A GOOD LORETO EDUCATION IN PERU..
From the
“What do I believe?
Upon this Rock magazine is published monthly by EuropeAxess Media, Gibraltar. Editor: Fr. S. Chipolina: editor@uponthisrock.gi. Production Editor: A. Sargent angela@europeaxess.com. Upon this Rock magazine is entirely supported by advertising and donations. It is run in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar by EuropeAxess Media Ltd. as a not-for-profit project. For Advertisers: This magazine is handdelivered to homes, churches, hospitals and many businesses around Gibraltar every month. To discuss your advertising requirements, or promote your church group or charity, call Tel: +350 200 79335 email: angela@europeaxess.com. Editorial is selected by EuropeAxess Media in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar. Neither of these parties is responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein, nor do the views and opinions expressed herein necessarily reflect the views and opinions of either party. Advertisers are not endorsed by virtue of advertising in this magazine. EuropeAxess Media Ltd. reserves the right to refuse space to any submissions or advertisements. Efforts have been made to establish copyright owners of images, but if we have used your material, and have not credited you, please contact us to discuss restoration. The magazine is online at uponthisrock.gi. You’ll find exclusive Christian gifts in the WebShop. COVER PIC: The People’s Pilgrimage © Bullit Marquez/AP/Press Association Images
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desert school... ...to Degree courses...
... HOW WE CAN HELP SR. PATRICIA TO HELP THEM
A passionate appeal from Sr. Patricia galvanises support during a recent Gibraltar Yacht Club Fundraiser. YACHT CLUB FUNDRAISER PHOTOS A. SARGENT / UPON THIS ROCK MAGAZINE
Sister Patricia explains how the school has grown out of the dust of the Peru desert.
In 2002, when we started our small school in Jicamarca, a huge shanty town outside Lima, we had 120 small children in three classrooms without doors or windows. There was no electricity, sewage facilities or running water. The children suffered from malnutrition, pulmonary problems, parasites and the area was designated a red zone for tuberculosis. There was very little work for their parents and coming from an area where there are many single parents, the children spent hours alone whilst the parents worked for what was generally a very low wage. 13 years later we still have serious problems with health. Now the biggest problem is dental issues, one mother said to me, ‘Madre, we have no money to go to the dentist, so we just
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have to pretend it doesn’t hurt.’ “I believe they need education”
Many of the children are abandoned during the day, the parents go to Lima if they have work, and leave at 5am not returning until midnight. The school is a place where children between 4 and 17 years can come to spend their time. Education is the key. These children are no different to the children I taught in Gibraltar or Ireland. continued overleaf
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HOW WE CAN HELP SR. PATRICIA PROVIDE A GOOD LORETO EDUCATION IN PERU “I believe they deserve a decent school.”
Why should poor children have to sit on a broken chair, in a dirty classroom? In fact, the poorer the child the better the school needs to be and with a pot of paint and a few tiles, we give them the education they deserve. It’s not a favour, but justice, we give them a good Loreto education. “I want to give them the best.”
“I believe in them.”
We say to the children “If we can work with you, you can do this!” I work hard with my teachers, I look after them, if they are happy, my children are happy. There is not one mother there that is different from mothers here or anywhere, even if they have no money they still have dreams, talents, and they are intelligent, I want to help them.
I want to give them clean classrooms. In Peru there has always been a belief that “poor children can’t do it, it doesn’t matter if you give them books, it makes no difference, poor children can’t do it”. And when I speak to the authorities I hear them say. “Nice words but does she really believe that a malnourished and abandoned child can do it?” In Peru there is a State exam in Maths and Communications in their language. Our school ‘Fe Y Alegria 58’ won first place out of 8,000 schools, suddenly everyone became interested in
us. They say the Peruvian children don’t like to read, but I got all the money I needed to give them books and they read books, some have read 100 books, some have read 400 books! Then there was a competition for the best school. Hundreds of schools entered, we won! Best School! I have said these children can do it, and they have, and this is why I am proud. “I change expectations.” The children that are leaving school now are going on to university in Lima, some of them have got scholarships, others have taken up private scholarships from businesses. Businessmen need good employment candidates, they come to my school to find students with the right values who are hard working and committed. “I need your help!”
