North American Martyrs

The North American Martyrs, also known as the Canadian Martyrs, were eight French Jesuit missionaries who worked among the Huron Indians, and who were martyred in the 17th century in Canada and Upstate New York, all martyred between 1642 and 1649. The Martyrs are St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Noël Chabanel, St. Antoine Daniel, St. Charles Garnier, St. René Goupil, St. Isaac Jogues, St. Jean de Lalande and St. Gabriel Lalemant. They all laid the foundation of the Catholic religion in the North East, just as Blessed Junipero Serra did in the North West of the USA, by opening the various missions on the California coast. They were each killed during the wars between the Huron and Iroquois. They had converted many of the Hurons, but the Huron considered them to be evil men who brought death and disease wherever they traveled. The Iroquois considered them legitimate targets as the missionaries were nominally allies of the Huron tribe. Isaac Jogues and his assistant, Rene Goupil, besides being beaten to the ground and assailed several times with knotted sticks and fists, had their hair, beards and nails torn off and their forefingers bitten through. What grieved them far more, was the cruelty practiced on their Christian converts. The first of all the martyrs to suffer death was Rene Goupil, who was tomahawked on September 29, 1642, for having made the Sign of the Cross on the brow of some children. This Rene Goupil was a remarkable man. He had tried hard to be a Jesuit and had even entered the Novitiate, but his health forced him to give up the attempt. He then studied surgery and found his way to Canada, where he offered his services to the missionaries. They were canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930. The Martyrs' Shrine church in Midland, Ontario, the site of their missionary work among the Huron, and the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York, along the Mohawk River, are dedicated to them. They are collectively patron saints of Canada. Their feast day is celebrated on September 26 in Canada and on October 19 in the United States under the title of "The North American Martyrs." We owe the Catholic faith of the United States to these martyrs as well as to St Junipero Serra on the west coast. From them and from the sacrifices they endured spread the faith across the whole country.

Full marks always

A teacher was the envy of the whole school as the Middle School students always got full marks whenever the principal visited that particular class and checked on their knowledge. Whenever the teacher was asked to put questions to the students, they all raised their hands up, and all the time they would get the right answer. Nobody could find out the secret of his extraordinary success. All the other teachers at times were becoming jealous of him. When this teacher finally retired, someone asked him the secret of his achievement and the brilliance of his students. His answer left everyone dumbfounded. ‘Well, whenever the principal would come to my class, I would always tell the students a very simple formula. If they knew the answer to my question, they would raise their right hand. If they didn’t know the answer, they would raise their left hand. And so I would always pick the children with the right hand raised up! And our inspector always was impressed. But I insisted that the students study as hard as they can anyway.’

Working with children

2014: Leading a foot-washing ceremony for children.

One of the areas which I enjoyed in my pastoral work over the years was working with children. I did create many initiatives and projects to involve children as well their families.  I always believed that when you give your attention to the children and the elderly, you’ll have many families get closer to you and the life of the church. Organizing children’s Masses was probably the highlight of my ministry. 

2000: Teaching nursery school children a song on my flute.

But also teaching them music, art and calligraphy in classes, helping them with banners for their First Holy Communion, leading the foot-washing ceremony on Holy Thursday, the Stations of the Cross, leading bike-safety trips, organizing all kinds of sports, teaching Religion in various classes, helping them create Christmas Nativities, teaching them songs with my flute, and on and on. These are just 4 photos of my work with children.

1983: Guiding some girl scouts on a bike-safety trip

2004: Leading a mock Baptism for children

1999: During a First Communion celebration.

