Make my Heart like yours!

Preca Publications is publishing another book in Maltese, L-Ewkaristija u l-Ħobż tal-Preżenza (The Eucharist and the Bread of the Presence), written by Mons. Laurence Sciberras. This work explores the rich biblical relationship between the Bread of the Presence in the Old Testament and the Eucharist in the New Testament. Drawing upon Sacred Scripture and the Church’s tradition, the author highlights the continuity of God’s plan of salvation throughout history. The study reveals how the institutions, symbols and rituals of the Old Covenant find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ and in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Particular attention is given to the sacred bread placed within the Temple and to its profound typological significance. Through a careful examination of biblical texts, readers are invited to appreciate more deeply the unity of the Old and New Testaments. The book demonstrates how ancient practices continue to shed light on the mystery of Christ’s real presence among us. It also examines the reverence, symbolism and theological significance associated with the Bread of the Presence and its connection with Eucharistic worship. Inspired by the teachings of the Church and the insights of Scripture, this work seeks to deepen faith in the Eucharistic mystery. Readers will discover how God’s Word consistently points towards Christ, the true Bread from Heaven. Ultimately, this book is an invitation to grow in love for Sacred Scripture and in devotion to the Eucharist, the source and summit of the Christian life. This book is available from Librerija Preca.

On 13 May 2026, the anniversary of Mary's first apparition at Fatima, Pope Leo XIV spoke of everyone's need to turn to Mary: “In the Mother of the Lord, the Church contemplates her own Mystery, not only because she finds in Her the model of virginal faith, maternal charity and the spousal covenant to which she is called, but also and above all because in Her [the Church] recognizes her own archetype, the ideal figure of what she is called to be.” Indeed, when we turn to Mary and remember her, then she, the Causa Nostrae Laetitiae, shines brilliantly in Church, in homelife, in friendships and fair love. The great Catholic poet, Dante Aligheri, pointed to the identity of Holy Mother Church and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Seeking the grace through Mary to look directly into the transforming light of the Blessed Trinity, Dante imagines St Bernard of Clairvaux contemplating the mystery of Mary in these words:  "You were the Mother of Him who made you, and you remain a virgin forever." Monsignor Romano Guardini wrote often in his many books on the importance of Mary in evolving human life and in the unfolding life of the Church. In his book, The Human Experience, he writes of the chaste longing for Mary's presence, as once for the longing of a natural mother's comforting embrace. Especially in those dark moments of loss, crisis, anxiety, or of any anguish of soul, a mother's comforting embrace in the night has no consolation greater than turning to Mary. This is not infantile, Monsignor Guardini insisted; it is an essential part of our nature, our human experience. In turning to Mary, we are striving towards God, striving towards wholeness. An elderly English gentleman once told me about his grandmother, who was a nurse for the British soldiers during World War I.  He said that the dying soldiers very often called his grandmother, "Mum" or "Mother." She never corrected the dying man in his last painful moments. His grandmother, a field hospital nurse, would be there with them, holding their hand, comforting them; in the delirious moments before they passed to heaven, this was the dying man's own "Mum." There are many accounts given through the ages of the Blessed Virgin Mary appearing to dying Catholic men as their own mother; some recognized her through the final rosary petition: "...Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." One of these apparitions appeared during the Napoleonic Wars near Leipzig. In 1813, a gravely wounded Polish soldier, Tomasz Klossowski, lay among the dead on the battlefield. Tomasz cried out to Mary to save him. This is the account given later by Tomasz Klossowski: "She was moving across the battlefield in a long [rose-colored] dress, floating above the ground and hugging a white eagle at her breast. Virgin Mary! She was slowly coming toward me. She stopped and leant over me and then I saw her face, most beautiful, but full of indescribable sorrow." She spoke to Tomasz; he would return to Poland where he was to search for an image that faithfully represented her so that "...[people] may pray to it and take graces from my hands in most difficult times.”  Appearing three times again in 1850, she promised another visionary, a shepherd, that she would clasp the nation of Poland to her heart as she did with the white eagle. This apparition is known as Our Lady of Licheń, the Sorrowful Mother of Poland. Those who turn to Mary find that she has already turned to us, interceding from the very heart of God's mercy. Ruth D. Lasseter SDC Associate Indiana, USA

Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence is a timely and thought-provoking reflection on one of the most important issues of our age. Promulgated on 15 May 2026, it commemorates the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, the landmark encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 that laid the foundations of the Catholic Church’s social doctrine. As artificial intelligence continues to transform society, the Holy Father invites readers to consider how technology can serve the dignity and well-being of every human person. The encyclical emphasises that human beings must always remain at the centre of scientific and technological progress. It highlights the unique value of human intelligence, freedom, conscience, and creativity, which no machine can replace. Pope Leo XIV encourages the responsible development and ethical use of AI for the common good. He warns against the dangers of allowing technology to undermine human relationships, justice, or personal freedom. At the same time, he recognises the many opportunities AI offers in education, healthcare, communication, and social development. The document challenges governments, businesses, educators, and families to work together in promoting ethical innovation. It calls for a culture that places people above profit and values moral responsibility over technological power. The encyclical is rooted in the Church’s rich tradition of defending human dignity and promoting solidarity. Its message is relevant not only to Catholics but also to anyone concerned about the future of humanity. Through clear guidance and inspiring insights, Pope Leo XIV offers hope in a rapidly changing world. Reading Magnifica Humanitas helps us understand the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence from a deeply human and Christian perspective. It is an essential document for those who wish to reflect on how technology can truly contribute to a more just, compassionate, and human-centred society. Read the full document here.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvU6NFe0z6k