I am asking for stability for the school, I am asking you to give not much more than the price of a cup of coffee each month,
Only £2 per month. I’m going to ‘tener cara’ and ask every single one of you to do that. It makes so little difference to you but it makes a big difference to the school. It will bring security, take away the fear that the money is going to run out. “Will you do that for me?” Please set up a standing order for £2 a month. Have one less cup of coffee a month! Or you can do more if you are able! Sometimes people from Gibraltar come out and visit us, my people love the link and they are amazed that people will come all that way to see us. We are always very happy to have visitors from Gibraltar.
These are the details needed to set up a Monthly Standing Order Donation: Bank: NatWest, Gibraltar. Account Name: Patricia McLaughlin. Sort Code: 60-60-60 Account No: 3 6 2 2 8 0 4 4 The Payment Reference: Donation / [your name?] THANK YOU
NATIONAL CELEBRATIONS Boat Procession
The Self Determination for Gibraltar Group (SDGG) has organised a Boat Procession on Tuesday 8 September at 7.30pm as part of the the build up to National Day. The event is being organised by the SDGG together with Monsignor Charles Azzopardi and with the assistance of the Royal Gibraltar Police and the Gibraltar Port Authority. The event will see Monsignor Azzopardi blessing the sea and boats and remembering all those who have lost their lives at sea. “The idea is for all boat owners to follow in procession to the South Mole where the laying of natural flowers will take place” said a spokesperson. Any boat owner interested in taking part should contact Steven Segui on 58286000 or email: steven.segui@giboxy. gi. Alternatively they can meet at 7pm at Coaling Island on the day. The procession will start at 7.30pm and members of the public are encouraged to take their Gibraltar flags and only bring natural flowers. 4 www.uponthisrock.gi
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YACHT CLUB FUNDRAISER PHOTOS A. SARGENT / UPON THIS ROCK MAGAZINE
“What do I believe?”
“I WANT YOU TO GIVE JUST £2 A MONTH, ITS JUST A BIT MORE THAN A CUP OF COFFEE?”
“WILL YOU DO THAT?” Stand shoulder to shoulder with Sr. Patricia’s supporters, see details opposite!
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CURSILLO? IS THE
FOR ME
The Cursillo is for all those who want to look seriously at themselves and their lives, their relationship with other people and their relationship with God.
I
t is open to persons from any walk of life, man or woman, married or single. The Cursillo was conceived especially for the everyday man or woman in the street, and does not intend to cater only for the
elite, the Cursillo is open to all, God sees potential in people where we do not. For those who are married, the ideal situation would be for both the husband and wife to be willing to participate (separately of course, as men and women attend separate weekends), because it is an experience that is worth sharing between partners, but this is not essential, there are many people who are in relationships and only one of them has attended a Cursillo and they have enjoyed the benefits of attending a Cursillo as much as everybody else. It is important to emphasise that the Cursillo is not only for churchgoers, Church attendance is not a prerequisite. Any normal, mature person, willing and able to accept the word of our Lord may live the
Cursillo experience. However, you should know that it may not be the right time for everyone to experience a Cursillo weekend, the Cursillo is not intended to resolve psychological or emotional problems. The Cursillo team is not specialised in counselling nor in group therapy. For those who have problems to settle or are going through a difficult phase in their lives e.g. a recent separation, it is preferable that they seek emotional stability before taking part in a Cursillo. Only then could they really benefit from the experience. The same advice applies to those who have alcohol, drug or depression problems. The Cursillo is not the proper solution to their problems, other organisations are in place that specialise in
treating such problems. There is a misconception that the Cursillo Movement is a secret society, that those that have previously attended a Cursillo weekend cannot reveal its content. The Cursillo Movement is not a secret society, it has no secret knowledge, no secret ceremonies, no exclusivity. On the contrary, its aim is to let the world know about the best news, that God loves us, by the best means, through friendship. It is open to people from all walks of life. What the Cursillo is all about, and what goes on during the weekend, may be told to anyone, but explaining what a profound spiritual experience it is, is not easily communicated by words. Having said this, it must be made clear that any personal matters that may be discussed during the Cursillo weekend remain confidential to the group and will not be shared with anyone outside the Cursillo.
There are a few surprises along the way during the Cursillo weekend – pleasant surprises, which bring joy and spontaneity to the experience.
