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D i o ce s e of G i b r a l t a r Le n te n AC N A p p e a l
Bishop Carmel Zammit has issued an appeal to the people of Gibraltar to help the persecuted Christians in Syria during Lent.
H
is Lordship has asked the faithful to support specific projects saying in his Pastoral Letter, “This year, for the forty days of Lent which prepare us for the celebration of Easter, I would like to encourage the people of Gibraltar, to lend their support and show their solidarity with those who in various countries are being persecuted, who suffer injustices and who are even martyred for the simple reason that they are Christians. Many Christians have been forced to leave their native country to avoid persecution.
We have often seen news reports and troubling images of human suffering coming from countries where Christians are targeted, with Churches being burned or ransacked, congregations in churches attacked and making it clear that they are not wanted. Support of the Holy Father
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is a Pontifical foundation that has helped, through material and human support, thousands of persecuted Christians. You may get more information about the projects that ACN has sponsored to help Christians in
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: The Maronite Cathedral, in the Old City, Aleppo © Aid to the Church in Need
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“They are being tested in
FAITH
LOVE
we are being tested in
”
ays W 5
Youngsters queuing up to receive hot meals at a displacement centre in Aleppo’s Jibrin district. After the ceasefire, thousands of families were brought here from bombed-out east Aleppo. Photo ©Aid to the Church in Need
to donate
need by visiting the website www.acnuk.org.
Donations to be funded through self denial
I would like the self denial that we are asked to practice during Lent and your consequent charitable contributions to be offered to this organization, and through your contributions you will be alleviating the hardships that others are enduring due to their Faith. The generosity of the Gibraltarians is inspirational, and I am confident that your support to ACN will help the specific projects that ACN has entrusted to Gibraltar to help the people in Syria.
To respond to Bishop Carmel Zammit’s appeal for Aid to the Church in Need’s work in Aleppo, especially supporting persecuted Christian families helped by Sister Annie Demerjian please choose a method of payment:
2 Telephone – +44 20 8642 8668 3 Post – Cheques payable to ‘Aid to the
John Pontifex of ACN’s visit to Gibraltar
John Pontifex, speaking for ‘Aid to the Church in Need’ recently made impassioned appeals at the end of Mass at many Churches in Gibraltar. The ACN are prioritising helping Sister Annie Demerjian’s outreach to 650 families. See page 4
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1 Online – www.acnuk.org
Photo: John Pontifex ©Aid to the Church in Need
F r. We r e n f r i e d v a n S t r a a te n , t h e fo u n d e r of AC N , s a i d :
Church in Need’ sent to ‘Gibraltar ACN Aleppo Appeal’, Aid to the Church in Need (UK), 12-14 Benhill Avenue, Sutton, Surrey SM1 4DA, UK. In church – Place your donation in collection boxes marked ‘Aid to the Church in Need’ in Catholic churches. Envelopes will be available in church too.
4 Sister Annie Demerjian works with a team of volunteers helping the most needy. Photo ©Aid to the Church in Need
5 Gibraltar International Bank
Account –‘Trustees RCC/ACN’; Account No. 00812022; Sort Code: 60-83-14 uponthisrock.gi 3
D i o ce s e of G i b r a l t a r Le n te n AC N A p p e a l , a n a r t i c l e by J o h n Po n t i fex , H e a d of Pr e s s a n d I n fo r m a t i o n
“Surviving the war was a Miracle And your
Help
is a Miracle
too
”
Sister Anne Demerjian John Pontifex’s first hand account of the devastation
Standing in the square and closing my eyes tight shut, I could just about imagine what it must have been like in days gone by: the place thronging with people, the faithful chanting, churchgoers flooding in and out of the great cathedrals that stood proud and tall close by. What a difference a few years can make. Here, at the heart of Aleppo’s ancient Old City, the ravages of war have left their cruel mark almost everywhere you look. As we stood there on a cold winter’s morning, our guide, Aleppo’s Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop JeanClément Jeanbart, drew our attention to the blackened façade of a Church-run orphanage that occupied one side of the square. “Many people died there,” he
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said sadly, adding that the brother of a priest had died in the block of flats next door when a bomb set the whole place alight. Behind the archbishop the once-grand Maronite cathedral stood with a vast hole in the middle where a bomb had smashed through the nave. Nearby, his own Greek Catholic cathedral was a shadow of its former self. Archbishop Jeanbart said that he had to abandon the site four years ago for fear of abduction, a fate that had befallen two fellow Aleppo archbishops – Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi. Kidnap was one threat, being killed on the spot was another: the archbishop estimates that 60 bombs of one form or another landed in this part of the Old City over the course of the war. On December 23, the guns finally fell silent and an apparent victory was handed to Syria’s President Assad in the battle for the city. Today, the cacophony of bombs is replaced by an eerie silence. Will the people come back? Not yet. With a political settlement still a distant hope, people are just marking time. In the meantime, the full cost of war can at last be counted. Coming to Aleppo as part of a team from the charity Aid to the Church in Need to assess the ongoing pastoral and emergency needs of the people, we learned that the Christian community has fallen from perhaps 250,000 to barely 30,000. This is a decline far sharper than that of Aleppo’s overall population, which has fallen from about 2.5 million to some 1.5 million. The depletion of the city’s Christian population has set alarm bells ringing: Aleppo is the latest to join the list of places in the Middle East where Christians have become an endangered species. In major
