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D e a r F r i e n d s
Foreword
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oseph was violently rejected by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt. His betrayal and suffering, however, resulted in redemption and reconciliation for his brothers. “Fear not, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:1920) Joseph prefigures Jesus who was betrayed by one of His own disciples and put to death on the cross for our redemption. Jesus came to reconcile us with an all-just and all-merciful God.
His parables point to the work he came to do – to bring us the kingdom of God. What is the message of the parable of the vineyard? Jesus’ story about an absentee landlord and his not-so-good tenants would have made sense to his audience. The hills of Galilee were lined with numerous vineyards, and it was quite common for the owners to let out their estates to tenants. Many did it for the sole purpose of collecting rent. Why did Jesus’ story about wicked tenants cause offence to the Scribes and Pharisees? It contained both a prophetic message and a warning. Isaiah had spoken of the house of Israel as “the vineyard of the Lord” (Isaiah 5:7). Jesus’ listeners would likely understand this parable as referring to God’s dealing with a stubborn and rebellious people. This parable speaks to us today as well. It richly conveys some
Editor Fr. Stuart Chipolina: editor@uponthisrock.eu Production Editor: A. Sargent angela@europeaxess.com Cover: Eloisa Yome in the Archives, The Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned, Main Street, Gibraltar Photos & Collage: A. Sargent
would not be the end. After rejection would come glory – the glory of resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father. The Lord blesses His people today with the gift of His kingdom. And He promises that we will bear much fruit if we abide in Him (see John 15:1-11). He entrusts His gifts and grace to each of us and He gives us work to do in His vineyard – the body of Christ. He promises that our labour will not be in vain if we persevere with faith to the end (see 1 Corinthians 15:58). We can expect trials and even persecution. But in the end we will see triumph. God Bless You Fr. Stuart
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important truths about God and the way He deals with His people. First, it tells us of God’s generosity and trust. The vineyard is well equipped with everything the tenants need. The owner went away and left the vineyard in the hands of the tenants. God, likewise trusts us enough to give us freedom to run life as we choose. This parable also tells us of God’s patience and justice. Not once, but many times he forgives the tenants their debts. But while the tenants take advantage of the owner’s patience, his judgement and justice prevail in the end. Jesus foretold both His death and His ultimate triumph. He knew He would be rejected and be killed, but He also knew that
Diego Velázquez, Joseph’s Bloody Coat Brought back home to Jacob; 1630.
Do you ever feel cut off or separated from God?
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Spotlight Behind the Scenes
Eloisa Yome: the Dull and dusty? I don’t think so! Anne Mesilio hears all about the cloak and dagger world of the Archivst.
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o you approach with fear and doubt, or with faith and confidence? “I was forty-two years in a convent without being a nun,” Eloisa Yome was telling me with a twinkle in her eye. Born in 1942 during the war years she is one of five children and was educated at Loreto Convent, “where I stayed on as helper, and then went to UK to take a Montessori course, returned to Gibraltar and taught at Loreto Convent for the next thirty years as a full time teacher”. She was very happy there but at some time contracted glandular fever which meant she was away from school for a long period of
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time. “After this I felt I needed a less stressful job and worked in a haberdashery shop with my friends the Hernandez sisters”. How did you come to be here? By here I took in her office in an eyrie of the Cathedral St.Mary the Crowned in Gibraltar’s Main Street. Well, I remember coming to the archives for some information, got chatting to Fr. Caruana (later Bishop), who said he really needed someone to help as he was very busy. I offered to help, and here I am, by my reckoning, nearly eighteen years later”. Eloisa is quite eloquent and our chat was an interesting one as she detailed her work over those years. “I come in every day
from 11.30am-1pm, and I’m also available on Saturdays for an hour 12pm-1pm. I deal with the everyday running of the Church, arranging wedding dates, baptisms, Mass requests etc and honestly sometimes I get stopped in town and asked questions like, when is my father’s Mass? and with five Masses a day that is not information I carry around in my head”, she chuckled good humouredly. I was keen to talk about the Cathedral Archives, home to historical documents since 1704. “Well actually this Cathedral, (consecrated 1462) was the only church which had archives, and when Rooke came invading
in 1704 the Spaniards left, taking with them all the books, but records were begun again that year so all you see here dates from then. Look”, she got up and removed a volume from the shelf, “the first year I worked here I ached from lifting these heavy books in and out, here”, she offered it to me and I could immediately ‘feel’ what she meant. They contain entries written in Latin of weddings, baptisms and burials and I wondered in this age of searching for roots was there a demand here. “People do get excited about looking up their ancestors and it’s a great thrill to discover some unknown relatives from so many years before. It’s actually amazing the number of people who write from abroad researching ancestors. Forces personnel come and go and there is often too much demand for me to stop everyday work to search these volumes”, she indicated the shelves laden with the dusty tomes containing a neat network
A n n e M e s i l i o
Archivist’s story
Murder at the Cathedral: Fr. Narcíso Pallares and his bloodstained clerical collar.