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by The Cursillo Team Leaders
Live your life in colour! As men and women attend the weekend separately they are asked to avoid revealing those minor aspects of the weekend to their partners, so as not to lose the spontaneity of the experience for future attendees. Unfortunately some focus too much on these “surprises along the way” and forget to testify about the core experience, which is that special encounter with the Lord. There is another myth that says that the Cursillo is for older people, that it is not suitable for the younger element of our community, this could not be further from the truth and there are three reasons why this is not so:
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First, the Cursillo Movement was created for and by young people. Second, in order to survive, the Movement must open its doors to young people, they represent the future of our society.
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Third, young people do not only represent an environment to be evangelised but they are indeed among the pastoral priorities set by the Church of today. There are those that believe that the Cursillo Movement is a local creation and that this only happens in Gibraltar. The Cursillo weekends take place all over the world, the Cursillo Movement Groups are present in 63 countries. Africa (5), Asia (17), Europe (18), North America (3), and South America (20). In Gibraltar, over 3000 men and women have experienced a Cursillo weekend, considering our size, that is a massive figure that represents approximately 10% of our community. In
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Canada there are about 150,000 people that have gone through a Cursillo since 1963. Some countries have a much higher membership. In Brazil, 3.4 million have experienced a Cursillo weekend. The United States count about a million. The Philippines had already reached their million in 1995. In Mexico there are over 500,000, in Spain 300,000, in Italy 200,000, in Argentina 175,000 and in Venezuela 125,000, to mention a few.
Cursillo Weekends
We have a couple of Cursillo weekends coming up after the summer, these are held at the Retreat Centre, the first is 15-18 October for women and another from the 12-15 November for men. Why not join us and enjoy this wonderful experience, if you are interested contact us on 58008885 or send us an email on cursillogibraltar@gmail.com. If you have already experienced a Cursillo weekend yourself, why not treat a friend or family member, we often struggle to identify the right present, would someone you love or that special
September 11-13
friend, someone has always been there for you, enjoy the Cursillo experience? What better present for them than an opportunity to have an encounter with the Lord. You may even want to join them yourself, if it is a few years since you did your Cursillo you can go through that wonderful experience again, many have done so to date and they say that second time round it is every bit as good. God Bless. Cursillo Team of Leaders
ANNUAL THANKSGIVING
NATIONAL DAY MASS AT THE SHRINE OF
OUR LADY OF EUROPE
Letter ON WEDNESDAY
9 SEPT. 2015
(Yes, the day before!) AT 7.30pm
EVERYONE WELCOME
TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor
I was encouraged recently by your Foreword in the June 2015 edition of Upon This Rock, entitled ‘Many Branches, Many Roles: working towards Unity’. You write:- “The Christian Churches should be a visible sign of this unity Christ prayed for”. I completely agree with this and though there are many ways which we can promote closer understanding between Christians both individually and collectively, may I suggest to the faithful that they consider joining the Gibraltar Street Pastors. This is a small Christian ministry which comfortably embraces all the practical and spiritual requirements one could wish for in a Unity initiative. It could be said
that we take our cue from St. Francis of Asissi, who said “It is important to evangelize always and, if necessary, with words”, as this is exactly what we do from late on Friday nights to early on Saturday mornings, when we mingle with the young and not-soyoung on our streets, ready to offer a helping hand or sympathetic ear to those who need it. Four denominations (still only one Catholic though) go forth in the strength of The Lord and patrol mainly Casemates and Ocean Village. For further information, or to arrange to accompany us as an observer, please contact Andrew Abrines on 54028083 or John Bau 58380000.
Unite and Conquer! Yours sincerely, Andrew Abrines
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J
ourneying into the unknown, always seeking a better way of life and defying danger, it seems mankind has always lacked something in his soul that even the seekers could not define, but a restless urge kept them moving. When Humans did settle down, villages became towns, towns became cities and the population increased dramatically. This was a turning point in the world’s history, as man altered his environment to his benefit, but in doing so he created many new challenges. Migration became central to our human experience. Not everyone lives their entire life in one place (I haven’t), many move several times, often for positive reasons and by choice, like a new job, but always seeking a better way of life. Others are forced to move for reasons of poverty, persecution and oppression. Forced migration has become a complex issue; it underscores conflict at international borders, raises issues of national security, sovereignty rights, human rights, civil law, citizenship and even discipleships. This is not new. The Bible tells the story of the Flight into Egypt when Mary and Joseph had to take their baby and flee
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OSSERVATORE ROMANO 25-9-23
PHOTO: LARGE SCALE RESCUE, A. S. TORM
Man is a nomad. His history from remote beginnings is one of migration. Generations of prehistoric man roamed the vast land masses making migration a part of human history.
