Lord God, clothe me with your virtue!

Bla Sold u Bla Qorq (without a coin and without sandals) is a book in Maltese written by Fr Dionysius Mintoff OFM and published by Preca Publications to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. It has been designed to accompany readers throughout the year, with each day featuring an episode from the life of Saint Francis or the wider Franciscan family. Following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi, every Christian is called to become an instrument of peace among others. This peace, which springs from the heart, must be expressed through acts of love, especially towards those who are most in need. After reading each daily reflection, readers are encouraged to explore the story further. In this way, the journey with the Poor Brother of Assisi becomes an invitation to imitate his example and that of those who embraced his spirituality. Day by day, it leads us ever closer to Jesus, the Beloved of Francis. Bla Sold u Bla Qorq is available from the Librerija Preca. Dimensions: 127 × 178 mm Pages: 192, full colour Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-9918-613-37-3 Sample of Bla Sold u Bla Qorq

Healing Agony, written by Stephen Cherry, an Anglican priest who served as Dean of King’s College in Cambridge. This book deals with forgiveness and its complex nature, offering me new perspectives on the subject. Before reading the book, the word ‘forgiveness’ had lost some of its full meaning for me; we hear it and use it so often that we forget its profound significance. The title Healing Agony refers precisely to this reality: forgiveness is never easy or quick. Forgiveness is an agony that leads to healing. Throughout the book, Cherry uses real-life examples to demonstrate how varied and complex forgiveness can be. Forgiveness is a journey, with an undefined length and destination. Every experience is unique because it is deeply personal, and therefore each person goes through it in a different manner. In Christianity, forgiveness occupies a central place in the New Testament and in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ Here it is important to distinguish between God’s forgiveness and human forgiveness: human beings cannot forgive in the same way that God forgives because people struggle to forgive and often require time to do so. The idea of the ‘family of forgiveness’ emerges from this distinction: divine forgiveness, forgiveness between people, and self-forgiveness. When speaking about forgiveness between people, it begins when one person hurts another. This pain can vary greatly in severity and may be physical, emotional, or mental; at times it can be so profound that it can even break a person. Cherry classifies this pain in four levels: trivial, serious, significant and shattering. The word ‘forgiveness’ is used in all these situations, from a minor person to person collision on the pavement to a devastating loss such as the murder of someone close to you. However, not every situation calls for the same response. In trivial cases, where there is no intention to cause harm, the word ‘tolerance’ may be more appropriate than ‘forgiveness’. This is because the difficulty of forgiveness always varies according to the degree of pain that has been suffered. In times of suffering, especially when betrayal or a breach of trust are involved, people can easily become confused. They know they should forgive, yet find themselves unable to do so. They feel lost and may even lose their sense of identity. For this reason, forgiveness is not merely a matter of willpower but a far deeper and more complex process. Healing Agony is not a book that offers simple answers, rather it explores forgiveness as it truly is, in all its complexity and profoundness. It challenges readers to rethink forgiveness, something we often assume we understand well. This article is only a small taste of what the book offers, and I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to discover forgiveness from fresh and different perspectives. Kian Borg SDC Candidate

The Catholic faith requires us to believe in the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet we should not forget our devotion to our Blessed Virgin Mary, our mother. Our Founder is a clear example of someone who was truly devoted to Our Lady and who promoted this devotion through his actions. Saint George Preca would demonstrate his devotion to Our Lady in his homilies – not only because he spoke about her frequently, but also because, perhaps without even intending it, he revealed his great love for her through the manner in which he spoke about her. Fr. Joseph Fenech wrote that our Founder kept a statue of Our Lady of Good Counsel in his home and that whenever he passed by it, he would stop and pray ‘Mother of Good Counsel, pray for me’. Our Founder’s profound devotion to the Blessed Virgin is further illustrated in the episode when, after returning home troubled by some problems, he stopped to pray before the image of Our Lady and heard a voice coming out from the image saying the words ‘Serva Silentium’ which means ‘Observe silence’. From that moment onward, the Founder started greeting the image with the prayer ‘You gave me such a beautiful rule; help me obey it’. Our Founder did not only practice this devotion, but he actively promoted it as well. During the Outreach homilies (known today as Formation Week), he frequently encouraged attendees to always wear the Miraculous Medal bearing the image of Our Lady so that it might protect them from every danger of the body and soul. In his writings, our Founder teaches us that we should always give thanks not only to God, remembering that God created all things, but also to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He also included this devotion to Our Lady in The Watch, the daily prayer book of the SDC members. Why should we honour, thank, and be devoted to Our Blessed Mother? Saint George Preca explains this clearly in his work Aula Sanctae Matris Virginis: so that she may find delight in us as her true children and as children of God and feels joy when she sees us adorn ourselves with the Miraculous Medal. Our Founder tells us that the devotion to Our Lady is a great grace, and that if we truly love her, are devoted to her, and spread this devotion, whether through the Rosary, the Miraculous Medal, or any other practice associated with her; we will never experience confusion, and she will assist us and help preserve within us a holy fear of God. Jan Spiteri SDC Candidate

