F r. P i o t r Pr u s a k i e w i cz v i s i t e d G i b r a l t a r o n t h e 3 1 s t of M a y w i t h a m e s s a g e of M e r cy g i ve n a t
n God’s message is a one of Mercy, today he calls ‘I love you, I love you, I love you!’
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t. Faustian wanted to go all over the world and she wanted to repeat this message of God’s love. Now, the Holy Father Pope Francis, wants to repeat this message with not only a Year of Mercy, but an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, 365 days. The Holy Father wants all people to benefit from the Year of Mercy, especially now while there are so many things going wrong in the world. The first words we read in the document, the Papal Bull announcing the Year of Mercy from Francis, Bishop of Rome, the Servant of the servants of God, is that it is addressed to ‘all who read this letter, Grace, Mercy and Peace’! And what is Grace? It is God giving himself by Grace. Mercy? To be forgiven! I think all confessionals should be decorated with flowers, what are the happiest words we can hear?
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“I absolve you from your sins!” You are happiest when you are sinless. St. Faustina asks us to pray before the image of Divine Mercy when we receive the Son of God. Jesus is the face of Mercy. The Father is so merciful he gave us his only Son. We need to contemplate the mystery of mercy constantly. For me that is fascinating. Unfathomable. We are invited to enter the mystery of mercy, to go into the depths of the heart of God, three times, through the Trinity, it is the wellspring of serenity and peace. The Holy Father says we are sometimes called to gaze on mercy, and to be under the merciful gaze of the Father. I find this fascinating, to be under the gaze of Jesus in the Divine Mercy image, to be under the gaze of Jesus from the Cross, here we can feel the power of the Grace of Jesus. We pray ‘Lord
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St. P
Pa u l ’s Pa r i s h C h u r c h . Jesus, show us your face’. Jesus’ loving gaze freed Matthew, passing by the tax collector’s booth, Jesus looked intently at Matthew, it was a look full of mercy that forgave the sins of that man, a sinner and a tax collector, whom Jesus chose – against the hesitation of the disciples – to become one of the Twelve. His gaze freed the woman accused of adultery, when the pharisees had left he said “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” In reply to Peter’s question about how many times it is necessary to forgive, Jesus says: “I do not say seven times, but seventy times seven times” And even on Calvary, when he was being crucified, when the thief begged him “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” With these examples we see that Jesus changes lives. We can be with him in Adoration. Adoration is looking at the gaze of Jesus as he gazes at us, this is the beginning of grace. The Holy Father says that Mercy is the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness. We need to build a lot of bridges, in our families, there are too many walls, build bridges! Offer forgiveness to others, who does not make mistakes? It is human to fail, but satanic to stay in the state of sin. God is patient, he said to St.
Lord Jesus show us your face! Faustina, “Help me my daughter to save souls” We can only do so little, so we pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy every day, have mercy! Prayer for mercy makes a big difference. Pope Francis makes reference to Psalm 136, the refrain is repeated after each verse ‘For his mercy endures for ever.’ How long? Not 100 years, not 200 years, but for ever! The Holy Father tells us how much he hopes that the year ‘will be steeped in mercy, so that we can go out to every man and woman, bringing the goodness and tenderness of God!’ he wishes that ‘the balm of mercy may reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the Kingdom of God is already present in our midst!’
St. Thomas Aquinas’ words show that God’s mercy, rather than a sign of weakness, is the mark of his omnipotence. He assures us that the grace and love of God is stronger than our sinfulness. St. Faustina is the patroness of the Year of mercy, she is the Secretary of the Divine Mercy and in her we have a great intercessor.. God bless you
†Father Piotr Fr. Piotr then blessed everyone with a relic of St. Faustina
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: Mgr. Paul Bear presides at the Corpus Christi Mass. Photo: A. Sargent
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Re ce n t E ve n t s i n t h e D i o ce s e
Holy Father sends an Apostolic Blessing to participants of the Annual Rosary Relay.
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his year, over 30 participants prayed during Gibraltar’s one hour slot in the The Annual Global Rosary Relay. The prayers were led by Mgr. Charlie Azzopardi and accompanied by Fr. Piotr Gasiorek. Over 50 countries were circling the world with prayer for priests that day.