from Herod’s jealous fury. They became ‘asylum seekers’ as they fled to safety in a foreign land, destitute exiles without travel documents, yet they were protected, helped and welcomed when they crossed the border. Migration today is a world wide phenomenon. It encompasses migrant workers and their families, students, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless displaced persons and, most harrowing of all, victims of human trafficking, especially women and children. In the last twenty five years, the number of people on the move worldwide is believed to be over two hundred million. With the worlds population put at seven billion this may not seem over much but the fact is the suffering, pain and distress of these hapless human beings has to be our concern. Human beings may have taken their first steps out of Africa eons ago, and it is from Africa today that impoverished, downtrodden, victimised, terrorised, abused human beings seek desperate sanctuary on Europe’s shores. Italy and Greece are on the front line and the tiny island of Lampedusa, more like a rocky outcrop of 8 square miles and approximately seventy miles from Libya is where despairing, forlorn, wretched people head, an island of hope and tragedy. Last April a shipwreck off the island took an estimated eight hundred lives in an unmitigated, lamentable and appalling drowning. It prompted a plea from Pope Francis “Stop the Mediterranean becoming a vast migrant cemetery”. It was not just these eight hundred lost souls but the estimated twenty five thousand that have similarly perished. European leaders did
PHOTO: POPE FRANCIS IN LAMPEDUSA
Terror, Wind
and Waves
Anne Mesilio writes Pope Francis put his mark on his pontificate with an early visit to Lampedusa, the tiny Italian island close to Tunisia, where migrants crossing the Mediterranean have been arriving by the thousands in recent years.
Last month, Pope Francis invited the mayor of Lampedusa, with mayors of cities all around the world, to discuss climate change and its part in the displacement of peoples from drought ridden farmlands across SubSaharan Africa.
safe Mediterranean shores this hot summer, thousands more are poised to risk their lives in rickety, unseaworthy, overcrowded boats, driven by a great need. We may find it difficult to empathise with them, but we can at least pause to pray for those in peril on the sea. One man who made the crossing recalls;
meet to discuss this serious situation but deplorably ended in bitter rows over resettlement. Europe’s shame! There needs to be a united response. As fellow human beings we are obliged to respect these people and their needs. Where is our sense of brotherly love, responsibility and compassion? “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in” Mt. 25:35. Do we cry for the lost souls of the drowned and then neglect the living? The traffickers who exploit the situation and send
men, women and children to their deaths deserve contempt. The Pope made a pastoral visit to Lampedusa. He celebrated Mass near the ‘boat cemetery’ where his altar was a small painted boat, a humble gesture of solidarity. Yet it goes on, this appalling blot on our souls as thousands more increasingly demoralised despairing people cause chaos at Calais. Anger spills over as travel to and from the continent has been disrupted, making the exhortation in Ex. 22:21 “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt” more difficult to practice, as safe legal paths to Europe cease to exist for
migrants and refugees. As thousands (and I am one) have been frolicking on
“We saw death in all its colours. After the first day there was nothing to eat or drink. There was only terror, wind and waves.”
An increase of 40% in numbers between 2014 and 2015 was recently reported in the Press.
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FertilityCare Women’s Health
DR. MONIQUE RISSO SHARES
Why this Catholic Health Care system will make such a difference to Women.
