A Sacred Treasure for Every Generation

Carlo Acutis was convinced that “if people understood better what the Eucharist truly is, they would draw closer to God”. With this conviction, he began evangelising through the internet, documenting Eucharistic miracles from around the world. He often described the Eucharist as his “highway to Heaven”. He also referred to it as “a powerful remedy against the narrow-mindedness of the human person” and as “a personal encounter with Christ”. To illustrate this, he used a simple yet profound comparison: “When we stand in front of the sun, we get a tan, but when we stand before Jesus in the Eucharist, we become saints.” Carlo was still very young when he expressed his desire to receive his First Holy Communion. The archbishop of the diocese advised his family to celebrate this important sacrament in a quiet and peaceful setting, where nothing would distract Carlo from the spiritual significance of the occasion. At the age of seven, Carlo received his First Holy Communion in a monastery situated on a mountaintop. The monastery was known as one of the “places of silence”, where every word read or heard takes on a particularly profound meaning. Carlo's love for the Eucharist can perhaps best be summed up in one of his own sayings: “The more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we become like Jesus, and already on this earth we begin to experience a foretaste of Heaven.” From that moment onwards, Carlo attended Mass every day for the rest of his life, never missing an opportunity to spend time with his greatest Friend. His family and friends recall his deep reverence for the Eucharist and how he would never pass a church without stopping to greet Jesus. He firmly believed that “people would draw closer to God if they truly understood that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist”. Carlo's mother, Antonia, recalls how her son often wondered why so many people were willing to spend hours queuing to attend social events, such as rock concerts, yet, despite being Catholics, could not find even five minutes to spend in silence before the tabernacle, where the living God who created us is truly present. The word Eucharist means “thanksgiving”, and this was precisely how Carlo understood and experienced it. For him, the Eucharist had two essential dimensions: Holy Communion and Eucharistic Adoration. Through adoration, Carlo cultivated a deeply personal and affectionate relationship with God, characterised by silence, attentive listening, friendship and intimacy with the Lord. He discovered the beauty of remaining quietly in God's presence and allowing himself to be transformed by that encounter. Carlo did not invent anything new. Rather, he rediscovered the extraordinary power of the Eucharist through his daily visits to church and his commitment to Eucharistic Adoration. To some, such a practice might appear old-fashioned or out of touch with modern life. Yet Carlo was convinced of its value and encouraged his friends to follow his example. He would simply tell them, “Do as I do.” Those who accepted his invitation to spend some time before the Blessed Sacrament or to receive Holy Communion began to experience a difference in their lives. Eucharistic Adoration helped Carlo experience an increasingly profound union with God. The spiritual strength and joy that radiated from him, beginning with his warm and welcoming smile, flowed from his ability to live according to the One whom he adored. With God in his heart, Carlo lived in the heart of God. His life reminds us that genuine union with God is possible, even amid the ordinary circumstances of everyday life. Deep within his heart, Carlo held a firm conviction: “You go straight to Heaven if you approach the Eucharist every day.” Carlo was also highly skilled in computing and fascinated by the possibilities offered by modern technology. He recognised the enormous potential of the internet as a means of spreading goodness and proclaiming the Gospel. He therefore decided to use his technological abilities in the service of evangelisation. One of his most remarkable achievements was the creation of an exhibition documenting Eucharistic miracles from around the world. This exhibition has travelled, and continues to travel, internationally, helping countless people discover and deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith. The accompanying online resources have also been translated into seventeen languages, making them accessible to people of different cultures and backgrounds. Through his life and example, Carlo Acutis continues to encourage us to love the Eucharist as deeply as he did, to cultivate a genuine devotion to Our Lady, and to cherish and love the Church, just as he himself did. Joe Galea SDC Member