Pope Francis’ Apostolic Blessing
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he Holy Father conveys his cordial greetings to all taking king part in the ‘24 Hour Rosary Relay’ and wishes to assure them of his spiritual closeness. He prays that our Blessed Mother may always guide and protect priests who are consecrated to the joyful, and indispensable mission, of proclaiming the Gospel and offering God’s people, through the celebration of the sacraments, the closeness, the word and the strength of Christ.1 With great affection and appreciation for priests: His Holiness commends them and those joining in this event to the loving intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary. He willingly imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and peace.
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Pope Francis’ Prayer for Priests
L
ord Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, you offered yourself to The Father on the altar of the Cross and through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit gave your priestly people a share in your redeeming sacrifice. Hear our prayer for the sanctification of our priests. Grant that all who are ordained to the ministerial priesthood may be ever more conformed to you, the divine Master. May they preach the Gospel with pure heart and clear conscience. Let them be shepherds according to your own Heart, single-minded in service to you and to the Church and shining examples of a holy, simple and joyful life. Through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, your Mother and ours, draw all priests and the flocks entrusted to their care to the fullness of eternal life where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.
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In Gibraltar we are praying with confident hope that a special priest will be found to lead us and that the Sede Vacante will
soon be filled by a new Bishop to follow in the footsteps of our much loved Bishop Ralph.
(cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 121).
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St. Bernard’s School Choir lead the praise during the solemnity of Corpus Christi held outdoors
at John Mackintosh Square 26th May, more photos from the event on the following pages.
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Live the Journey
Works of Mercy Photographic Exhibition
n Sebastian
Porral talks about his experience as an artist, on what became a personal pilgrimage.
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n Wednesday 16th June 2016, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe, Mgr. Charles Azzopardi introduced Sebastian Porral, a talented young photographer who has taken on the challenge of capturing the Works of Mercy as single images.
Guests at the Opening Reception of the exhibition included ministers, teachers and family as well as members of the wider community. The full colour 28 page booklet that accompanies Sebastian’s debut Exhibition
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lists seven corporal and seven spiritual Acts of Mercy. Each image is reproduced with an interpretation of the artwork, we have been able to show some of these here, but they are well worth seeing where they are presented in large format, mounted on board and beautifully lit, in the recently redecorated exhibition hall at the Shrine. The quiet venue encourages the meditation on the deep need for mercy in our contemporary society. INTERVIEW Why did it occur to you to choose this subject matter for your A-Level assignment? It didn’t occur to me. Father approached the Art department
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at my school and asked if they had someone who would be able to take photographs representing the 14 Acts of Mercy, and I was put forward for the job. I then realised I could use it for the A Level question which I had chosen which was ‘How has the camera influenced art?’ When did you start working on the project? A little before Christmas 2015. What was the most challenging of the 14 Works of Mercy to capture as a photograph? ‘Comfort the afflicted’ was challenging as I was not allowed to use people within the photos. What was the most difficult shot, technically. ‘Welcome the stranger’ was difficult. It involved a long hike
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- Comfort the afflicted -
with equipment and then when it came to taking the photo the contrast in light made it rather difficult to decide what settings to use.
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Eunice Kennedy, 1921 - 2009 Foundress of Special Olympics
- Give drink to the thirsty -
- Bear patiently with those who do us ill -
- Admonish sinners -
- Heal the sick -
- Counsel the doubtful -
- Instruct the ignorant -
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After you had taken the photographs, what was most surprising about preparing the Exhibition itself? After taking the photos there was still a huge amount of work to be done, Father Charlie managed the exhibition set up, I came in to help when help was needed. What have you learnt while working on the assignment? I have learnt how to work with clients and interpret what they are looking for. I also realised that I had seriously underestimated the amount of time needed to
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produce this amount of work. I have learnt to use my camera in a more effective way and that there may be times where you need to take over 200 photos and then have to decide what works best, sometimes you don’t get the perfect image straight away. What are your future plans? After this summer I hope to go and study Marine and Natural History Photography at the University of Falmouth. By doing this I hope to come out of University with enough knowledge to go on and make a living doing what I love.
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How long will the exhibition be running?
The exhibition will be running now for the rest of the Year.
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Mgr. Paul Bear spoke about the importance of love to the assembled crowds during the outdoor Corpus Christi celebration 26 May. The love and respect shown by the people as the Blessed Sacrament was taken in procession to the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned was very evident.
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A n n e M e s i l i o w r i t e s a b o u t Wo r l d M u l t i p l e S c l e r o s i s D a y
Stronger Than #MS W
ORLD MS DAY 2016 has come and gone, but for those who grapple with the reality of living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) on a daily basis, the awareness goes on.
