Proclaiming St George Preca's message

Three months have passed from the day when Pope Benedict, on St Peter's Square, solemnly declared Blessed George Preca a saint. The endless enthusiasm of those days, the healthy euphoria that pervaded the Maltese Islands has gradually subsided.

However, the day of a canonisation is not the end. It is the beginning of a new challenge for the individual and for the community... and for "Tal-Museum" too!

As Archbishop Paul Cremona said in his deep homily in the Mass of Thanksgiving for St George Preca's canonisation, on the Floriana Granaries on June 7, Dun Gorg should not remain for us all a saintly priest who brings back to us only happy memories.

He has now to become our programme thanks to his lifestyle, sermons and written word.

One still remembers with pleasure the three appeals of our Archbishop towards the end of his homily, directed towards the members of the Museum, the clergy and the laity in general. In his address to the Museum members the Archbishop said:

"I wish to direct my first appeal especially to the members of the Society of Christian Doctrine, since they are the natural heirs of the charism of their founder, St George Preca, as they have seriously committed themselves to their noble mission.

"I heartily appeal to them to live their call from the Lord and also to spare no effort so that the Maltese will now get to know St George Preca even deeper."

Much to his credit their saintly priest can be considered as a pioneer of Vatican II, as he had always given great importance to the noble mission of the laity that originates from their baptism. Even before Vatican II, Dun Gorg believed that the Church in Malta always needed lay people and, nowadays, in St George Preca's era need them even more.

No wonder, in his homily on June 7, our Archbishop appealed to all the faithful to live Dun Gorg's message in its entirety, and together with the members of the Society of Christian Doctrine to remember, and to ponder in depth that Dun Gorg did not begin his apostolate with children and adolescents. He started it with adults.

He started his first meetings so they could then share the word of God with the younger generation. The Archbishop appealed to all his listeners to follow Dun Gorg's encouraging example and persevere in living it with his saintly enthusiasm and thorough dedication till the very end.

At this point it is appropriate to remember the nice words, and deep reflection, which Pope John Paul II addressed to the members of the Museum society in their chapel at Blata l-Bajda on May 9, 2001, the day of Dun Gorg Preca's beatification.

The late pope told the members present: "Your call is to contemplate the face of Christ, and this means you will be replete with spiritual energy for all the noble mission entrusted to you. Like your Saint Paul, from contemplation you are called to go forward as missionaries: not only as teachers but as witnesses..."

It was Pope Paul VI who had written that "nowadays people are impressed more by witnesses than by teachers, and if they listen to them, they do this because they are also witnesses" (Evangelic Nuntiandi, 41)

The Holy Father appealed to the members to walk always along the footsteps of their founder who was an authentic teacher and, above all, a living witness of Christ.

PS

A Christian Outlook congratulates Museum members for their excellent talks in the open air in Birzebbuga (August 20-24) with the help of the parish priest.

The five speakers were well prepared and helped the great congregation to get to know St George Preca deeper. Indeed Sanctus adhuc loquitur.