Archive for January 15th, 2008
Is-Sibt li ġej 19 ta’ Jannar 2008 in-Nunzju Apostoliku l-Ġdid għal Malta, l-Eċċ. T. Mons. Tommaso Caputo se jżur uffiċjalment id-Djoċesi ta’ Għawdex.
Fin-nofs ta’ nhar ta’ filgħodu n-Nunzju se jiltaqa’ mas-Saċerdoti għal mument ta’ talb u riflessjoni flimkien. Din il-laqgħa se ssir fil-Knisja Ragħaj it-Tajjeb, Victoria.
Għall-ħabta ta’ l-4.00p.m. in-Nunzju se jagħmel żjara fl-Isptar Ġenerali ta’ Għawdex.
Fis-6.00p.m. in-Nunzju se jmexxi konċelebrazzjoni fil-Knisja Katidrali. Flimkien mas-saċerdoti huma mistiedna l-lajċi nsara tad-djoċesi.
L-għoti tal-Ministeru ta’ l-Akkolitat lil tliet Seminaristi u l-festi li ser jsiru fil-paroċċa ta’ San Lawrenz f’għeluq l-1750 mill-Martirju ta’ San Lawrenz, huma fost l-artikli miktuba minn Charles Spiteri fil-paġna dwar Għawdex f’The Maltese Herald tal-15 ta’ Jannar.
Niżżel il-paġna dwar Għawdex li tinsab f’ The Maltese Herald minn hawn.
Chiesa del Buon Pastore, Victoria
Sabato 19 gennaio 2008
Eccellenza Reverendissima,
Sono molto contento che il Suo primo contatto con la nostra Diocesi è stato con il Presbiterio Diocesano, nonché con il nostro Seminario, “casa madre” di tutti i nostri sacerdoti presenti e futuri.
Per me, l’incontro con il presbiterio è un momento molto importante, perché come vescovo, il mio primo impegno è la comunione del mio presbiterio – vescovo e preti sono una cosa sola e il ministero presbiterale è un ministero di comunione o altrimenti semplicemente non è; è pure importante, perché insieme, vescovo e presbiteri, “siamo sacramento di Cristo Pastore”. Se fossimo solo dei pastori ognuno per conto proprio, possiamo anche essere in cento ottanta; ma siamo sacramento di Cristo pastore. Non ci sono cento ottanta pastori, ma ce ne uno solo, che è Gesù Cristo. Allora evidentemente noi possiamo rappresentare Gesù Pastore solo se noi siamo una cosa sola nell’amore, nella collaborazione, nella corresponsabilità.
Anche se L’ho conosciuta da poco, sono più che convinto che la Sua presenza come Nunzio Apostolico presso la nostra Chiesa offrirà un contributo proficuo per sostenerci nella nostra vocazione. Ritengo che posso far quest’affermazione, ricordandomi come il Santo Padre Benedetto XVI ha descritto il servizio diplomatico: “Il servio al quale siete destinati … è un servizio di testimoni qualificati presso le Chiese e le autorità dei Paesi. Ai testimoni del Vengelo è chiesto di restare fedeli in ogni circostanza alla missione che gli è affidata. Ciò comporta per voi [Nunzi Apostolici], in primo luogo, un’esperienza personale e profonda del Dio incarnato, un’amicizia intima con Gesù, nel cui nome la Chiesa vi invia per un singolare compito apostolico. Chi collabora con il Successore di Pietro, Pastore Supremo della Chiesa Cattolica, è chiamato a fare del suo meglio per essere lui stesso vero pastore, pronto come Gesù Buon Pastore a dare la vita per il suo gregge.”
In quell’occasione, il Santo Padre qualifica gli addetti al servizio diplomatico della Santa Sede come “pastori accanto agli altri pastori della Chiesa, prima di essere … promotori del dialogo e tessitori di fruttuosi rapporti con le autorità e le istanze civili, come vuole la peculiare tradizione cattolica. Coltivate questo vostro anelito [a conoscere sempre più il Signore], così che quanti si avvicineranno possono scoprire sempre il sacerdote che è in voi. Si renderà così a tutti noto con chiarezza il carattere atipico della diplomazia pontificia … una diplomazia che lungi dal difendere interessi materiali o visioni parziali dell’uomo, promuove valori che scaturiscono dal Vangelo come espressione degli alti ideali proclamati da Gesù, unico e universale Salvatore.” (Discorso ai Superiori e agli alunni della Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica, 2.06.07)
Eccellenza, non ho nessun dubbio che Lei è consapevole e convinto di quello che il Suo delicato ministero comporta; anzi, posso attestare che Lei incarna tutti questi valori. Ma l’ho sottolineato solamente per esprimere il perché sono molto contento di accoglierLa a nome di tutta la nostra Chiesa, particolarmente a nome dei miei fratelli nel sacerdozio. Auspico che la Sua presenza tra di noi ci aiuti ad approfondire la nostra intimità con il Signore, la comunione presbiterale, e la nostra vocazione come “sacramento di Cristo Pastore”. Grazie.