No one asks for this, an auto immune disease where the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues. So, being ambushed by one’s own body must be very frightening indeed. It is not clear why MS develops in some people and not others. It can occur at any age. It would seem that certain risk factors have been identified. Women are nearly twice as likely as men to develop the disease, family history has been cited, Northern Europeans are at highest risk, even climate may play a part, the temperate climate found in Europe may influence the onset
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though this is by no means definitive and seems a rather sweeping overview without too much substance. For those with MS the immune system seems to malfunction and destroys myelin, the fatty substance that coats and protects nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord. This could be compared to the insulation coating on electric wires. When the protective myelin is damaged and nerve fibre exposed, messages that travel along the nerve become delayed or blocked. The nerve itself stands a high chance of being damaged too. World MS Day was held here on the Rock by the Gibraltar Multiple Sclerosis Society which was launched in 2013. They aim to promote an understanding of the disease, and provide information and support for those unexpectedly diagnosed with this condition which can abruptly change
the course of their lives. This includes carers who are left as bewildered as those who have been diagnosed. At present, it is estimated that as many as three hundred people, with varying neurological conditions, are in need of help. It was a pleasure for me to catch up with Iris Guilliano over a coffee after her busy day promoting a successful World MS Day. Iris was diagnosed in 2007 but for some time before that she was beset by all sorts of weird symptoms which did not add up. Nine years later, at forty seven years old, she has had to make a big decision and leave her work. “My vision had become very blurry and my fingers were feeling numb and as I work as a cashier... well you can imagine!” she told me with her characteristic sense of humour. Iris has worked tirelessly during those seven years to found the MS Society in Gibraltar.
The aim of the Society is to help people feel less alone with their condition and give them the tools to keep as well as possible.
This has certainly been achieved with the Society being a registered Charity with Facebook, Twitter and e-mail accounts as well as a phone line now set up. All of these have provided the much needed support network for members and raised awareness so others can see they don’t have to struggle alone. MS can be a challenging condition to live with, but new treatments over the past 20 years have considerably improved the
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quality of life of people with the condition. One way help has become available on the Rock was when, in 2015, the GHA signed a contract with the NHS St. George’s University Hospitals to supply a variety of visiting consultant services (in some instances with specialist nursing support) and to provide in-patient access to all of their high quality specialist services. For Iris and the MS Society the neurology and neurosurgery services provided a lifeline which has made ‘a huge difference’ especially with Specialists visiting on a regular basis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women
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than men being diagnosed with the disease. With this in mind I asked Iris if diet played a part in what appeared to be a very erratic disease. She extolled the benefits of the ‘Swank’ diet which has proved helpful in controlling her symptoms. The Swank Diet is a diet that is low in saturated fat, which was proposed in 1948 by Roy LaverSwank, MD, PhD (1909– 2008) for the treatment of MS. With summer here and almost wall to wall sunshine available on a daily basis, I asked Iris if Vitamin D was something to think about. It is called the Sunshine Vitamin and while it is available in many foods, like fish, eggs,
milk and cod liver oil, the sun has to be its greatest source. Growing evidence would suggest that this vitamin can play a vital role in MS. Studies have found that people diagnosed with MS often have low levels of Vitamin D and the lower this is, the greater the disability. This vitamin is thought to support the immune system so the relationship between MS and exposure to sunlight may be worth looking at. Being diagnosed with MS is not a death sentence and after the shock has subsided it becomes clear that the same guidelines about healthy eating apply equally to everybody. You have to take care of the rest of your body
too. With MS it means there is the additional job of managing your disease. In concluding our chat Iris shared with me; “We have a great relationship with the GHA and we will be helping fund some equipment for the developing neuro/disabilities Gym in the Physiotherapy Department”. This is to be applauded as a step forward for those with progressive neurological conditions like MS. It will provide rehabilitation and care to those struggling with these complex conditions.
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E d i t o r i a l s e l e c t e d by D r. M o n i q u e R i s s o
The School of Love John Paul II’s ‘Theology of the Body’ and the beauty of God’s plan of love in Natural Family Planning and NaProTechnology The following text is taken from a document in the Pontifical Council for the Laity and beautifully covers God’s love as it related to the practice of NFP and NaProTechnology. It is 15 pages long, so we have presented the opening paragraphs and conclusion with a link to the full text on the magazine’s website. The author is Dr. William Newton, Associate Professor of Theology, Chair of Faculty at the Franciscan University of Steubenville Austrian Program, Visiting Professor of Theology at the International Theological Institute, Trumau, Austria, and Associate Member of Faculty, Maryvale Institute, Birmingham, UK February 2013.
