Three more from Emvin Cremona

I share with you today three more beautiful panels painted by Emvin Cremona, the first one showing the Blessed Mother at St Gregory's church in Sliema, the second one also showing the Blessed Mother with saints, from the church in Burmarrad, and the third one showing St Paul, from the ceiling of St Cajetan church in Hamrun.. All of them display his inimitable style with long lines, rich color and typical postures of the figures. All of them are photos which I took myself over the past 6 years.

Blessed Mother by Emvin Cremona at St Gregory's, Sliema

Immaculate Heart of Mary with Saints at Burmarrad church

St Paul the Apostle from St Cajetan church, Hamrun

More on Emvin Cremona

The ceiling of St Publius church, Floriana

Continuing my display of Emvin Cremona's paintings, one has to understand that painting a ceiling, or even a dome is no easy task. One can recall Michelangelo's painting of the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, resting precariously on scaffolding, annoyed by Pope Julius (who wanted the work to finish sooner,) and painting in frescoes at the age of 85! Well, Emvin Cremona had an easier way to do his work, as most of the paintings were done on canvas, and then pasted in place inside the dome, or onto the ceiling. Yet, he did do some paintings directly to the wall, which was complicated by the fact that much of the limestone in church buildings can be affected by salt from the sea water, which in some cases could be less than a mile away. Many walls can flake off because of the salt, which could be a major problem if the painting is done directly to the stone. Moreover even the canvas, which is then glued to the dome or ceiling could be affected by the saltiness in the limestone. This was actually the case with the dome I showed yesterday at the church in Balzan, where the whole dome painting fell down a few years ago, and had to be meticulously re-glued. It's good to keep in mind these facts when admiring paintings such as these accompanying this post, from the church of St Publius church in Floriana.

Introducing Emvin Cremona

The dome at Annunciation church in Balzan, Malta

A section of the same dome painting (click to enlarge)

Over the next few days I will be introducing you to Malta's most prolific and popular sacred artist. Emvin Cremona was born in 1919 and died in 1986. He studied in Rome along with a few other fellow artists, Anton Inglott, Esprit Barthet and George Preca, among others. Back in Malta he quickly started to get commissions to paint in churches all over the island. Various churches claim the honor of having his paintings adorning their ceiling, domes and other panels, including those at Msida, Hamrun, Ghaxaq, Floriana, as well as smaller works in Burmarrad, St Anthony's in Birkirkara, Senglea as well as Balzan, where today's selection are from. I have developed a special love and admiration for his work, and even started a website to honor him. Please check it out here:Emvin Cremona's paintings

Our Lady of the Rosary

St Dominic receiving the Rosary from Pope Innocent III

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. 

Goswijn van der Weyden - Polyptych of the Rosary (click to enlarge)

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".

New Bishop for Malta

New Auxiliary Bishop for Malta, Msgr. Charles Scicluna

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Monsignor Charles J. Scicluna as Auxiliary Bishop of Malta.
The episcopal ordination will be held on November 24 at the Cathedral of St John, Valletta, Malta. Born in Canada in 1959 of Maltese parents, Monsignor Scicluna was educated in Malta and graduated Doctor of Laws from the University of Malta in 1984. He was ordained priest in 1986, and continued his studies abroad, graduated Doctor in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, in 1991 and then served the Church in Malta on the Metropolitan Tribunal and in a number of parishes, including his home parish of Lija. For the last 17 years he has served the Universal Church, working in the Vatican on the most challenging of cases under the leadership of Cardinal Ratzinger, both when he was a Cardinal and prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, and now as Pope Benedict XVI.

Monsignor Scicluna is a renowned expert in Canon Law, highly respected among his peers around the world for his lecturing skills and his expertise in child protection issues. He is well loved for his amiable personality and for his sense of fairness. The Maltese public would remember his work in favour of the canonization of Saint George Preca between 1996 and 2007. The Holy Father has now called Monsignor Scicluna to the college of bishops with the mission to work for the Church in Malta under the leadership of Archbishop Paul Cremona O.P. Ad Multos Annos.