Eloisa told how she had to build up muscles to be able to handle the huge volumes containing records of baptisms, weddings and funerals.
allowed to search on their own. The archive contains sensitive details, e.g. born out of wedlock. Many years ago someone, not related, tried to find out about another’s family so there is a need to be careful. If you want your family tree we have Mr. Louis Pereira who undertakes the research”. Murder at the Cathedral. I had glanced at this caption with a photo of a priest when I entered Eloisa’s office but my gaze returned to it so I asked her if she knew the story behind it. It was dated 1885 and I wondered if the story had survived. It had. A young man, a butcher’s helper fell in love with a girl from a rich family in Gibraltar. In those days they were considered worlds apart but he wanted to marry her. He pleaded with the priest, Fr. Narcíso Pallares, to talk to her parents and let them marry but the priest tried to reason with him, knowing it was a hopeless case. The young man got angry with the priest and one day when he again came to plead with him he produced a knife and stabbed him fatally through his white clerical collar, (see photo). Mmmm, interestingly gruesome but it prompted me to ask Eloisa if she has ever felt
vigorous advocate of the Polish plight until his life was ended when his plane crashed into the sea minutes after take off from Gibraltar in 1943. A memorial was unveiled to him here in 2007 and Polish people keep in touch with this snippet of their history. My gaze seemed to wander by its own volition to the photo of the murdered priest and Eloisa, noticing, told me, “the priest who worked here before me refused to have the photo on display, but I’ve taken the view that it is a little bit of history, so”, she gestured, “there it is”. A no nonsense lady indeed.
The work of digitising the records has begun, thanks to an anonymous donation of equipment.
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of dates which all connect through layers of time. She went on to explain that very recently a gentleman, who wishes to remain anonymous, has donated a computer to the archives and the work of entering the index of all the books has begun. “During the summer, Monsignor Paul Bear hopes to recruit someone to help with the huge task of entering all the information”. I looked at her quizzically and immediately she responded with a quick riposte “Oh, I have not yet entered the 21st century”, she laughed, “I was given a mobile phone a couple of years ago and I do not even know where it is, but I suppose I will have to take a computer course in order to hand over successfully to my successor”. Thinking of retiring I asked? “Thinking about it”, but her reply went no further. Will the archives be available on-line? I wondered and her answer came quickly, “no, these are private and people are not
vulnerable, her office is isolated. Her answer surprised me. “Oh yes, I have been subjected to dangerous personal situations, I have been threatened verbally, someone once pulled a knife on me…….” I shivered and my eyes involuntary found the photo of the murdered priest. She went on to graphically describe the harrowing situation when once an irate woman came demanding money in an aggressive and verbally abusive manner. “I was saved by the bell for Mass that day and persuaded her to come downstairs to see a priest. Thankfully a police inspector was in the courtyard and he helped. These years have not been without their moments”, she conceded in what I can presume is an understatement from a lady who, by her own admission, stands for no nonsense. We finished our chat with a mention of General Wladyslaw Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile during WW11. He was a
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Christian Unity
In a triangle... “until we
On Friday the 21st January, the Dean of Gibraltar, the Very Reverend Dr John Paddock, gave a homily based on these notes: hrist bestowed all necessary gifts and graces on His Church from the beginning, including the gift of unity. This unity is something that subsists in the Church, even if we individually or corporately are blind to it, and it is something the Church will never lose; it
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will continue to increase until the end of time. Christ always gives His Church the necessary gifts and graces, including that of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce and perfect the unity that Christ wills, and each individual member of Christ’s body after baptism must do his or her best to be faithful disciples, listening prayerfully and obediently to the voice of God in the scriptures and in the teaching of His Church.
That is why Jesus Himself prayed at the hour of his Passion to the Father, for the unity of His disciples: “That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in Us…so that the world may know that You have sent me.” The desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit. We need to respond to the call. To respond to that call we need to pray fervently to God to give
us grace: We need, each of us, the grace of renewal. We need, each of us, a greater fidelity to our vocation. We need, each of us, conversion; change of heart: holiness of life; to try to live holier lives according to the Gospel. We can triumph in this, but the word triumph itself tells us how to go about it: we have to add “umph” to our “try”. We need to pray, each of us, for the Grace of Faithfulness: our individual unfaithfulness will cause division. Our individual fidelity to Christ and His Gospel will further the realization of unity. Our individual lack of prayer will cause division and distance us from the Prayer of Christ. Our individual determination to be more prayerful will increase unity. But it may well be imperceptible to our eyes, because all too often we see without perceiving, and we listen without hearing. The Holy Spirit moves wherever He wills.
Photo: Mike Brufal
Bishop Ralph Heskett launched this year’s week of prayer for Christian unity at Holy Trinity Cathedral, and it reached its culmination at the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned where Dean John Paddock reflected on the shape of unity to come.
meet perfectly in God.”
Because the reconciliation of all Christians in the one and only Church of Christ transcends human powers and gifts, individually and corporately we have to rely humbly and prayerfully on the power of God. We have to pray to God to increase our faith and help our unbelief. Before Churches as multiple institutions can unite, Churches as individual institutions have to be united within themselves; because otherwise, when you come together it would not be for the better but for the worse. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians “For, in the first place, when you assemble as a Church, I hear that there are divisions among you.” Our Churches can be divided within themselves, because of factions. For those to disappear, individual persons, will have to advance in holiness, prayerfulness, faithfulness and humility. You and I, each of us, has to allow God to be enthroned in his palace, in the palace of each of our souls. We have to look deeply into the depths of our own hearts and
souls to see if God is enthroned there, or whether we have exiled Him from His Kingdom. Each of us must try to seek the unity and union of our own individual soul with God; each of us needs to “abide in God”, and allow “God to abide in us” “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” Jesus tells us truth, because He is Truth. We also have to recognise within our individual selves that we do not know everything about the Christian faith. We need to study the scriptures and what the Church teaches. Remember what happened when the Israeliites saw what they thought looked like hoarfrost: When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. We all need to learn more about the food which God provides for the soul, be it at the Table of the Word, or the Table of the Sacrament, because so often we are as ignorant as those Israelites. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they
do…” And when the Church teaches us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we need the humility to accept that teaching: as John Henry Newman’s poem which so often we sing as a hymn succinctly says: “And I hold in veneration, for the love of Him alone, Holy Church as His creation, and her teachings as His own” The consequence of not listening, not obeying God’s appointed prophets and teachers visits individuals and nations in every generation, and we
Those leaders Christian denominations who were present at the Holy Trinity Cathedral for the first night of the week of prayer for Christian unity 21st January 2011. From left to right, the Dean of Gi-
braltar, the Very Reverend Dr John Paddock, Reverend Fidel Patron, Bishop Ralph Heskett. Photo Mike Brufal.
