ON CALVARY.......

I asked myself yesterday being good Friday, what kind of person I want to be on Calvary? the answer was that I can either be a spectator or participator. participation is ideal but in what?, the Romans also participated but in hurting and hitting Jesus constantly. the christian must participate with the suffering of Christ in order to heal the world and himself form the gravest epidemic there is in our society....egoism, this leads to sin and sin separates us from God and from each other. Christ is the ultimate model of love, there were three other persons on Calvary that one can reflect on: his mother Mary that represents innocence, the blessed among women as with her obedience she cooperated with the plan of salvation. the teachings of her son (god) were becoming more and more alive in her, a living example for us in our suffering, c f the beatitudes in the Gospel of st Matthew (5:3-10).

another person was john, john represents the priests, therefore the church. 'woman .behold your son' the church is made of human beings thus subject to sin, Mother Mary the immaculate conception still accepted to be the mother of the church and our mother. when we suffer we are never in isolation we suffer with, through, and in CHRIST and his mother. how beautiful it is to offer for one another! yes since we the church are all subject to sin, (including the clergy yes) we need to love the church in spite of mistakes and sins, loving the church is to love Christ. this leads us to another person on Calvary, Mary Magdalene, somehow we can all associated ourselves with, as we are all penitent sinners. But Jesus did not condemn Mary Magdalene or any other sinner he Loved them in spite of......he died for you and me and the world. if only (me first) we can understand the beauty of offering our suffering for the conversion of souls surly our world will become a better place, will reflect the love that bonds the communion of persons in the trinity.

prayer : Dear mother Mary, help me, open my eyes, so that I come to know Christ more and more through my suffering, it is in this shaking off our pride and self love that we can come to see and know Christ, like the disciples of emmaws they recognised Christ in the breaking of the bread. thank you for your love and for giving your son Jesus.

LENT: A TIME FOR RIFLECTION

The Bible is a treasure to meditate upon, it is our manual for us christians on how to trust,love and live for God.As we Cannot breath without air, so does our soul it cannot live without the word of God and Christ himself. The three main fonts of our spiritual survival are, the Eucharist, reading the word and prayer.The voice of the Lord is so soft and loving that it is so easy to be hindered by our own frail poor humanity. If we say that we know 100% every minute of every day what God is saying, then we are risking of entering into a dangerous and suttle realm, that of knowing all....pride and arrogance. This lent, let us first look upon the crucified Christ and reflect on our salvation, the death of Jesus was our salvation. we too need to die for ourselves in humility, as no servant is greater then his master, therefore we need to clothe ourselves in Jesus Christ. This is made possible by receiving him daily in the Eucharist, stay in silence.....we need to stop and listen, then we need to meditate on his word. Jesus Christ is the word made flesh, and whoever has seen him has seen the father, no one can go to the father except through Christ.This Lent God is talking to us by means of the poor, of the homeless, the refugees and the sick. God Is ready to reach this people through you, let us be the ones who can show and share the language of God...that is of love. Love is the medicine of God.



This remind me on St Paul's first letter to the Corinthians chap 13

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

YOUR TREASURE IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS

Christmas is getting near, probably many people started to plan on how to decorate the house,what to dress, where to go etc.....all this shows where our heart is really attached to. Christmas is all about love, and accepting Jesus in our heart and lives. Jesus is above all other treasure. no wonder that tradition calls 'the three kings wise', cause they are truly wise as although they were rich, they were not satisfied until they found the true king...the true treasure.

may we too recognize the beauty of Jesus' kingdom, kingdom that will have no end. Let us all really prepare our hearts for the coming of this king. let us decorate our hearts by sincere love for one another and by working really hard for peace. we need to start from our hearts and families first by practising forgiveness and by praying the rosary.

TO LOVE TILL IT HURTS

This day and age, a lot is being said about Love...the magic word. we see love stories in magazines, films etc. we also hear a lot of modern music based on this four letter word, but does society really knows the true meaning of the word? Jesus Christ showed us the ultimate meaning on how to love.. real love is always based on sacrifice, it is unconditional, you give without wanting nothing in return. mother Theresa said that 'we must love till it hurts', this is the authentic christian way on how to love.

Jesus showed us the way on how to love as he died for us, for our salvation, so that we may live. mother Mary cooperated with the plan of salvation by saying yes to God...to do his will, this lead her to pass the agony with her son. near the cross she bore us all with the deep pain she suffered for and with her son, she became the mother of all nations. Jesus is calling us for conversion by sending his mother Mary to various parts of the world. we in Malta are having the grace and the privilege to have the mother of god appearing in Malta, praying with us and advice us on how to live Jesus' way, in fact she sends us to him. A lot of people say how could this be? for me it is quite simple, when you love a person,you do everything you can to communicate with the person, like by e mail, post,telephone, sms, or even sending another person. so if we poor human beings do everything in our hands to try to communicate with others, how can we limit God?... the creator of heaven and earth. we hear others say the there are too many phenomena going on in Malta.....my opinion is that these are eye openers, they are signs for us to remind us to change our ways and to really learn to love God first unconditional.

prayer: father in the name of Jesus, send forth your holy spirit and give us light so that we may humbly accept that your ways are not our ways, and give us the strength to work for the salvation of other souls, who are our brothers and sisters in you. Amen

HEAVEN OPENED........

