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CIS
NEWSLETTER
No.
51 - February 2008
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew
5:4)
As we journey through life we all encounter trials and events which
produce pain or sorrow in the very deep core of our being.
Sometimes, the pain is so strong that it becomes almost unbearable.
And yet, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ tells us that those who
mourn are blessed!
But how, we ask, can we be blessed in our mourning ?
Primarily, it is essential to examine the subject or origin of our
mourning. For mourning can so easily stem from worldly desires such
as the selfish longing for unattainable earthly wealth or from
obsessions of success in everything we do. On the other hand, it can
originate from that which is godly such as grief over the loss of
loved ones, or the sudden penetrating awareness of the destruction
that our sin brings into our life and that of others.
Mourning originating from the lack of self-gratification or a kind
of selfish sorrow can only lead towards a life of boredom and
despair and can never qualify for heavenly comfort. Mourning
accompanied by faith and love lived out of a righteous life opens
the door to God's healing, wholeness, freedom, joy and renewed
strength. For as we find in Psalm 34:19 , "many are the afflictions
of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all" (Psalm
34:19)
Mourning is in itself a painful process, so we may have the tendency
to deny it or escape it through alienation such as increasing our
work or finding means to get more distracted. But mourning has to be
faced. If not, the subject of our mourning will have authority over
us and may control our behavior, relationships and actions.
As we face our mourning we enter into the healing process. It is at
the point when we let the tears flow and allow others to listen to
our pain that the moment of blessing can be experienced. It is the
moment of restoration by supernatural grace. Perhaps the best way of
understanding this is to contemplate on Jesus' own mourning process
in Gethsemane.
Jesus suffered a most dreadful pain in Gethsemane. For he was aware
of the futility of so much of his pain. He knew the indifference,
the ingratitude and the open hostility of his people. He speaks out
his pain in Matthew 26:36-46 " My heart is nearly broken with
sorrow", a pain that made him cry out" Father, you have power to do
all things. Take this cup away from me." But then came his
magnificent resignation " But let it be as you would have it, not as
I"
Amidst his deepest mourning, Jesus found comfort in knowing that he
remained faithful to his Father's will till the very end. It was at
that point of total surrender that Jesus received his Father's fresh
anointment giving him strength to endure what had to come.
It is the same with us. In tears we do not despair but speak our
heart to God. To the depth and degree that we own the brokenness in
our individual lives, to the same depth and degree we will
experience the blessedness of God's comfort, healing and
consolation. As we pray with greater fervor , therein we find
strength and even joy.
Reflection and Prayer
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What is the subject of my mourning? Does it flow out of a longing to
satisfy my self interest or is it a legitimate mourning in the
Lord's sight?
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Do I try to hide my legitimate mourning because I am afraid of
expressing my deepest emotions in humility before God and others?
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Do I offer resistance to God's compassionate love and healing grace
manifested in the person of the suffering Christ?
Gordon Vassallo
Book Review
FRANCIS DE SALES
‘Introduction to the Devout life’ and ‘Treatise on the Love of God’
Wendy M. Wright
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Published by Crossroad –
New York ISBN 0-8245-2508-6 this book is one of the Crossroad
Spiritual Legacy Series which aim at making the Spiritual Masters
accessible to today’s reader. It is a simple, very readable short
book in which Wendy M. Wright introduces St. Francis de Sales, his
life and his historical context, the people for whom he wrote as
well as distilling from his masterworks ‘Introduction to the Devout
life’ and ‘Treatise on the Love of God’ the insights that are as
relevant and applicable today as they were when first written.
Wendy M. Wright has taught the history of spirituality at the Weston
School of Theology, Emmanuel College, the University of Nebraska,
and Creighton University. She is the author of various books and her
articles on the spiritual life have been published in magazines and
reviews. She lives with her husband and three children in Omaha,
Nebraska.
St Francis de Sales was a seventeenth century bishop and author who
is considered as one of the masters of the Christian Spiritual
tradition and has been pronounced a doctor of the church.
The first part of the book deals with his earlier work, the
‘Introduction to the Devout Life’, put together between 1607 and
1608 in response to people’s requests for advice on the Christian
life. It is essentially his guidance on how a lay person can live a
devout life in the midst of the cares and concerns of an ordinary
busy life. He addresses this advice to an imaginary person,
‘Philothea’ which means ‘lover of God’. The book was an instant
success and has gone through innumerable printings.
The second part of the book deals with a later work, first published
in 1616, ‘Treatise on the Love of God’ and is his most comprehensive
work as it represents the breadth and depth of his theological
vision. In it he views religious experience through the lens of the
language and mystical experience of the Song of Songs. It integrates
Catholic dogmatic, moral, scriptural, philosophical and mystical
insights into one overarching narrative. He addresses the ‘Treatise’
to ‘Theotimus’ a masculine name that also means ‘lover of God’.