The Society of Christian Doctrine (SDC) will be organising a special family event entitled Sajda Museumina. The name of the event is inspired by Christ’s call to his first disciples: “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4:19). Through this initiative, the SDC wishes to celebrate its mission of Christian formation while welcoming the public to become better acquainted with its life, work, and apostolate in the Maltese Islands and around the world. In Gozo, Sajda Museumina will be held on 10 September at the MUSEUM Centre in Victoria. In Malta, it will take place on 17, 18, and 19 September. The event will begin at Dar il-Ħanin Samaritan Conference Centre in Santa Venera and continue on the grounds of St Michael School. Each of the four evenings will begin at 6:30 p.m. The programme will include exhibitions, interactive spaces, activities for children, as well as talks by members of the Society tailored to different age groups. Everyone is invited to join us for this special event and experience this unique and enriching journey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn15W3ZLnuk&pp=ygUKc2RjIG11c2V1bQ%3D%3D

Fun though it was, playing with three rambunctious brothers and cousins needed a counterbalance.  The quiet refuge of a home library beckoned to a little seven-year-old girl. With stillness and golden afternoon sunlight, it was a peaceful enclave for a child with her books, a wonderful gift of "silence and slow time". Some 12 years later, my agitated heart was weary of college society and longed for another silent haven, similar to childhood's library. The Newman Chapel at the University of Kentucky was always open then and usually empty on weeknights. The sanctuary lamp lighted the way to holy silence, and I basked therein, grateful for this well of peace in the midst of a noisy and aimless life. Soon thereafter, I began instruction in the Catholic faith. A priest friend gave me a book by the late Metropolitan Anthony Bloom entitled, Beginning to Pray. What a unique treasure! So unlike the usual devotional booklets for a neophyte! A certain passage seemed to jump off the pages as I read, all a-tremble:  "The day when God is absent, when He is silent—that is the beginning of prayer. Not when we have a lot to say, but when we say to God, 'I can't live without You, why are You so cruel, so silent?' This knowledge that we must find or die—that makes us break through to the place where we are in the Presence." Thereafter, I held fast to the interior gift of God's silence, without which anxiety and fatigue held me in a death-grip. Amidst external hullaballo, mini moments of calm recollection were gifted to me, even when the silent sanctuary and its red lamp was far away. For many years concurrent with the many, constant needs of a large family, I learned to live in interior stillness, even while actively doing some other task. Finally, in my old age I met the Members of the Society of Christian Doctrine; what a gift! As I began to incorporate the prayers of The Watch, I resonated with the cry to God from St George Preca's own heart:  "I cannot bear to be parted from your goodness!" Here was one who understood the unique gift of silence. Where heart speaks to Heart in the ways of love, blessed silence is equivalent to the very goodness of God. Saint Teresa of Calcutta affirmed this mysterious gift that is, truly, beyond beyond human understanding: "God speaks in the silence of the heart...and we listen. And then we speak from the fullness of our hearts and God listens. And this listening, this prayer, is Oneness with God..." After attending Eucharistic Adoration recently, my daughter shared that she envisioned the consecrated Host as a kind of button, uniting the veiled mantle of God with the cloth of humanity. Indeed, at rest in the Monstrance, Jesus reveals His dual nature, united as one within Himself. In 451 AD the Council of Chalcedon discerned that Christ's two natures were united "without confusion, without change, without division, and without separation".  Although the Hypostatic Union is a profound doctrine, even a child can understand that which fastens together heaven and earth in the holiness of a wafer, just the size of a button! O Come Let Us Adore Him, the gift of Blessed Silence, Christ our Lord! Ruth D. Lasseter SDC Associate Indiana, USA