are no exception. Remember what happened to the Israelites when they went their own way, ignoring the guidelines they had been given on sacred food, “But they did not listen to Moses: some left part of it till the
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Christian Unity
In a triangle... “until we meet perfectly in God.”
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morning, and it bred worms and became foul”. Unfaithfulness causes division. And when there is division, that is where the devil gets in: diabolical, it is called because the Greek word diabolos means divide, slander, accuse; it is associated with rebellion against God. We have to be prayerfully vigilant and
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faithfully sober, for that divider is going round like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. When the Israelites were obedient and listened to God’s voice through His appointed agent, there was individual and corporate stability: ‘He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; each gathered according to what he could eat.” We all have “ways forward” to better our individual spiritual and ecclesial lives. We all need to improve our prayer life, and our devotion to Our Lord’s presence which is real in so many ways.
Those Churches which have a body of Canon Law need to study that Canon Law, because those “canons” are guides, measuring sticks, rulers which we can measure up to. They help us to become more faithful. The supreme “law” of the Church is the salvation of souls, and we must not forget that. Those Churches who have published catechisms must study them and learn more about the faith that comes to us from the apostles. And there are so many, many true guides to the spiritual life of prayer which transcend denominational barriers, fences and walls, and are full of nourishment to help us on our way. St Teresa of Avila, St John of the Cross are two of my own personal favourites among many, many more. And both of them are truly faithful to the Scriptures, and truly are “doctors” of the Church, whose doctrine is medicine, healing to the soul. We must pray, pray, pray, learning from the saints who are our friends, companions and helpers in so many ways. We are so often spiritually blind and cannot see the saints and angels
who surround the throne of God, the throne which is in the palace of the interior castle of the soul. To further unity and union, each of us can offer our dim vision, our poor hearing, our faltering hearts and weak minds to be consecrated by God, so that they change into the eyes of Christ, the ears of Christ, the heart of Christ, and the mind of Christ. The mystery of the eucharist transforms bread and wine into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” We need the life of Christ to quicken our soul, to give life, to animate so that Christ lives in us as His presence; without Him, we are dead. Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you;” The nourishment we need for the journey is provided daily, “Give us this day our daily bread.” “For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” We have to learn to trust humbly in the promises of Christ when
Photos Mike Brufal
Photo: Mike Brufal
Photo: A Sargent Jan 2010
Unity Week in Rome
Clergy and congregation from various Christian faiths pray together
He pleads with us because He is the Way, he is the Truth. Truly, truly I say to you…..and He is the Life. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day…… he who eats this bread will live for ever.” He pleads with us in so many ways; He is the Vine and we are the branches. He wants us to be in union with Him, and the more
we are in union with Him, the more we will be in union with all others who are in union with Him. The triangle still is a helpful image. God at the top, you and I at the bottom corners. The more we grow closer to God, the more we grow closer to each other, until we meet perfectly in God.
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Unity Week in London
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The Rev Father Alan Robinson from Westminster Cathedral with the Rt Hon Alan Duncan, Minister of State for International Development. Above Centre: James Prior, who hosted the party, talks
to Father Michael and the Baroness Scotland. Above right: Gregory King, a Glaswegian highly successful entrepreneur whose daughter was baptised by Bishop Caruana in the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned, Santo
attended the Christian Unity Week Papal Vespers at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls on the 25th January, the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul. Father Danny enjoyed a meal with Monsignor Mark Miles and Father Victor Ghio when a toast was drunk to the health of the Gibraltar diocese. The Catholic Bishop to the Forces, the Rt Rev Richard Moth, who was in Rome on other business, joined the chaplains for an end of retreat meal in a restaurant.
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n Anglican Forces Chaplain, the Rev Chris Broddle from Shape headquarters in Belgium and Father Danny Hernandez, currently serving at SEME in Borden, Hampshire, led 15 Chaplains of various denominations in a Post-Operational Chaplains’ retreat. Its objective was to assist the chaplains upon their return to the United Kingdom after the stress of a tour in Afghanistan. The Retreat formed part of the ishop Charles Caruana invited Father Michael Seed SA decompression process for these to lead the Christian Unity Week in Gibraltar on two chaplains. occasions during the last decade. The party stayed in the Paul Father Michael celebrates the Silver Jubilee of Priesthood this year V1th International Clergy House and it was marked by two events. The first during the week of pryaer in the centre of Rome where for Christian unity, was a sung Mass at the Jesuit Church in Farm they were well received and Street on the 18 January , followed by drinks at The East India Club. supported in their ministry. By The second was a Jubilee Celebration at The Pigalle Supper Club coincidence this is Father Victor in Piccadilly on 1st February. These photographs are from the latter Ghio’s home when he is in event. Rome. It also houses the statue Father Michael Seed welcomes of Our Lady of Europe, given to the Very Reverend Canon Pope John Paul 11 during the late Christopher Tuckwell, Bishop Caruana’s ad limina visit. the Dean of Westminster During their stay the chaplains Cathedral.
and Allyson |Volpe, Lord Alton, a leading Catholic advocate in the House of Lords and Father Michael Seed Photos: Mike Brufal
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Christian Family Movement
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Sponsored by
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Celebrating 25th, 40th, 50th & 60th Anniversaries
Here are some comments received in letters from participants: Thank you so much for such a wonderful experience. We have posted a note addressed to Father Charlie thanking all who worked so hard to make possible such a special occasion! We really appreciate the hard work and effort that went into making the celebration so special! Please pass on our thanks to all!