Trinidad, California

Trinidad Harbor, California

Recently I drove through the northern California coast and a little north of Eureka, I came across a delightful coastal town called Trinidad. The above shows a photo I took of the harbor that is dominated by a small lighthouse on land, and with a few rocks dotting the beautiful yet calm Pacific Ocean, at least for that day. Unfortunately, since it was past Labor Day most of the stores were closed, but I can imagine this would be a busy place in the summer months with many tourists and visitors. A local seafood restaurant was the only place where one could eat, situated at the base of a pier jutting out on the water. When I came back, I painted this same scene in water colors, and this is my humble result, with a few minor adjustment to the original.

St Francis of Assisi

From a fresco at the Assisi basilica

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 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.

Blessing of animals

In anticipation of tomorrow’s feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, I always bless the animals in our parish on the Sunday closest to the feast of the patron of nature, ecology and animals. We did not have a photographer at hand this year, but two horses showed up, two rabbits, two cats, a rooster, my noisy cockatiel and a parakeet, plus plenty of dogs. Here are some photos from past blessings I did on the steps of the Cathedral.

 

The Guardian Angels

"Guardian Angel" by Pietro da Cortona

The belief in Guardian Angels appears in the Old Testament, although it is not specifically articulated. The belief that angels can be guides and intercessors for men appears in the books of Job and Daniel where angels seem to be assigned to certain countries. In the Gospel Jesus says of children: "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." This is often understood to mean that children are protected by guardian angels.
In Acts chapter 12 there is another allusion to the belief that a specific angel is assigned to protect each individual. After Peter had been escorted out of prison by an angel, he went to the home of 'Mary the mother of John, also called Mark'. The servant girl, Rhoda, recognized his voice and ran back to tell the group that Peter was there. However the group replied, "It must be his angel."'
The fathers of the Church had differing views on the Guardian Angels. Saint Ambrose, for example, believed that saints lose their guardian angels so that they might have a greater struggle and persevere. Saints Jerome and Basil of Caesarea argued that sin drove the angels away. The first Christian theologian to outline a specific scheme for guardian angels was Honorius. He said that every soul was assigned a guardian angel the moment it was put into a body. St Thomas Aquinas agreed with Honorius and specified that it was the lowest order of angels who served as guardians. Guardian angels appear in literary works throughout the medieval and renaissance periods. 
Popes have always invoked the protection of their Guardian Angels. Pope Pius XI recalled in one of his audiences that he relied on his Guardian Angel’s help when confronting the likes of Hitler and Mussolini. Pope John XXIII in a private conversation with a Canadian bishop attributed the idea of calling an ecumenical council to his Guardian Angel - it was via his Angel that God gave him the inspiration to convene Vatican Council II, which started October 11, 1962, 50 years ago.
One can also name your own Guardian Angels, as I have personally done when I called mine Stephen. Yes, Stephen has been very good to me, protecting me from danger and saving me from near accidents and who knows what else.
PRAYER: Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

St Therese of Lisieux

Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint, called her the "Little Flower", and found in her short life more inspiration for their own lives than in volumes by theologians.
Yet Therese died when she was 24, after having lived as cloistered Carmelite for less than ten years. She never went on missions, never founded a religious order, never performed great works. The only book of hers, published after her death, was a brief edited version of her journal called "Story of a Soul." But within 28 years of her death, the public demand was so great that she was canonized.
Therese was born in France in 1873, the pampered daughter of a mother who had wanted to be a saint and a father who had wanted to be monk. The two had gotten married but determined they would be celibate until a priest told them that was not how God wanted a marriage to work! They must have followed his advice very well because they had nine children. The five children who lived were all daughters.
Tragedy and loss came quickly to Therese when her mother died of breast cancer when she was four and a half years old. Her sixteen year old sister Pauline became her second mother -- which made the second loss even worse when Pauline entered the Carmelite convent five years later. Therese’s parents were eventually beatified in October 2008.
When her other sisters, Marie and Leonie, left to join religious orders (the Carmelites and Poor Clares, respectively), Therese was left alone with her last sister Celine and her father. She wanted to enter the Carmelite convent to join Pauline and Marie but how could she convince others that she could handle the rigors of Carmelite life. When the superior of the Carmelite convent refused to take Therese because she was so young, the formerly shy little girl went to the bishop. When the bishop also said no, she decided to go over his head.
Her father and sister took her on a pilgrimage to Rome to try to get her mind off this crazy idea. Therese loved it. It was the one time when being little worked to her advantage! Because she was young and small she could run everywhere, touch relics and tombs without being yelled at. Finally they went for an audience with the Pope. They had been forbidden to speak to him but that didn't stop Therese. As soon as she got near him, she begged that he let her enter the Carmelite convent. She had to be carried out by two of the guards!
But the Vicar General who had seen her courage was impressed and soon Therese was admitted to the Carmelite convent that her sisters Pauline and Marie had already joined. 

