Pope Francis holds the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square  (AFP or licensors)

Pope Francis invites the faithful to undertake their lenten journey of prayer, fasting and works of mercy to strengthen them in their resolve to follow the Lord on his journey through Good Friday to Easter Sunday.

Dear brothers and sisters: Today, Ash Wednesday, begins our annual Lenten journey of preparation for Easter.  In a sense, we imitate Jesus, who spent forty days of prayer in the desert preparing for his public ministry.  From a spiritual perspective, the desert is a place of life, not death.  It is a place of silence, where we are interiorly free to hear the Lord’s word and to experience his loving call.  In our busy world, how much we need that kind of silence, in order to grow in prayerful openness to God, to cultivate an ecology of the heart and to centre our lives on the things that really matter.  An important part of our Lenten desert experience is the practice of fasting, which trains us to recognize, in simplicity of heart, how often our lives are spent in empty and superficial pursuits.  The solitude of the desert makes us all the more sensitive to those in our midst who quietly cry out for our help and encouragement.  This Lent, may our prayer, fasting and works of mercy strengthen us in our resolve to follow the Lord on his journey through Good Friday to Easter Sunday, and enable us to know the power of his grace, which can make of every desert a garden of new life… Read more »

Il-ktieb Crux Invicta – Il-Kurċifiss Mirakuluż u l-Kapuċċini f’Għawdex, ta’ Patri Martin Micallef O. Cap, jinseġ tapizzerija rikka ta’ ħajja Kapuċċina f’dawn il-gżejjer madwar il-leit motif tal-istorja tal-kurċifiss li hemm fil-knisja u l-kunvent tal-Ordni f’Għawdex.

Fuq l-isfond ta’ kif żviluppa l-kult tal-kurċifiss sa mill-ewwel sekli tal-era Kristjana, kemm fid-dinja Kattolika kif ukoll f’dawn il-gżejjer, l-awtur ilaqqam il-ġrajja ta’ kif dan il-kurċifiss, li nħadem fi Sqallija fl-1683 minn artist tajjeb u li s’issa għadu mhux magħruf, inġieb f’dawn il-gżejjer mill-Kommendatur Miceli, l-ewwel f’Malta u aktar tard, bil-ħidma tal-Għawdxi de Soldanis, għadda f’idejn il-Kapuċċini li kienu għadhom kemm fetħu l-kunvent tagħhom, tefgħa ta’ ġebla bogħod miċ-Ċittadella, f’Forn il-Ġir… Read more »

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This year the Lord grants us, once again, a favourable time to prepare to celebrate with renewed hearts the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of our personal and communal Christian life. We must continually return to this mystery in mind and heart, for it will continue to grow within us in the measure that we are open to its spiritual power and respond with freedom and generosity… Read more »

On the date of the 90th anniversary of the setting up of the Catholic Action in Malta, which was celebrated on the 19th of February, an activity was organised for students and staff at the University of Malta. This activity aimed to encourage people to spread hope, no matter their status or role.  The activity started with mass celebrated by Fr Keith Bonnici and Fr Bernard Micallef… Read more »