Thank you for having invited us and for all the work that you do in your attempts to keep families together.
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Bishop Ralph Heskett bestowed a special blessing on the couples attending the event organised by the Christian Family Movement.
May God continue to support you all in your efforts and for all the time that you give which on many occasions goes unnoticed. A big thank you too for making our special day such a memorable one. May God bless you all.
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Saint Patrick’s Day
Whispers The Irish value their ancient heroes and tell their stories again and again to each new generation.
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long with the shamrock, the leprechaun and the harp, the swan is a symbol of Ireland, and in 2004 was depicted on a commemorative coin. In our ancient Celtic tradition the swan is supposed to represent love, purity (those luminous white feathers) and compassion. It has been associated with the deities of healing waters and the sun. Did I say sun? Well sure, once upon a time it might have been glorious in a country where you know it’s summer because the rains get warmer! Anyway, swans, which are plentiful in Ireland and can be admired on our many lakes and rivers, are entwined with music, and its dying song is supposed to symbolise the song of the poet. They are supposed to be shape shifters too, that is they can take on human form and these otherworldly birds, at certain times of the year, such as the Summer Solstice, swan maidens can transform herself into a humans. This is the time of year when the veils between the worlds are very thin and whispers and wings tremble on the midsummer air. There was a time in ancient
Ireland when people believed in magic spells and feared the Druids. Yet, for the Druids the swan represented the soul, our link with eternity, making us both physical and spiritual beings. This bestows a grace which allows us to be at home in many places harmoniously and the ability to recognise that we are more than we appear to be. Remember Hans Christian Andersen’s story of the Ugly Duckling? This poor tormented little fellow grew up to be a beautiful swan and the moral of that tale is, of course, not to judge by appearances. Surely we all possess our own inner radiance, unique and special to all of us? Ireland has a long tradition of storytelling as once upon a time few of the ordinary people could neither read nor write. Lore was passed by word of mouth from one generation to the next and a storyteller was to be found in nearly every parish in the land. The cloaks of these storytellers, known as Bards, were made of swan feathers. In his poem entitled ‘Magic’, MJMacManus tells us of “old Maurya” telling her stories to an enchanted audience.
Anne Mesilio
and Wings
One Year Already
Mgr. Orfila’s First Anniversary Mass.
T
he Shrine of Our Lady of Europe
was packed at 12 noon on Saturday the 22nd January for the Mass to mark one year since the passing away of Mgr Louis Orfila.
Fr. Charlie Azzopardi, speaking during the Mass, said that in the space of 12 months we had lost two great pillars of the Shrine, Mgr Orfila and Bishop Caruana. However he felt that now they are so close to Our Lady, their work continues with new energy, and we are beginning to see their dreams become a reality. The Confraternity of Our Lady of Europe has been re-launched, bringing together those people who can help the devotion to Our Lady in any way. And the new stained glass windows which had been planned for some time, had been installed in time for the Anniversary Mass. For more information on the Confraternity of Our Lady of Europe contact Fr. Azzopardi Tel. 20077138, rector@ourladyofeurope.net
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King Lir had four children, one girl and three boys and their stepmother Aoife was very jealous of them. She decided to get rid of them and brought them down to the lake where she asked them to bathe. Then she cast a spell and turned them into four white swans and condemned them “There was a king in Ireland…. to wander over the T’was then our breath we’d hold waters of Ireland for And sail away on an ivory ship 900 years. If you are Back to the age of gold. cringing at that then Old Maury’s eyes would stare and stare cringe some more Full in the turf fires gleam; because she allowed In the quiet hours her crooning words them to keep their human speech but Would weave a twilight dream”. perversely gave them the gift of wonderful We celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on 17th March, and have done song. When their father heard so for over 1,600 years in some them singing, on asking who form or another, and it seems they were he was overcome to me a good time to observe with grief and proclaimed from the longevity and intimacy that day that no swan could be of the storytelling traditions killed in Ireland. The children suffered terrible hardships but which are alive in us today. The Irish are known for their always delighted those who ‘gift of the gab’, this delight in heard them singing. After 900 parody served with a special hundred years St. Patrick had sense of humour. “What’s the brought Christianity to the story”, is often the way one is island and on hearing the bells asked for news, the latest family ring out they were restored to human form. Alas, they were gossip etc. The best story of my childhood feeble and withered in body has to be that of The Children but on being baptised they died. of Lir, the finest swan story ever Their suffering was over and told. It grieves me to break it their immortal souls saved. down but I must in order to give “But now they drift on the still water, mysterious, beautiful”. you a flavour of it. (WB Yeats) and Ireland remains home to these beautiful creatures, an evocative reminder of one of our greatest legends. Beannachtai an La Feile Padraig ribh go leir. A Happy St.Patrick’s Day to one and all.