W
T
CH
his July I had the privilege of attending a once in a lifetime presentation given by the cofounders of the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaPro Technology. It was a day full of amazing stories, telling the tale of hard work and the mission of this wonderful healthcare system for women. It is an honour to know these three delightful and dedicated couples. I would like to share this Catholic News Agency interview with you, so that you too can learn more about them:
R ISTI A
ith the hope of providing authentic and ethical health care for women, Dr. Thomas Hilgers, creator of Natural Procreative Technology, has worked for decades to establish a medical network that studies, understands, and treats the female fertility cycle. Assisted by his wife, Sue, and two nurses, K. Diane Daly and Ann Prebil, this group has been working together since 1976. “What we’ve developed, in effect, is a professional delivery system for Catholic reproductive health services, which not only involves family planning services, but also the whole variety of women’s health issues. This has all come out of
FUNDING AVAILABLE
US
T
N
MIS
The Christian Mission Trust provides local Christians with donations for evangelistic SI O N T R initiatives and outreaches. The Trust is ecumenical and has provided money to many groups, individuals and churches during the last 12 years. It is run by a Board of Trustees.
our research in the last 39 years” Hilgers told CNA. A medical student when Bl. Paul VI published Humanae vitae, his 1968 encyclical on the regulation of birth, Hilgers “felt really called” to the issues he read about in the document. He then went on to complete his first research project in natural methods of parental planning, after which he received training in obstetrics and gynaecology. Together with his colleagues he developed NaPro (Natural Procreative) Technology. In Omaha in 1985 they founded the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction and, in 1999, formally created the Creighton Model FertilityCare System. NaPro Technology has successfully been used to help women better understand their bodies’ natural fertility, to achieve or avoid pregnancy, and to find solutions to a variety of health problems. Hilgers and his colleagues
considered it important to differentiate themselves from natural family planning, feeling that term was “too… limiting,” Sue Hilgers said. With the help of a marketing specialist they developed the term “fertility care,” emphasizing that their model is intended not only to space births, but to truly and broadly manage a woman’s gynaecological health long-term. “For millennia, women had not understood their menstrual and fertility cycle” Sue Hilgers said. “For the first time ever, the mystery of the menstrual cycle has been removed. Through the research of Dr. Hilgers in the menstrual and fertility cycles, we now have answers to questions that had plagued women for centuries; but beyond that, we have treatments to give hope and healing to women no matter their age, their reproductive category, nor their gynaecological or obstetrical problem.” Women using the model chart
We invite applications for funding from anyone who wishes to launch an evangelistic initiative or who needs support for an existing Christian missionary activity. Please write to: The Chairman, Christian Mission Trust, 4 South Pavilion Road, Gibraltar.
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A C AT H O L I C N E W S A G E N C Y I N T E R V I E W their cycles daily to indicate fertile and infertile days and to monitor their health. Physicians can examine the charts to find unusual patterns, and thus conduct appropriate tests for a diagnosis.
‘Fertility Care’ invites all women, whether married or celibate, to know how their bodies function and thereby receive adequate health care based on their personalized observations and assessments.
Hilgers saw the preponderance of artificial birth control as a band-aid solution to such health problems as severe menstrual pain and abnormal bleeding – “they’ve changed away from looking at the underlying problems. In a way, it’s set us back in women’s health care,” Hilgers says. “Politicians … talk about this war on women, and it’s a way of deflecting away from what actually has been going on. The real war on women is all this contraception, abortion, sterilization … and it’s not to say that there weren’t some real problems there when all this started but we haven’t solved any of them. They’re all symptomatic, and they’re all band-aid approaches.” Many physicians have “antagonism” and “closemindedness” toward anything that is not artificial, Sue Hilgers said. Through the work of the Pope Paul VI Institute, several women’s health issues now have more safe, reliable, and effective resolutions. According to Dr. Hilgers, the team has discovered ways to prevent pelvic adhesions during surgery; they have identified various ovulation abnormalities through ultrasounds; and they have correlated the type of mucous cycles women have to particular fertility problems. According to Dr. Hilgers, about 9.5 million women in the
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U.S. have fertility issues, and of those women, fewer than 0.5% become pregnant. Many couples are turned off by IVF because “it’s a very expensive methodology” and “it’s highly abortive” Dr. Hilgers stated. In vitro fertilization requires multiple eggs to be fertilized; many women who only want one or two children must make a choice to either freeze the leftover embryos, or have them destroyed. There are “maybe 80,000 women who get served by the IVF industry” he said. “Well, 80,000 out of 9.5 million is pretty small.” “When we see the publicity image of it … it’s like [IVF] is the only treatment there is for infertility. But at NaPro Technology we take an approach which looks at the underlying causes, or the root causes, of the infertility problem.” While artificial fertilization or contraception glosses over underlying problems, the Pope Paul VI Institute aims to find the causes of infertility or abnormal menstrual occurrences. While not every couple suffering with infertility will become pregnant, women leave with healthier bodies and more knowledge of their complex nature. Patients come and are “so happy, because they learn about how their bodies work” Daly told CNA. “The men are in awe of how their wives’ bodies really function” she continued. “And then they’re empowered – once they really know how things are normal, how things regularly are, then it can empower them to be a partner in health and they can take that to their physician and say, my chart is showing this and this, and I would like you to help diagnose that and treat what you can.” Prebil said that “one of the things very early on we realized, was that it was very important to develop good communication
between the couple, that they would learn to communicate about things that maybe they weren’t communicating about before.” The goal was not simply to teach women and couples how to chart and to recognize infertile or fertile days, but to be a “witness to them on how to communicate,” and how to “share all levels of sexuality” Prebil continued. Sue Hilgers said that “we’ve really field tested these teachings now for almost 40 years, and we’re here to say that the teachings are on target, they work and they bring so much hope and healing and reflect
the Church’s true love and compassion for women, couples and families.” Daly added,
“We’re just going to keep on working as long as we can to serve God and his kingdom and bring this message … to all people because everybody has a right to this.”
