Alla l-imbierek ħalaq id-dinja b’ħafna mħabba. Huwa ried li d-dinja tkun tista’ titmexxa skont il-pjan tiegħU għal ġid tal-bnedmin uliedu. Ried li jkun hemm armonija bejn il-bnedmin. B’xorti ħażina dan ma seħħx. Għalhekk bagħat lil Ibnu biex jgħallima ngħixu skont il-pjan tiegħu, u Ġesù waqqaf saltna ta’ ġustizzja u paċi mibnija fuq l-imħabba…

Konkatridral ta’ San Ġwann, il-Belt Valletta
21 ta’ Settembru 2014

This year, the Independence celebrations take on an added value as we commemorate  fifty years since our people took responsibility for governing their own nation.  To our credit, since that time, we have made giant steps as a nation.  For this we thank God; we also thank Him for the fact that Malta achieved its independence without any shedding of blood.  

Later in our history, as an independent country, we were able to become part of the European Union.  Although we are a small nation, we are offering a valid contribution as part of this Union.  Through our independence, we have become more aware of our heritage, of our country’s worth.  As we share our patrimony with other European countries, let us appreciate these realities.  Let us safeguard our mother tongue (the Maltese language), the richness of our history and our archaeology, and our Catholic religion, which has always been treasured by our forefathers, who battled to protect it…

On the feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin, the Maltese people recall the triumphs of our nation, so much so that we refer to this feast as the Feast of Victories. On this day, we commemorate the victory over the Ottoman Empire in 1565, the liberation of Malta from French rule in 1800, and the termination of the Second World War for Malta, when Italy surrendered on 8 September 1943…