Cathedral Church, Saturday 19th January 2008
Your Excellency,
The Word of God which Mother Church provides us with today, states: “The Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him” [Is 49,5] (from the First Reading of today, 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time). The people of God gathered in this Cathedral to give you a deserved warm welcome as our new Apostolic Nuncio, can definitely greet you with the same words: the Lord has spoken who formed you as his servant from the womb that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him. In other words, the Lord has spoken through His Holiness the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth, and has sent you amongst us so that the Gozitans may be brought back and gathered to him.
On September 29th 2007, I was fortunate to take part in your Episcopal consecration, presided by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s. On that occasion the Pope remarked that in the ancient Church, bishops were described as “angels” of their Church, whereby expressing a close connection between the Bishop’s ministry and theAngel’s mission. The Pope reminded you,Your Excellency [or should I say us!], that as God’s messengers, Angels bring God to men, they open heaven and thus open earth. Precisely because they are with God, they can also be very close to man and so they speak to man of what constitutes his true being.
Unfortunately modern trends surfacing in our society show that we need an angel [ a Nuncio] to announce the truth and help us to find our true nature and to discern and accept God’s plan for us. This is why we receive you with wide open arms: we firmly believe that you are an “angel” with a mission for our Church and for our society. The Apostolic Nuncio is an angel with a difference: as the representative of the Pope, you secure our filial bond with the Holy Father, a beacon of truth, guarantee of authentic Catholic faith and bulwark of human dignity.
For this pastoral year we are being accompanied by the icon of the Annunciation to Mary of the Incarnation of God. As we meditate this icon, we encounter the Archangel Gabriel who, in Pope Benedict’s words: “knocks at Mary’s door and through him God himself asks Mary for her “yes” to his project. Even today, God knocks again and again at the door of our heart. In the Book of Revelation, God says to the “angel” of the Church of Loadicea: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and be with him” (3,20).
Your Excellency, Christ’s Church in Gozo, today, is confident that during your stay amongst us you will keep echoing these words to us, so that we “may be brought back and gathered to Him”.
PASTORAL LETTER FOR LENT 2008
BY THE ARCHBISHOP OF MALTA
AND THE BISHOP OF GOZO
“What do you want?” “What are you looking for?”
Dear brethren in the Ministerial Priesthood, in Consecrated Life, and in Baptism.
Lent is one of the strongest moments during the year to help us join our daily living
with our faith in Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead. This year, by this
letter, we, as bishops, wish to make an invitation especially to those still familiar with
the Church as well as to those who, for possibly various reasons, have distanced
themselves from it.
During the last two years, we have witnessed a wave of enthusiasm in our islands
that has filled us with courage. We have been filled with a good measure of courage
and hope because we could perceive that, in the hearts of many, there is a genuine
search for that which is true and beautiful. In the experiences and faces of a good
number of people we met, we could see how much our people still expect from the
Church. This lays on us a greater load of responsibility towards you.
A beautiful challenge: prayer, fasting, and charity
In a fine moment when our society and culture have gone and are still going through
changes that, at times, can confuse us, we can imagine Jesus turning to us, as he
once did to Andrew and Simon, and asks us: “What do you want?” “What are you
looking for?” We wish to present this same question to you in this year’s Lenten
period. Once again, we have to let the Word of God speak and enlighten us on what
is in actual fact happening around and in us to find out what we are looking for, what
we are expecting from life, what is the redemption and the cure that the Lord is still
offering us.
What are we looking for in life? With what are we filling the void that we frequently
experience? What are we expecting from the Church? No one can escape such
questions. And we, responsible for our ministry as Bishops, wish to have a strong
enough faith so that, in the face of all that which people today need and are
searching for, we repeat Peter’s gesture to the beggar who stood everyday by the
temple door. When Peter got near, he looked at him and said: “I have neither silver
nor gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus the Nazarene, arise
and walk!” (Acts 3).