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he question placed before us is this: how do NaProTechnology and Natural Family Planning correspond to God’s plan for human beings? Another way to put the same question might be: what is it about NaProTechnology and Natural Family Planning that makes them fitting forms of behaviour for human beings while other methods of achieving pregnancy and spacing child birth are not? This immediately raises another question and a very profound one at that. This is the question of the purpose of human life. It might surprise some that we are immediately plunged into such deep water, but the truth is that we simply cannot avoid such profound questions when we are dealing with matters that touch upon the very origin of human life. The answer that John Paul II gives to this latter question about the meaning of life is remarkably simple: simple in its profundity. He says that the goal of human life is to make a gift of oneself for the sake of communion. Gift and communion: these are the hermeneutical keys through which the previous pontiff viewed the world. In effect, he says that at the end of your life, you will judge it to have been a success or a failure not on the basis of fame, wealth, or pleasure; but on the basis of whether you took the
If you are interested in Natural Family Planning, talk to 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
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opportunity to make a gift of yourself to others and whether or not you achieved profound communion with others and with God. If you are not acquainted with the thoughts of John Paul II, the phrase ‘gift of self’ might strike you as unusual; and even if you are, it can remain a bit nebulous. So let us spend just a moment to deal with this. In many ways, ‘gift of self’ is synonymous with ‘love’. However, this does not really solve the problem because the word ‘love’ is used analogously for a whole range of realities that come under the umbrella of ‘desiring the good for someone’. Here is not the place to draw all the distinctions, but in Love and Responsibility, Karol Wojtyla does just that and concludes that ‘a total gift of self’ or ‘betrothed love’ is the highest possible form of love. It is that type of love in which one person submits their whole self to another person (human or divine) forgoing, by that very act, the right to decide his future for himself. In a word, a ‘total gift of self’ make one the property of another. Now, it seems to me that John Paul II comes to this notion of the goal of human life as gift and communion from both revelation and a reflection of human experience. It would be worth our while considering all this in more detail. The article continues and for those readers who would like to read the complete document, it can be found in the ‘Features’ menu on uponthisrock.gi or directly at http://uponthisrock. gi/the-school-of-love/ CONCLUSION
In his Apostolic Letter on The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, Familiaris
Consortio, John Paul II asserts that: In the light of the experience of many couples and of the data provided by the different human sciences, theological reflection is able to perceive and is called to study further the difference, both anthropological and moral, between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle: it is a difference which is much wider and deeper than is usually thought, one which involves in the final analysis two irreconcilable concepts of the human person and of human sexuality. His point is clear: the difference between natural family planning and NaProTechnology on the one hand, and contraception on the other, comes down to a disagreement about what it means to be a man. The disagreement is not at the level of technology but anthropology. As we have seen the same also applies to different ways of bringing about conception. It is not a matter simply of technology but of whether the technology respects the status of the human child as a gift. Ultimately, then, each side of the argument enshrines a different view of what it means to be a human being. These are conflicting views and utterly incompatible with each other. It is in this sense that matters of human sexuality and artificial conception have become the modern battle group for two world views that cannot peacefully coexist. Under-girding NaProTechnology is a view that human life is a gift and that we are called (each and everyone) to love, understood as making a gift of oneself for the sake of communion. The world view behind contraception and artifi-
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cial conception is the antithesis of this: and, despite what Hegel might say, there can be no synthesis here. The world view of contraception and artificial conception is one of appropriation and production: it is essentially consumerist, and a consumer culture is one that puts a premium not on giving but on taking. Finally, there is one aspect of the title of this talk that I have, until now, neglected. The title speaks of “the beauty of God’s plan for love” that is embedded in NaProTechnology.
Beauty is that which gives joy to the beholder from the experience of proportion and harmony.
Whenever the parts of a thing are in the right place and each given its proper importance in the whole, then we have beauty: this is true of a human face, a building, or of a work of art; and it is above all true of a human life. A beautiful life is one in which a person gives the proper importance to each thing in his life, and highest place to love.