Learning from the Saints - part 2

                   

Continuing to reflect on how we can imitate our Saints in our daily lives:

. . . Play with your children . . . like St John Bosco, who spent hours playing and running with children whom he also taught about Jesus . . .
. . . Keep a Diary or Journal . . .like the Four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who wrote the Gospels, and like St Therese of the Child Jesus, who wrote the “Story of a Soul”. . .
. . . Enjoy Music . . . like St Cecilia, the Patron Saint of Music. . .
. . . Show Care and Concern about others . . . like St Vincent de Paul, St Martin de Porres, St.              Charles Borromeo and St Philip Neri, all of whom gave their life, their time and their energy for their people . . .
. . . Being Patient with your children . . . like St Monica, who suffered mentally and spiritually as her son, St Augustine turned his life around . . .
. . . Getting along with your siblings . . . like St Scholastica and her twin brother St. Benedict, who both became religious, and remained best friends until they  died . . .
. . . Being disattached from worldly goods . . . like St Matthew, who left his job as tax-collector and became an Apostle of Jesus . . .
. . . Show leadership, in spite of opposition . . . like St Joan of Arc, who rescued her country, and died as a martyr in the process . . .
. . . Turn your shortcomings into blessings. . . like St Hugh, who was very shy and bashful, yet his modesty and humility won him many friends . . .
. . . Act as a Peace-Maker. . . like St Casimir, who refused to fight for his country, but brought Peace between Hungary and Poland . . . 

.. . . and Pray, Love, Suffer, Preach, Heal . . .as Jesus did 2000 years ago, and as his Apostles and their successors did ever since . . .

Learning from the Saints - part 1

Saints can teach us so many values in our lives. . . .
. . . Perseverance in our studies. . . like St John Baptist Vianney, who had a hard time passing his Latin exams . . .
. . . Patience at work . . . like St. Therese, the Little Flower who had an annoying nun always splashing water next to her as they cleaned dishes . . .
. . . Respect even towards animals . . . like St Francis of Assisi who had a tremendous affection towards animals, wild and domestic . . .
. . . a Sense of Humor . . . like St Teresa of Avila who use to say “Deliver us Lord from sour-faced Saints” . . .
. . . Hospitality  towards strangers . . . like St Julian, who even built a hospital to care with his wife for the travelers, the sick and the dying . . .
. . . Sharing our talents. . . . like St Joseph who taught the little child Jesus the trade of carpentry, construction and woodcarving . . .
. . . Being Sociable. . . . like St Anthony the Hermit, who in spite of living alone, was one of the most sociable of people . . .
. . . Appreciative of Nature . . . like St Ignatius of Loyola, who loved flowers so much that he would never pluck them . . .
. . . Doing our chores at home. . . like St Martha, who was always busy cleaning her house, so that Jesus would always be a welcome Guest . . .
. . . Being sorry for failures done . . . like St Peter who really felt terrible after denying knowing Jesus three times . . .

Let Go !

If you want to be healthy morally, mentally and physically, just let go ! Let go of the little annoyances of everyday life, the irritations and the petty vexations that cross your path daily. Don’t take them up, nurse them, pet them, and brood over them. They are not worth while. Let them go ! That little hurt you got from your friend. Perhaps it wasn’t intended, perhaps it was, never mind, let it go. Refuse to think about it. Let go that feeling of hatred you have for another, the jealousy, the envy, the malice, let go all such thoughts. Sweep them out of your mind, and you will be surprised what a cleansing and rejuvenated effect it will have upon you, both physically and mentally. Let them all go; give them to the Lord. He’ll take care of them.

But the big troubles, the bitter disappointments, the deep wrongs, and the heart-breaking sorrows, tragedies of life, what about them ? Why, just let them go too. Drop them, softly maybe, but surely. Put away all regret and bitterness and let sorrow be only a softening influence. Yes, let them go, too, and make the most of the future. Then, that little pet ailment you have been hanging on to and talking about, let it go too ! It will be good riddance. You have treated it royally, but abandon it: let it go ! Talk about health instead, and health will come.

It is not hard once you get used to the habit of it – letting go of these things. You will find it such an easy way to get rid of the things that embitter your life that you will enjoy letting them go. You will find the world such a beautiful place. You will find it beautiful because you will be free to enjoy it – free in mind and body. Learn to let go. As you value health of body and peace of mind, – just simply let go ! The greatest factor in helping us to “Let go” is to see with the eye of faith that God permits – if he does not will – these daily, nay hourly annoyances. If we look at them in the light of eternity, we shall profit by them in this life and in the life to come. LET GO ! LET GO ! And let God take control !