We do not wish to go on listening to the Word of God, one period of Lent after
another, without realising what is going wrong in our lives. The Lord wants us to turn
to him because through him and with him our life can be different and better. Every
year, Lent is introduced with the words of the Prophet: “Rend your hearts and not
your clothing”, and with those of St Paul: “Befriend God”. How can we hear these
words and all seems to remain the same? Prayer, fasting, and charity are three
weapons which the Church, right from the beginning of its history, presented to us,
because to do good one has to struggle and be strong enough spiritually. Without
God’s power, we shall be weak. And it will be easy to be carried away by the
currents, and for our faith to be reduced to nothingness.
So that we are not distracted
We need a new evangelisation and a solid catechesis so that our faith will never
become a superficial belief separated from our life-style. Because if we do not grow
in faith, even our own religion can be a distraction in our life. In the light of all that
today is weakening our faith, we again wish to make our own Peter’s invitation: “In
the name of Jesus the Nazarene, arise and walk!” When we look around us,
together with so much goodness, there are also many things that worry us. We feel
that our people are going through the same experience of faith and weakness that
the Jewish nation went through as described in Scripture. The Jewish people lived in
slavery, went through a long and dangerous journey in the desert during which the
Lord taught them with a lot of patience until they reached the promised land and
gained full freedom. But that freedom was lost in a short time, and it was only after
the bitter experience of exile in Babel that the people where able to rise again and
mature in their belief in the God of history.
During Lent, the words slavery, desert, promised land, freedom, and exile will
frequently be echoed in the Word of God which we shall hear. For us, these will not
only be words or an experience of someone far away from us. We too, as Maltese
and Gozitans, are going through historical moments when that which we always
believed is being put to the test by the way we are living in the face of today’s
requirements. We frequently get mixed up in what we want and what we are looking
for and we fail to see any meaning in the faith we received. We are confused on
which are the values that can keep us united, and which are the virtues that can
support us so that our society will be one that enhances our dignity and not one
which debases us and renders us victims.
Compared to neighbouring nations, we are still a very religious race. But we wish
that what we profess will be put into practice more concretely and be seen in our
actions. Our country is asking those who state they have faith, that they give an
uncompromising and clear witness resulting in actions that make the Gospel of Jesus
Christ more credible. And this is the service and orientation that the Church wants to
offer to society that frequently loses its bearings. Peter makes a similar invitation to
the first Christians encouraging them to “Always have your answer ready for people
who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have” (1 Peter, 3,15).
We all know that, in the near future, we shall have an electoral campaign. We wish,
for example, to see more reciprocal respect and love in discourses and judgments.
Diversity is an important element in a democracy. But political maturity demands that
the discussion is more concentrated on arguments and points of view than about
persons. As much as our country, being so small, can gain if partisanship does not
go to our head, in the same way we have much to lose if we persist in politicising
everything.
The urgency for a sound catechesis
When the Jewish nation was weak or too much sure of itself, it was easily
overpowered by its neighbouring enemies and finished in exile at Babel where it lost
every identity. We habitually pride ourselves on our generous and open heart as a
nation or on our identity as a Christian people. But today, this is not enough. The
forces that surround us are strong. Evil is very strong. Sin still exists and where it
abounds, it dominates the heart of man. Our choices, the compromises of values we
embrace, our usual lifestyle, all can, as they did to the Jews of old, lead us to an exile
similar to theirs.
Compromise weakens the fibre of our lives, that of our family, and of society, and
brings destruction in our hearts and destroys identity. So that this does not
materialise, we have to be prepared. We Bishops are witnessing and feeling the
urgency of a sound education in faith that makes us really adult Christians. We
promise to work with a serious undertaking for a sound catechesis at every level,
from the young in schools and parishes to adult age.
Today we form an integral part of a continent that has much to offer - so long as we
have the wisdom and the power of discernment to remain capable of choosing
between good and evil, between that which makes us more of authentic and that
which disfigures us as a nation and as individuals. We feel that the Prophet Isaias’
warning when he says: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who
substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and
sweet for bitter” is topical (Isaias 5,20). We fully believe in the love of God that is
greater than any evil and sin. We strongly believe in the power that comes from this
love if and when we open fully our heart’s door to it. It is this power that together as
a Church we have to rediscover, we together with you and you with us. We need this
power to rise and walk and to realise that not every choice and every life-style are
compatible with Christian faith and the following of Jesus.
