Gozo Bishop Mario Grech in a pastoral letter issued today, has lamented the spiritual poverty growing in society and resistance to change, even within the Church. He also announced that a monastery of the Poor Clare Nuns is to be inaugurated in Gozo on August 25.
"Spiritual poverty is much in evidence. Equally crass is our ignorance of God. The absence of God has drained our life especially with regard to human rights – such as the right to life – in the family, in the workplace, and in the economy. Indifference to God is the reason why the society of the third millennium is at once so knowledgeable, yet shockingly short-sighted!," Mgr Grech said.
"With God in the sidelines, the solutions on offer are hatching more serious problems. Many have been hurt because they were ignored and shunned. The result of a Godless universe is an impoverished humankind without any regard for each individual's worth... These days it is not only hard to find anyone with whom to engage in a constructive discussion about God, but it has become difficult to articulate what is true, good and just!"
Mgr Grech said such spiritual aridity was felt also in the Church.
"At times the resistance to institutional renewal is tangible. Whoever wants the Church to remain a showcase of religious traditions does not truly love the Church. We are far too complacent with the Church and within the Church – how we celebrate the sacraments, the respect towards the teaching of the Church... Excessive familiarity breeds abuses, even in holy matters!"
"There are various reasons why God is no longer a priority. Spiritual "exhaustion" is rife among Christians. Others are pastorally extinguished. For many, Christianity was a superficial gloss washed away by the first rains! Others are becoming enticed by diverse faiths with the risk of apostatising from Catholicism and joining some other church, another religion or a sect. There are also those who have lost their faith and courted worldly dogmas, which often exclude God – with secularism and laicism taking over as the 'civil religions'".
The Poor Clare Nuns
Mgr Grech said that it was with great joy that a monastery of the Poor Clare Nuns would be inaugurated in a few days' time.
"While attesting from their cloister to God's unremitting love and summoning us to persevere in our search, these nuns are a living reminder of the invaluable grace which has been bestowed on our small island," he said.
"May the chimes of the monastery's bell echo in our hearts, in our families and in our parish communities to revive our spirit, that we may continue to cherish our spiritual treasures. I believe that the Church in Gozo has a lot to offer to Maltese society; now, backed by the invigorating presence of contemplative life, it could carry out its spiritual mission with greater resolution."
"We shall give these nuns a task on our behalf – not to appear as proxy on a contract, but to "stand" in the Divine presence of God and intercede for us. This monastery will provide our diocese a privileged enclave for solace during rough times, but also for a peaceful and silent recess in the presence of the Lord, away from the hectic life.
"I hope that the presence of the Poor Clare nuns among us is the timely heavenly medicine we require in these particular times. With the world intent on proclaiming the passing away of God, this monastery will be a penetrating beacon of light reaching far and wide, attesting that God is so Holy that people like these nuns are ready to give their whole lives to Him. As a "fountain of running water that leads to eternal life" (see John 4,14) this monastery is a renewed call to re-instate God in modern reality.," Mgr Grech said.