'Modern system breaking man'

The recent change in the social structure of time was leaving victims, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech warned his congregation at the church of Xewkija yesterday.

It was not only eating away at the quality of life but life itself was being sacrificed, Mgr Grech said.

On the occasion of the feast of Christ the King, he pointed his finger at productivity, consumerism and even technology, which was disrupting time's natural rhythm.

"We have adopted a system, which, apart from producing objects, is also breaking man. As a result, profit is increasing but civilisation is paying a high price," he said.

People were psychologically tired and weak and families were unable to shoulder the burden and were collapsing.

Having to see everything through the lens of the economy was sending messages that contrasted with married life as was the case when married couples, who were bringing up children, were being incentivised to invest their time and energy in the machine of national production, Mgr Grech said.

He stressed on the fact that, in a society built on work and profit, Sunday was no longer appreciated as a day of rest but considered a waste of time.

"Productivity has become the soul of the economy and it comes at a price, disrupting the cycle of alternating rest and work," he said. "Rest has begun to be perceived as escaping our pseudo-duty to contribute to Malta and Europe's economy."

People were convinced that stopping work on Saturday and Sunday was a mortal sin against the economy. Such a mentality made man build superficial relationships, sacrificing those between two individuals that were profoundly personal and should characterise human life.

Sunday was being lived in a climate of work and production, used as a day to gear up to continue turning the wheel of the economy, Mgr Grech said. The crisis of the Sundays has become the crisis of man, he said, adding that there was no future if the Day of the Lord was not recuperated.

The fact that many Catholics did not actively participate in Mass and others have chosen not to attend did not augur well for ecclesiastical or civil life.

On a pastoral level, a study should be carried out on what needs to be done for the community to gather on the Day of the Lord, he said.

Mgr Grech quoted the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, saying that companies where employees worked on Sundays registered more absenteeism than others. Through Comece, the Church urged MEPs, who would soon be taking a vote on working on Sundays, to protect this day.

The feast of Christ the King in Malta was held at Kalkara parish church, which was bursting at the seams during the celebration.

The congregation huddled together, cramming every nook and cranny of the church and practically blocking the doors as they listened to and applauded Youth Fellowship's charismatic singing to a rock beat and the homily of Archbishop Paul Cremona.

The celebrations were moved to Kalkara from Safi due to weather conditions and, in the church, the congregation found shelter from the strong winds outside, which whipped up the sea in the bay and had the boats bobbing up and down.

Several screens were set up throughout the church and the chosen theme was Avoid Anything In Your Everyday Lives That Would Be Unworthy Of The Gospel Of Christ.

Mgr Cremona told the congregation it did not makes sense to call oneself a Christian and not walk towards the Kingdom of God, which is done at Mass on Sundays.

One should not just celebrate the main events of the life of Jesus but should know Him, what He does and what He teaches.

Referring to those who had influence on society, Mgr Cremona mentioned Christians who are journalists as opposed to journalists who say they are Christians but are not recognised as such. The same goes for politicians. Christians cannot only be citizens of this world, otherwise they would be celebrating this feast for nothing, Mgr Cremona said. They had to be members of the Kingdom of Heaven too.