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Religious Life
A Gibraltarian Saint?
With an upswelling of popular support, we could see a saintly daughter of this city beatified.
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n Saturday the 5th of February Upon this Rock and Br. François met with the Augustininan Recollects at their convent in Medina Sidonia. Sister Elena told us about the miraculous way in which they resumed contact with Gibraltar after 100 years, and about the woman who started the order almost 400 years ago. Mother Antonio de Jesús was born in 1612 in Guadaljara, Spain and went with her parents to live in Granada. Her father owned a big house there with many rooms. She grew up with a great love of prayer and devotions, and gathered around herself groups of like-minded women who met in her father’s
Convento de las Tomasas, Granada
home as members of the laity aligned with the Third Order of St. Augustine. As their desire to live in community developed, Mother Antonio asked her father
if she could have a part of the house in Callejón de las Tomasas for a convent, and they founded their first House there, Convento de las Tomasas in the suburbs of Granada and lived as an enclosed order. The movement became popular, and as they attracted more interested women they were able to open a second house in the centre of Granada, and a third house in Chiclana. It was during this time that the Sisters received official recognition as a religious order from Rome, and were known from that time as Augustinian Recollects, referring to their life of contemplative prayer. Why did the order choose to move to Medina Sidonia?
In Chiclana Mother Antonio was looking for a place to found a fourth convent and Don Diego de Iparraguirre, a successful naval captain offered the Sisters a piece of land in Medina Sidonia, he also gave them the money to build the convent, and furnish it with everything they required to live a simple life of prayer and contemplation. He also brought rare woods that had not been seen in Europe before, and many beautiful statues, including a statue of Our Lady Of Europe, like we have in the Shrine in Gibraltar. What is the charism of the order? We are contemplatives developing an interior life through sacrifice, the work of the cloister, penance, work, service, fasting and being faithful to the constitution of the order, which is based on the Augustinian constitution. Sister Elena pointed out that if you analyse the programme (set out below) it is about 50/50 work and prayer - ‘ora et labora’.
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What is the daily routine at the convent?
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5.45 We rise 6.30 Reading the office before an hour of morning prayer culminating with the Eucharist which is followed by a time of thanksgiving and then the intermediate office ‘tercia’ 9.00 Breakafast 9.30 We go to our duties, in the kitchen, the sacristy, attending visitors, and looking after the sick of the community, currently one of the elderly Sisters is unwell. Before we used to do gardening, we have a large garden with enough space to grow all the vegetables we needed in the community, but we can no longer do this sort of work, when we can, we get someone in to work in the garden and do what is needed but it provides plenty of flowers. If we had more sisters in the community this would be something we would like to develop. 1.00 Lunch 2.30 In the afternoon we retire to our cells for a time of private study, reading, writing or sewing. 4.00 We come together for ‘non’ prayers and the Rosary 4.30 Lectio Divina 5.30 Duty time again, during this time we may study our Constitution, the Bible or music for instance. 6.30 An hour of prayer in the church 7.30 Vespers 8.00 Dinner 8.30 We tidy up after the meal 9.00 We talk, laugh, sing, sew, and in good weather visit the patio on the roof for a breath of fresh air. The contemplatives are not a silent order, but during the day they practice talking ‘only as necessary’ so this hour during the evening is an opportunity to chat. 10.00 Compline prayers and then the Grand Silence which must not be broken until morning prayer the next day.
Angela Sargent & Br. François Sainte-Marie
Medina Sidonia
The maid would unfold a white handkerchief embroidered with the Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with seven swords.
The Seven Sorrows in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1. The Prophecy of Simeon. (Luke 2:34-35) or the Circumcision of Christ 2. The Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13) 3. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple. (Luke 2:43-45) 4. Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary. (Luke 23:26) 5. Jesus Dies on the Cross. (John 19:25) 6. Mary Receives the Body of Jesus in Her Arms. (Matt. 27:57) 7. The Body of Jesus is Placed in the Tomb. (John 19:40)
to meet the Bishop and after meeting her and understanding her determination to become Christian, the Bishop sent her to Medina Sidonia. There she spent a year with one of the women’s groups of the Third Order of St. Francis, and took Catholic instruction, studying the Catechism. One year later the Bishop baptized her, gave her First Communion and Confirmation. There, he said,
‘Now you are a Christian, you can return to Gibraltar if you wish because no one can take that from you now’. Shortly after that she was walking up to the church past a side door where she could see a statue of Our Lady of Consolation. As she stood there in prayer she saw the Augustinian Recollect Sisters walking into the church and she went up to them and said, “If you would receive me, this is where
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What can you tell us about the Sister that came from Gibraltar? Sister Maria Dolores del Amor de Díos was born to a Jewish family in Gibraltar in 1801, she was called Simi Cohen then. Her mother died when she was born. There was a Spanish maid that worked in her house, and each day before she started work, the maid would unfold a white handkerchief embroidered with the Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with seven swords representing the Seven Sorrows (or Dolors) in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was a popular devotion to say daily one Our Father and seven Hail Marys for each of these painful events. We can understand that in the prayerful company of this woman, meditating on the words of the devotions the young girl would gain an insight to the life of Christ. As she grew up Simi developed a deep longing to become Christian and this, in itself, has been called ‘The Miracle of the Handkerchief’. In those days it would be scandalous for a Jewish girl to convert to Christianity. One day she went to the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe and whilst in the Shrine she had a vision or a locution through which she apprehended that if she wished to proceed to become a Christian she would have to leave home. Well, she left her father’s house alone and crossed the border, she was given refuge by a good woman in La Linea, taken
