Gozo Bishop Mario Galea highlighted the issue of spiritual emptiness in a Pastoral Letter issued for the feast of Santa Marija.
“Civil authority, agencies for social welfare as well as the market can all help to fill one’s belly and one’s pockets, thereby satisfying material needs; but it is only a spiritual experience which provides an answer to man’s interior needs. Man’s heart rests only when it finds God. This truth encourages us, as a Church, the people of God, to heed the need of renewal and holiness,” he said in his Pastoral Letter.
He went on to say that many who experience spiritual emptiness are in fact Church-goers, people who consider themselves disciples of Christ. “Although we have an abundance of celebrations and religious rites, the summer festas being a case in point, I have to seriously question whether we Christians really know Jesus. Because although one can be baptised and be a religious, a priest or a bishop, there is a real risk that we still do not know Jesus! I feel that among us there are many who know about Jesus but who ‘have not learnt from Christ’ (cf Ephesians 4:20). For some of us religion is a kind of bartering with God: we light a candle so God hears our prayer! Often we turn to God when everything else fails us! Still others are convinced their relationship with God depends on their works, such as a pilgrimage to Ta’ Pinu or to The Redeemer in Isla, going to church on Sunday and such like.”
“Even the honour we give the saints often does not go beyond the statue concerned or some devotion, as when we pray to Saint Anthony to find us some mislaid object! Not to mention those for whom religious and church activities are but a pleasant hobby! It is true that devotions can bring us closer to God, but where necessary, they need to be purified so that from a mechanical and almost magical relationship with God, they help us build up a relationship based on the love of God, replete with confidence in Him and peace of heart. For our faith to be a mature one, it has to be based on the person of Jesus Christ. Our confidence in him has to be such that we rely on his word.”
He went on to say that a little more than fifty years ago, on the 6th of August 1964 to be precise, The Pope “regaled us with a wonderful Encyclical replete with teaching about the Church. Ecclesiam suam remains extremely relevant today in spite of the passage of years. I have to confess that when I became bishop thirteen years ago, inspired by this Encyclical, I wanted to write a Pastoral letter on my vision for our particular church. And my dream still persists. In the first part of that Encyclical, Paul VI talks about the Church’s need to become more aware of its identity and to confront her reality with that of the ideal Church Christ saw, wanted and loved as his spouse.”
“I call upon our Church – in particular upon our parish councils – to carry out this exercise and check its Christological foundations. I have my doubts as to whether our Church is convinced of this truth! I am afraid that Christ is not the centre of our lives – neither on an individual level nor on a parochial one. There are many who love the Church and work for Christ but as to Christ’s will, only a few carry it out. If only we were to experience Jesus, then our life (laity, religious and clergy) would be very different. Had Jesus been in our heart, then we would have much more apostolic fervour and compassion for a tried humanity. This is the cry of your Bishop!”
He quoted Pope Francis, who said “today too Jesus wants to continue building up his Church, this house with a sure foundation, but in which cracks are also to be found; and therefore it is in need of mending. The Church always needs renewal and restoration.”
“Even when we see some stones get loose and fall, or even if a supporting arch of the sanctuary totters, when the Church is resting on Jesus Christ then we should not loose heart because he, Jesus, the keystone, is still in place,” the Bishop said.
“The ecclesiological and pastoral challenges which we face are not slight; but this does not mean we don’t have to face them. It is truly heartening to see that in the Church there are many priests, consecrated persons and lay people who, sharing this hope together, are truly committed to this renewal. One can mention here the commitment to catechetical renewal with special attention to certain categories such as autistic children; lay people committed to the formation of engaged couples in preparation for married and family life; the generosity of many for the deprived, as in the case of immigrants, of fostering and of the donation of blood; young people who carry out voluntary and missionary work and from the midst of whom we have seen sprouting vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life; and in general, so many other such experiences. These are but a few of our Church’s riches which we want to see expanding and developing,” the letter read.