Eugenio Borg was the first Superior General of the Society of Christian Doctrine (SDC). For a number of years, the SDC and the Church in Malta have been working towards his cause for beatification, in the hope that one day Eugenio Borg may be declared Blessed, just as St George Preca was beatified before being canonised. A Wise Choice When Fr George chose Eugenio Borg, he made a very wise choice. He recognised in him the qualities needed in someone who would eventually be entrusted with leading his newly founded society. Fr George continued to form and guide him, helping him to become a hardworking and generous-hearted member. Fr George dreamed of establishing a society of catechists capable of providing sound Christian formation. He befriended a group of young men who used to gather outside the church in Ħamrun. They had received little religious formation and would spend their time smoking, talking about football and joking together. George, who was still a seminarian at the time, began meeting them regularly and teaching them about God, Jesus Christ and other important truths of the Christian faith. He gradually became their friend, and developed a particularly close bond with Eugenio Borg, a hardworking and independent young man. On one occasion, Fr George invited Eugenio to join him for a walk the following Sunday. He told him to bring something to eat and his Bible. This became the first of a series of meetings during which Fr George explained the Scriptures to Eugenio, who would eventually become the first Superior General of the SDC. A Dockyard Worker Eugenio worked at the Dockyard, where he was known for being hardworking, conscientious and precise. He did not shirk his responsibilities or deliberately slow down his work simply to pass the time. Fellow workers in the same workshop recalled that he would not allow people to distract him with conversation during working hours. He was respected by his colleagues, although some occasionally tried to provoke him. Eugenio responded patiently. Even when someone who had annoyed him later asked to borrow one of his tools, he would lend it without complaint. On 2 February 1907, Fr George began gathering the young men in a small church in Ħamrun. Later, he rented a modest house with a few rooms at 6 Fra Diegu Street, Ħamrun. It was there that the first meeting was held. A few days later, Fr George told the members that from then on he did not want them to smoke. Smoking was very common at the time, but Fr George wanted them to learn the value of self-denial. Eugenio was a heavy smoker. As soon as he heard Fr George's request, he took the packet of cigarettes from his pocket, crushed it and never smoked another cigarette. Fr George also instilled in the members a deep love for the Gospel, because through the Gospel we encounter the beloved person of Jesus Christ. He often told them, “Be friends of the Gospel.” Eugenio took these words seriously. He would take passages from the Bible with him to work and, during his break, find a quiet corner where he could read and reflect on them. A Life of Service Every day after work, Eugenio would travel on foot or by bicycle to different towns and villages to teach catechism to children and young people. On Sundays, he would take them on walks in the countryside. Eugenio Borg and St George Preca Eugenio and the other members were not satisfied with teaching children alone. They seized every opportunity to share the Christian message with adults as well. They would gather people together and offer them a good word or some Christian teaching in tea shops, clubs, public squares and other meeting places. Those who listened were often struck by their enthusiasm, and on more than one occasion their words helped people to change their lives. Fr George taught the members never to miss an opportunity to do good. On one occasion, Eugenio was near the Customs House in Floriana, just outside Valletta, when he heard a horse cab driver swearing. The man appeared strong and rather confrontational. “Mind your language!” Eugenio told him. “What did you say?” the driver replied, pretending not to understand. “Mind your language!” Eugenio repeated, but once again the man pretended not to understand him. Eugenio then stepped closer and said firmly, “Mind your language!” Taken aback by Eugenio's determination, the driver finally replied, “All right, sir.” These are just a few episodes from the life of Eugenio Borg. They invite us to remember this Servant of God in our prayers: that the Church may one day declare him Blessed, and that, through his intercession, we may ask God for the graces we need for ourselves and for others. Joe Galea SDC Member

Those who want to be prophetic signs, even in little ways, first make a definitive choice for the Kingdom of God, excluding nothing and without the deceit of a "double life." C. S. Lewis wrote in his book The Great Divorce:  "...if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell." All true prophets receive the same mandate to discard those corrupting "souvenirs" so that their various signs might shine with supernatural purity.The sign for Isaiah was a burning coal brought by an angel from the altar of God's fire to cleanse his "unclean lips" and so be enabled to answer: "Here I am, Lord, send me!" Moses received his first prophetic sign in the burning bush, ablaze with the fire of God's presence but never consumed. St John the Baptist, named by Jesus as the greatest of prophets, insisted on repentance and righteous living through baptism. Instruction on how to be a prophetic sign beyond baptism is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of St Paul. Those prophetic instructions speak to all ages of Christians, giving glory to God and also affirming humanity as a glorious creation, though in need of restoration by Christ's atonement. The missionary's burning desire to be a prophetic sign for others begins with a prayer for purification in every area of life. His vocation, like Moses and the burning bush, is kindled by the living fire of God's indwelling within him, and it is prefigured in Mary's gestation when the very fire of God became a baby. When the Holy Child was born into the world, he cried loudly, even from the manger, to be cared for and embraced. Before Jesus could speak a word, he taught all who would be disciples to believe and accept him; Mary and Joseph said yes and so became the first disciples; their sign was the Holy Family. For all ages, ordinary lay people, poets and artists have attempted to reveal the prophetic voice, along with the great theologians and mystics of the Church. The Northern Rose window at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris illustrates the prophets, kings, and judges from the Old Testament, all eminating from the center of the Rose, where the Virgin Mary embraces the infant Jesus. The conclusion of T. S. Eliot's poem, "Little Gidding" (from the Four Quartets) declares the mystical intersection of all prophecy: the indwelling of Divine Love, the Incarnation, where the living fire of God burns brightly and transforms, but does not destroy: ...A condition of complete simplicity (Costing not less than everything) And all shall be well and All manner of thing shall be well When the tongues of flame are in-folded Into the crowned knot of fire And the fire and the rose are one. Ruth D. Lasseter SDC Associate Indiana, USA