If you would like to find out more about the Fertility Care system, ask Dr. Monique Risso. Dr. Risso MB ChB MRCGP General Practitioner. The Creighton Model Fertility Care System Practitioner, and NaPro Technology Physician. The Specialist Medical Clinic, Unit 7, First Floor, ICC Building, Casemates Square, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 49999. www.ladyofeuropefertilitycare.com
COME ON LET’S
Celebrate! 40th Anniversary of the CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL in Gibraltar. With
MICHELLE
MORAN Celebrate! Fr. Raul
President ICCRS
Fr. Mario Fr. Pepe Marquez, Inmaculada Moreno, and our local clergy. (from Colombia),
Weekend 9-11 October 2015
Fri 20:00 - 23:00, Sat 10:00 - 20:00 and Sun 10:00 - 14:00 Catholic Community Centre
C elebrate and Sing!
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O
n the feast day of Peter and Paul, 29 June, Fr. George Grima celebrated a special Mass marking the 40th Anniversary of his brother, Rev. Monseigneur Coronato Grima in the Shrine of Ta Pino, Malta. Mgr. Grima was ordained priest in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City and soon after arrived in Gibraltar, he is of course well known to all but our youngest readers as he spent thirty years with us here on the Rock. Most of that time he was the Parish Priest of St. Joseph’s Church. Mgr. Grima left Gibraltar due to ill health and returned back to live with his family in Victoria on the Maltese island of Gozo. A small group made the journey from Gibraltar for his Anniversary Mass, Maribel Arias, Mario and Maria Hook, Rosemarie Isola, Christine Loddo, Maridel Savignon, Dr. Albert Soler, and Annie Thornton were the Gibraltar contingent who joined Mgr. Grima’s family to celebrate on this great occasion. Afterwards the Congregation was invited to kiss his anointed hands, and everyone present proceeded to partake in the
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hand-kissing privilege with great emotion and loving respect for this most revered priest; a true and devoted shepherd of the people. Although not active as a parish priest Fr. Grima attends Mass every morning, with the help of a walking frame, and leads the singing. In the evenings he is to be found in the Basilica giving the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Some neighbours go to his house every day to hear Mass, which
he says, followed by the full twenty mysteries of the Rosary. While his health is failing him, there is no doubt that Mgr. Grima’s resilience and spirit of service to those who seek spiritual guidance is undiminished, breathing life into St. Paul’s words “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” 2 Tim 4:7.
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40 Anniversary Mass MGR. CORONATO GRIMA
TH
The Anniversary Mass was held in the beautiful Ta Pinu Shrine, located some 700 metres from the village of Għarb on the island of Gozo, it is on the edge of a cliff in open countryside with beautiful views of the area.
Photos clockwise: The Shine of Ta Pino, Malta. Fr. George Grima invites his brother to Consecrate the Host with him during Mass, part of the
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Gibraltar contingent. Mgr. Grima cuts the cake at the Reception after Mass. Dinner at the port with Fr. sharing a meal at home–in the background left to
right, his sister Paulina, brother Manuel, sister Grace and Father George. Mgr. Grima is embraced by his younger brother after the Anniversary Mass.