I want to spend the rest of my life.” However events had unfolded very quickly in the young woman’s life, and the Sisters did not take her in then but arranged for her to stay at the home of the Duke of Medina. He was very religious, and very rich man, he and his wife took her in to his household and treated her as one of their own daughters. After one year of probation, living with the Duke and his family she entered the convent and made her vows. She took the name Sister Maria Dolores del Amor de Díos. From that day she took part in every office except the work of the prioress as, in her humility she never wanted to be prioress. Why do you believe that Sister Maria Dolores’s life should be offered by the Church as a model of holiness ? She was a holy and humble person and had a special attraction for the word of God, coming from a Jewish religious background. She studied the relationship between the old and new testament which was not common at that time and people would come from far and wide to hear her talk about this, even bishops would come from miles to consult with her on her study of the bible. Her advice was considered very valuable. But at all times her manner was very humble. As an illustration of her holiness, Sister Elena tells the story of how one day Sister Maria Dolores was at prayer in the Chapel, kneeling next to the prioress, the prioress noticed that her face became infused with joy, and was lit up and glowing. Normally these things would not be spoken of,
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but the prioress asked her, ‘Under obedience I ask you, what just happened?’ Sister Maria Dolores answered, ‘Well Mother, as you have asked me under obedience I must answer, I saw the young man who accompanied me here from La Linea, he told me, I am St. Raphael, and now it is time for you to prepare to leave this place.’ and from that she knew she was soon to die. She passed away on the 8th January 1887. Have there always been people from Gibraltar coming to visit the monastery? Not at all, but on the centenary of her death, in 1987, we were planning a big celebration of her life. Sister Lourdes, who was the prioress at that time takes over the story. Sister Maria Dolores was renowned far and wide in Spain, and her memory is still very alive among the people here, Bishops and dignitaries were being invited from the major cities and we thought, that as Sister Maria Dolores was from Gibraltar, we should ask the Gibraltarians participate in the celebrations too. Well it was my task to organise this, but I had no idea how to do it, as we had no contact with Gibraltar it was very far away,
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Angela Sargent & Br. François Sainte-Marie and so I asked Sister Maria Dolores “Help me because I don’t know how to get in touch with the people in Gibraltar” Sister Elena continued. Well one day as I took a turn answering the door a man rang the bell and asked over the intercom ‘Is this the convent of Simi Cohen?’ ‘Yes it is!’ I replied and he said, ‘I come form Gibraltar, I have come to visit the Sisters’! Well, you can imagine my surprise, I went down to the door and found big man there, ‘Come in! You are really from Gibraltar?’ Yes, he said. We could not believe it, it was the answer to our prayers. Sister Lourdes carried on. We explained to Enrique about Sister Maria Dolores’s centenary celebrations and asked if he would take our invitation to the Bishop of Gibraltar. And this he did, an excellent contingency of people came to the Centenary Celebrations, Bishop Devlin, Fr. Charles Caruana, Fr. Paul Bear and Msg Coronata Grima, it was a wonderful day, the church was completely full’ Tell us about Father Grima and the special interest he took in the Community? From this day on Fr. Grima adopted us as his special cause, he
would visit the Sisters regularly, usually before the big feasts, during Lent and Advent for instance he would bring groups of visitors from Gibraltar to visit the place where the nun from Gibraltar lived, coachloads would come, sometimes with 54, other times with 60. We began a book for these visitors to write their prayer requests and testimonies. It is a friendship that has continued for almost 25 years. Now that Fr. Grima has gone back to Malta we miss him and pray for him. What does this friendship with Gibraltar mean to the Sisters? The sisters are focussed in their contemplation, and are asked to pray for certain themes. This year for instance Sr Elena’s prayer job is to pray for Gibraltar for the entire year. Sister Lourdes explained. I feel we are like the godmother’s of Gibraltar, spiritual guardians, praying for the people, the clergy and the Bishop. What does Sister Maria Delores’s beatification process entail? The Holy See has asked us to make her life and work known to as many people as possible, it is important for the process
that there is a great upswelling of support behind the cause. For this purpose we have begun to publish a newsletter which will be distributed to parishes and groups who have expressed an interest. Br. François explained that there is still a great fondness for the Sisters and the cause of Sister Maria Delores’s beatification in Gibraltar. The next excursion is scheduled for Wednesday 23rd March with Fr. Binoy and Br. François. Anyone who is interested in coming along can call Joanna Ressa, 20071984 or Lourdes Lima 20072236 And Henry Earle? Well, when I asked him if he was the ‘Enrique’ who was the first contact with the sisters after 100 years, he related how he had found a leaflet about Simi Cohen when he was travelling in Spain with his parents, and how he had left them to go to the convent, but when he rang the doorbell and said where he was from there was huge excitement. He could not understand it, they were all calling out, “There’s someone here from Gibraltar!” I got a very warm welcome, he laughed.
Compassion in Action
Amy Boniche
The Haiti Miracle Baby
Two month old Landina was pulled from the earthquake rubble, her life was saved, but what does her future hold?
