Imagine, if you will, two boats: One is called Napoleon Solo, a smart, sophisticated yacht that is all set to take you for a stunning journey. The other is called Rubber Ducky, and it is a small inflatable raft that comes supplied with nothing more promising than a 40-day guarantee! Which boat would you go for? But wait before you give me your answer, let me tell you something more about this story - that Napoleon Solo sank, leaving her skipper to survive as best as he could in a hostile Atlantic aboard Rubber Ducky.
Steven Callahan describes this same experience in his book Adrift, the story of his 76 days lost at sea in a raft guaranteed for only 40 of them! At one point he describes his experience in these words: "Each day seems longer... We sit like a period in a book of blank pages". If you find yourself in such a place, if you are feeling like a lonely full stop in the middle of a blank page, it may be helpful to begin by looking at just what kind of impasse it is you're facing.
Perhaps everyone who ever embarks on what we call "the spiritual journey" experiences how it feels to be drifting on a personal equivalent of Rubber Ducky. We set sail in our lives with grand plans for a stunning voyage in our own version of Napoleon Solo only to find ourselves, at least from time to time, hopelessly adrift on a Rubber Ducky life raft, hoping that we might arrive somewhere, somehow, before our guarantee runs out! The good news is that we may learn more about who we are and what we are about in the Rubber Ducky of our experience than we do in our Napoleon Solo.
It is probably for this very good reason that so many times we hear the Catholic Church inviting us to have a special relationship with Jesus Christ and one can say that we may perceive this invitation as being one to try and survive on a Rubber Ducky that is only guaranteed for 40 days instead of looking at it from the point of view of being our all important life line, even though it might not immediately appear to be what we've always yearned for from life.
Perhaps at this point it is worth pausing and asking ourselves to see if we have ever bothered to look squarely at ourselves and ask "what is my personal relationship with Jesus?" Could it be that even though I go to Mass and recite my prayers perhaps I do not give myself enough opportunity to reflect on this special relationship and that I am still hoping to cross my Atlantic in a sophisticated yacht? Is it a bit of a weak excuse when I try to avoid the subject for whatever reason or perhaps because I feel unmotivated or because I see no purpose at all in this relationship?
In our small islands we are lucky to have various opportunities available to us to discover this true meaning for our life and the direction we wish to take in our spiritual life. Every parish bristles with activities inviting us to have this relationship with Jesus Christ. One such opportunity is The Alpha Course which has been running in Malta twice a year for the past 10 years. This course has been successfully held in various parishes but more recently has become firmly based in the Ibrag parish centre where it is now held for anyone interested to explore the meaning of their life.
The Alpha Course and Rubber Ducky have much in common - they are not what you'd expect yet both will get you to your "safe harbour". For one thing, Alpha is not the kind of preached catechesis course that one is accustomed to finding in our churches, where participants simply sit down to listen and then go back home. From my own experience I found that Alpha is a fresh, entertaining but also extremely deep course designed to reach out to anybody who is searching for the true meaning of life. One of the Alpha course organisers had even described it to me as "relaxed, informal, low key, friendly and fun".
While I clearly remember wondering how something to do with religion could be described as "fun", he had added that the Alpha sessions were thought-provoking but highly entertaining... which they really were. "We actually have a meal together," he explained, "and are able to discuss the most intriguing issues relating to our faith over a cup of coffee".
Alpha gives you the opportunity to interact, listen to a talk in English on video and then take part in a discussion (in English or Maltese) in small groups, in a very relaxed and welcoming café-style environment, with tablecloths, candles and the occasional glass of wine that helps one to build the bridge from traditional Sunday observance to a more personal need to seek Christ. This informal approach helps participants of the Alpha course delve into a variety of topics such as Who is Jesus?, Why And How Do I Pray?, How Can I Be Sure Of My Faith? and many others using everyday language. It is full of excellent illustrations and the weekly meetings are held either on Tuesday mornings or on Thursday evenings. The course caters for people of all ages, from teenagers to elderly grandparents... and, best of all, it's free.
Past guests - like myself - confirm that the attendance at this 10-week course simply cannot leave you indifferent or unchanged since it grants the possibility to take the first step towards filling the void we all seem to somehow have deep inside ourselves for closer and meaningful relationships... especially with the One who matters. It might be of interest to know that this course is run in 156 countries and has been translated into 62 languages. There are now almost 32,000 Alpha courses running all over the world and it is estimated that over eight million guests have been on an Alpha course. In Malta too, hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds from all over the island have attended during the last 10 years. What makes this course different is the fact that the environment is informal and guests are given the chance to make up their own minds as to whether Christianity is relevant to their lives.
So if you too are searching for the true meaning of life, if you feel that you have somehow been sacramentalised but are yet to be evangelised, if you feel that religion is merely a set of rules rather than a true experience, or if you feel that it is time to make some fundamental choices relating to your life, then this is where Alpha may help you.
• If you feel you would like to know more about The Alpha Course you are invited to attend an introductory session on Thursday at 7.15 p.m., in the basement of the Ibrag parish centre in Triq il-Kwarta to see if this course could lead you to discover what it is that may be missing in your life. The actual course starts the following week. If you are ready for something a bit different, come and find out for yourself about Alpha... and if you would like further details you can also pick up a leaflet from near the door of the parish church, check out www.alpha.org.mt or phone 7982 3847.