In this sense, NaProTechnology is part of living a beautiful life because it brings a right ordering of priorities into a couple’s life: it brings proportion and harmony. After all, spouses do not just fall into the practice of NaProTechnology and NFP, like many fall unthinkingly into the use of contraception – the only choice usually being the exact method. No, NaProTechnology demands and manifests a careful reflection on the part of the spouses as to the meaning of life and the goal of marriage. And it demands considerable and deliberate effort to construct a way of life. Of course, in this life, love is never separated from the cross for very long. Things do not always work out as we initially hoped: we become pregnant when we hoped not to, or we did not conceive when we hoped we would. Nonetheless, it is my perception that the pedagogy of NaProTechnology allows those couples who use it to better embrace this aspect of God’s loving plan for them because they have already been trained in the school of love.
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What better image, to illustrate an article on ‘The School of Love’ than the statue of Our Lady of Europe with her Son from John Mackintosh Square, see Upon This Rock facebook page for more photos.
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Christian Unity
Island in
etiquette; or as something desirable and achievable n ‘Let’s but only as a product of eventual compromise. focus on what we have in common rather than our differences.’
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e used to think of Christian unity in one of two ways: in practice, an unattainable ideal but one to which lipservice and attendance was necessary, mainly for reasons of inter-church
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Both positions were indicative of, at best, resignation and at worst, lingering resentment. Things have changed, out of necessity rather than desire. After all, as the majority tradition across much of Europe and other continents, and, being in possession of the fullness of Truth, we had the, perhaps unrealistic, expectation, that others would need to move closer to us, rather than vise versa. Change has been made necessary, across every Christian tradition, by the spectacular collapse in church attendance, adherence to faith principles and general levels of interest. In much of the Western and near-Eastern worlds, people have simply lost interest in, and hope that, the Christian faith can provide answers to the pressing
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the SON needs of daily life. Hundreds of millions today find more hope in their iPhones, more community on Facebook, more to satisfy their curiosity in the internet and more lifeaffirmation in yoga classes, pilates and Netflix. From being a force for good across most social spectra, the churches have come to be ignored and in many places vilified. Christianity is now a fringe activity. In the context of such massive social change, the churches are being driven to restore priority to the primacy of the Gospel message, to address the importance of interpersonal relationships with the unchurched and to grasp the pressing need to evangelise a post-religious society, even if they are not always necessarily responding to the need. For Catholics especially, rooted not only in unchanging and unchangeable dogma but also in inflexible hierarchical structures and a generally unwelcoming attitude to anything new or revisionist, this is a particular challenge and one which we have not, as a whole, yet faced up to. Go to a typical Catholic Church anywhere this Sunday and, whilst I guarantee you will not be regarded with suspicion or be made to feel unwelcome, it is unlikely that anyone will look out for newcomers, reach out to them, make them feel positively welcome, encourage involvement and further interest or try to catechise or evangelise
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them. How many parishes reach out to those in their district who don’t come to church? How many are directly and obviously involved in works of service of the needy, the poor, the lonely, the sick and the aged? Catholics in general simply do not do marketing. We have the fullness of the Truth but if you want to know more about it, you would need to make an appointment. Imagine a man, sitting on the beach of a small island, the tide starts to come in, compelling the man to move further and further up the beach, until he is virtually back to back with all the other people who are also sitting on different parts of the same beach. Unity would be compelled. In this way the time has come. It has been a long time coming, when Christians need to put aside all the things that have made them different in the last six centuries and focus urgently
and actively on what they have in common. This has long been the principal truism of the Christian Unity things we tend to do in Gibraltar at certain services each year: to focus on what we have in common rather than our differences. Until the last decade, however, that’s generally been just a nice huggyfeely sentiment, a platform for building personal relationships so that we can get together for prayer and a service carefully prepared to avoid all possible controversy. We can certainly keep doing that, in ever smaller numbers, as we all get older and continue to die off. But it all surely misses the point that if Christianity is to survive as the immense power for good that it has been across the planet for the last 2000 years,
all those of us, Catholic and nonCatholic, who believe that this is so, need to see that it’s no longer about focus groups, theological commissions, polite exchanges and the occasional service. It’s an absolute imperative of our times, without the acceptance of which society is literally going to hell in a hand-cart. More importantly, it’s also a biblical, Christ-given, imperative which the Gospel of John regards as a necessary pre-condition for the world to understand that Jesus Christ, the only possibility of salvation for a broken world, is alive. “That all of them may be one…so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you love me.” (John 17: 21, 23)
Will all Christians be able to pray and praise in unity one day soon?
Chris Pitaluga writes
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