parts of the Old City, large numbers of displaced Muslims have moved in, becoming the majority in what were – until the war – primarily Christian districts. Such developments have unsettled many Christians, we were told. We spoke to Basil Syoufi, aged 22. Basil is married to 27 year old Mariana Tahan, and they have a baby daughter, Christa. “We are already a minority,” said Basil. “A lot of young people have left.” The Latin Rite Catholic, a law student at Aleppo University, said he and his wife found it difficult to imagine raising their child in a place that was still so unstable. For young people, the incentive to get away is increased by the threat of a call-up into Syria’s armed forces. It is difficult to exaggerate the sense of calamity for a people in a city which had been a core industrial hub serving not just Syria but also much of the Middle East. As for Basil, himself disabled, there is the added blow that Syria’s medical services, once free at the point of delivery, are now highly degraded. One consultant said there were 9,000 doctors in Aleppo before the war: now there are just 3,000. But while there are some Aleppo Christians like Basil who clearly feel the pull of emigration, there are others who are determined to stay. Visiting an emergency aid distribution centre, one of many across the city, we met Rana Anty. The 27 year old who oversees the registration process to ensure that recipients receive what they need but no more. Rana said that she and her fiancé wanted to build a future in Aleppo. She said, “I don’t want to travel into the unknown. The situation is now much better. I don’t want to have to start studying again.” Others were less certain and were anxious to see the ceasefire
become permanent before making plans. Whatever doubts the faithful have about staying in Aleppo, the bishops and other Church leaders speak with one voice. At a meeting of bishops, the local heads of seven Christian denominations declared to us their intent to build a future for the Church in Aleppo. One even said that to persuade people from Aleppo now in Europe to return to their native city, he would be prepared to pay their flight tickets. Another prelate, Antoine Audo, the Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo said, “Everything we are trying to do is geared towards securing a future for Christians.” To what extent can the faithful be persuaded? If the question of security is the predominant factor, the provision of essential services – housing, warmth and basic utilities – are a close second. With the city’s electric grid bombed out, people are dependent on very expensive privately owned generators. We were told that it costs the equivalent of a third of the average public sector wage for the ongoing use of two light bulbs and a television. Food and other basic provisions – until now only available on the black market – are unaffordable, especially in a city where so many people are jobless. Aleppo resident Joseph Hallaq, 55, told us, “People constantly say to us, ‘Let us find a job and we will be able to stand on our own two feet again.’ ” Joseph told us that his house was heavily damaged in a bomb blast and that early plans to repair houses would be crucial in persuading people to stay. He speaks with some authority as he is part of a team of volunteers who work with Aleppo’s Sister Annie Demerjian, supporting the most needy. Aid to the Church in Need has prioritised helping Sister Annie’s outreach to 650 families and so it was a wonderful experience to accompany members of her group to visit some of those they help. We met Annie and Sarkis, an elderly couple whose fourthfloor flat in Aleppo’s Midan district directly abutted rebelheld east Aleppo. Conflict had brought the two together and they married only last year. They told me their story of love on the front line in an account which also
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fo r Ac t i o n to t h e C h u r c h i n N ee d ( U K ) , p r ev i o u s l y p u b l i s h e d i n t h e Ca t h o l i c H e r a l d M a g a z i n e
“On behalf of all the suffering families we saw in Aleppo, I
can only
Thank Bishop
Carmel and the
People
of Gibraltar for your
willingness to hear the cries of
thousands upon thousands
of destitute people. ”
John Pontifex
related how, at the height of the bombardment, they used to hide in their tiny bathroom or even in the stairwell. “Surviving the war was a miracle. And your help is a miracle too,” Annie said, praising especially the work of Vivian,
an Aleppo University student. The 25 year old risked her life to bring the couple food vouchers and funds to pay electricity and fuel to keep their flat warm. Afterwards, stepping out into the cold night and picking our way along the bomb-damaged
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streets, I dared not ask Vivian what would have happened had she and Sister Annie’s group not come to the elderly couple’s aid. Indeed, for the suffering people of Aleppo as a whole – and perhaps especially for the city’s Christian community – it is a
chilling thought to imagine what would happen if we forget them now.