I want to be a kid again!!!!!

I want to go back to the time when.....................
Decisions were made by going "eeny‑meeny‑miney‑mo."
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming "do over!"
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening.
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
Being old referred to anyone over 20.
Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a slingshot.
Nobody was prettier than your mother.
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people rides" at the amusement park.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
No shopping trip was complete, unless a new toy was brought home.
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
War was a card game.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.
Baseball cards in the bicycle spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.
Taking drugs meant orange‑flavored chewable aspirin.
Ice cream was considered a basic food group.
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!!
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life!!!!!

I complained, until . . . . .

I complained that I had no shoes, until I met someone who had no feet.

I complained because my gloves were not thermo-insulated, until I met someone had no hands.

I complained because my chicken was a little dry, until I met children who had nothing to eat for days.

I complained that my house had no air-conditioning, until I came across entire families who were homeless.

I complained because my laptop has only 5 gigabytes, until I met a news reporter who still writes his reports on a typewriter.

I complained that my Cable TV only receives 26 channels, until I visited someone whose contact with the outside world is a small transistor-radio.

I complained that my children had only 10 Computers in each class, until I saw other children in the third world whose classroom is a sandy beach, and whose blackboard and chalk is the sand and a stick.

I complained because my car is not 4 wheel-drive, until I thought of my parents who never had a car, and walked everywhere they went.

I complained that my contact lenses fell off my eyes, until I met a blind gentleman who has lived all his life in a world of darkness.

I complained that I couldn’t receive my favorite FM Stations clearly, until I met a co-worker who is completely deaf.

I complained because we didn’t have rain in three weeks and the grass was getting dry, until I read how some people in the Sahara Desert have not seen water in months.

I complained, again and again. Yet I should be ever so thankful to God.

Pope St. John XXIII

Pope St. John XXIII (1881-1963)

On October 11, 1962, Vatican Council II opened, and that is why the liturgical feast-day of Pope St. John XXIII is celebrated today. 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. His wit soon became proverbial, and he began meeting with political and religious leaders from around the world. In 1962 he was deeply involved in efforts to resolve the Cuban missile crisis.

Pope John XXIII on the sedia gestatoria and wearing a tri-regnum.

His most famous encyclicals were Mother and Teacher (Mater et Magistra 1961) and Peace on Earth (Pacem in Terris 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. He also had a great sense of humor. He often told people ‘If God knew that I was going to become Pope, he could have made me a little bit better-looking!’ Then someone asked him how many people worked at the Vatican. Expecting a number of workers employed in the Holy City, the Pope instead answered ‘about half of them!’ "Good Pope John" died on June 3, 1963. St. John Paul II beatified him in 2000, and Pope Francis canonized him in 2014.

The Church we need today

For a world at its worse, we need a Church at its best.
For a world full of sadness, we need a Church full of gladness.
For a world that’s going down, we need a Church that’s going up.
For a world that complains, we need a world that cares and comforts.
For a world full of war, we need a world full of peace.
For a world that cries vengeance and hate, we need a Church that forgives and forgets.
For a world full of impatience, we need a Church full of tolerance.
For a world full of heartache, we need a Church that’s full of good news.
For a world that believes in “playing”, we need a Church that’s committed to praying.
For a world full of defeat, we need a Church full of victory.
For a world that’s pessimistic, we need a Church that’s optimistic.
For a world that is crying, we need a Church that smiles.
For a world that’s out of tune, we need a Church that’s filled with harmony.
For a world that’s falling apart, we need a Church that keeps us all together, following the Lord.
For a discouraged world, we need an encouraging world.
For a world that is full of compromise, we need a Church that stresses commitment.
For a world that is going through a period of darkness, we need a bright and enlightening Church.
For a world that’s rebellious and vindictive, we need a Church that is truly compassionate.
For a world that is creating stumbling blocks, we need a Church that is placing stepping stones of hope.
For a world that is stressful or tense, we need a Church that is calm and peaceful
This is the kind of Church we all have to strive for.