Her romantic ideas of convent life and suffering soon met up with reality in a way she had never expected. Her father suffered a series of strokes that left him affected not only physically but mentally. As a cloistered nun she couldn't even visit her father before he died.
She knew as a Carmelite nun she would never be able to perform great deeds. Therese took every chance to sacrifice, no matter how small it would seem. She smiled at the sisters she didn't like. She ate everything she was given without complaining -- often given the worst leftovers.
When Pauline was elected prioress, she asked Therese for the ultimate sacrifice. Because of politics in the convent, many of the sisters feared that the family Martin would take over the convent. Therefore Pauline asked Therese to remain a novice, in order to allay the fears of the others that the three sisters would push everyone else around. This meant she would never be a fully professed nun. Upon their father’s death, now Celine also entered the convent. Four of the sisters were now together again. In this small convent they now made up one-fifth of the population. Despite this and the fact that Therese was a permanent novice they put her in charge of the other novices.
Then in 1896, she coughed up blood. She kept working without telling anyone until she became so sick a year later everyone knew it. She died on September 30, 1897 at the age of 24 years old. After she died, Pauline put together Therese's and sent 2000 copies to other convents. Within two years, the Martin family had to move because her notoriety was so great and by 1925 she had been canonized.

The 8 L's of Parenting

LOVE your family and tell them. Spend time hugging, listening, and affirming. When you give your attention, it should be undivided.

LOOK for opportunities to find the good in your family and make comments about the good traits in the other parent and your children.

LISTEN to your children when they need to express their thoughts and feelings and model expressing your thoughts in an appropriate manner.

LAUGH with your children. A sense of humor goes a long way in dealing with the issues of life. Play together, each day is a gift you only get once.

LABOR diligently and with pride in what you do and expect the same of your children.

LEARN, learn, and learn. A good motto is, “Every day the thing to do is learn something new”. Have good books, periodicals, and information in your home. Read to your children, and for yourself, and instill a love of learning in them.

LEAVE TV and other media off. Have conversation and play be the noise in your homes, interact with one another.

LIVE life to its fullest. Take pleasure in the little things, ice-cream, the sunshine, the enthusiasm of your little ones, and the innocence of their sleep. Have candlelight family suppers – even if it is hamburger. Sing even if you do not carry a tune, remember to encourage dreams and be thankful.

Use these 8 L’s of parenting as a guide to remember what is important in life and how you can express Love with your children every day!

The Archangels

St Michael, St Raphael and St Gabriel

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.

Religious affiliation of US Presidents

With the US election coming up in early November, the subject of religion always comes up, especially this year as our freedom of religious worship is being threatened seriously. Most of the US presidents were affiliated to an organized religion, and as we know, only one so far, was a Roman Catholic, John F. Kennedy.
Here is a list of all the Presidents and their religious affiliation at the time of their installation as President:
George Washington – Episcopalian
John Adams – Unitarian, originally Congregationalist
Thomas Jefferson – no specific
James Madison – Deism/Episcopalian
James Monroe – Episcopalian/Deism?
John Quincy Adams – Unitarian
Andrew Jackson – Presbyterian
Martin Van Buren – Dutch
William Henry Harrison – Episcopalian
John Tyler – Episcopalian
James K. Polk – Methodist   
Zachary Taylor – nominally Episcopalian
Millard Fillmore – Unitarian
Franklin Pierce – no specific affiliation
James Buchanan – Presbyterian
Abraham Lincoln – no affiliation
Andrew Johnson – no affiliation
Ulysses S. Grant – Presbyterian, Methodist
Rutherford B. Hayes – no affiliation
James Garfield – Disciples of Christ
Chester A. Arthur – Episcopalian
Grover Cleveland – Presbyterian
Benjamin Harrison – Presbyterian
Grover Cleveland – Presbyterian
William McKinley – Methodist
Theodore Roosevelt – Dutch Reformed
William Howard Taft – Unitarian
Woodrow Wilson – Presbyterian
Warren G. Harding – Baptist
Calvin Coolidge – Congregationalist
Herbert Hoover – Quaker
Franklin D. Roosevelt – Episcopalian
Harry S. Truman – Baptist
Dwight D. Eisenhower – Presbyterian
John F. Kennedy – Roman Catholic
Lyndon Johnson – Disciples of Christ
Richard Nixon – Quaker
Gerald R. Ford – Episcopalian
Jimmy Carter – Baptist
Ronald Reagan – Presbyterian
George H. W. Bush – Episcopalian
Bill Clinton – Baptist
George W. Bush – Methodist
Barack Obama – unaffiliated Christian