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OF YEAR MERCY
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE
D
uring the Holy Year of Mercy, the Pope wants to show “the Church’s maternal solicitude” by sending “missionaries of mercy” throughout the world to forgive even the most serious of sins, Archbishop Rino Fisichella has said. During a news conference at the Vatican on Tuesday, Archbishop Fisichella also unveiled the official prayer, logo, calendar of events and other details of the Holy Year of Mercy, which will be celebrated from December 8 2015 until November 20 2016.
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The missionaries of mercy will be specially selected priests who have been granted “the authority to pardon even those sins reserved to the Holy See” the Pope wrote in Misericordiae Vultus (The Face of Mercy), the document officially proclaiming the Holy Year. Archbishop Fisichella, the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, the office organising events for the Holy Year of Mercy, said the priests will be chosen on the basis of their ability to preach well, especially on the theme of mercy, and be “good confessors”, meaning they are able to express
God’s love and do not make the confessional, as Pope Francis says, like “a torture chamber”. The priests will also have to “be patient” and have “an understanding of human fragility” the archbishop added. Bishops can recommend to the council priests from their own dioceses to serve as missionaries of mercy, he said, and priests themselves can submit their request to serve. When a priest volunteers, however, the council will confer with his bishop to make sure he would be “suitable for this ministry” and has the bishop’s approval to serve temporarily as a missionary of mercy, the archbishop explained. The year-long extraordinary jubilee will also include several individual jubilee days, such as for the Roman Curia, catechists, teenagers and prisoners. The motto “Merciful Like the Father” Archbishop Fisichella said “serves as an invitation to
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2015 - 2016 follow the merciful example of the Father, who asks us not to judge or condemn, but to forgive and to give love and forgiveness without measure.” Pope Francis announced in March his intention to proclaim a holy year as a way for the Church to “make more evident its mission to be a witness of mercy.” The archbishop emphasised the importance of living the Holy Year as “a true pilgrimage” with the proper elements of prayer and sacrifice. He said “We will ask pilgrims to make a journey on foot, preparing themselves to pass through the Holy Door in a spirit of faith and devotion”. More than a dozen individual jubilee celebrations will be scheduled in 2016, such as a jubilee for consecrated men and women on February 2nd to close the Year of Consecrated Life; a jubilee for the Roman Curia on February 22nd; a jubilee for those devoted to the spirituality of Divine Mercy on Divine Mercy Sunday April 3rd; and separate jubilees for teenagers; for deacons; priests; the sick and disabled; and catechists. A jubilee for “workers and volunteers of mercy” will be celebrated on Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s feast day, September 5th, and a jubilee for prisoners will be celebrated on November 6th. Archbishop Fisichella said the Pope wants the jubilee for inmates to be celebrated not only in prisons, but also with him in St. Peter’s Basilica. He said the council is discussing
the possibility with government authorities and is not yet sure if it can be done. The Vatican is asking bishops and priests around the world to conduct “similar symbolic gestures of communion with Pope Francis” and his vision of reaching out to those on the margins. “As a concrete sign of the Pope’s charitable love,” he said “effective measures will be taken to meet real needs in the world that will express mercy through tangible assistance.” At the news conference the council distributed copies, in several languages, of the Holy Year prayer and logo, which features Jesus — the Good Shepherd — taking “upon his shoulders the lost soul, demonstrating that it is the love of Christ that brings to completion the mystery of his incarnation, culminating in redemption,” the archbishop said. The image, created by Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, also shows one of Jesus’ eyes merged with the man’s to show how “Christ sees with the eyes of Adam, and Adam with the eyes of Christ.” The council has joined with the United Bible Societies to distribute to pilgrims one million free copies of the Gospel of Mark; the texts will be available in seven languages. The Jubilee of Mercy has an official website in seven languages at www.im.va; a Twitter handle (@Jubilee_va); a Facebook page; and accounts on Instagram, Flickr and Google+.
Prayer of
Pope Francis for the Jubilee
Lord Jesus Christ, You have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us your face and we will be saved. Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money; the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things; made Peter weep after his betrayal, and assured Paradise to the repentant thief. Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman “If you knew the gift of God!” You are the visible face of the invisible Father, of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy: let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified. You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error: let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God. Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
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