Today, in the type of culture we live in, it is the very meaning of man’s life that is
under threat. And when one’s life ceases to make sense, one will then be in exile
where, as the Psalm states, one does not see any sense in turning to God to honour
or pray to Him (Psalm 137). Today, God is being ignored. Many people live in a way
as if God does not exist. We wish to extend our Lenten invitation even to those who
feel far away, so that they will rediscover God’s face and heart which can give full
meaning to our lives. We also exhort those who feel that they are committed
Christians, to discover more the sense of mission towards those who feel that God
does not make much sense in their lives.
In a God-less society and culture, it is man himself who ends up disfigured and
wounded. Even among us, the loss of the sense of God is increasing the number of
those who are wounded, hurt, and victims. These are all symptoms of slavery. It is
from this kind of slavery, from these pains and wounds that the power of the Word of
God, if rediscovered, can free us. Today we repeat to Maltese society and to all
those who, even if they have distanced themselves, wish to let Christ to come near
and touch them to be healed, the “arise and walk” which Peter said to the beggar.
We the Bishops renew our commitment toward you so that the name of Jesus be
more known among us, and so that our country will have the Church it really needs.
We impart to you our pastoral blessing as a pledge of every heavenly good.
Today, 25th January 2008,
Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle
+Paul Cremona O.P.
Archbishop of Malta
+ Mario Grech
Bishop of Gozo
ITTRA
PASTORALI
MILL-E.T. MONS. PAWL CREMONA O.P.
Arċisqof ta’ Malta
u
MILL-E.T. MONS MARIO GRECH
Isqof ta’ Għawdex
RANDAN 2008
“XI TRIDU?” “X’QEGĦDIN TFITTXU?”
Għeżież ħutna fis-Saċerdozju Ministerjali, fil-Ħajja Konsagrata u ħutna fil-Magħmudija.
Ir-Randan hu wieħed mill-iżjed mumenti qawwija ta’ matul is-sena biex norbtu dak li qed ngħixu kuljum mal-fidi tagħna f’Ġesù Kristu li miet u qam mill-mewt. B’din l-Ittra din is-sena nixtiequ bħala Isqfijiet nagħmlu stedina speċjali sew lil min għadu midħla tal-Knisja kif ukoll lil min, għal raġunijiet li jistgħu jkunu diversi, tbiegħed. F’dawn l-aħħar sentejn fil-gżejjer tagħna rajna mewġa ta’ entusjażmu li lilna għamlitilna l-qalb. Imtlejna b’ħafna kuraġġ u tama għaliex stajna naraw li fil-qalb ta’ ħafna hemm tfittxija ġenwina għal dak li hu veru u sabiħ. Fl-esperjenzi u fl-uċuh ta’ tant nies li ltqajna magħhom, rajna kemm il-poplu tagħna għad għandu aspettattivi mill-Knisja. Dan lilna jgħabbina b’ħafna responsabbiltà lejkom.
Sfida sabiħa: talb, sawm, u karità
F’mument sabiħ meta s-soċjetà u l-kultura tagħna għaddew u għaddejjin minn tibdil li xi drabi jista’ jifxilna, nistħajlu lil Ġesù jdur lejna, kif darba dar fuq Indri u Xmun, u jagħmlilna l-mistoqsija: “Xi tridu?”, “X’qegħdin tfittxu?” Din l-istess mistoqsija nixtiequ nressquha quddiemkom għar-Randan ta’ din is-sena. Għal darb’oħra, il-Kelma ta’ Alla rridu nħalluha tkellimna u ddawwalna fuq dak li konkretament qed jiġri madwarna u ġo fina biex niskopru x’qed infittxu, x’qed nistennew mill-ħajja, u x’inhi l-fidwa u l-fejqan li l-Mulej għadu qed joffrilna.
X’qegħdin infittxu fil-ħajja? Il-vojt li sikwit inġarrbu fina biex qed nimlewh? X’qed nistennew mill-Knisja? Ħadd minna ma jista’ jaħrabhom dawn il-mistoqsijiet. U aħna, mir-responsabbiltà tal-ministeru li għandna bħala Isqfijiet, nixtiequ li jkollna fidi qawwija biżżejjed biex, quddiem dak kollu li n-nies illum teħtieġ u qed tfittex, nirrepetu l-ġest ta’ Pietru ma’ dak li kuljum kien ikun ħdejn il-bieb tat-tempju biex jitlob il-karità. Pietru, meta wasal ħdejh, tefa’ għajnejh fuqu u qallu: “Fidda u deheb m’għandix, imma se nagħtik minn dak li għandi. Fl-isem ta’ Ġesù ta’ Nazaret, qum u imxi” (Atti 3).
