News from the Church in Malta
Catechesis on Old Age: 14. The joyful service of faith that is learned in gratitude (cf. Mk 1, 29-31)
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
We have listened to the simple and touching account of the healing of the mother-in-law of Simon – who is not yet called Peter – in Mark’s version of the Gospel… Read more »
Catechesis on Old Age: 13. Nicodemus. “How can a man be born when he is old?” (Jn 3:4)
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Among the most relevant elderly characters in the Gospels is Nicodemus – one of the Jewish leaders – who, wanting to know Jesus, went to him at night, although in secret (cf. Jn 3:1-21)… Read more »
Catechesis on Old Age: 12. “Forsake me not when my strength is spent” (Ps 71:9)
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The beautiful prayer of the elderly man that we find in Psalm 71, which we have listened to, encourages us to meditate on the strong tension that dwells in the condition of old age, when the memory of labours overcome and blessings received is put to the test of faith and hope… Read more »
Catechesis on Old Age: 11. Ecclesiastes: the uncertain night of meaning and of things in life
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In our reflection on old age – we are continuing to reflect on old age – today we are dealing with the Book of Qoheleth, or Ecclesiastes, another jewel set in the Bible. On a first reading, this short book is striking and leaves one bewildered by its famous refrain: “Everything is vanity”, everything is vanity: the refrain that goes on and on, everything is vanity, everything is “fog”, everything is “smoke”, everything is “emptiness”… Read more »
Catechesis on Old Age
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The biblical passage we have just heard concludes the Book of Job, a universal literary classic. On our catechetical itinerary, we meet Job when he was an old man. We encounter him as a witness of a faith that does not accept a “caricature” of God, but protests loudly in the face of evil until God responds and reveals his face… Read more »
Catechesis on Old Age
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today we will talk about Judith, a biblical heroine. The conclusion of the book that bears her name – we have listened to a passage – summarizes the final part of the life of this woman, who defended Israel from its enemies. Judith is a young and virtuous Jewish widow who, thanks to her faith, beauty and cunning, saved the city of Bethulia and the people of Judah from the siege of Holofernes, general of Nebuchadnezzar king of Assyria, an overbearing and contemptuous enemy of God… Read more »
Catechesis on Old Age
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
On the path of these catecheses on old age, today we meet a biblical figure – and old man – named Eleazar, who lived at the time of the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes. He is a wonderful character. His character gives us a testimony of the special relationship that exists between the fidelity of old age and the honour of faith… Read more »
Catechesis on Old Age – Naomi, the alliance between the generations that opens up the future
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
Today we will continue to reflect on the elderly, on grandparents, on old age – the word seems ugly but no, the elderly are great, they are beautiful! And today we will let ourselves be inspired by the splendid book of Ruth, a jewel of the Bible… Read more »
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, with the help of the Word of God that we have heard, we open a passage through the fragility of old age, marked in a special way by the experiences of confusion and despondency, of loss and abandonment, of disillusionment and doubt. Of course, the experiences of our frailty in the face of life’s dramatic – sometimes tragic – situations can occur at any stage of life… Read more »
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
We are in the middle of Holy Week, which lasts from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Both these Sundays are characterized by the feast that takes place around Jesus. But they are two different feasts.
Last Sunday, we saw Christ solemnly entering Jerusalem, as though for a feast, welcomed as the Messiah: cloaks (cf. Lk 19:36) and branches cut from trees (cf Mt 21:8) were laid before him on the ground… Read more »