Prayer for World Peace

Lord God of peace, hear our prayer! We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instil in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarrelling into forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. We remember especially today the Middle East and the harsh conflict going on between Israel and Palestine, as well as Ukraine and Russia. We pray for peaceful existence between Israelis and Palestinians, Sunnis and Shiites, Muslims, Jews and Christians. We pray negotiations which can reach the roots of historical conflicts. We pray for a commitment to human rights by all sides and the protection of all lives. We pray for effective international intervention to ensure justice for all sides. We pray for humanitarian aid and rebuilding where destruction has occurred. We pray for peace and for justice in our homes and on our city streets. We pray for an end to violence, war and death. We pray for innocent victims of war and their loved ones. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother” and “sister”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam!

Messages from my room

While looking around my room one day, I realized how many messages I can find by looking at some of the prominent items.

When I looked at the ceiling, I felt like he was telling me ALWAYS AIM HIGH.

When I looked at the window, I felt like she was telling me OPEN ME AND SEE WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE WORLD.

I tend to the door and he quickly reprimanded me by saying GO OUTSIDE TO DISCOVER THE REAL MEANING OF YOUR EXISTENCE.

I stared at the mirror for a while and she told me RELFECT WELL BEFORE MAKING ANY IMPORTANT DECISIONS.

I noticed the clock on the wall, and with its constant ticking, I felt it was telling me EVERY MINUTE IS PRECIOUS – DO NOT WASTE ANY TIME.

On the other side of the wall was the calendar and it was telling me IN EVERYHING YOU DO, BE ORGANIZED AND UP-TO-DATE.

Even the ceiling fan spoke to me and told me KEEP CALM AND DON’T GET TOO HOT UNDER THE COLLAR.

The computer was waiting his turn as he told me BE CAREFULWHEN YOU USE ME – BE PRODUCTIVE AND DON’T WASTE ANY TIME IN USELESS BROWSING.

Finally the carpet invited me to KNEEL DOWN AND ASK THE LORD’S HELP.

Our Lady of the Rosary

Even though the Rosary is a daily devotion which most Catholics pray every day, the month of October has always been connected in a special way to the Rosary. The origin of the Rosary has been attributed to a Marian apparition to Saint Dominic in 1208 in the church of Prouille. People wanted a devotional of sorts to pray, since the priests were able to pray the Office and read the 150 psalms in Latin, while most of the people could not read. So the devotion was started to pray 150 Hail Marys, later divided into decades and divided into three Mysteries, while more recently in 2002, the Luminous Mysteries were added. Many people however had abandoned the devotion to the Rosary and it was only revived after plagues, a schism and other calamities hit most of Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Blessed Mother appeared to Blessed Alan de la Roche to revive this devotion, also reviving the ancient Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. Blessed Alan was one of the Dominican Fathers from the monastery at Dinan, in Brittany. He was an eminent theologian and was famous for his sermons. Our Lady chose him because it was most fitting that a Dominican from the very same province, should have the honor of re-establishing this feast. 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".

3 Unusual photos

 Share with you today three unusual photos which make you think, laugh and wonder. The first one is a funny situation one may encounter in a forest, but certainly not in the middle of a road. But when the fawns get hungry, there is no place or time that may be better or discreet than any other. So breakfast in the middle of a road is fine with mama deer, and all drivers have to wait, at least to take a cute photo that is now going around the world.

The second photo is a photo of you and me, and every person that ever existed. It is a human being at the very earliest stage of gestation. It’s actually a self-portrait of you and me, a fusion of the released ovum and a sperm cell just conjoined to combine a single diploid cell called the zygote. Apologies from the zygote for not smiling at the camera, but 9 months later it will scream and cry, and within a few months crack the first smile of many to follow.

The third photo shows the life of a 1500-year old tree. It is self-explanatory as you can see from its birth in year 550 AD until the Civil War and beyond. It was cut down in 1891. Most probably such trees are in the Sequoia National Park in the USA. But rest assured that most large trees you find are beyond 100, 200 and more years, and they can tell many stories of the bygone years.