St Vincent de Paul

Born to a peasant family on April 24th 1581 near Ranquine, Gascony near Dax, southwest France, Vincent was a highly intelligent youth. He spent four years with the Franciscan friars at Acq, France getting an education. He began divinity studies in 1596 at the University of Toulouse and was ordained a priest at age 20. He was taken captive by Turkish pirates to Tunis, and sold into slavery. Eventually he was freed in 1607 when he converted one of his owners to Christianity. 
Returning to France, he served as parish priest near Paris where he started organizations to help the poor, nursed the sick, found jobs for the unemployed, etc. He founded the Order known as the Vincentians. He also became chaplain at the court of Henry IV of France. With St Louise de Marillac, he co-founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity. St Vincent died on  September 27th, 1660 at Paris, France of natural causes. His body was found incorrupt when exhumed in 1712. He was canonized on June 16th, 1737 by Pope Clement XII. Many St Vincent de Paul Societies flourished around the world, helping the poor and the homeless.

A Wedding Anniversary Prayer

This is a prayer which can be said by parents, especially on their wedding anniversary, to be read preferably by the parents together:
Dear Lord, we stand before you today as we celebrate another Anniversary of our Marriage.
We thank You for standing by us through good times and bad, in sickness and in health.
And after all these years full of life and love, successes and failures, joys and disappointments, bumps and bruises, tears and smiles, hugs and kisses, we look forward for more happiness and contentment with our children, family and friends.
We look back and reminisce the work we accomplished throughout these years.......
25,347 diapers changed, 23,589 bottles filled, 9,651 baths given, 14,432 meals prepared,
421 trips to the Doctor’s Office, 475 Baseball and Basketball Games, Practices and Scrimmages, 679 homeworks and school projects done at 10 p.m., 27 spankings, 38 teachers’ Conferences, 527 Religion classes, 728 trips to Sunday Mass, 100s of “I Love You”, “Sorry” and “Thank You”.......and we can honestly say that they were all worthed ! Continue to bless our Marriage, Lord with the respect, commitment and love we show towards each other. And may we always remember that the biggest gift we can give to our children is the Love and Faith we share together.

Welcome to Autumn

Tamarack trees in Eastern Oregon

The Autumn or Fall season is certainly in the air here in the Northwest USA, as temperatures dip down close to freezing point overnight and reach only the low 70s during the day. As hunting season also starts, deer are more visible as they move around the fields and countryside, as if they know that hunters are after them. The change of foliage is quite spectacular in the northern parts of the USA and Canada. 

Maple trees in Spencer, Massachusetts

While the Northeast areas around Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York have a predominance of maple trees that turn red, orange and yellow, the Northwest region around Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana have a distinctly dominance of tamarack trees that turn to yellow, before they drop their needles, right on time throughout the month of October. Welcome to Autumn, and soon I’ll show the photos of the first snow in the mountains, which I predict will happen within 2 weeks.