Ma nixtiequx li Randan wara l-ieħor nibqgħu nisimgħu l-Kelma ta’ Alla bla ma nindunaw x’hemm f’ħajjitna li jista’ jkun sejjer ħażin. Il-Mulej irid li nikkonvertu lejh għaliex bih u miegħu ħajjitna tista’ tkun differenti u aħjar. Ir-Randan kull sena jiftaħ bil-kliem tal-Profeta: “Ċarrtu qlubkom u mhux ilbieskom”, u bil-kliem ta’ San Pawl: “Agħmlu ħbieb ma’ Alla”. Kif nistgħu nisimgħu dal-kliem u donnu kollox jibqa’ kif inhu? It-talb, is-sawm, u l-karità huma tliet armi li l-Knisja sa mill-bidu tal-istorja tagħha poġġiet quddiemna għax biex tagħmel it-tajjeb trid tikkumbatti u trid tkun b’saħħtek biżżejjed spiritwalment. Mingħajr il-qawwa li tiġi minn Alla, inkunu dgħajfa. U jkun faċli ninġarru mill-kurrent u l-fidi tagħna tisfa fix-xejn.
Biex ma nkunux aljenati
Neħtieġu evanġelizzazzjoni ġdida u katekeżi solida biex il-fidi tagħna ma ssir qatt fidi tal-qoxra mifruda mill-mod kif ngħixu. Għax jekk ma nikbrux fil-fidi, anke l-istess reliġjon tagħna tista’ tkun aljenazzjoni f’ħajjitna. Fid-dawl ta’ dak kollu li l-lum qed imewwet il-fidi tagħna, nixtiequ nerġgħu nagħmluha tagħna l-istedina ta’ Pietru: “Fl-isem ta’ Ġesù, qum u imxi”. Meta nħarsu madwarna, flimkien ma’ tant tajjeb, hemm anke ħafna x’jinkwetana. Il-poplu tagħna nħossuh għaddej mill-istess esperjenza ta’ fidi u dgħufija li għadda minnha l-poplu Lhudi kif tirrakkuntalna l-Iskrittura. Il-poplu Lhudi għex fl-iskjavitù, għadda minn mixja twila u mwiegħra fid-deżert li matulha l-Mulej edukah b’ħafna paċenzja, sa ma wasal fl-art imwiegħda u kiseb ħelsien sħiħ. Imma dak il-ħelsien malajr tilfu, u kienet l-esperjenza qarsa ta’ l-eżilju f’Babel li swietlu biex jerġa’ jqum fuq saqajh u jimmatura fil-fidi tiegħu f’Alla ta’ l-istorja.
Matul dan iż-żmien tar-Randan, il-kliem skjavitù, deżert, art imwiegħda, ħelsien, u eżilju sikwit se jidwu fil-Kelma ta’ Alla li nisimgħu. Għalina dawk mhumiex biss kliem jew esperjenza ta’ ħaddieħor ’il bogħod minna. Aħna wkoll bħala Maltin u Għawdxin għaddejjin minn mumenti storiċi meta dak li dejjem emminna qed jgħaddi mill-għarbiel ta’ kif qed ngħixu bl-esiġenzi ta’ llum. Sikwit ninfixlu xi rridu u x’qed infittxu u ma nibqgħux naraw sens fil-fidi li rċevejna. Qed nitfixklu dwar liema huma l-valuri li jistgħu iżommuna flimkien, u dwar liema huma l-virtujiet li jistgħu jżommuna fuq saqajna biex is-soċjetà tagħna tkun waħda li tassew tgħollina fid-dinjità u mhux tbaxxina u tirrendina vittmi.
Imqabbla ma’ popli ġirien, aħna għadna poplu reliġjuż ħafna. Imma nixtiequ li dak li nistqarru jkun jissarraf iżjed fil-konkret u jkun jidher fl-għemil tagħna. Pajjiżna qed jitlob minn dawk li jgħidu li jemmnu xiehda ċara u bla kompromess li tissarraf f’għemil li jagħmel iktar kredibbli l-Evanġelju ta’ Ġesù Kristu. U dan hu s-servizz u l-orjentament li l-Knisja trid toffri lis-soċjetà li sikwit tkun diżorjentata. Pietru jagħmel stedina bħal din lill-ewwel insara tiegħu meta jħeġġiġhom: “Kunu dejjem lesti biex tagħtu tweġiba lil kull min jitlobkom ir-raġuni tat-tama li għandkom” (1 Pietru, 3, 15).