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due to the lack of documentation, his request was turned down. Eventually, after campaigning tirelessly with the support of children’s charity Facing the World, the baby was issued with a passport and transported to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital. With Landina recovering from multiple operations, Dr Nott was keen to reunite her with her family and therefore returned to Haiti; together with reporter Inigo Gilmore they searched for six weeks. Many people came forward claiming to be related to the child but after DNA testing is was discovered they had no connection to Landina. The pair had almost lost hope of ever finding Landina’s family, believing that they might even be dead. Eventually Gilmore was led to one of Port au Prince’s most notorious slums to the home of Landina’s mother, an unemployed single mum, aptly named Marie Miracle. Marie Miracle explained to Gilmore and Nott how she had
LOURDES
LOURDES PILGRIMAGE TO
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n Tuesday 12 January 2010 at 16.53 local time Haiti was hit by an earthquake of catastrophic magnitude. The Haitian Government reported an estimated three million people affected. 316,000 reported dead, 300,000 were injured and a further million made homeless. Two days after the earthquake, rescue workers pulled two month old Landina Seignon from the debris. While she was being treated at one of the makeshift rescue centres, volunteering British surgeon David Nott was amazed at the child’s will to live. Landina had suffered severe skull wounds and her arm was completely lifeless, needing amputation. Dr Nott, a vascular and general surgeon from London, on secondment with Médicins Sans Frontièrs, made it his personal mission to persuade authorities she should go to the UK with him for life saving treatment. He contacted the US military but
left her five children, all under the age of seven, Landina being the youngest at just one month old alone in her mud hut to fetch fuel for her family’s supper. When she returned she found Landina had been lying next to a burning candle, resulting in the child suffering severe burns to the head. Marie rushed her child to Port au Prince hospital, the building she was subsequently entombed in by the earthquake. Some reports suggest that Marie had returned regularly to the collapsed hospital since the disaster in search of her daughter, others claim that she had been told by hospital staff that her daughter had already died of her burns. Either way she had given up PILGRIMAGE hope of finding Landina alive. TO After further beaurocratic struggles, Nott and Facing the World managed to bring Marie to London to be reunited with her daughter, eight months after seeing her last. Whilst in London Marie was touched by the care and attention her young daughter was receiving from Dr Nott and
her foster mother Sarah DriverJowitt, one of the charity’s employees She decided that this would be a fitting opportunity to baptise Landina, with Sarah and Dr Nott as the girl’s God-parents. Far from being a happy ending, though, this reunion marked an uncertain new beginning for all involved. Landina still required constant medical attention. Furthermore, after inspecting the state of Marie Miracle’s house, Dr Nott came to the devastating conclusion that Landina would probably die if she returned home to her family. Marie Miracle cried with shame at revealing her decision that she did not want to take her daughter home with her, but she knew that if she stayed in the UK she would be looked after properly, would receive an education and would have a better life than she would ever experience in the slums of Haiti. Dr Nott was criticised widely for taking Landina away from Port au Prince, but stood by his decision, reiterating that the action was the only option that could have saved her life. Her future is still uncertain, with treatment and rehabilitation still ongoing, but Facing the World has a fundraising campaign underway that should secure her the necessary help. Whether this involves foster care or an orphanage in Haiti, or remaining in the UK under Driver-Jowitt’s care, the story so far certainly has elements of a miracle.
Join us on pilgrimage 24th April - 1st May 2011 Accompanied by Fr
Stuart Chipolina
485per Euros person
Includes: Travel in luxury bus, 1 night in Madrid ‘en route’ in a Four Star Hotel and 1 night in Catalayud on return journey in a converted Monastery/Hotel. Full board in Lourdes staying at Vatican Astoria Hotel. Optional Tours in Lourdes.
Join us on pilgrimage 24th April - 1st May 2011
Fr Stuart Chipolina
For more information contact Fr Stuart on Accompanied by 58041000 or Richard Martinez on 54714000
485per Euros person
Includes: Travel in luxury bus, 1 night in Madrid
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Support for Marriage
Spice and the Inner S
New ways of loving are spicing up the lives of married couples using natural family planning.
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he Creighton Model Fertility Care(TM) System (CRMs) teaches couples about the inner soul of human sexuality through SPICE. The inner soul of human sexuality was first introduced to us by Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Cosortio; in order to gain a true understanding of this term, it is best to read his own words: “In this context the couple comes to experience how conjugal communion is enriched with those values of www.pwc.gi tenderness and affec-
tion which constitute the inner soul of human sexuality, in its physical dimension also. In this way sexuality is respected and promoted in its truly and fully human dimension, and is never “used” as an “object” that, by breaking the personal unity of soul and body, strikes at God’s creation itself at the level of the deepest interaction of nature and person”.** Couples who use the CRMs as do all couples who use methods of Natural Family Planning, learn new ways of showing their love for one another on the days
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piritual: Couples are encouraged to pray and mature in their spiritual life together and as a family. hysical: Couples learn to show each other their love by hugging and kissing. They learn their limits at times of abstinence, by learning the difference between affirming and arousal touch. Their eventual coming together after their time of abstinence is often described as a “honeymoon effect”. ntellectual: Further reading about the CRMs or other material related to this, encourages learning and understanding of our bodies. Couples may decide to read scripture together or related writings such as the Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II. Some couples will thrive on having intellectully challenging discussions. reative or Communicative: Writing that special love note, cooking a meal for two, giving her flowers, a postit-note with a special message in his jacket to be found when he gets to work. Creative gestures that show our love, all these and more, help the couples love to further develop and flourish. Communication also improves as we feel loved and cherished. Daily discussion of the chart allows for a daily opportunity to talk. motional: As the couple learn to share their deepest emotions and their trust for one another increases, their relationship strengthens. Many couples reserve a special time of the day for themselves, to share their thoughts and daily occurences. This becomes especially important when the couple is busy with a small family.