Just in case you thought you knew everything

Tigers have striped skin, not striped fur

1.  Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
2.  Peanuts are one of the ingredients in dynamite.
3.  There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
4.  The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
5.  A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
6.  There are more chickens than people in the world.
7.  The longest one-syllable word in the English language is screeched."
8.  Almonds are a member of the peach family.
9. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
10. Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
11. There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and  hazardous.
12.  Los Angeles' full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra  Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula"
13.  A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
14.  An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
15.  Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
16.  The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street  were named after Bert  the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's  "It's a Wonderful Life."
17.  A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
18.  A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
19.  A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
20.  It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. 
21.  In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
22.  The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube  and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
23.  The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
24.  There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
25.  "Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.

A Prayer of Humility

As we see Jesus in the Sunday Gospel today encouraging his apostles to be humble, and never unpretentious, this is especially good for those of us over 60, but it applies to everyone as you age in good health and good spirits, whether you're 6, 16 or 60:
A Prayer of Humility
Lord, you know better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from becoming too talkative, and especially from the unfortunate habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and at every opportunity. Release me from the idea that I must straighten out other peoples' affairs. With my immense treasure of experience and wisdom, it seems a pity not to let everybody partake of it. Keep me from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.
Grant me the patience to listen to the complaints of others; help me to endure them with charity. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains - they increase with the increasing years and my inclination to recount them is also increasing. I will not ask You for improved memory, only for a little more humility and less self-assurance when my own memory doesn't agree with that of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be wrong.
Keep me reasonably gentle. I do not have the ambition to become a saint - it is so hard to live with some of them - but a harsh old person is one of the devil's masterpieces. Make me sympathetic without being sentimental, helpful but not bossy. Let me discover merits where I had not expected them, and talents in people whom I had not thought to possess any. And, Lord, give me the grace to tell them so. Amen.

16 needs for today

Certainly the need of God in our lives

These are 16 practical needs the world needs today:
A need for permanence in a civilization of transience.
A need for the Absolute when all else is becoming relative.
A need for silence in the midst of noise.
A need for gratuitousness in the face of unbelievable greed.
A need for poverty amid the flaunting of wealth.
A need for contemplation a century of action, for without contemplation, action risks becoming mere agitation.
A need for communication in a universe content with entertainment and sensationalism.
A need for peace amid today’s universal outbursts of violence.
A need for quality to counterbalance the increasingly prevalent response to quantity.
A need for humility to counteract the arrogance of power and science.
A need for human warmth when everything is being rationalized or computerized.
A need to belong to a small group rather than to be a part of the crowd.
A need to slowness to compensate the present eagerness for speed.
A need for truth when the real meaning of words is distorted in political speeches and sometimes even in religious discourses.
A need for transparency when everything seems opaque.
A need for the interior life, when you can discover God inside of you.

Malta's Independence Day

Prime Minister George Borg Olivier showing the documents of Independence

Malta was ruled over the past 2 millennia by the Romans, the Arabs, the Normans, the Spanish, the Knights of St John, the French and the British. Following a Maltese constitutional referendum in 1964, approved by 54.5% of voters, on September 21st 1964, Malta became an independent state as a Constitutional Monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its Head of State. 

Plaque that commemorates Malta's Independence, which translated, means: "The Maltese people rejoice with the victory of Independence of these islands, today September 21st, 1964."

So September 21st every year is celebrated as Independence Day or Jum l-Indipendenza in Maltese, this year being the 48th anniversary. One can say that both Labor Leader Dom Mintoff, who died a month a ago, as well as Nationalist Leader and Prime Minister George Borg Olivier contributed towards the attainment of Independence.

Set of stamps issued for Malta's Independence in 1964

On December 1st 1964, Malta was admitted to the United Nations. In 1965 Malta joined the Council of Europe, and in 1970, Malta signed an Association Treaty with the European Community. Malta was declared a republic on December 13th, 1974 and in 2004, Malta finally became the 25th nation to join the European Union.

Flashback to 50 years ago

My family in 1962

Tomorrow Malta celebrates its Independence Day, a historic day that took place in 1964, when it gained Independence from England. In anticipation of tomorrow's landmark, I go back 50 years to share a family photo from 1962 with my parents, my two sisters and my brother. Our younger brother Marcel was born in 1964. 

