A great philanthropist

John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)

John Rockefeller was one of the wealthiest Americans that ever lived. By the age of 25 he owned  one of the largest oil refineries in the USA. At he age of 38, he controlled 90% of all oil deposits. By the age of 50, he was the wealthiest person in the USA. At a young age he had an incredible drive to be as wealthy as he could have been. But at the age of 53 he got very sick, was in constant pain and lost all his hair. The richest person on earth could not even slurp a little soup or snack on a few crackers. He could not sleep, was in constant pain and any semblance of  happiness disappeared from his life. The doctors gave him one year to live. So one day he got up from bed and realized that he was not taking any of his wealth with him when he dies. So he called his lawyers, the directors of his empire, managers and staff, and told them that he  had decided to put all his wealth into a Foundation to help hospitals, medical research, charitable work, and other philanthropic projects....the Rockefeller Foundation. With his invaluable help, scientists discovered penicillin, medicine against malaria, tuberculosis, dyphteria, yellow fever and others.  But the strange thing is that as soon as he decided to part form his wealth, his health recovered. To such an extent that after the doctor told him he would not live beyond 55, he lived into his 97th year. He wrote in his diary ‘God taught me that eveything belongs to Him, and I am simply an instrument  to do His will on earth. My life was a long journey, pleasant and beautiful, filled with work and happiness. Then when my anxieties and worries disappeared, God remained close to my heart until the very end.’

Microsoft is 50 !

Bill Gates, the co-fonder of Microsoft

Fifty years ago, Micro-Soft was founded by friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen. As the name implies, Microsoft was originally focused on microprocessors and software, and Gates and Allen created the company to develop software for the Altair 8800, an early  personal computer. Founded on April 4th, 1975, Microsoft went on to strike a deal with IBM to provide software for its first PC in 1980. This became the foundation of MS-DOS, which dominated IBM-compatible PCs during the ’80s. Microsoft’s early success in developing software for PCs eventually led to the first version of Windows in 1985 and a dream of a PC on every desk and in every home. 

Paul Allen and Bill Gates in 1975

The biggest day in its history was probably when they launched Windows 95, with a completely new interface of what we were used to with DOS. Microsoft’s success with Windows and Office has allowed the company to expand in many directions over the past 50 years, including the launch of the Xbox game console in 2001, the Azure cloud push in 2008, and even the Bing search engine launch in 2009.   The company’s headquarters is in Redmond, Washington.

Forgiveness

I offer you today this prayer of 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.

The Sorrow and the Abandonment

Two expressions felt by Jesus and His mother Mary took place at the same time, while Jesus was crucified, and Mary stood under the cross, accompanied by St John, the beloved apostle and Mary Magdalen. These two images done by exceptional craftsmen, possibly decades apart, symbolize their mood and feelings. The crucified Christ is made out of ivory, a pristine piece of art, probably done many years ago, since I hear that ivory tusks from elephants are now protected by law. But there are many crucifixes sculpted out of ivory, which is a very hard material to carve. 

The image of the Sorrowful Mother was done by a local sculptor and was exhibited last year at one of the local band clubs who host these Holy Week exhibits. The image of Mary has been painted and sculpted many times, and the two most popular aspects of her role are the birth of Jesus and the Sorrowful Mother. This coming Friday, a week before Good Friday, Malta commemorates the sorrow of Mary with processions, long lines for confession and Masses, and no doubt, a few conversions take place too.

Draped in Black

Some of the Maltese Baroque churches have a haunting and mystical way of decorating the inside with black tapestry during Lent. They stay until Good Friday, but the amount of work it takes to hang these small pieces of black cloth is enormous, as I’ve seen for myself in the church where I regularly celebrate Mass, the parish of Naxxar, dedicated to Our Lady of Victory. The main sacristan Godwin gets a little help from his friends, but there is still a lot of coordination taking place, climbing ladders, using an electric fork-lifter, and stretching to hang all the passion-related items. 

These two photos give you just a little idea of what the church looks like at this time of the year. Between the arches, the 9 statues that are part of the Good Friday procession are displayed for the congregation's admiration and reverence. There are probably another 3 churches who still have this custom of draping the walls in black.

More Passion Stamps

I share with you a few more stamps related to the passion of Christ, specifically those coming from small countries, but presenting beautiful and meaningful stamps nonetheless. We go today to Oman, Burundi and Niger. Throughout history, the small countries have always issued beautiful stamps, as was the case also in Malta, with a long heritage of historic stamps, particularly those issued in the 60s, 70s and 80s, designed by Emvin Cremona. 

Click on each stamp to enlarge

These specific stamps represent the Deposition of Jesus (Niger), the Agony in the Garden (Oman) and the Resurrection (Burundi.)

Greeting

A bus driver in an English town one day called the people to attention because he had an important announcement to make. All the passengers abandoned their mobile phones, or newspapers or books they were reading, and were attentive for the bus driver’s message. When he heard complete silence, he stopped the bus and told them ‘Kindly say Hello to the person sitting next to you, introduce yourselves to each other, and you will all see that you will have a wonderful day.’ There were smiles, and handshakes, and even a few hugs, as nobody expected such an announcement. Everyone was so happy, and within a few minutes there as a huge applause to the bus driver, who within a few minutes had changed everybody’s mood. Now let’s try to greet strangers with a simple Hello, even if we don’t know them. Even when you go to church, try to say Hello discretely to the person sitting in the same pew next to you. Then the sign of peace will be very meaningful for both of you and all those around you.

Miniature Passion statues

From now until Easter scores of exhibitions will be held all over Malta displaying miniature statues created on the original life-size statues that will be carried in processions on Good Friday. These were done by various crafty enthusiasts who are increasing every year, and passionately present the passion of Christ through these small figurines, some of them complete with real clothing, the bases on which these statues stand and other decorations that beautify the entire exhibition, attended by hundreds of people. Most of these statuettes are hand made and are the pride and joy of these craftsmen. More to come over the next 2 weeks.

The earliest Crucifixion image

This is one of the earliest known depictions of the Crucifixion in Christian art. It was made in Rome about AD 420-30, at a time when the Roman empire in Western Europe was fragmenting. The panel is one of four, originally mounted on the sides of a small ivory casket, each carved with a scene from Christ’s Passion. This panel is exhibited at the British Museum in London. In this image the Crucifixion is combined with another scene of death: the suicide of the disciple Judas after he has betrayed Jesus. The stiff, clothed body of Judas pulls down the branch of a tree, and a spilled sack of coins lies at his feet. In contrast the exposed limbs of Christ still appear vigorous, and he gazes at the viewer, triumphant in death. A plaque over Christ’s head is inscribed REX IUD (King of the Jews). The Virgin Mary and John the Baptist stand to the left of the cross, while on the right Longinus steps from beneath the arm of the cross, just before he pierces Jesus’ side with a lance.