See
5 Ways
to donate on page 3
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Christian Family Movement
CelebratingtheSacrament
of I
Marriage
n January this year His Lordship Bishop Carmel Zammit led the Annual Diocesan Wedding Anniversary Celebrations.
This is the 24th year that the Christian Family Movement have organised the event, where couples celebrating landmark Anniversaries are invited to renew their marriage vows and receive a special
blessing. The service went beautifully, it was very enlightening to see so many married couples from all walks of life, the largest group being those who had been married for 25 years, celebrating with thanksgiving what is common to all of them, witnessing in a public way, to the validity and strength of the sacrament of marriage. This was amply manifested during the highlight of the
service, when all couples together renewed their marriage vows to recommit themselves to nurture and promote the values of the traditional family. We are certain that family members and guests, especially young married couples present, will have perceived the strength of the message, that the sacramental marriage bond has no equal and that year in and year out we are
indeed blessed for having this wonderful gathering of married couples and their families and friends, which is unique to Gibraltar. It is a great opportunity to see for ourselves a clear manifestation that with mutual and lasting fidelity and perseverance and a complete trust in Jesus, young married couples will experience and live out their marital bond as it was meant to be by God from
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the beginning. Our special thanks to all the celebrants, family and friends, for coming along and making this event a memorable one for all concerned.
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We shall continue to work and pray in support of all the families. Yours in Christ Christian Family Movement ... more photos on page 12
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Oh! SUGAR The Catholic Church’s Lenten Season
Mardi Gras is over; we enjoyed ‘Fat Tuesday’– a day of feasting, but now the austerity of the Lenten season begins. T his is supposed to be a time of simple living, prayer and fasting with the aim of growing closer to God. Our lives are filled with distractions and maybe Lent can be a time to stop watching mindless television and engaging in social media to such an extent that it precludes
interaction on a personal basis with friends and family. We live life running round in circles, getting nowhere fast and feeling frustrated and exhausted with the useless effort. Lent can be a great opportunity to refocus our lives, in this 40 day period of letting God change our hearts, to living a more positive and
Words: Anne Mesilio
took a cable car ride to the top of this mighty Rock of ours and gloried in the sunshine, blue sky, fresh air and wonderful views. Yes, a day without social media is possible! I also discovered this can be an inverse fasting as all of this glory is available all of the time, but with heads stuck in electronic pursuits do we look up and appreciate the beauty of our Rock? There is a theme here and it is fasting. I remember when I was 10/11 years old and having to ‘give up’ something for Lent. Living in the country luxuries were few, so I hit on the idea of giving up my two teaspoons of sugar in my tea. Frankly, it was disgusting, how could tea taste so vile? My mother was no great help, she took three teaspoonfuls and elected to give one up and would tease me that I could have that one! Foregoing pleasure is not easy and observing the spirit of Lent, for example through self denial and spiritual discipline, is a means of reflecting on the sufferings and sacrifices of Jesus
even healthier lifestyle. Or, as Pope Francis put it; “Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.” Fasting comes to mind of course, as Lent is associated with ‘giving up’ something, like chocolate or alcohol. This is often a discipline well worth the effort. Combined with an e-fast, yes, that’s right, cut down or give up one day a week and forsake TV, Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, texting, all things electronic and use the time to read, pray, walk and admire creation, whatever takes your fancy. I have already tried this pre Lent and it was a restless feeling at first, my fingers itched to get at that keyboard and find out what I might be missing. I
R E T R E AT
J ohnnette B enkovic and
Father Phillip Scott
4th & 5th March 2017
Catholic Community Centre, Gibraltar. Provisional Times: Sat 9:30 to 18:30 Sun 9:30 to 13:30
All welcome (Men and Women) Bilingual Retreat (English and Spanish)
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LENT!