In today’s world, where many people are questioning or even drifting away from faith, Juan Arias’s book The God I Don’t Believe In offers an interesting and profound reflection on images of God that we often take for granted. The author does not write against God, but rather challenges certain distorted images of him: a God who instils fear, seeks to control, or is used to justify passivity in the face of life’s difficulties. Instead, Arias presents a God who is close to us: a God of freedom, love and hope. Christ is always new! The author insists that Christ can never be fully “captured” or explained once and for all, because he continually offers new challenges and perspectives to every generation. This reminds us of the need to continue discovering the beauty and freshness of the Gospel within the context of our own time. One powerful image used by Arias is that of the butterfly, which does not reject its past but assimilates it and builds upon it to fly towards new horizons. It is a lesson for us: while appreciating the tradition we have received, we should not remain trapped in the past. Another important theme is our concern for the poor and those on the margins. The author reminds us that Christ is encountered in a special way through our meeting with others, particularly those who are suffering or searching for meaning in life. It is an invitation to ensure that faith does not remain merely a theory but becomes concrete service to others. This book is recommended for anyone wishing to deepen his faith in a mature and sincere way. It is a book that not only raises questions in the mind of the reader but also helps us draw closer to the God who is truly worthy of our faith. Gabriel Borg SDC Candidate

Isidore Bakanja was born in Congo, into the Boangi tribe, sometime between 1880 and 1890. From a young age, he had to work as a builder or in the fields in order to earn a living. He converted to Christianity at the age of eighteen through his contact with Cistercian (Trappist) missionaries. After his conversion, Isidore put his gifts as a catechist to good use wherever he went, including at his workplace on the rubber plantations of Ikili. His commitment to sharing the Christian faith was so strong that his employer, a colonialist, forbade him from continuing to teach his fellow workers, telling him: “You will make the whole village pray, and no one will work!” On 22 April 1909, the work superintendent tore from Isidore’s neck the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which he wore as an expression of his Christian faith and, in particular, of his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The superintendent then ordered Isidore to be brutally flogged one hundred times, until he began to bleed. Following this severe beating, Isidore’s health deteriorated considerably. To one of those who visited him during the final days of his life, he said: “If you see my mother, or if you go to the judge, or if you meet a priest, tell them that I am dying because I am a Christian.” Blessed Isidore endured his suffering with great patience and forgave those who had harmed him. As he lay dying, he would often say of the man responsible for his suffering: “When I am in heaven, I shall pray very much for him.” Like St Thérèse of Lisieux, Isidore desired that, after his death, he would continue from heaven to do good for those on earth. Blessed Isidore Bakanja died on 15 August 1909 as a result of the severe wounds he had suffered as a ‘punishment’ for his faith. He died holding a rosary in his hand and wearing the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. He was beatified by Pope St John Paul II on 24 April 1994. From the life of Blessed Isidore Bakanja, we can learn several important virtues: Courage: Isidore courageously defended his faith despite the threats, suffering and harsh treatment he endured. Forgiveness: Before his death, he forgave those who had mistreated him, showing profound Christian love. Perseverance: He endured pain and injustice without giving up or abandoning his Christian values. Humility: Isidore Bakanja lived a simple life and served others without seeking praise or recognition. Faithfulness to God: He remained faithful to his Christian beliefs even when he was persecuted because of them. Isaac Zammit SDC Candidate