For the second successive year we will be celebrating the mystery of the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ subject to the limitations that have been brought upon us by the pandemic of the Covid-19 virus. We would have wished that this did not extend for so long, or if we could have found a solution in a shorter time; however, every day we have come to realise that mankind has its limitations. Many persons were tasked with trying to find a solution and to help one another, but it seems that this was not enough. Although we long for the day when this nightmare is over, all of us did find ourselves some time or other in circumstances where we were unsuccessful or when we did not have the ability to persist in observing exactly the required restrictions. Meanwhile life continued to move along!

And this is our story not only at this moment in time, but always. Faced by life challenges, we try to continue to dream and to look ahead in the hope of better times. Above all, the utmost wish of each and every one of us is to feel good and happy. At the same time, we remain subject to limitations, and if we want to be sincere with ourselves, we will continue to face our own weaknesses every day. And sometimes we are also challenged with the weaknesses of those around us that affect us and even hurt us. However, a Christian is called upon to remain determined to find a way of renewal that leads to happiness, rendering his life an expression of the Risen Christ.

The Holy Week that we are now celebrating brings us face to face with this great mystery and invites us to search anew how we can allow it to reflect in our own way of living. It is an invitation so that each and every one of us celebrates and lives the great Mystery of our redemption in a more concrete way. Circumstances may limit our physical presence for the celebrations and external manifestations, but not the joy that comes from Christ who has given his life for us, and for us rose from the death. 

Thus, the invitation to each and every one of us is to make the most of this opportunity and to allow the image of Christ Crucified to remind us that God is with us in every moment of our life: God is with us when we feel betrayed; when we feel alone; when we feel overcome by our sins; when we feel the burden of our sufferings and pain; when we feel the need to be loved. Jesus Christ loved us so much that he gave himself to the very end for our sake!

Let us above all then allow the image of Christ victorious over death to mark us and to remind us that God gave us the possibility that one day we will overcome all suffering and rise again with him from death. To us believers, God gave us the potential to be the ones to appreciate what is beautiful, to promote what is positive, to win against oppression, to look at those around us as an opportunity of growth. Only in this way, can we be worthy of becoming an Easter People, and only in this way can we, one day, make the real Easter experience, in an everlasting life with Christ.

May these days be for us all an occasion of renewal in the hope of Resurrected Christ.  Happy Easter.

fr Leslie Gatt osa

Prior Provincial

As we Celebrate the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the Church around the world is this year particularly celebrating the 150^th Anniversary from the declaration as patron of the universal Church.

Our Augustinian Order has for many years venerated Saint Joseph as protector of the Augustinian Order. In the last Ordinary General Chapter held in September 2019, the Chapter members voted for an amendment in the Constitutions of the Order adding a particular reference to the veneration of the figure of Saint Joseph. The following text was actually proposed as an addition to number 106 which already speaks of the special filial love and veneration given to the Holy Virgin Mary within the Order: Equally we encourage the veneration for St. Joseph, Spouse of the Virgin Mary, which the Order traditionally has chosen as protector, a true example of fidelity and adherence to the divine will.

In an Apostolic Letter entitled Patris Corde (“With a Father’s Heart”), published last December, Pope Francis describes Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows. The Letter in fact marks the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To celebrate the anniversary, Pope Francis has also proclaimed a special “Year of St Joseph,” beginning on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 2020 and extending to the same feast in 2021.

Let us invoke the Lord through the intercession of Saint Joseph making ours the same concluding invocation of Pope Francis in the Patris Corde, asking him to, show himself as a father and guide us in the path of life, obtaining for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defending us from every evil. 

On Friday, 19 March, the Augustinian Friars gathered together virtually for an online moment of reflection during this Lenten period by Rev. Dr. Paul Sciberras, Head of the Department of Sacred Scripture of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Malta.

The meeting commenced with reflections and prayers led by Fr. Mario Abela OSA, a member of the Province’s Permanent Formation Team. Fr. Mario spoke on the importance of the need for us to stand away from the normal routine of life, so that we enter into our inner selves in the same way that, after all, we are invited to do by the Lord during this Lenten period. Then he introduced the speaker.

The theme of Fr. Sciberras’ conference was: With Jesus Christ in the desert. Like Jesus let us let the Spirit take us to the spiritual desert to enable us to seek our identity and to wait for God to respond to us. Tempted, as Jesus himself was, when like Him we are imbued by the Spirit, like him we will emerge from our trials like God’s children.

Temptation in itself is to deny God Himself … he who is the son of God. The temptation of God’s people in the desert was intended for him not to remain God’s community. A temptation to create disintegration. The same can happen with religious communities. Every member of the community should play his part so that this will not happen; by each and every one seeking to wear the garment of humility which means that everybody realises that he is liable to make mistakes; realises that we are all responsible for one another; by pulling the same rope all together towards one end; and, above all that, each and every one prays to the Holy Spirit in such instances. This because the Holy Spirit is the pivot of the unity of the Blessed Trinity.

The Augustinian Fathers thanked Fr. Paul Sciberras who was an instrument in God’s hands during this Lent, to help them emerge from the desert with Jesus Christ and, full of the Spirit, from the temptation they may experience, so as always to emerge even more as God’s children.

1st UPDATE - Restoration of the three Bellows:

The first main stage of the restoration of the 1959 Mascioni organ at St. Mark's Church is now completed. The three double-rise bellows, have been completely restored / releathered, re-installed and re-activated.

Prior to the restoration, the bellows still employed the original 1959 leathering. This leather was not completely worn-out, and may have provided a few more years of service with some patch-up work.

However, given the nature of this restoration which aims to give all-round long term reliability, patch-up work was not good enough. It pays not to do things by halves, and hence the bellows were fully restored (not simply patched-up). This is a very time-consuming process.

All the three bellows were extracted and taken to Robert Buhagiar's workshop in Zabbar where they were each dismantled into separate components (frames, ribs, etc). All parts were then cleaned from old leather and other materials, and repaired as necessary. Subsequently these components were re-assembled again with new leather and finally the completed bellows were re-installed on-site.

Following this meticulous restoration, the bellows will perform reliability for at least 40 years, though in all probability, much more than that.

Robert Buhagiar