Images: Cup and Saucer © Ian Pegg, Mug © Belleek Irish Pottery, Amazon.co.uk, illustration Lit-C. Verdaguer, artist unknown.
it’s
as ‘sweet salt’. The Portuguese took it to Brazil from where it spread to South America. Christopher Columbus’s second voyage to Hispaniola saw him plant sugar cane there. In 1774 sugar beats were identified as the new source of commercial sugar. The less sweet side of this story is the approximately 6 million slaves incarcerated on sugar plantations.
for us. It was only in the fourth century that the observance of Lent became a focus for fasting and abstinence as a visible demonstration of empathy for this very purpose. Lent is a special time of year and the opportunity to ‘give up’ something can be used to take stock of our own lifestyles. It is only for 40 days out of 365, time enough to tough out the sacrifice and perhaps implement it as a reformed life style. (I never took sugar in tea or indeed any beverage after my childhood fast). There is much publicity these days on how sugar, yes, that natural ingredient which has been part of our diets all our lives, may not be good for us. We all know and love sugar in whatever guise it presents itself, but where did it come from? It is a natural ingredient in sugar cane which has been part of the human diet for thousands of years. There are records from the Ancient Greeks and Romans who used it as a medicine. Nearer home the Arabs in Al-Andulas (Andalusia) produced sugar in the ninth century. Crusaders brought it home to Europe after campaigns in the Holy Land and knew it
It is probably fair to say that world wide today we are enslaved by our craving for sugar. It is a bitter pill to swallow as our love affair with sugar has seduced us while ignoring the question; what is it doing to our health?
Food for thought? If you are anxious about your child’s health or even your own, perhaps by giving something up for Lent, maybe even together, could be a starting point on a new more healthy road. St. Patrick’s Day falls on the March 17th, always in the middle of Lent, so what about fasting? Ah, let me tell you, in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is both a religious and national holiday. It is considered to be a one day break from Lent, as a religious feast day. It is believed to have been celebrated as such since the 1600s when some Bishop granted a dispensation for the day! So, happy St. Patrick’s day everyone! There is a lesson to learn here, fasting and giving up need not be dreary. If we use Lent as a time for renewal it can be very rewarding. Of course there is no
fasting without prayer. So, could today be the highlight of your life as you find the courage to chart a new course?
We are advised to become ‘sugar smart’, especially be aware of the sugar intake of children. For instance fizzy drinks, yogurts, breakfast cereals, sweets, chocolate and biscuits. Tooth decay is familiar but perhaps less so the build up of harmful fat which can cause weight gain, heart disease and some cancers. This is over time of course but it starts here. Sugars are carbohydrates and an important source of food energy and is valued as an inexpensive source to support human activities. However the real culprit seems to be added sugar as this contains no essential ingredients. It is high in fructose which can overload the liver which in turn causes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It is known to cause massive dopamine release in the brain so sugar becomes highly addictive. This might surprise you, it is sugar which raises cholesterol as well as contributing to type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that people with high sugar consumption are at a much higher risk of getting cancer.
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40for families
Lenten Traditions
O
bserving Lent in your family doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. Here are some simple things you can do to help your kids grow during this season with little to no prep work at all.
1
Go to Mass as a family on Ash Wednesday. This is so great because even the smallest members of the family can have ashes.
2 3
Read the scripture about when Jesus goes into the desert.
Motivate your children to do good deeds and make sacrifices. We often do the crown of thorns, but a sacrifice jar with beans is easier to set up. Sacrifice beads also work well.
4
Give something up for Lent as a family, even if your kids are young enough that you don’t “have” to. We always give up candy as a blanket sacrifice, and then decide on other things. Other good “blanket sacrifices” are no music in the car, no eating out, silent “monastery” lunches,
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or drinking only water during Lent.
5
Set up an almsgiving box. You simply set out a box and take one thing from your own pantry every day of Lent. At the end of Lent, donate the food to Nazareth House soup kitchen.
6
et up an offering jar. All S you need is a jar or piggy bank of some kind. Spare change goes into the jar for the length of Lent, and then donate it to the Diocesan Lenten appeal for Persecuted Christians in Aleppo.
7
Add extra prayers to your daily life. Maybe this is extra prayers in the morning or at bedtime. If you have older kids, encourage them to set extra goals for personal prayer as well.
8
Pray the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary together - daily, weekly, whatever works for you. If this feels overwhelming with little kids, try just one decade.