I found this book to be quite easy to read and at the same time very
enriching as I had not previously been familiar with St Francis de
Sales or his writings.
Clare Camilleri.
Prayer
In Suffering
Father, let this suffering pass from me;
yet not my will but yours be done.
May you be blessed forever.
Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.
With you I am nailed to the cross.
Let my pains be mingled with yours
for the saving of the world.
Holy Spirit, comforter and consoler,
heal what is ill in me,
strengthen what is weak,
sweeten what is sour or cranky.
Save me from depression and self-pity;
renew my courage;
bring me to pray with Jesus on the cross:
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Amen.
Taken from the ‘Redemptionist Mission Book’
From the CIS Programme
Frar
Ir-Randan : żmien il-konverżjoni.
Irtir fis-silenzju bħala preparazzjoni għar-Randan.
Data: Mill-Ġimgħa, 1 ta’
Frar, 2008 fis-7.00 ta’ filgħaxija, sal-Ħadd, 3 ta’ Frar wara l-pranzu.
Imexxi : Fr. Nazju Borg
Post: Dar Manresa,
Victoria, Għawdex.
Irtir ta’ Weekend għall-Miżżewġin
Dan il-Weekend huwa okkażjoni għall-dawk il-koppji miżżewġa li
jixtiequ jġeddu u jiċċelebraw il-wegħediet taż-żwieġ tagħhom. Din
hija esperjenza spiritwali b’differenza. Il-Weekend huwa mfassal li
jkun kreattiv fejn il-partners jirriflettu u jitolbu flimkien. Ikun
hemm ħin ta’ sharing fi grupp magħmul minn 8 koppji. Dan il-Weekend
joffri opportunità lill-koppji parteċipanti sabiex jiskopru dejjem
aktar l-imħabba li Alla għandu għall-miżżewġin u l-familji tagħhom.
Data:
Mill-Ġimgħa 8 Ta’ Frar, fis-6.00pm sal-Ħadd 10, fil-5.00pm
Jiffaċillitaw: Il-Koppja Carmen u Karm
Conti u Fr. Vince Magri S.J.
Post:
Mount St. Joseph Retreat House – Mosta
The Book of Psalms and Select Themes from the Spiritual
Excercises of St Ignatius
The Book of Psalms can be described as the prayer book of ancient
Israel in poetic form. It was also taken over as a prayer book by
the Christian Churches. The Psalms are written in first-class Hebrew
poetic style, thereby succeeding to express the deepest yearnings of
the ancient Israelites for God – both as individuals and as a
community. The emotions of the Psalmist are expressed very
graphically – and at times they seem to be harsh to the contemporary
ear.
In this weekend seminar, such aspects will be examined together with
the main theological tenets of the Psalms. In turn these will be
linked to select themes from the Spiritual Excercises of St
Ignatius.
Professor Anthony J. Frendo, Head of the Department of Arabic and
Near Eastern Studies at the University of Malta, lectures on Ancient
Near Eastern Studies. His special interests lie in Biblical Hebrew,
the Bible, and Near Eastern Archaeology (mainly Biblical
Archaeology). He is also interested in Ignatian Spirituality.
Date:
From Friday 15th February at 6.30 pm till Sunday 17th at 5.00
pm
Given by: Prof. Anthony J.
Frendo (Professor in Scripture and Biblical Archaeology)
Place:
Mt St Joseph Retreat House, Targa Gap, Mosta.
Irtir għall-Professjonisti.
Dan l-irtir, li għandu storja twila, huwa miftuħ
għall-professjonisti individwali. Dan l-irtir
isir bil-Malti.
Data: Mill-Ġimgħa, 29 ta’
Frar, 2008 fis-7.00 ta’ filgħaxija sal-Ħadd, 2 ta’ Marzu, wara l-pranzu.
Imexxi : Fr. Godwin Preca, SJ
Post: Dar Manresa,
Victoria, Għawdex.
MARZU
Irtir ta’ Weekend għall-Miżżewġin
Dan il-Weekend huwa okkażjoni għall-dawk il-koppji miżżewġa li
jixtiequ jġeddu u jiċċelebraw il-wegħediet taż-żwieġ tagħhom. Din
hija esperjenza spiritwali b’differenza. Il-Weekend huwa mfassal li
jkun kreattiv fejn il-partners jirriflettu u jitolbu flimkien. Ikun
hemm ħin ta’ sharing fi grupp magħmul minn 8 koppji. Dan il-Weekend
joffri opportunità lill-koppji parteċipanti sabiex jiskopru dejjem
aktar l-imħabba li Alla għandu għall-miżżewġin u l-familji tagħhom.
Data:
Mill-Ġimgħa 7 ta’ Marzu, fis-6.00pm sal-Ħadd 9, fil-5.00pm
Jiffaċillitaw: Il-Koppja Carmen u Karm
Conti u Fr. Vince Magri S.J.
