathedral dedication

The present Mdina Cathedral designed by Lorenzo Gafa'

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul, commonly known as St. Paul's Cathedral is the Cathedral dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. The Cathedral was founded in the 12th century, and according to tradition it stands on the site of where Roman governor Publius met St. Paul following his shipwreck on Malta. Today is the anniversary of its dedication and consecration. Since the 19th century, liturgical functions have been shared between this Cathedral and St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta. The first Cathedral which stood on the site is said to have been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but it fell into disrepair during the Arab period (the churches in Malta were looted after the Aghlabid invasion in 870). Following the Norman invasion in 1091, Christianity was re-established as the dominant religion in the Maltese Islands. A Cathedral dedicated to St. Paul was built in the 12th and 13th centuries.

The old Mdina Cathedral destroyed by the 1693 earthquake

This is the old Cathedral before its destruction. The Cathedral was built in the Gothic and Romanesque, and it was enlarged and modified a number of times. It was severely damaged in the 1693 Sicily earthquake, and although parts of the building were undamaged, on 11 April 1693 the decision was taken to dismantle the old Cathedral and rebuild it in the Baroque style to a design of Lorenzo Gafà. The building was almost complete by 1702. It was consecrated by Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri on 8 October 1702. The Cathedral was fully completed on 24 October 1705, when work on the dome was finished. It is considered as Lorenzo Gafa’s masterpiece. In the late 1720s, the Bishop's Palace and the Seminary (now the Cathedral Museum) were also built. Many of the paintings around the Cathedral were done by famous artists like Mattia Preti, Giuseppe Cali, and the three Sicilian brothers Vincenzo, Antonio and Francesco Manno, and the famous Annunciation by Bruschi. Most importantly, let us remember that this feast is a great reminder that WE ARE THE CHURCH, the Mystical Body of Christ, and in spite of the beautiful churches we have, where we gather as parishioners to pray, we the humans and the Christians form the church, because as Jesus said once 'where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.'

Our Lady of the Rosary

Ta' Pinu church with the Rosary mysteries mosaics

In 1571 Pope St Pius V instituted "Our Lady of Victory" as an annual feast to commemorate the victory of the Christians against the Turks in Lepanto. The victory was attributed to Our Lady, as a rosary procession was offered on that day in St. Peter's Square in Rome for the success of the mission of the Holy League to hold back Muslim forces from overrunning Western Europe. In 1565, the Turks had already tried to take over Malta in the Great Siege, but the Maltese people, with the help of the Knights of Malta, were able to defend the island from the attack of the Ottoman Empire. In 1573 Pope Gregory XIII changed the title of this feast day to "Feast of the Holy Rosary". This feast was extended by Pope Clement XII to the whole of the Latin rite, inserting it into the Roman calendar of saints in 1716, and assigning it to the first Sunday in October. Pope St Pius X changed the date to October 7th in 1913. In 1969, Pope Paul VI changed the name of the feast to "Our Lady of the Rosary". A monumental display of the Rosary was erected a few years ago in front of the apparition church of Ta’ Pinu in Għarb, Gozo, Malta with the 20 mysteries displayed in beautiful mosaic. So also in Lourdes, in the lower chapel of the Rosary there are 15 monumental mosaics with the 15 mysteries of the Rosary. Outside, the  Luminous mysteries were added a few years ago, although it is uncertain if they will be covered or kept visible as they still are.

The greatest things in Life

Teton Mountain range in Idaho, USA.

The greatest Joy........................................Giving
The greatest loss.........................................Loss of self-respect
The most satisfying work..........................Helping others
The ugliest personality trait.....................Selfishness
The most endangered species..................Dedicated leaders

The greatest "shot in the arm"...............Encouragement
The most useless thing to do .................Worry
The greatest problem to overcome....... Fear                                                                                      
The most crippling failure disease..........Excuses
The best sleeping-pill..............................Peace of Mind 

The most powerful force in life...................Love
The most dangerous neighbor....................A gossiper
The world's most incredible computer......The brain !
The worst thing to be without....................Hope
The deadliest weapon................................. The tongue

The most power-filled words......................”I Can”
The second most power-filled words.........”Thank You”
The third most power-filled words............”I’m sorry”
The greatest asset..........................................Faith
The most worthless emotion........................Self-pity 

The most prized possession..........................Integrity
The most beautiful attire................................A SMILE!
The most powerful way to communicate......Prayer
The most contagious spirit.............................Enthusiasm
The most important thing in life...................GOD

The Handwriting on the wall

A weary mother returned from the store,
Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.
Awaiting her arrival was her 8 year old son,
Anxious to relate what his younger brother had done.

"While I was out playing and Dad was on a call,
T.J. took his crayons and wrote on the wall!
It's on the new paper you just hung in the den.
I told him you'd be mad at having to do it again."

She let out a moan and furrowed her brow,
"Where is your little brother right now?"
She emptied her arms and with a purposeful stride,
She marched to his closet where he had gone to hide.

She called his full name as she entered his room.
He trembled with fear; he knew that meant doom!
For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved
About the expensive wallpaper and how she had saved.

Lamenting all the work it would take to repair,
She condemned his actions and total lack of care.
The more she scolded, the madder she got,
Then stomped from his room, totally distraught!

She headed for the den to confirm her fears.
When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears.
The message she read pierced her soul with a dart.
It said, "I love Mommy," surrounded by a heart.

Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it,
With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.
A reminder to her, and indeed to all,
Take time to read the handwriting on the wall.