Hammerfest church, Norway

St. Michael's church, Hammerfest, Norway - inside

During World War II, the town of Hammerfest in Norway was completely burned, because the Germans thought that the little town was filled with English spies. There was a small Catholic community with a few Catholics, a priest and a few nuns. But their church was also burned down, no mercy was spared. After the war was over, the town was rebuilt, but the few Catholics could not afford to build another church. Some German soldiers heard about this story and on the order of their superiors, and realizing that it was their fault that no place of worship was available for the Catholic community of Hammerfest, they rolled up their sleeves to help. 

St Michael's church, Hammerfest, Norway - outside

Thankfully, with the help of their German Catholic friends, they were able to build them a new church, complete with stained-glass windows crafted in Germany. From an episode of hatred, destruction and war, came this story of peace, collaboration and friendship that lasted to this day. Maybe we can learn from this story that it’s better to shake hands in love and friendship rather than show fists of anger towards each other.

St Francis of Assisi

Probably one of the most beloved and well-known Saints, even among non-Catholics, St Francis became affectionately known as the patron saint of animals. And in his honor, we bless our dogs, our cats, our lizards, horses, hamsters and noisy cockatiels every year. He became one of the Church's most efficient reformers and started by reforming himself. The son of a cloth-merchant, one day he stripped naked in the local piazza and gave his father everything he had, including the clothes he was wearing. Instead he put on him a simple robe and gathered around him a few other men (among them St Anthony) and thus started the Franciscan order. The catalyst for this move came after a vision he had at the church of San Damiano, when Jesus spoke to him through the famous colorful cross and asked him to go and rebuild his church. This meant literally and figuratively, because he did fix the dilapidated church, but also founded an order which is still going very strong around the world, 800 years after its foundation. Later in his life, St Francis received the stigmata, the wounds of Christ and also inspired St Clare to start the female counterpart of the Franciscan Order, the Poor Clares. He was also known to have created the first nativity during the Christmas midnight Mass, taking the image of the baby Jesus down to the crypt, where he had already placed a donkey and cow and a manger with straw. To many of us, St Francis may seem out of touch with reality, rather than a profound philosopher. But that's exactly the kind of people the church needs even today, down-to-earth workers, with a good scale of values and who know where their priorities are. Francis lived a short life, born in 1181 and dying in 1226, but in his short life, he started a revolution of love, compassion, charitable work and encouraged everyone for a life of poverty, a lifestyle that all the Franciscans around the word still imitate.

Synod at the Vatican

The Synod on Synodality will be held in Rome between October 4 and 29. The upcoming synod is an opportunity to grow in experience and awareness of what it means to live in communion, not according to individual agendas, but by rediscovering communion in prayer and in mutual listening, letting everyone be guided by the Spirit and, thus, putting into practice a pivotal dimension of being Church. How many of us Catholics, including prelates and bishops, when dealing with problems, try to solve them with a set mind rather than asking the Holy Spirit to enlighten us? This quote from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, should be the guiding light of this Synod, which states: “Now there are variety of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are variety of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each of them is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor: 4-7). The Synod on Synodality is a time of revival and grace for all Catholics. It is a time for us believers to realise that there is strength in living as a community of believers, with the insistence on the value of listening – listening to our internal voice, the voice of the other person, and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Let us all follow the appeal for prayer of the general secretary of the Synod, fellow Maltese/Gozitan Cardinal Mario Grech when he states that the synod is, first and foremost, an event of prayer and listening that involves not only the members of the synod assembly but every baptised person. He goes on to say: “All of us are called at this time to unite in the communion of prayer and in the insistent invocation of the Holy Spirit to guide us in discerning what the Lord is asking of his Church today.” 