Ilkoll nafu li fil-qrib se nkunu f’kampanja elettorali. Nixtiequ per eżempju, naraw ftit iktar rispett u mħabba lejn xulxin fid-diskors u fil-ġudizzji. Id-diversità hija element importanti f’demokrazija. Imma l-maturità politika titlob li d-dibattitu jkun iktar madwar l-argumenti u l-veduti milli madwar il-persuni. Pajjiżna fiċ-ċokon tiegħu daqskemm jista’ jiggwadanja jekk il-partiġġjaniżmu ma jitlax għal rasna, daqstant ieħor għandu x’jitlef jekk nibqgħu nippolitiċizzaw kollox.
L-urġenza ta’ katekeżi soda
Meta l-poplu Lhudi kien dgħajjef jew kien wisq ċert minnu nnifsu, kien faċli jintrebaħ mill-forzi ta’ madwaru u spiċċa fl-eżilju ta’ Babel, fejn tilef kull identità. Sikwit aħna niftaħru bil-qalb kbira u ġeneruża tagħna bħala poplu jew bl-identità tagħna bħala poplu nisrani. Imma llum dan mhuwiex biżżejjed. Il-forzi ta’ madwarna huma qawwija. Il-ħażen hu qawwi ħafna. Id-dnub għadu jeżisti u fejn joktor, jaħkem il-qalb tal-bniedem. L-għażliet li nagħmlu, il-kompromessi fil-valuri li nħaddnu, l-istili ta’ ħajja li sikwit ngħixu kollha jistgħu, bħal-Lhud ta’ l-imgħoddi, jitfgħuna f’eżilju jixbah lil tagħhom. Il-kompromess idgħajjef il-fibra ta’ ħajjitna, tal-familja, u tas-soċjeta’, u jġib rovina fil-qalb tagħna u jkissrilna kull identita’. Biex dan ma jseħħx irridu nkunu preparati. Aħna l-Isqfijiet qed naraw u nħossu fostna l-urġenza ta’ edukazzjoni soda fil-fidi li tagħmilna tassew insara adulti. Inwiegħdu li se naħdmu b’impenn serju għal katekeżi soda f’kull livell, mit-tfulija fl-iskejjel u l-parroċċi sa l-età adulta.
Illum aħna nagħmlu parti integrali minn kontinent li għandu ħafna x’jagħtina – basta jkollna l-għerf u l-qawwa tad-dixxerniment biex nibqgħu kapaċi nagħżlu bejn it-tajjeb u l-ħażin, bejn dak li jagħmilna iżjed nies u dak li jisfigurana bħala poplu u bħala individwi. It-twissija ta’ Isaija l-Profeta nħossuha f’waqtha ħafna meta jgħid: “Gwaj għal dawk li jsejħu tajjeb il-ħażin, u ħażin it-tajjeb; u jibdlu d-dlam mad-dawl, li jibdlu l-morr mal-ħelu, u l-ħelu mal-morr” (Isaija 5, 20). Aħna nemmnu bis-sħiħ fl-imħabba ta’ Alla li hi ikbar minn kull ħażen u minn kull dnub. Nemmnu bis-sħiħ fil-qawwa li tiġi minn din l-imħabba jekk u meta niftħu beraħ il-bibien ta’ qalbna għaliha. Hija din il-qawwa li flimkien bħala Knisja rridu niskopru mill-ġdid, aħna flimkien magħkom u intom flimkien magħna. Neħtieġu din il-qawwa biex inqumu u nimxu u biex nintebħu li mhux kull għażla u kull stil ta’ ħajja huma kompatibbli mal-fidi nisranija u mad-dixxipulat wara Ġesù.
Illum fil-kultura li qed ngħixu, dak li hu mhedded hija l-istess tifsira tal-ħajja tal-bniedem. U meta ħajtek ma tibqax tagħmel sens, hemmhekk tkun fl-eżilju fejn, kif jgħid is-Salm, ma tibqax tara sens f’li ddur lejn Alla biex tfaħħru jew biex titolbu (Salm 137). Alla llum qed ikun injorat. Ħafna jgħixu daqslikieku Alla ma jeżistix. U nixtiequ f’dan ir-Randan inġeddu l-istedina biex, anke min iħossu fil-bogħod, jiskopri mill-ġdid il-wiċċ u l-qalb ta’ Alla li jistgħu jagħtu ħafna sens lil ħajjitna. Lil dawk imbagħad li jqisu lilhom infushom insara impenjati, inħeġġuhom biex jiskopru iżjed is-sens ta’ missjoni lejn dawk li Alla ma jagħmilx wisq sens f’ħajjithom.