Steven Callahan describes this same experience in his book Adrift, the story of his 76 days lost at sea in a raft guaranteed for only 40 of them! At one point he describes his experience in these words: "Each day seems longer... We sit like a period in a book of blank pages". If you find yourself in such a place, if you are feeling like a lonely full stop in the middle of a blank page, it may be helpful to begin by looking at just what kind of impasse it is you're facing.
Perhaps everyone who ever embarks on what we call "the spiritual journey" experiences how it feels to be drifting on a personal equivalent of Rubber Ducky. We set sail in our lives with grand plans for a stunning voyage in our own version of Napoleon Solo only to find ourselves, at least from time to time, hopelessly adrift on a Rubber Ducky life raft, hoping that we might arrive somewhere, somehow, before our guarantee runs out! The good news is that we may learn more about who we are and what we are about in the Rubber Ducky of our experience than we do in our Napoleon Solo.
It is probably for this very good reason that so many times we hear the Catholic Church inviting us to have a special relationship with Jesus Christ and one can say that we may perceive this invitation as being one to try and survive on a Rubber Ducky that is only guaranteed for 40 days instead of looking at it from the point of view of being our all important life line, even though it might not immediately appear to be what we've always yearned for from life.
Perhaps at this point it is worth pausing and asking ourselves to see if we have ever bothered to look squarely at ourselves and ask "what is my personal relationship with Jesus?" Could it be that even though I go to Mass and recite my prayers perhaps I do not give myself enough opportunity to reflect on this special relationship and that I am still hoping to cross my Atlantic in a sophisticated yacht? Is it a bit of a weak excuse when I try to avoid the subject for whatever reason or perhaps because I feel unmotivated or because I see no purpose at all in this relationship?
In our small islands we are lucky to have various opportunities available to us to discover this true meaning for our life and the direction we wish to take in our spiritual life. Every parish bristles with activities inviting us to have this relationship with Jesus Christ. One such opportunity is The Alpha Course which has been running in Malta twice a year for the past 10 years. This course has been successfully held in various parishes but more recently has become firmly based in the Ibrag parish centre where it is now held for anyone interested to explore the meaning of their life.
The Alpha Course and Rubber Ducky have much in common - they are not what you'd expect yet both will get you to your "safe harbour". For one thing, Alpha is not the kind of preached catechesis course that one is accustomed to finding in our churches, where participants simply sit down to listen and then go back home. From my own experience I found that Alpha is a fresh, entertaining but also extremely deep course designed to reach out to anybody who is searching for the true meaning of life. One of the Alpha course organisers had even described it to me as "relaxed, informal, low key, friendly and fun".
While I clearly remember wondering how something to do with religion could be described as "fun", he had added that the Alpha sessions were thought-provoking but highly entertaining... which they really were. "We actually have a meal together," he explained, "and are able to discuss the most intriguing issues relating to our faith over a cup of coffee".
Alpha gives you the opportunity to interact, listen to a talk in English on video and then take part in a discussion (in English or Maltese) in small groups, in a very relaxed and welcoming café-style environment, with tablecloths, candles and the occasional glass of wine that helps one to build the bridge from traditional Sunday observance to a more personal need to seek Christ. This informal approach helps participants of the Alpha course delve into a variety of topics such as Who is Jesus?, Why And How Do I Pray?, How Can I Be Sure Of My Faith? and many others using everyday language. It is full of excellent illustrations and the weekly meetings are held either on Tuesday mornings or on Thursday evenings. The course caters for people of all ages, from teenagers to elderly grandparents... and, best of all, it's free.
Past guests - like myself - confirm that the attendance at this 10-week course simply cannot leave you indifferent or unchanged since it grants the possibility to take the first step towards filling the void we all seem to somehow have deep inside ourselves for closer and meaningful relationships... especially with the One who matters. It might be of interest to know that this course is run in 156 countries and has been translated into 62 languages. There are now almost 32,000 Alpha courses running all over the world and it is estimated that over eight million guests have been on an Alpha course. In Malta too, hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds from all over the island have attended during the last 10 years. What makes this course different is the fact that the environment is informal and guests are given the chance to make up their own minds as to whether Christianity is relevant to their lives.
So if you too are searching for the true meaning of life, if you feel that you have somehow been sacramentalised but are yet to be evangelised, if you feel that religion is merely a set of rules rather than a true experience, or if you feel that it is time to make some fundamental choices relating to your life, then this is where Alpha may help you.
• If you feel you would like to know more about The Alpha Course you are invited to attend an introductory session on Thursday at 7.15 p.m., in the basement of the Ibrag parish centre in Triq il-Kwarta to see if this course could lead you to discover what it is that may be missing in your life. The actual course starts the following week. If you are ready for something a bit different, come and find out for yourself about Alpha... and if you would like further details you can also pick up a leaflet from near the door of the parish church, check out www.alpha.org.mt or phone 7982 3847.