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This Christmas, Make Room

12/12/2022

I can only imagine the attentiveness of parents just before the woman gives birth. Many parents prepare the famous hospital bag weeks – if not months – before the delivery day, to make sure they are fully equipped when the moment arrives. I believe that Joseph and Mary were just as mindful before Jesus was born, while also being filled with joy and excitement. These are undoubtedly memorable moments cherished by many which make everything else seem irrelevant.

During these delicate moments, the last thing that I would want to think of  is a 30-minute telephone survey by one of some statistic agencies – which have a tendency to test my nerves every so often. Joseph and Mary were not exempt from such statistical exercises; their government had in fact demanded their participation a few days before the delivery. The only difference was that the couple had to embark on a 33–hour journey between Nazareth and Bethlehem to enrol themselves. I must thank Google maps for the 33-hour calculation, though this might have been slightly different knowing the vulnerability of Mary in her last pregnancy days (if not hours) and the accompaniment of a poor donkey.

The couple had to leave their home in this vulnerable situation in order to foster responsibility and  be lawful citizens.
NB: The Romans had not been a corruption-free authority either.

Am I willing to leave my comfort zones to meet my obligations towards the state/superiors?

Knowing Joseph’s profession, I can only imagine what he had been preparing to ensure that  baby Jesus received a warm welcome to planet Earth. The simplest preparation that comes to mind is a comfy bed where the mother and child could rest. Yet, he had to leave everything behind to participate in such census, and the selfless woman who had just accompanied Elizabeth in her pregnancy now found herself on a physically and emotionally challenging journey with Joseph – without the warmth of that bed which her husband had planned for baby Jesus and without the warmth of their relatives’ presence.

Would I be able to sit with my own self in moments of vulnerability without being distracted by my possessions?
Would I be able to acknowledge and trust God amid my suffering?

The time for Mary to deliver arrived, and we all know how the rest of the story unfolded. The most comfortable piece of furniture found by the carpenter was nothing less than a manger, and the ones who had accompanied the couple during these joyful moments were none other than some sheep and the poor donkey. I cannot imagine how the couple must have felt at  that  point, after being stripped of all their plans and desires, and finding themselves in a place far from luxurious or fit for a rising king – a cave. A human disappointment. Nevertheless, God still finds His delight, especially now that He could start engaging with His beloved children through an embodied medium, in the simplest form of communication: a newborn’s cry.

Am I aware of God’s wish to reach out to me today?

Aspiring to build a space for Jesus  to dwell in is wonderful; however, are these dreams  replacing  my thirst to meet Him? Am I so preoccupied with being sinless or with my works, that I am forgetting that this is a two-way relationship?

May this story humble us in the realisation that Jesus brings life when and wherever He wants to. He does not require us to be fully equipped; rather, He requires us to have an expectant heart. God did not choose a carpenter to satisfy His needs to sleep in a luxurious bed; rather He chose Joseph for who he was. Mary was not chosen because she was a skilful mother; He chose her because of who she was.

In the same way, God wants to encounter me and you today, not because of what we can offer, but because of who we are, for He is in love with us, despite our disappointments or failed plans. Just as He wanted to journey with Joseph and Mary, He wants to walk the journey of life with me and you.

How can I make room for Jesus this Christmas?

Journeying Through Advent with Film

10/12/2022

We have recently collaborated with ‘Lifelong Catechesis’ to come up with a resource pack to accompany young people aged 16+ throughout the four weeks of Advent. We encourage all leaders to make use of this resource which delves into the themes of hope, faith, joy and love through an exploration of 4 movies.

Download

One Church, One Journey – For Youth Ministry

09/01/2021

In June 2020, the Archdiocese of Malta launched the process of ecclesial renewal One Church, One Journey. This process invites the Church in Malta to a journey taking place between 2020 and 2024.

MCYN has created an abridged version of One Church, One Journey. This version was written with the intention of making the original text shorter, simpler and easier to reflect upon. We’ve made it with hope that it will inspire reflection and, ultimately, drive action.

We pray that this process truly opens us to the will of God and the conversion of heart required to be true witnesses of Christ.

Christus Vivit – Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation to the Young People

02/04/2019

“Christ is alive!  He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world.  The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!”

“Christus Vivit” (“Christ Lives”), is the pope’s reflections on the 2018 Synod of Bishops on ‘Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment`, is a combination letter to young people about their place in the church and a plea to older members of the church not to stifle the enthusiasm of the young, but to offer gentle guidance when needed.

Vive Cristo, esperanza nuestra is the opening of the original text in Spanish of the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, whose text was subsequently published today, April 2, with the signature of March 25.

It was announced by Director of the Holy See Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, that the Exhortation named “Christus Vivit,” will be published on April 2, “the memorial of the death of John Paul II.”

The wish, he expressed during a briefing in Loreto, was “to link together the two pontificates, so loved by and close to the younger generations.” Pope John Paul II had been the first Pope to address a letter to young people in 1985 and he was the Pope who began the World Youth Days.

Today, April 2, the Pope’s Apostolic Exhortation was released for the first time.
The full English text of the Exhortation can be read here.