Guardian Angels

Guardian Angel, St Patrick's, Lufkin, Texas

 

Today’s feast of the Guardian Angels reminds us of the protection we always received from our Angels, who were assigned to us when we were born. I’ve always been aware of the presence of my Guardian Angel, whom I named Stephen, and on many occasions, I knew he was with me, no doubt about it. A 1962 Apostolic Exhortation by Blessed Pope John XXIII says that Guardian Angels can help us at a physical level, lifting us up, keeping at bay some dangerous animal or thing, drawing our attention to danger by means of a noise. Similarly they can intervene on a psychic level too. George Huber wrote a book entitled “My Angel will go before you,” and in it he recalls two stories of Popes who depended on their Guardian Angels. Pope Pius XI denounced Stalin, confronted Hitler and resisted Mussolini, but he said he always relied on his Guardian Angel right through the entire day. He even told one of his apostolic delegates, Monsignor Angelo Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII that whenever they have to be persuasive in their arguments against someone who appears adamant, we let our Guardian Angels take it up with their own Angels, and once they establish an understanding, the Pope’s conversation becomes much easier.  Blessed John XXIII, soon to be canonized, in a private conversation with a Canadian Bishop, attributed the idea of calling an ecumenical council to his Guardian Angel - it was through his Angel that God gave him the inspiration to convoke Vatican Council II, 60 years ago.

The right example

Martin Luther King, Jesus and Mahatma Gandhi

They asked the Soviet Premier Boris Yeltsin where did he get the courage to take it against the communist forces that wanted to bring communism back to the Soviet Union. He said ’I got it from Lech Walesa of Poland. He too was a simple dockyard worker in Gdansk and got the people around him to go against Jaruzelski. If he was able to do it, so can I!’ Then they asked Walesa where he found the courage to lead his people. He said ‘I got inspired by Martin Luther King, because he single-handedly took it against the Government to defend the colored people who were being mistreated until the end of the 1960s. And Martin took the road of love, forgiveness, persuasion and sound reasoning.' Then they asked Martin Luther King where he got the courage, and his answer was ‘I found it in my hero Gandhi, who took it against the British without one soldier and without any armaments. He fought alone the fight for freedom for his people.’ And when they finally asked Gandhi where he got the courage to go against the British rulers on the other side of the earth, he said ‘I got my courage from Jesus Christ, who taught me there is a greater force in forgiveness than there is in vengeance.’

Mary in our lives

Prayerful Mother by Sassoferrato

I share with you today this beautiful reflection on the Blessed Mother and how she can affect our own lives, by reflecting on her own life with its ups and downs. Our Lady shows that in every state, in every moment, in all that a person does, they are called to pray; that a whole life united to Christ becomes a continual prayer: in joys, in laughter, in celebration, in friendships, in relationships, and in sorrows, disappointments, suffering, illness, misfortune, and loss. There is no moment lost when we keep Christ in the forefront of our mind and recognizes that He is a God of love who desires for us true freedom from sin and peace founded in a life of diligent and faithful, persevering prayer. Our Lady, who is essentially defined by her perpetual surrendering to the will of God, was the freest creature to have ever existed. It may be a temptation to think Our Lady was so strict and controlled that she must have been cross, serious, and rigid. On the contrary, she knew when it was a time to feast just as well as she knew when it was a time to fast. She knew intimately when it was time to weep and when it was time for laughter. She knew when it was time to mourn and when it was a time to rejoice. When it was time to meditate and when it was time to serve. She knew quite a bit about time and what she should be doing and when.  She reflected the very heart of His mercy by and through this perfect disposition and balance and she pleased the Lord in all that she did, thought, and pondered. Her pondering is none other than the heights of contemplation and unitive prayer. She meditated on the works of God, his ways above her own, and in her humility, she was taken up into the love of God most fully. This interior disposition resulted in her peaceful nature and exterior obedience to suffering and trials of life.

The Holy Archangels

Today is the feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Michael - the angel of judgment - is known as the champion in the fight against Satan and the other devils as well as the guardian of the faithful especially at the time of death. Frequently he is portrayed crushing the devil’s head with a lance. Gabriel - the angel of mercy - is the messenger from God in St Luke’s gospel who foretold the birth of John the Baptist, “Be not afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.” Six months later it was Gabriel who appeared to Mary at the Annunciation saying, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” Raphael  -  whose name means “God has healed” was sent by God to heal Tobias of his blindness and to deliver Sara from the devil in the book of Tobit. We tend to underestimate the presence of Angels in our lives. However they are gaining popularity as we see many angel pins on people’s jackets, posters and paintings of various angels are showing up at card stores. And of course at Christmas, there are the angels on ornaments and hanging on nativity scenes. We sing about the angels in several of the Christmas hymns. Angels were also present at Jesus’ tomb when the women went to anoint his body and found the tomb empty. But we are reluctant to accept their actual existence. This is certainly a departure from our childhood when we prayed to our Guardian Angel at least daily. As children we believed that there was truly one angel whose job was to look after us, who would always hover around us ready to protect us from all evil and to communicate our desires and needs to God. The feast of the Guardian Angels in fact is in 3 days, October 2.

