Spiritual times

As many readers already know, lately we had the first Maltese to be proclaimed saint i.e. St Gorg Preca. Many people have had their say about this man and his achievements. I deemed it proper therefore to write something myself too.

I start by admitting that I'm not the religious type; if you happen to see me in a church it's because of an occasion or else because it's one of those very religious days! I'm that kind of person who believes in God and lives my life according to good values. I'm a Christian but I don't agree with the Roman Catholic Church's approach on various issues.

My religion is to help people in need and do no harm to anyone, love other human beings and try to live in harmony with everyone. I'm a sinner like anybody out there. I think that the essence of every religion is the spirituality and the common good.

Having said that, I can say that whether one is a Catholic or not, there are great people whose importance goes far beyond their religion, and appeal to the spirituality of the "universal religion". I look at St Gorg Preca as one of them, not because he was declared saint but because he preached what he deemed was right for humanity. Whether one agrees with his beliefs or not is irrelevant as the purpose of St Gorg Preca was surely to instil good values so that people can live in harmony. St Gorg lived his life for others, he was and still is an example for everyone. He loved other people no matter who they were. If many of us just take his example and try to help each other I am sure we will all live a better life. I recall with great nostalgia my childhood years at the MUSEUM society. It was a social and religious experience that instilled in me good values. If it was not for St Gorg Preca I would surely be a different person.

The last thing I want to say is that I'm proud not only because I'm Maltese but also because I come from Hamrun, the town where Gorg Preca lived for the biggest part of his life and started his work. It's because of that that I also feel ashamed that in Hamrun nothing has been done to erect a monument to St Gorg yet. Can anyone imagine Assisi without a monument to St Francis or Pietralcina without a monument to St Pio?

Here in Hamrun we have monuments for politicians, for singers, for religious persons etc, but for St Gorg we don't. To add insult to injury a bust of the saint was erected in Marsa, a nearby locality, which frankly is not associated with St Gorg. So please Mr Mayor wake up. I am sure you got the point.