School bus pass photo

At this time I was still at the local Primary School in St Julian's, before I started the Secondary education first at Naxxar Technical school and later at the Minor Seminary in Floriana. The Primary School was a brand new building, which we moved in around 1962, and was a welcome addition to our education process. At that time each student going to Secondary schools had to have a bus pass for a reduction of the bus fare, which was minimal nonetheless. 

The St Julian''s Primary School Staff in the early 60s

It was also a turbulent time for Maltese politics as the Church and State relationship were not good, especially between 1958 and 1962, but Independence calmed things down in more ways than one.

Saint Januarius

St. Januarius (Gennaro) is a patron saint of and former bishop of Naples in the 4th century. Januarius and his friends were initially sentenced to be eaten by the lions, .tigers, and bears ( Oh my) at the Naples amphitheatre. Although the beasts had been starved for several days before the day of the planned transformation of the Christians into animal crackers, the beasts refused to attack Januarius and his colleagues. The spectators at the amphitheatre were frightened by the indifference of the starving animals to the Christians and rumors began to circulate that the Christians had magical powers and were possibly protected by their god. The governor of Campania ordered their immediate beheading and Januarius' body was later returned to the Cathedral in Naples.

The Cardinal of Naples shows the liquified blood of San Gennaro

Over a century later, it was purported that a vial of St. Januarius' blood surfaced and was preserved and permanently fixed in the metal reliquary in the Cathedral of Naples. Thousands of people assemble to witness this event in the cathedral of Naples, three times a year: on September 19 (Saint Januarius day, to commemorate his martyrdom), on December 16 (to celebrate his patronage of both Naples and of the archdiocese), and on the Saturday before the first Sunday of May (to commemorate the reunification of his relics).

The statue of San Gennaro in Naples Cathedral

Sometimes the "blood" liquefies immediately, other times it takes hours.  When the priest brings the vial to the altar that holds the saint's blood, the people, who gather by the thousands, pray that the blood becomes liquid once again. If the miracle takes place, the officiant proclaims, "Il miracolo é fatto!" and waves a white handkerchief. Then a Te Deum is sung and the reliquary is taken to the altar rail so the faithful can kiss the vial.  The priest conducting the service chants "The miracle has happened." The choir and the congregation respond with a Te Deum, and prayers are offered to St. Januarius. There have been a few instances when the substance in the vial had not liquefied and the faithful believes that it is a sign of impending peril. Five times when liquefaction has failed there have been major disasters, the latest being an earthquake in southern Italy that killed 3,000 people in 1980.

Working along with God

"The Divine Jesus" by El Greco

Today reflect on these little quotes, and better yet, put them to work

1. Be ye fishers of men.... You catch them - He'll clean them.
2. Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.
3. Don't put a question mark where God put a period.
4. Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.
5. Forbidden fruits create many jams.
6. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
7. God grades on the cross, not the curve.
8. God loves everyone, but probably prefers "fruits of the spirit" over "religious nuts!"
9. God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
10. You try to do your best - He'll do the rest!
11. If God is your Copilot - swap seats!
12. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.
13. Prayer: Don't give God instructions  - just report for duty!
14. The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
15. The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.
16. We don't change the message, the message changes us.
17. You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him.

Ranch signs

Last week I was driving in the southwest region of Oregon, around the town of O'Brien, and came across an outdoor shop that sells ranch signs made from metal. They all have a country and western motif, besides showing animals that one finds in the country, deer and elk, geese and quail, eagles and swans, etc. 

The owner came  to speak to me when he saw me taking pictures, and I assured him I will not use my photos for any business transaction, but simply to showcase his beautiful work. One finds these signs hanging above ranch gates and doors and are quite attractive and appealing. I took quite a few other photos of such signs over the past few years, but never came across a whole display like this.

Our parish family

2012 Baker City Cathedral group photo

I share with you today a photo of our parish family during a photo I took last weekend during our annual parish picnic. Even though not all the registered parishioners were present for this photo, at least those who attended the Sunday Mass were asked to line up on the steps of our Cathedral for this annual opportunity to be included in a group photo. Since we've been taking a photo every year, here are three other group photos from different years. Click once to enlarge each photo, and see if you can spot yourself.

2006 Baker City Cathedral group photo

2007 Baker City Cathedral group photo

 

 

2008 Baker City Cathedral group photo

2010 Baker City Cathedral group photo