The story is told in the gospel of the master who entrusted his property to his three servants. Two of them snatched the opportunity to show their loyalty to their master by earning double the talents they were given, whereas the third one, due to his foolishness, wasted his time.
Dun Gorg can be likened to the first two wise servants. His indefatigable commitment to make known God’s love to the people he was sent to evangelise earned him not only eternal life in heaven but also the Church’s recognition of his unquestioned holiness. Dun Gorg merits God’s approval for his unshakable fidelity to his priestly vocation. “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.” (Matt. 25, 21. 23). It is precisely in that faithfulness shown in little, perhaps insignificant things, which made Dun Gorg a living icon of Jesus Christ himself.
In her celebrated book Here and Now Meditations on Living in the Present, Chiara Lubich treats the subject of holiness. For this notorious religious leader and writer, holiness is a gradual journey. She has an encouraging word for those of us who still dare to put holiness as their top priority in their lives. “Our task then is to build holiness moment by moment, responding with all our heart, soul, and strength to the love God bears us – a love that is personal as our heavenly Father and as great as the love of a God (Here and Now, 49). Was this not Dun Gorg’s way of attaining holiness? Perfectly harmonising his spiritual growth with the spirituality of his time, Dun Gorg understood the wit that perfection is earned with an assiduous and patient commitment. The more he opened his heart to the Word of God and let it form his own priestly being, the more he could be held by God’s unrelenting grace.
The resulting effect from encountering God in his word made Dun Gorg aware of what St Peter teaches in his first letter: “to you therefore who believe, he [Christ] is precious, (1 Pt 2, 7). Thus, there is no time left to be wasted! For Christ, the priceless hidden treasure in a field, Dun Gorg went and sold all that he had to buy that field (see Matt. 13, 44). All he wanted was to make the voice of the beloved (see Song of Songs 2, 8) heard in order to be accepted, loved and adhered to. In Pope John Paul II’s words, in order to fruitfully fulfil his evangelising mission, Dun Gorg “us[ed] to the full his God-given talents of mind and heart.”
While thanking God for this precious pearl named St Gorg Preca, let us follow his responsible use of time, as powerfully demonstrated in his noted book, A Spiritual Directory.
“Time is of priceless value. Fools employ it in vanities, and the wise in good deeds. In the twinkling of an eye, time opens the door to eternity. Be careful how to use your time for it passes by unnoticed, and it does not come back. It causes fear because the future is really hidden from everyone.” (Directive no. 6).
Thus, our love for Saint Gorg is verified by the responsible use of the time we have left. Let us show Saint Gorg, a dear Maltese brother, our love and loyalty to him by using our time wisely!
Fr Mario Attard
OFM Cap
San Gwann