The father, holding in his arms the Child, From the concerns of carpentry is called Away into the greater Art -- the pain Of joining for a house not his, not bone Of his bone, flesh of flesh, but his by love. To foster any child is to assent. The dark night is hot and humid; a baby wails repeatedly. The mother's strength is utterly spent; the husband gets up. Gently lifting the infant, he walks the floor, just slowly. Tucked under the protective beard that muffles a baritone lullaby, the baby's little head drifts into sleep. What blessed assurance in the night! My dad! He loves me! Did Joseph similarly console the baby Jesus on unfamiliar Summer nights in Egypt? If so, as we can well imagine, dual comforting for both these exiles: Joseph, away from his homeland, and the little child Jesus, apart from His true Home,!  Of course, Jesus knew that God the Father loved Him; He and the Father were one. The love of Jesus  in eternal exchange with His heavenly Father also went out in love to His careful guardian, and so formed the fatherly heart of Joseph. Through Himself, Jesus gave the gift of God's presence to Joseph, in whose strong, gentle presence He, the boy Jesus, was able to thrive. Each could say, with joy and gratitude about the other one:  "He loves me!" A blessing given; a blessing received in "He loves me!" Through Jesus, Joseph himself would have known that God had chosen and favored the Israelite people, and, specifically, that he was himself loved by God. Jesus would have learned Shabbat customs and acceptable manners. Jesus would have dared Joseph to trust the Lord, to have the courage to accept God's love, even while He was protected and guided by Joseph's righteous example. Mary's love for both Jesus and Joseph united in a holy trifecta their Holy Family. How much did each learn about the ways of love from one another, both human and divine, in their Nazareth home in the hidden years! The exchange is sacred. Heart speaks to heart, both in human relationships and also between God and man, where, as in Mary's magnificat: "My soul magnifies the Lord! And my spirit rejoices in God my savior!"  Joseph heard and surely sang along with her, even as he might have once sung a similar magnificat while comforting a fussy baby Jesus, who was unhappy, perhaps, about returning to the land of Egypt. Through faithful obedience and generous service, our natural loves become sweeter. All is transformed through the supernatural indwelling of Christ, who loves us. Expanded and recorded in John 14:23 the human vocation of Love, in every dimension, is unveiled:  Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my Word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." Everyone can choose to live in the sublime knowledge that "He loves me!" and respond with gratitude and gladness. In the concluding words of a less heavenly, but nevertheless favorite song by the Beatles:  "...with a love like that, you know you must be glad!" Ruth D. Lasseter SDC Associate Indiana, USA

When Pope Leo XIV visited the Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona on Wednesday, 10 June 2026, to celebrate Mass and inaugurate the Tower of Jesus, he was welcomed by 13-year-old Valentina Sánchez, a blind girl. Valentina explained to the Pope, as well as to the King and Queen of Spain, how she “sees with her heart” the tallest tower of the Sagrada Família. The tower, completed earlier this year, is the highest of the basilica’s 14 towers. Using information she had gathered through touch, Valentina described the tower’s structure, shapes and dimensions. By exploring objects with her hands, she has learned to understand and imagine their form. The encounter was particularly moving for the Pope. A representative of Spain’s National Organisation of the Blind (ONCE) said that, shortly before the meeting, Valentina was excited and enthusiastic but not intimidated by the prospect of meeting one of the world’s most important figures. Valentina lives with a condition that allows her to distinguish only between light and darkness. ONCE has supported her education since her condition was diagnosed when she was just one year old. She lives near the Sagrada Família and is currently in her first year of secondary school. Like more than 7,000 other students with similar conditions, she receives support from ONCE to attend mainstream classes alongside her peers. She also studies at Barcelona’s Educational Resource Centre to further her education. Valentina is learning to play the violin and hopes one day to become an interpreter and concert performer. Her hobbies include travelling with her family and reading books in Braille. In fact, her teacher, Ramon Coma, says that she “devours books”, reading them tirelessly and with great enthusiasm. The connection between Valentina’s family and the Sagrada Família goes beyond the fact that they live in the district where construction of the basilica has been ongoing for more than a century. Her father, Francisco, a professional engineer, worked on the basilica for several years. He once shared a dream with his daughter: “One day we will see the Sagrada Família together when it is finished.” Although that day is still some way off, they were able to experience part of that dream during the Pope’s visit, when they attended together as he blessed the tower. Valentina presented the Pope with a drawing she had created, showing how she “sees” the Tower of Jesus. It is a vision not of the eyes, but of the heart. And it is with her heart that Valentina sees the Tower of Jesus. Joe Galea SDC Member