Heaven opened when God the father send his only begotten son for humanity, the first to pay the price was our mother Mary, through the prophecy of Simeon at Jesus' presentation in the temple, cf LK 2: 34-35 " look he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed-"and a sword will pierce your soul too-so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare". the same sword that pierced the side of Jesus, where from Jesus' side came forth the church. heaven once again is opening up to us all by our lady's visits to Malta, crying out to us all to open our hearts to Christ. This goes in line with the motto of late Pope John Paul II " Be not afraid to open your hearts to Christ," Are we truly opening the doors of our hearts to Jesus, can God the father say 'you are my faithful servant whom I am well pleased with? what thorn is piercing our heart and the hearts of Jesus and Mary? if the thorn is still a sin then pray to God to change your heart, if your heart is pierced with illness, problems and heartache, then offer it for conversion of sinners, and god will grant you a bouquet of roses in return, filled with his peace, serenity and goodness.

Prayer ; Today father God I am heart broken. Problems are making me weary. But I will unite my sorrows with your son Jesus in the Garden of Olives and offer up my burden for those who are going to commit abortion, euthanasia and drug abuse. I cannot hold this thorn which is piercing my heart, but I know in faith that your grace is enough. Dear Mother help us to truly open our heart to your son Jesus, who is the way ,the truth and the life. Amen

The Feast of Our Lady ....Dance into 'perfect joy'

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Yesterday the 15th of August was the feast of our lady's assumption. She is a role model, a living example for us all especially during turmoil, difficulties and trials of our lives. she is the new eve pure without sin. She is our tree of life that gave birth to our new image through Jesus Christ. Her blind faith and her 'yes' to God changed us all.

Mary experienced poverty, humiliation,persecution and her son's death. In spite of this severe pain she remained still, firm and full of faith because the holy spirit was her spouse, she was his dwelling place, his golden castle that shone forth through her obedience. Mary was so one with God almighty that he carved the new commandment in her womb......Jesus. She fulfilled all the beatitudes, that's why God lifted her up, made her queen of heaven and earth.

c f The canticle of Mary : My soul magnifies the Lord,And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.He has shown strength with His arm:He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.He has put down the mighty from their thrones,and exalted those of low degree.He has filled the hungry with good things;and the rich He has sent empty away.He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Prayer; Dear mother Mary, our mother, I thank you for your 'yes' to God out of Love. help us to remain faithful to God till the end. be with us in out trials and difficulties. Life can be really hard, with our problems and trials. help us to love our families and friends even when they abandon us, when they do not understand us. Give us strength to help our worst enemies. We offer you our hearts, take it to your son, and let it be cleansed from the things that are not worthy in God's eyes. may he'll melt it with the fire of his love and given back to us with a childlike innocence. Amen

OUR TEARS WILL TURN INTO JOY

yesterday I was reflecting on the passion of our lord Jesus Christ, and at one point I meditated on the very last moments of our saviour. [this is my reflection] On the cross Jesus felt that he was abandoned, it was of his father's will that he felt that, as our heavenly father wanted to save us totally. Jesus was one with the father, he cooperated with the father till the end, even at the point of being alone, not on his dead bed but on the cross! in fact he said to the beloved disciple " behold your mother", the disciple represents everyone of us...from that minute our lady became the mother of all nations, she too cooperated with the Father's will till the end....can we really grasp this situation? when i was in hospital I always wanted to be surrounded by my dear ones. but Jesus showed us that in the end of the day we need to depend on God only. I meditated on the last few minutes on Jesus' agony....how much love he has for humanity.....!that minute he had a joyful sorrow because it was accomplished, looked at heavens above he new that there was his father welcoming him, I imagine that, that minute the heavens above were opened, and Jesus full of joy was returning home knowing that he made all things new. After this reflection what came to my mind was this beautiful biblical passage below.

revelation 21; 4 [new int version 1984 ]He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Every day we can reflect on Jesus' love and sacrifice by attending mass during consecration, remember that the Eucharist is the heart of the blessed trinity. C F John 12: 45 "He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
Prayer: Dear father help us to reflect more on the merits that were obtained by your only begotten son, as your son is the truth, the way, the life. yes and we want to know the truth as only the truth can set us free. help us to appreciate more your son in the blessed Eucharist, as it is heaven on earth, manna for our spiritual growth. help us to be your bold children pointing always to the Eucharist, enfolded in the love of Mary, your first tabernacle. Amen