F’soċjetà u kultura mingħajr Alla, hu l-istess bniedem li jispiċċa sfigurat u ferut. Anke fostna t-telfa tas-sens ta’ Alla qed iżżid il-feruti, l-imweġġgħa, u l-vittmi. Dawn huma kollha sintomi ta’ skjavitù. Hu minn din l-iskjavitù, minn dawn il-weġgħat u l-feriti li l-qawwa tal-Kelma ta’ Alla, jekk niskopruha mill-ġdid, tista’ teħlisna. “Qum u imxi” li qal Pietru lit-tallab, illum aħna ntennuha lis-soċjetà Maltija u lil kull min, anke jekk imbiegħed, jixtieq jerġa’ jħalli lil Kristu jersaq lejh u jmissu biex jikseb il-fejqan. Aħna l-Isqfijiet inġeddu l-impenn tagħna lejkom biex l-isem ta’ Ġesù jkun iżjed magħruf fostna u biex pajjiżna jkollu l-Knisja li tassew jeħtieġ.
Nagħtukom il-barka pastorali tagħna b’rahan ta’ kull ġid mis-sema.
Illum, 25 ta’ Jannar 2008, Festa tal-Konverżjoni ta’ l-Appostlu Missierna San Pawl.
+ PAWL CREMONA O.P.
Arċisqof ta’ Malta
+ MARIO GRECH
Isqof ta’ Għawdex
Saturday 19th January 2008, Second Sunday of the ordinary time (A)
1. I am deeply grateful to His Lordship, Bishop Mario Grech, for his fraternal welcome and for his kind invitation to lead this Eucharistic Celebration in this beautiful cathedral of Gozo, at the start of my mission as Papal Representative in Malta.
I offer my very warm greetings to all of you, beloved faithful, as well as to Authorities of State here present, to H.E. Mons. Nikol Cauchi, Bishop emeritus, to the Members of the Cathedral Chapter, the priests, religious men and women, and the representatives of the various lay institutes and associations.
We celebrate with joy this Holy Eucharist on the First Vespers of the second Sunday of the Ordinary time.
Before reflecting on the liturgy of today and before briefly considering the nature of the Papal Representative’s mission, I have the pleasure to convey to you the greetings and the blessing of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
When appointing me Apostolic Nuncio to Malta on September 3rd last, the Supreme Pontiff wrote this to me: “Beloved son, as you take up this onerous office, I exhort you with the words of the Apostle Saint Paul, whom, in times past, the inhabitants of Malta welcomed with uncommon kindness (cfr. Acts 28, 2), and I would urge you to bear them constantly in mind: ‘I do not mean to imply that we lord it over your faith; rather, we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand firm in the faith”.
These words of the Apostle, our father Saint Paul, echoed deeply in my heart, in these first weeks of my stay in Malta. I feel really welcomed here with “particular affection” by the Bishops, the Authorities, the clergy, the religious, the lay associations, and the entire people of Malta.
It has always been a matter of no small encouragement and consolation to me, in my previous missions in Africa (Rwanda), in Asia (Philippines), and in Latin America (Venezuela), to encounter zealous Maltese missionaries: with some of them I struck up a warm and brotherly friendship. These missionaries reflected the vitality of Christian life in this God-graced country. Saint George Preca, with the Blessed Adeodata Pisani and Ignatius Falzon, scions of this noble nation, are today exemplars of Christian life for the whole Church. Yes, indeed, the Holy Father, in committing St.Paul’s words to me for my guidance, has supplied me with a unique program of life and work: “I do not mean to imply that we lord it over your faith; rather, we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand firm in the faith” (2 Cor 1, 24). My sole desire is to be the co-worker of your joy: the joy that means discovering and re-discovering the presence of Jesus in our lives and in the midst of Malta’s Christian people, the joy that means emulating one another in the exercise of communion, in love, in unity, on the model of the Most Blessed Trinity.
2. The office of the Papal Representative is in direct dependence on that of the Pope, the Successor of the Apostle Peter, “perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful”, as the Vatican Council II teaches us in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium (LG 23).
At the Last Supper our Lord prayed for the unity of His Church, beseeching the Father that all His disciples be one: “ut omnes unum sint” (Jn 17,22).