9
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet together. This is also a faster option than a rosary for those with littles.
10
Light Lenten candles on your dinner table each night (much like an Advent wreath, but for Lent).
11
Make the offical food of Lent, pretzels, together.
12
Go to daily Mass. You decide how often this might be doable at this current stage of your life.
13
o to adoration. Even if G you can’t stay long with little kids, it’s still worth going.
14 15 16
Go to confession as a family.
Read the Psalms.
penitential
Count down the days of Lent with a printable Lenten calendar* for your kids!
Sacred Heart Church Mass for
Expectant Mothers
Organised by HOPE Monday 27th March 7pm Expectant Mothers family and friends cordially invited to attend Tweet with us!
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editorial suggested by Dr. Monique Risso. adapted from a post by Lacy on catholicicing.com
17 18
24
19
25
Bury the Alleluia*. This can also be very easy.
Attend stations of the cross at your church. We especially love to do this on Good Friday.
Cook simple meatless meals together with your kids. This will be a good sacrifice opportunity for you.
20
isten to the stations of L the cross on CD. We love listening to ours at home and this is great for car trips, especially if you’re travelling to see family for Easter.
21 22 23
Sing “The Lent Song” with your kids. Wash your children’s feet on Holy Thursday.
Encourage better attention during Mass by assigning each member of the family one reading to pay special attention to (first reading, Psalm, second reading and the Gospel). Have everyone give a re-cap of “their” reading on the way home in the car. Have a family discussion if anyone had thoughts about the readings.
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On Good Friday, have an hour of silence at your house from 3-4 (because Jesus died at 3). Allow your kids to read spiritual books during this hour of silence.
40 bags, 40 days. You pick the size of the bag (Sandwich bag, paper bag, shopping bag, bin bag) and you get rid of one bag full from your house every day. Donate what you get rid of. This is an excellent exercise in living simply.
26
Lenten cleaning. Rather than the idea of “Spring cleaning”, clean one area of your home every day during Lent. Your house is beautiful and clean for Easter!
27
Sing a Lenten hymn together each day as a family. We like to do this in the morning. You can sing the same hymn each morning until everyone has learned the words, then move onto another one.
28
Attend extra activities happening at your parish, such as Friday fish fries.
29
Do some of the works of mercy as a family.
30
Watch a Lenten movie together as a family. I like The Greatest Adventure Easter Story* for little kids.
31
Read one Saint story per day. (I like ‘Book of Saints’ set* by Father Lovasik because the stories are short and there’s a picture for each one)
32
Read the Bible together as a family daily. This can be done in the morning at breakfast, and doesn’t have to take long. You can just read a paragraph each day.
38
J oin Holy Heroes Lent Adventure*. Easiest. Thing. For mom. Ever.
39
asically, make sure B you’re including more prayer, fasting, and almsgiving than during ordinary time.
40
nd the number one easy A thing that takes no extra effort that I really want you to do is... Save all of the Easter celebrating for Easter!
33
Decide one day of the week during Lent to go “screen free” as a family.
34 35
Light a candle at church on Sunday.
“ Undecorated” your mantle to keep things simple for Lent. Put a purple table cloth out on the table. Explain liturgical colours to your kids.
36
uring Holy Week, D read the story of Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, and the crucifixion from the Bible.
37
emorize a new prayer M together as a family.
*For links to printable Lenten calendar, Holy Heroes Lent Adventure, book & film recommendations and printable Alleluia to bury, go to uponthisrock.gi.
uponthisrock.gi 11
CH
Christian Family Movement
R ISTI A
FUNDING AVAILABLE
US
T
N
MIS
The Christian Mission Trust provides local Christians with donations for evangelistic SI O N TR 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.
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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Cursillo Team Leaders write...
PLACE YOUR W
JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU
If we truly trust the Lord we should be able to bury every fear of the future, of suffering or loss.
