Awaiting Christmas .......

100 years Anniversary of presence in Malta! - Thank you Lord!

Lord, make me like a butterfly: let me fly from one moment to the next, staying long enough to live and savor Your presence in each moment and showering colorful smiles and comforting words as I go along. Mary, Mother of Love Pray for us. Amen.

Art and Faith

 

This image of the Holy Virgin Mary was painted for us by a friend. We thank him and thank God for His Spirit dwelling within us, He who brings man to express such beauty.

 

Thank you, Father,  for all the gifts you bestow on us. May You be praised, Father, in the hands and hearts of all artists, may You be glorified in all their works, may they experience your infinite Love in the depths of their hearts that they may produce works which lift our hearts, thoughts and spirit to You, unimaginable Beauty, oasis of Peace, sweet and humble Love.     Amen.

God shines in your soul

Palm Suday

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

 

Let's go out and receive our King, who comes to us humble and meek.  St Catherine of Siena

Let's appreciate His living presence in the Blessed Eucharist and receive Him with an open heart during Mass. And if our hearts are still closed and we find it difficult to open them, let's ask our dear Mother Mary to help us and offer our hearts to Him through Her.

 

 

For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing.                                                  Romans 7:19

My Lord,
I know you call me to love you, but of myself I cannot love you - Give me your Love so that I may give it back to you;
I know you call me to serve you, but of myself I can do nothing - give me your strength that I may serve you with it;
I know you call me to do good, but although I try I always end up doing the contrary - give me faith in your Mercy and enough strength and hope to get up every time I fall;
I know you call me to be all for you and to come back to you every time I stray from you, but my pride hinders me - give me your humility to come back to You and to reside in Your Heart forever. Amen


“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew." - St. Francis de Sales

  
 


 

March - Month dedicated to St. Joseph

As protector and guardian of our dear Lord Jesus on this earth, let us turn to St. Joseph for assistance and ask him to protect us, intercede for us and guide us in our daily lives.

Prayer to St. Joseph for Assistance

O glorious St. Joseph, you were chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus, the most pure spouse of Mary ever Virgin, and the head of the holy family. You have been chosen by Christ's Vicar as the heavenly patron and protector of the Church founded by Christ. Therefore it is with great confidence that I implore your powerful assistance for the whole Church on earth. Protect in a special manner, with true fatherly love, the Pope and all bishops and priests in communion with the See of Peter. Be the protector of all who labor for souls amid the trials and tribulations of this life, and grant that all peoples of the world may follow Christ and the Church He founded.

Dear St. Joseph, accept the offering of myself which I now make to you. I dedicate myself to your service, that you may ever be my father, my protector, and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me great purity of heart and a fervent love for the spiritual life. May all my actions, after your example, be directed to the greater glory of God, in union with the divine Heart of Jesus, the immaculate heart of Mary, and your own paternal heart.

Finally, pray for me that I may share in the peace and joy of your holy death.

"You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden" Mtw 5:14

Light His Light of truth in every person's life, so that God can continue loving the world through you and me today - Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta

Contemplating the Father .....

Peace .....

It began with Peter. At the moment of Christ's arrest at Gethsemane, Peter had drawn his sword. It had been a natural reaction. Whoever is attacked unjustly has the right to defend himself. And he also has the right to defend another innocent person. However, Christ said to Peter:  "Put your sword back into its place;  for all who take the sword will perish by the sword."  And Peter understood. He understood up to his last breath that neither he nor his brothers could fight with the sword; because the kingdom to which he had been called had to be won with the power of love, and with the power of truth, and only in this way ..... I think, dear Brothers and Sisters, that precisely at this  moment we are on this very path.

Pope John Paul II,  February 23 1980

God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission – I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.

I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for nothing. I shall do good. I shall do His work.

I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place while not intending it – if I do but keep His commandments.

Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am. I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me – still He knows what He is about.

By Cardinal Newman

Epiphany ......

Today we celebrate the manifestion of the divine nature of Jesus Christ to the gentiles as represented by the Magi.

By manifesting his divine nature to the magi, through nature (the star), Jesus shows us that He became man to reach all humanity and that all humanity possesses the ability to recognise Him. In Jesus Christ "there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3 : 28).  All are destined to meet as brothers and sisters in Him, who is love, peace and joy.

Prayer for peace taken from Hebrew Liturgy:

Let all who dwell on earth simply acknowledge the truth of truths: that we have not come into this world for the sake of quarreling and war, nor for the sake of hatred, jealousy, anger, or bloodshed; rather, we have come into this world only to know You—may You be blessed eternally!

Therefore, have mercy on us, and fulfill among us what is written in your Scripture: “I shall give peace upon the earth, and you shall lie down with none to make you afraid. I shall abolish from the earth the predatory beast. The sword shall never come upon your land. Justice shall roll down like the water, and righteousness like a mighty stream. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of The Omnipresent, as the waters fill the seas.”

Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Peace, Pray for us!