We are being withered by a drought, which is affecting our relationships as well as the economy and politics, according to Gozo Bishop Mario Grech.
Speaking during a Pentecost vigil Mass, Mgr Grech referred to the thinker Oliver Friggieri, who wrote a book titled Fil-Parlament ma jikbrux fjuri (No flowers grow in Parliament).
“Flowers do not grow in arid conditions.” The human heart was shrivelling while the mind was drying up, becoming poorer in thought. There were people who were too lazy to think and preferred to do as monkeys did and mimic others, Mgr Grech said.
“Our eyes have also dried up, to the point that we no longer know how to cry in the presence of a person who is suffering. We’re so used to seeing people and families being lashed at and scarred by injustices and the vilification of human dignity that it’s hard to squeeze a tear from our eyes.”
Our tongues, Mgr Grech continued, were parched like clay and, when that occurred, we were unable to open our mouths. Many people became dumb and found it hard to slip a word of courage, empathy or to make people happy or correct them.
“I would say that even the Church is suffering from a parched tongue, so much so that prophecy has disappeared. Prophets have disappeared from among us.”
The womb has also shrivelled, as evidenced by the phenomenon of low birth rates.
“As Pope Francis said, it seems as if Europe loves cats and dogs more than babies.”
Mgr Grech identified three “environments” that urgently needed to be saved from the drought.
Families required help, on both a human and spiritual level, to overcome marital challenges.
“Above all, we must keep good watch to ensure that the family remains a sanctuary where human life is celebrated.”
Mgr Grech pointed out that the education sector needed attention to ensure that children were being brought up in a wholesome way. It was the mission of educational institutions to ensure that, apart from offering academic formation, they would also offer character formation.
Even the Church is suffering from a parched tongue
“The teaching of religion is a very valid tool to pass on human and Christian values. This subject should not be neglected because we are caught up in new proposals.”
Attention had to be given to the work environment too, Mgr Grech added, stressing the importance that the worker remains the ultimate aim of every decision taken in employment policies.
“This crisis in the labour market is not only a technological or economic one but also an ethical crisis.
“We also need to better support workers as well as those who have precarious work or whose job is at a risk. Above all, the concern of the unemployed should be our concern as well,” Mgr Grech said.