Post:
Mount St. Joseph Retreat House – Mosta
Irtir għall-koppji Professjonisti:
Dan l-irtir huwa indirizzat lill-koppji professjonisti u għandu jsir
bil-Malti.
Data : Mill-Ġimgħa, 7 ta ‘
Marzu, 2008 fis-7.00 ta’ filgħaxija sal-Ħadd, 9 ta’
Marzu wara l-pranzu.
Imexxi : Fr. Arthur Vella, S.J.
Post: Dar Manresa,
Victoria, Għawdex.
Il-Verità Fuqna Nfusna teħlisna
F’dan is-Seminar ser nirriflettu fuq kif nistgħu nkunu dak li tassew
aħna.
Nistaqsu: “Kif nistgħu nkunu konsistenti magħna nfusna, biex f’dak
li naħsbu, irridu, u nagħmlu jkun hemm qbil u ma jkunx hemm
konflitti jew kontradizzjonijiet ma’ dak li tassew aħna minn ġewwa u
fina nfusna ?”
Dan narawh fid-dawl tal-kliem u t-tagħlim ta’ Gesù fid-Diskors
tal-Muntanja fejn jgħallimna u jwissina : “Mela, ħa jkun id-diskors
tagħkom ‘Iva, iva, lè, lè ‘, għax kull ma hu iżjed minn hekk ġej
mill-Ħażin.”
Data: L-Erbgħa 12 ta’
Marzu mis-6.00pm sat-8.00pm
Imexxi : Fr Arthur G. Vella, s.j
Post: Mount St Joseph
retreat House, Mosta
Irtir għall-Professjonisti bit-Taljan:
Din hija stedina għall-Professjonisti individwali rġiel biex jieħdu
sehem f’irtir ta’ ħamest ijiem. Dan l-irtir li għandu tradizzjoni
twila u ilu jsir regolarment għal ħafna snin huwa mument eċċellenti
ta’ preparazzjoni għall-festa ta’ l-Għid il-Kbir. Fl-aħħar ġurnata
ta’ dan l-irtir isir pellegrinaġġ għas-Santwarju tal-Madonna ta’
Pinu fejn l-irtir jispiċċa biċ-ċelebrazzjoni ta’ l-Ewkaristija.
Data : Mill-Ġimgħa,
14 ta’ Marzu, 2008, fis-7.00 ta’ filgħaxija sat-Tlieta, 18 ta’
Marzu wara l-pranzu.
Imexxi : Padre Vittorio Liberti, S.J. (Rettur
tal-Pontificio Seminario di Campania, Napoli)
Post : Dar Manresa, Victoria, Għawdex.
Irtir fil-Kampanja
Wiċċ imb'wiċċ ma' Ġesù Rxoxt
Ma kienx faċli għad-dixxipli li jagħrfu lil Ġesù meta qam mill-mewt:
darba ħasbuh fantażma; drabi oħra ma għarfuh xejn; kemm-il darba
beżgħu meta indunaw min kien. Għarfuh fil-qsim tal-ħobż, jew mill-marki
ta' l-imsiemer f'idejh u saqajh. U qalbhom baqgħet titħeġġeġ meta
semgħuh ikellimhom. F'dan l-irtir, naqsmu mad-dixxipli l-esperjenza
ta' Ġesù imqajjem mill-mewt: magħhom naraw x'jista' iżommna milli
nagħrfuh, u flimkien mal-Knisja f' dan iż-żmien tal-Għid, nifirħu
bir-rebħa tal-ħajja fil-milja tagħha.
Dan l-irtir huwa ntenzjonat għall-familja kollha. Ser ikun adattat
sew għall-ġenituri kif ukoll għat-tfal.
Data: Mill-Ġimgħa 28 ta’
Marzu 2008 sal-Ħadd 30 ta’ Marzu wara nofs in-nhar
Imexxu: Dr. Edward Warrington u Fr Paul Zammit SJ
Post: Mount St Joseph
Retreat House, Mosta
Marriage Encounter.
Dan l-irtir ta’ weekend hu indirizzat għall-koppji miżżewġin. Matul
dawn il-jumejn il-koppji jkollhom l-okkażjoni li jitolbu flimkien u
jirriflettu aktar fil-fond dwar ir-relazzjoni taghħom ta’ mħabba li
hi mwaqqfa fuq l-imħabba infinita li Alla għandu lejna.
Kull sharing personali jsir biss bejn il-koppja.
Data : Mis-Sibt, 29 ta’
Marzu, 2008, fid-9.00 ta’ filgħodu sal-Ħadd, 30 ta’ Marzu, fl-4.00
ta’ wara nofs in-nhar.
Imexxu : Fr. Joe Mizzi, Direttur tal-Moviment ta’ Kana f’Malta,
flimkien mall- koppja Tony u Miriam Sammut,
President tal-Gruppi Familji Nsara.
Partecipanti: Mhux aktar minn 12-il koppja.
Post: Dar Manresa, Victoria, Għawdex.
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