Healthy Tension

05/09/2017

Tension and stress are rarely associated with something positive. And yet the Gospel invites us to live in healthy tension. Tension is when one is stretched between two contradictory points. And the Gospel has many of these contradictory invitations. John portrays Jesus as calling his disciples to be in the world but not of this world (Jn 17:14-15). Matthew and Luke both write of the contradiction ‘For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’ (Mt 16:25; Lk 9:24). But perhaps the greatest sign of contradiction of all is Christ’s death on the cross, in order to bring life to the full. This is the ultimate tension. Christ here is literally stretched on the cross to bring heaven and earth together, to redeem all the human race in the loving embrace of God the Father.   

Perhaps our contemporary culture is more open to living in tension after all. Our culture no longer thinks in black and white. Our culture stretches our potential to all limits. So too our youth ministry can invite and challenge young people to live these healthy gospel tensions, as challenging as they may be. Can we invite them to be more of Christian witnesses in their daily lives? In the world but not of this world? To speak in a counter-cultural manner? To write blogs, facebook posts, newspaper articles in favour of life, truth and more Christian values?

Can we invite them to live out of their comfort zone? Without their gadgets? To live a period intensely for others, perhaps through voluntary work? To make radical choices in their lives? Isn’t this the way we invite them to lose their life in order to gain it?

Any youth minister who has challenged a youth group, be it daring them to an abseiling adventure or to a mission, know that they rise up to the occasion. And when they live in tension, it acts like a catapult. It helps them grow in spiritual maturity, it helps them be of witness to others and mobilise others to taste what they have experienced.

As youth leaders and ministers, we too are called to live in a tension that is life-giving and creative. We are called to be lamps to others and recognise the mission which we have been given for “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” At the same time, it is important we acknowledge that we bear ‘this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” So, in our journey as youth leaders, we need to continuously strive between doing all to polish and train ourselves so that we shine God’s light brightly, whilst at the same time trusting that it is God who will work through us, if we only step out of his way!

Christine Rossi

Ms Rossi together with Profs Adrian-Mario Gellel will be presenting their research entitled: ‘Of Lamps & Clay vessels – Towards the validation of non-formal and informal learning of youth leaders in Church youth groups.’ on the 23rd September 2017 at Sala San Gorg Preca – Catholic Institute in Floriana at 9am. For more info please send an email on: [email protected]

That Unreachable Thing Called Beauty

28/08/2017

“I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.” (The Book Thief by Markus Zusak)

There must be a reason why this sentence etched itself so deeply into my memory. It doesn’t happen often, so when it does, there simply must be a good reason for it to do so. I keep finding myself returning to this sentence, each time inserting different adjectives – opposites, contradictions – that shouldn’t work together. Words such as distant and close; rich and poor; wretched and peaceful; silent and loud; real and abstract; man and God…you get the picture. In all cases, the sentence holds true.

It seems to me now, that this single sentence is somewhat of a paradigm of the entire human experience. We simply cannot understand the value of one thing without that value which tends to stand on the most distant, opposite end. Can we start to understand the truth, without identifying the non-truths; or true friendship without having suffered betrayal? Can we read a complete sentence, without knowing the value of a single letter? Can we fully appreciate the splendour of a mosaic, without considering the thousands of little glass pieces (tesserae) used to create it? I am convinced the answer is no. So how can we expect to recognise Beauty (yes, with a capital B); or Truth, or Love (all with capitals), or Oneness without first seeing (but it is an ever so small and limited a glimpse) what they are not, through the multiplicity of means and scenarios which we are offered throughout our life, daily?

I am here concerned with Beauty, but since all are connected, one will naturally and inevitably relate to the other in a practically inseparable way. Much has been written about Beauty already, and whatever has been written here has certainly been written elsewhere before. “Art,” claims Pope Francis, “is not only a witness of the beauty of Creation, but it is also an instrument of evangelisation” (‘My idea of art,’ 2015). In other words, art is both passive and active – it is one and the other, and both at the same time. Indeed, the sentence still holds true.

Art is a tool, an instrument, and for a long time in the history of art (and man), Beauty was the insufferable cause and desire of several artists and patrons. All longed for Beauty, many attempted to reach it, and all, of course, failed. Because Beauty, in this sense, is not only unreachable but also unrecognisable. Yet, and here comes the paradox, it is forever approachable. We yearn what we cannot fully have. Still we try to reach it in one way other, and often we do not realise that we are.

What we will possibly find within art is not Beauty itself, but an expression of it, a taste to wet our appetite for the actual thing. And so we ask for more, to see more and know more. But the actual thing we are then looking for, is something art cannot provide us with. It is only an instrument, not the actual music, and it is the music that we desire most to hear.

Giulia Privitelli – Pietre Vive

Throughout the summer period, Pietre Vive is offering numerous formation camps in Spain (Santiago de Compostela and Puente de la Reina), in France (on Gothic art and architecture) and Greece (on early Christian communities, between paganism and jews). Contact [email protected] for more information or [email protected] to get in touch with the local community.