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of abstinence. Couples continually report an improvement in their relationship, a better understanding of each other, a growth in their love for one another and a depth in their marriage. This behaviour requires true sexual contact (total expression of their sexuality as male and female). SPICE is an acronym which describes how couples relate to one another, by working on the five different areas couples can learn more about their love for one another and their love and commitment to their faith and God. The letters stand for: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Creative/Communicative and Emotional (also including the psychological aspects of the relationship). The following are some examples of how couples explore the different avenues of SPICE to grow in their love for one another.
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By learning Natural Family Planning, a married couple’s love and trust for each other deepens. They develop a greater understanding for their fertility and develop love motivated self control. Chastity is a better description of abstinence in marriage. The following statement from Catholic Chastity Formation for Families
Monique Risso
Book Review
Soul A Tale of Two Books W
ith the feast of the Annunciation this month, what better way to reflect on the life of the unborn child and the dignity of women, than with these new books? One tells the conversion story of an Abortion Clinic Director who is now a voice for the unborn child, the other reveals a new way of treating Women’s Health, respecting life and the reproductive system of the woman. In “UnPlanned” Abby Johnson shares her life changing experience. She joined the leading Abortion Clinic in the States, Planned Parenthood, as a student, almost unintentionally. Through her work there she felt, at the time, that she fulfilled her need to express her genuine compassion for the women she met and counselled. She was good at her job and achieved the role of Director at her local clinic. One memorable day in September 2009, help was needed in one of the operation rooms. She was asked to assist in performing the ultrasound scan whilst the Doctor terminated the client’s pregnancy. Her life changed forever when she came face to face with the gruelling reality of abortion she had just witnessed.
Her story is gripping, frank and respectful. She speaks honestly as she shares her personal experiences on both sides of the Pro-Abortion-Pro-Life Fence. Not only does her testimony open our eyes to the events behind the closed doors of the abortion industry but also reveals how cruel and inhumane some Pro-Lifers can become. However, many in the Pro-Life movement are not like this and it is thanks to the perseverance and prayers of a few people who watched and prayed for her outside her clinic for years, she was able confront the reality of the work she was doing and have her notable change of heart. This book is a beautiful, enthralling and a totally honest conversion story, definitely worth reading and sharing.
n our second book, “The NaProTECHNOLOGY™ Revolution: Unleashing the Power in a Woman’s Cycle” Dr Thomas Hilgers (Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and founder of NaProTECHNOLOGY™ and the CREIGHTON MODEL FertilityCare™ System (CrMS)) gives us insight into this successful treatment in Women’s Health. He is a pioneer in his field, resisting compliance with the medical profession’s progression to suppress and destroy women’s reproductive organs. By opting to work with each individual woman to reach the root of her medical condition and restoring her to health, he together with a team of allied health professionals has developed this new women’s health science. In his book he writes for all women of reproductive age (12-50 years) and reveals the current medical realities women are facing, when they look for treatment of their symptoms. He shares this new women’s health science in a language targeting lay people. (His book for Health Professionals is titled The Medical and Surgical Practice of NaProTECHN O L O G Y. ) NaProTECHNOLOGY™, he explains, uses the CrMS as the basic principle of reading the body’s signs (biomarkers).
The book informs women of the treatments available but is not a substitute to seeking appropriate medical help from health professionals trained in this field. Thankfully we have this new women’s health science available in Gibraltar. He starts by telling us about the history and social consequences of obstetrics and gynaecology in the last 40-50 years, he then gives us an introduction to this new science, basic anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system, and a thorough overview of the CREIGHTON MODEL FertilityCare™ System. In Section D he covers the theory behind the pathology and treatment of various conditions such as pre menstrual syndrome, menstrual cramps and pelvic pain, anovulation, hormonal assessments and treatments, stress, infertility, polycystic ovarian disease, preterm delivery, miscarriage and the techniques of specialized surgery. There are personal testimonies contributed by women who have suffered from the various conditions and been treated included in the chapters. This is a must read for all women of reproductive age, never before have we been able to hear our body so clearly with a language that can be heard by Doctors trained in this system. NaProTECHNOLOGY™ truly lives up to the title “Unleashing the Power in a Woman’s Cycle”. I hope you enjoy reading these two life changing books.
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describes the totality of chastity as a virtue and the graces we receive from living chastely. “Chastity formation is a life-long process that begins even before birth, as a mother communicates with her child in the womb, and ends at death when the soul returns home to the Father. Formation in chastity is the formation of personality: who we are, what we believe and stand for, how we act and treat other people, and most of all, how we love. It touches upon the secrets of our very nature and involves the most intimate depths of our body and soul. This formation will determine whether or not we become people of integrity, honor, and justice. In truth, only a chaste person is truly free to give and receive pure love”. Taken from: Catholic Chastity Formation for Families http:// www.familyprayernight.org/ chastity/chastity.pdf The next Introductory Session for the Creighton Model Fertility Care System and NaPro Technology will be on Saturday 19th February at 11 am (by appointment only, venue will be confirmed on appointment). For further information and for an appointment for an Introductory Session please contact Dr Monique Risso MB ChB MRCGP on 200 78202 or e-mail mrissofertilityspice@hotmail.co.uk. ** (The complete document is found on the Vatican Website http://www.vatican.va/ holy_father/john_paul_ii/ apost_exhortations/documents/ hf_jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio_en.html)
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