Three Trees (part 3)

The third tree dreamt of one day being part of a tower perched on a hill, which would defy storms, wind and rain and give protection to all those who shelter inside it. However, when it was cut, it ended up in an abandoned yard in Jerusalem. It sat there for many years until one day it was picked up and made into a cross. It cried when she saw that her role was to serve as a form of torture on which someone would see his death.  Her cries were turned to relief when she noticed that the person chosen to carry the cross to the hill on which he would be eventually crucified was a truly holy man. When He was dying, the tree heard him say prayers of forgiveness, and even forgave another prisoner dying next to him. He went as far as forgive those who had caused his death. And when He died, she heard a centurion claim ’This was truly the Son of God.’ The tree then realized how special she was as the blood of an innocent person became part of its texture, and thus the world was redeemed.

Three Trees (part 2)

The second tree wished that it would one day end up serving as a large mast of a galley, on which Generals and navigators would sail the seas, win battles and see all the sailors gathered around her to celebrate one naval victory after another. Sadly this was not to be as the wood from this tree ended up in Bethsaida, and was used to build a fishing boat to be used by two fishermen, the brothers Peter and Andrew. They used it for many years in the Sea of Galilee, with other fishermen helping them haul large quantities of fish. There were days when the fish were not biting, and were left disappointed. The tree complained that it ended up in a simple fishing village, until one day, a man stepped into the boat, and during a storm, he quickly calmed the waves. On another day, he invited the fisherman to fish in a different part of the bay, and were overloaded with large fish. Frequently people would gather around the boat to hear Him speak to them. The tree realized that instead of Kings, Generals and navigators, the boat welcomed on board Someone more special than all the kings of the world.

Three Trees (part 1)

There is a Jewish story of three trees in a forest and they often talked among themselves about their wishes, their dreams, their expectations of life for them. The first tree told the others that she always wanted to be a part of a furniture in a large palace, enjoying a life of luxury and seeing Kings and Princes, Queens and Princesses parade by her. When it was cut, it ended up in a carpenter’s shop in the town of Nazareth, and rested there for a few years, until the carpenter named Joseph decided to make out of it a rocking crib for the baby that his wife gave him. And so the tree that desired to live among royalty, ended up cradling the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings. The tree realized what a special baby it was that rested in her arms every day as his mother rocked him to sleep. (to be continued....)

60 years ago

I take you today on a voyage to my primary school days, back to 1963, 60 years ago. We had just started classes in a brand new school in St. Julian’s, a much needed investment in an ever-growing town. Before that we had classes in two regular houses in St Elias Street. That’s where I had my elementary classes, until Standard 3, the American equivalent of Grade 5, when we happily moved to our new school. The first photo shown here is during a Eucharistic Day procession we held in June, in which all the teachers and students participated. All the altar boys dressed up for the occasion as well as the children who had just received their First Holy Communion a few days earlier. I was one of the altar boys seen in the photo, as well as my brother Paul, 3 years younger than me. It was customary to hold a special day dedicated to the Eucharist, as we had Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, at which time each class would dedicate 15 minutes in private and communal prayer, and everything would end with this procession.

The second photo shows the visit by the Governor of Malta, Sir Maurice Dorman, as students greeted him, all lined up, nicely dressed, and well behaved. I was probably one of the boys you see looking down from the balcony, outside our classrooms. Those were the days, but the school is still running smoothly, and who knows how many children have passed through those doors and classes, most of them now parents and grandparents, raising their children and grand-children, attending the same school, and probably sitting in the same benches as their ancestors.