Unlike those antediluvian creation myths of early pagan cults, wherein violence among wrathful deities required placation or bribery often by blood sacrifice, Sacred Scripture is profoundly different.  Genesis repeats in joyful chorus the inchoate origin of divine beauty in creation: "...And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." The Genesis narrative also records that humans were made to enjoy the company of their Creator and to delight in creation, along with their God. Indeed, even today, peering into the electron microscope, scientists wonder at the tiniest of nanoparticles. The largest of living creatures have their part, too, in sacred creation. Huge sperm whales can dive more than a mile into the black depths of the ocean, then return to the surface for breath and socializing with others of their kind. Positioning their giant heads near the surface and their huge bodies straight upright, whales sleep together perfectly still in pods, like a grove of trees suspended in water and carried along by the tide. Through out the ages, along with the astrologers and natural scientists, countless artists -- authors, poets, hymnists, and painters -- continue to co-create with God, who makes all things beautiful in his own time! Even the inanimate rocks praise God in their fossilized remains from 300 million years ago in the Carboniferous Era of creation; nothing is lost in God's stockpile of eternal love. In perpetual return, the earth-bound bulbs of daffodils push their beauty upwards; through winter's snow their yellow trumpets rise each year and forever, all proclaiming: "Spring bursts today, / For Christ is risen, and all the earth is at play" [Christina Rosetti]. Yet, beyond the beauty of God in the natural realm, it is in the supernatural dimension where deepest beauty originates. The Gospels, like the great whales, dive into the depths of God's mercy, and record in all the Biblical narratives the wonder of salvation history. There, in the darkness of the unknown, God's masterpiece of mercy for humanity is conceived in the Immaculate Conception of Mary, who is a harbinger of the Incarnation, like the Spring daffodil. The Verbum Dei of Jesus Christ echoes Genesis. In that meeting of divine and human, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and by her Fiat, the world was recreated, and the fullness of divine beauty in the human vocation was revealed in its earliest form, the Causa Nostrae Laetitiae. Mary in her Immaculate Conception is truly the cause of our joy, carrying the gestation of both divinity and humanity of the preborn Jesus within her own body. Jesus, who is Life itself, carries both human and divine natures in himself. The Church, created by Christ's divine wounds and prepared by Mary's divine motherhood, invites all people into supernatural life. First, in Baptism, the Church invites people to receive that which cannot be attained on our own, even by our most powerful efforts: an innocence of soul and purified nature, cleansed of toxic residue in our spiritual and genome heritage. St George Preca wrote a most lovely hymn to our Lady in the "Vestis Honoris". God chose Mary. If we accept Jesus's love and honor his holy mother, then the sadness of sin and tyranny of violence can gradually be overcome by his indwelling. "God created mankind in his own image ... and it was very good." Our Lady, intercede for us. Ruth D. Lasseter SDC Associate Indiana, USA

Christ’s Resurrection invites us into a moment of profound wonder, where death is not the end but the doorway to eternal life. On Easter, the silence of the tomb is broken by the triumph of love, as Christ rises in glory. He stands among his beloved Apostles, not as a distant figure, but as one who bears the marks of his sacrifice. Showing them his wounded hands and feet, he transforms fear into faith and sorrow into joy. His gentle words “Peace be with you” echo across time, reaching every restless heart today. In this sacred mystery, we are called to meditate on the Heart of Jesus, wounded, yet victorious; pierced, yet full of divine mercy. His heart beats with a love that has conquered every darkness and every enemy of God’s name. As we pause in stillness, we begin to see that his victory is not only his own, but a promise for each of us. Through him, brokenness can be restored, and despair can be lifted into hope. Let our prayer rise from within: that our hearts may become like his, compassionate, courageous, and alive with grace. In humility, we repeat: Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Lord Jesus Christ, make my heart like unto yours. Offering ourselves to the Father, we unite our lives with the Divine Heart of Christ, believing that we too are called to rise into new life. And so, with grateful hearts, we proclaim: praise be to God, for his love has conquered all.

St George Preca, following the guidance of other great spiritual masters, recommends the practice of the Memory Exercise in order to instil and preserve within us the spirit of Jesus Christ. The Memory Exercise consists in applying all that we know about Christ to every situation we encounter and to every action we perform, reflecting on how Jesus himself spoke and behaved. During these days, when we are more focused on the Passion of Jesus, it is suggested that, in order to remain in his presence, we allow the ordinary things around us to remind us of the events, things and places associated with the Passion, the people involved, and what Jesus himself endured. When you are thirsty, remember Christ crucified, who said that he was thirsty. When you are undressing to change your clothes or to wash yourself, remember Christ, who was stripped before being crucified. When your friends forsake you, remember Christ, who was abandoned by the apostles when he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. When you are counting money, remember Christ, who was betrayed by Judas for thirty pieces of silver. When you are praised, remember Christ, who withdrew when the people wished to crown him king. When you hear shouting, remember Christ, who was cried against by the crowd before Pilate: “Crucify him!” When you sweat, remember Christ, who sweated blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. When you are praying, remember Christ, who prayed with his face to the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane. …and so on. The person who wishes to remain in the presence of God should let everything lift his mind to the Lord God and adore him in all that he does. Lord God, seek me to adore you!