Now, if it is the duty of each of the faithful to strive personally to live and maintain such a unity, how much more is this the duty of him, whom the Lord has placed as visible head of His Church, the Pope? The chief function of the Pope in the Church is that of “maintaining the Episcopal College one and undivided”, as the Vatican Council II again teaches us (LG 18).
Papal Representatives, the Apostolic Nuncios, who today operate in 178 countries, are instruments of collaboration for the sake of that unity for which the Lord prayed. They are intermediaries, by means of whom the Roman Pontiff, who “presides over the whole assembly of charity” (St.Ignatius of Antioch, To the Romans, Preface), makes himself present in a stable manner “among the local Churches and among States in all parts of the world. Through his Representatives, residing in the various Nations, the Supreme Pontiff participates in the very life of his spiritual children and, by becoming, in a certain way, part and parcel of it, is in a position to know, quickly and surely, their necessities and aspirations” (cfr Sollicitudo Omnium Ecclesiarum). Thus, the principal task of the Papal Representative is that of rendering firmer and more effective the bonds of unity between the Apostolic See and the local Churches (CIC can, 364). It is also the task of the Papal Representative to promote and sustain good relations between the Holy See and the Authorities of State, as well as to treat questions concerning relations between Church and State, with the advice and counsel of the local Bishops (CIC can. 365).
The Papal Representative is, in this way, at the service of communion within the Church, an instrument of communion in the service of the Petrine charism.
3. In today’s Gospel (Jn 1, 29-34) we meet Jesus at the beginning of his three years of public life, after spending thirty years of a hidden life in Nazareth. We are at the start of Jesus’ ministry, by the banks of the river Jordan. John the Baptist saw Jesus coming from a far and identified him: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” A title (Lamb of God) and a phrase (who takes away the sin of the world) lead us directly to the mystery of the heart of Christ.
Jesus is presented to us with the meekness of the Lamb which, (as in the ancient sacrifices of expiation) takes upon himself the sin of the world: as the one who with the redemptive force of his sacrifice uproots and eradicates the sin of the world.
So, even at the very beginning of Jesus’ public life, there is the annunciation of his death and the grace of the redemption.
John the Baptist introduces us to an ineffable experience which accompanies Jesus’ mission: the indissoluble union between Jesus and the Holy Spirit: “I have seen the Spirit descend as if a dove from heaven and rest upon him”.
In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist does not only stop to admire God’s mystery, but wants to witness to it: “And I have seen it and render witness that this is the Son of God.” Our faith in Jesus rests upon this vision and this witness, a faith which we cannot modify according to our whim or according to the taste of the times. He is the Son of God!
During the moment when we might feel defeated, at the mercy of a society without ideas or ideals, the faith, a purified and regenerated faith in Christ, must rise in our world as a light and guide of existence. But in order that there is this light there is need of bishops, priests, male and female religious, Christians who are witnesses to the mystery contemplated and who speak and act with the conviction of John the Baptist: “I have seen and rendered witness that this is the Son of God”. That is, I have seen, I believe in Jesus, I bear Him testimony through a coherent life.
John the Baptist is today our master of the spiritual life. His journey of faith toward Jesus becomes an example to imitate. In today’s Gospel he twice says “I did not know Him”. Not that he did not know Jesus at all; they were relatives, their mothers were cousins. But what does “I did not know Him” mean? John the Baptist knew about Jesus’ personal physical characteristics, His birthplace, and His origins. But who He really might have been, John understood this at the moment of the baptism in the river Jordan, in the revelation, in the “manifestation”: “I saw the Holy Spirit… He is the Son of God”.
John the Baptist had been attentive, available, and open. This experience of John, from a “non knowing” to a complete faith in Jesus, is a great comfort to us all, who can have doubts, be perplexed, disoriented. Even we must feel that we are journeying, growing in faith.
▪ Let us pray therefore during this Holy Mass that the faith of all the Christians of Gozo, of the Bishop, his priests, of female and male religious, of all of us, will grow more, under the action of the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, as we listen and adhere faithfully to His voice. Let us pray so that our life will translate itself into a coherence of life, in commitments and works of fraternal charity, so that, as we read in the second reading (1 Cor.) “We are called to become saints together all those who in everyplace invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
Through the intercession of St. John the Baptist let us also entrust the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and the entire Episcopal College.
And I ask you to entrust also my own ministry as Papal Representative among you. Pray for me that I may be faithfully responsive to the Love of God, so that His plan for me may fully be realized. Amen.