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e should be able to bury all thoughts of unkindness and bitterness, all our dislikes, our resentments, our sense of failure, our disappointments in others and ourselves and leave them all buried and go forward to a new and risen life. We should have the confidence of knowing that with the Lord at our side there is no need to fear the days ahead, since for each day, the Lord will supply us with the wisdom and the strength to face them. Our role as Christians is to help save others, we should not allow one day to pass without us having reached out an arm of love and friendship to someone in need. Those of us that have allowed the Lord to enter our lives should be full of joy, joy saves, joy cures, joy in the Lord. Each day we should do something to lift another soul out of the sea of sin and doubt into which humanity has fallen. If we allow the Lord to use us as a channel through which He can reach out to others, we would be surprised with the results. The Lord continues to walk by the lakeside each day, calling his disciples to follow him to become fishers of men. So why do we Christians fail Christ so often? The truth is that whether by words or behaviour, we have all joined St. Peter in saying, “I am not a disciple of Jesus Christ.” If you can relate to such failures or even if you have failed more seriously in a way that has disgraced the name of Christ, the account of Peter’s failure should be of help. Even when you fail the Lord, you can trust in the faithful Saviour, who never fails. Our failures may not be as dramatic or as well-known as St. Peter’s failure, but whether by our words or our actions, we have all denied Christ as our Saviour and Lord. If St. Peter, who obviously was a committed loyal follower of Jesus, failed by denying Christ three times, then we are not immune.
We trace four of St. Peter’s failures, which are often our own failures too:
1
We fail to understand that God’s ways are not our ways. It was that persistent failure to understand God’s way of the cross that prompted St. Peter to draw his sword and attempt to defend Jesus in the garden. He probably felt hurt and confused when the Lord rebuked him and then submitted to arrest. In that state of confusion, misunderstanding, and hurt feelings, St. Peter was off guard for Satan’s subtle attack through a servant girl’s question. When we think that God has to work in a certain way, but He doesn’t conform to our expectations, we are spiritually vulnerable. Perhaps we have prayed for something, but it didn’t happen in line with our prayers. It’s easy in our disappointment, confusion, and hurt to succumb to temptation.
2
We fail to recognise our own weakness, trusting in our own abilities, instead of in the Lord. It was probably St. Peter’s lack of awareness of his own weakness that drew him into the trap that Satan had set for him. As soon as he walked through the entrance, the servant girl who kept the door said to St.
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TRUST IN THE LORD Peter (John 18:17), “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” Peter was immediately caught off guard and replied, “I am not.” Perhaps at this point he was mentally kicking himself for his failure, but he may have justified himself by thinking, “She’s only a servant girl. What difference does it make?” Next we find him warming himself by the fire along with the slaves and officers of the temple guard. Their indifference to the most important spiritual event in the history of the universe while they warmed themselves by the fire was a subtle danger that St. Peter didn’t detect. In the course of their small talk, one looked at Peter and said (John 18:25), “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” Peter denied it and said, “I am not.” Be on guard, keep your purpose in mind if you are not careful, at an unguarded moment, it’s easy to deny your Saviour.
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3
We fail to recognise the spiritual battle that we are engaged in and so fail to pray as we should. Peter didn’t understand that Satan was out to get him, therefore he failed to pray at that crucial time in the garden (Luke 22:31, 46, 53). This caused him to react to Jesus’ arrest by swinging his sword, rather than with weapons for spiritual warfare. Then he blindly wandered into the path of temptation in the courtyard of the high priest’s house. So often, like Peter, we react to difficult situations from the physical or human perspective, rather than realising that we are in a spiritual battle. Someone says something against you at work and you react in anger by putting him down or getting back at him. By not praying and seeing it as a spiritual attack, we miss the opportunity to bear witness for Christ.
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We fail to fear God more than we fear people The fear of man was behind St. Peter’s third denial (John 18:26), “One of the slaves of the high priest said, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with Him?’” St. Peter panicked, this man could get him in big trouble for what he had done in the garden, so he denied Christ again. To some extent, we all want the approval of others, but when we worry about what others think, our focus is wrong and we forget the most important thing, what does God think? Our aim should be to please Him. We can always trust in our faithful Saviour, who never fails. When life gets tough, it’s natural for us to get stressed, angry or bitter. Especially when life takes a turn we didn’t expect. God wants to transform us into something greater, He wants us to see a side of ourselves that we haven’t yet seen, He wants
others to see the amazing things He can do in our lives when we let Him, all we have to do is open our hearts to Him and let him do his work, The Cursillo Movement offers you an excellent opportunity, to help you take a first step towards allowing the Lord to transform your lives, by inviting you to attend one of our Cursillo weekends. The next Cursillo weekends are being held at the Retreat Centre from the 30th March till the 2nd April 2017 for women and from the 18th till the 21st May 2017 for men. If you are interested in attending please contact us on 58008885 or send us an email on cursillogibraltar@ gmail.com and we shall send you an enrolment form, we look forward to seeing you there.
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