In a month’s time, the festa season will practically be over. All the statues would have marched in. I wonder whether the saints, metaphorically speaking, were ever out. I am sure they are ashamed of most what is done on the occasions whose purpose is the honour of God through His saints.

Let me start by clearing my deck! Celebrations – which include feasts and feasting – are specifically human activities and healthy for mind and body, and why not, for the soul. Animals do not celebrate!

So please, no more ‘għax dak ma jħobbx il-festi!’ (‘because he doesn’t like feasts’). That is an insult to every human being. But there is a difference of purpose in every celebration. The feast of saints should not be used as masks (literally and metaphorically).

However, it seems that those responsible for religious festi have turned to ‘post-modern thinking’ by accepting blindly Lyotard’s position that in a postmodern world ‘anything goes what’s wrong, so long as there are no squabbles? Yet these people have the nerve to condemn ‘relativism’, which in fact, they practice. It does not take an expert in semantics, nor a genius in semiotics, to see that much for what goes under the name of religious has nothing to do with God’s honour.

The moving forces behind our festi are little more than parochialism at its worst, intra- and inter-parish piki (piques), vanity and a search for power. One needs only to read the glossy festa ‘annuals’, published by God knows who, to see clearly, or between the lines, in words and symbols, the presence of these elements. The same posters promoting these feasts (and now the recent addition of ‘tribute bands’) together flags flying on high masts with inscription like “Il-qawwa tat-Titular” and “Patrun tal-Knisja Universali” do not leave much to one’s imagination as to their message. ‘L’affaire Mġarr’ is only the latest in a series.

If one moves into the temple, the situation is by no means much better. The difference is that here it that the parish priest is ultimately responsible. No one can deny that a number of parishes organise activities and collect money for the needy. But what is the strongest message that emanates from most of our feasts?

Much for what goes under the name of religious has nothing to do with God’s honour

Definitely those responsible for what passes as a religious feast turn a blind eye (if they have ever studied) to the parum proderunt of the decree of Vatican II on the ministry and life of priests, namely that: “Ceremonies, however beautiful, or associations, however flourishing, will be of little value if they are not directed toward the education of the people to Christian maturity” (par.6). Or are we Vatican II blind?

Definitely, good music should be diligently promoted; “but bishops and other pastors of souls must be at pains to ensure that, whenever the sacred action is to be celebrated with song, the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightly theirs”.

The same goes the famous so-called ‘opri’. Vatican II is crystal clear: “All things set apart for use in divine worship should be truly worthy, becoming, and beautiful, signs and symbols of the supernatural world”. It’s clear that on these scores, many in the Church have adopted a populist philosophy to avoid the trouble with the ‘dilettanti’ (enthusiasts) or ‘ma’ tal-każin’ (with the band clubs). And then, alongside a Mattia Preti, one decorates a church with painting I will refrain from describing.

Where does a poor Church and the Church of the poor figure in our ‘festi’? Or is Pope Francis considered to be an anti-Pope. Or is it a case that Vatican II, Evangelii Nuntiandi and Evangelii Gaudium can wait, but the ‘dilettanti’ cannot.

This is a clear case of what Pope Francis called spiritual worldliness “which hides behind the appearance of piety and even love for the Church, consists in seeking not the Lord’s glory but human glory and personal well-being”.

Aren’t we in the trap of another form of spiritual worldliness which keeps quite a number of our clergy and laity “intransigently faithful to a particular Catholic style from the past”? (Joy of the Gospel).

As a friend e-mailed me, “There is a role-model in Francis if one really wants to pursue that route. Evangelii Gaudium provides the script”.

joe.inguanez@gmail.com

Fr Joe Inguanez, a sociologist, is executive director of Discern.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.