Of Resounding Gongs on Christian Conscience

21/08/2017

 

Lately, there has been much talk about Conscience. More exactly claims about decisions taken from a Christian formed Conscience. Such claims got even an enthusiastic and “blogged opinion piece support” coming from “a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1Cor 13: 1) hijacking – as in the recent past – Christian discourse on Conscience.

The Greek word for “conscience” in the New Testament is suneidēsis, i.e. “moral wakefulness/consciousness.” In the New Testament conscience has more of a personal undertone, while in the Old Testament it is more related to the covenant community through which one relates to God and Covenantal Precepts in being friends with God. Therefore for a conscience claiming to be Christian, it has to be always informed by and formed within the Community of Faith, though personal as it may be.

Conscience is:

  1. A God-given capacity for self-evaluation. A good conscience is clearly in accordance with morals and values based on God’s standards. A good conscience shows uprightness of heart.

2. A witness to the presence of God’s law written in our hearts and therefore it is not external to us. It is honest, leads to holiness of life and authenticity.

3. A retainer of the individual’s values yielding a strong sense of right and wrong. There is no good conscience if the latter is lacking. Conscience is clear where there is the maturity of faith and understanding. Immaturity in faith and lack of understanding leads to weak conscience. At this level, conscience is reduced to an opinion. BUT CONSCIENCE IS NOT OPINION.

A clear conscience does not smell of ulterior Pinocchian hidden motivations. It stems from the virtue purity of heart and is preserved by constant adherence to God through God’s Word and participation in the life of the Church (the community of disciples) which renews and softens our hearts.

Rev. Dr Charlo Camilleri 

in Riflessjonijiet – www.ccarmel.com

Fr. Fabio’s Reflections on Preparatory Document: Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment – Part 4

18/08/2017

During the conference from ‘Krakow 2 Panama’ held in Rome in April 2017, Fr Fabio Attard SDB was asked to share his thoughts on the third part of the Preparatory Document For The 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops “Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment”. We seriously encourage those involved in youth ministry to read his sharing as it is full of insight. The article will be split into 4 parts and we will upload two parts a week. For those who have not yet had the chance to read the preparatory document please click the following links: Maltese – English

Here’s Part 4 of Fr Fabio reflections on the Preparatory Document: Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment. If you haven’t read part 1, 2 & 3, please click here.

4. Courage

Taking up this last point – the means of expression in pastoral work, educative care and the path of evangelization, silence, contemplation and prayer – here we have a challenge that Pope Francis deals with in EG:

Youth ministry, as traditionally organized, has also suffered the impact of social changes. Young people often fail to find responses to their concerns, needs, problems and hurts in the usual structures. As adults, we find it hard to listen patiently to them, to appreciate their concerns and demands, and to speak to them in a language they can understand. For the same reason, our efforts in the field of education do not produce the results expected (EG 105).

With this reflection, we close the circle that we started commenting on the first point: walking with young people. Being part of the journey of the young means understanding their language which is much more than pure vocabulary. The language of ministry on the one hand demands from us to inhabit and get in tune with the world of young people, but even more so it asks us also to tune with their searching hearts. If we are called to understand the language of young people, we must first be able to understand and decipher their silence, their loneliness, the sense of their research. To live with the humility of the pilgrim and the patience of being a true companion is the greatest and the most appreciated gift young people are looking for.

From this humble incarnation in their world that we propose paths of evangelization that can educate towards the sense of the sacred, an evangelization which offers a pedagogy that leads to the discovery of the divine. The sacred and the transcendent are rooted in the hearts of young people. It is up to us educators to promote the right conditions for this desire not to be overtaken by shallowness, suffocated by banality or betrayed by proposals that are only seemingly spiritual.
In a dialogue with young people during his apostolic visit to the United Kingdom, in 2010, Pope Benedetto XVI comments how the hearts of young people are already predisposed towards the goodness and beauty:
Not only does God love us with a depth and an intensity that we can scarcely begin to comprehend, but he invites us to respond to that love. You all know what it is like when you meet someone interesting and attractive, and you want to be that person’s friend. You always hope they will find you interesting and attractive, and want to be your friend. God wants your friendship. And once you enter into friendship with God, everything in your life begins to change. As you come to know him better, you find you want to reflect something of his infinite goodness in your own life. You are attracted to the practice of virtue (17th September 2010).

In this sense, and with this in mind, we must reflect on the following challenge: how to propose to young people, gradually and with respect to their rhythms, experiences of silence and contemplation, prayer and adoration? It would be helpful for us to ask ourselves where do fear and resistance, that sometimes we encounter at this stage, originate from?

Conclusion
I conclude with the same invitation that leaves us the Blessed Paul VI at the end of EN with a very simple and direct language:
May the world of our time, trying, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, to receive the Good News not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received in the joy of Christ, and who are willing to stake their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the heart of the world
May the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the Good News not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervour, who have first received the joy of Christ, and who are willing to risk their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world (EN n.80).

Fr Fabio Attard SDB

If you haven’t read part 1, 2 & 3, please click here.