E-Spark hija newsletter elettronika mahruga mic-Centru tal-Vokazzjonijiet tas-Seminarju,

tal-Virtu,Rabat . Tel: 21450354 - www.vokazzjoni.com

A Priest - whoever he may be -

is always another Christ." E Spark 47 LULJU 2012

PRO VOKAZZJONI (PART 2)

I AM AFRAID OF SAYING “YES”

VOLUNTEERS SEND OFF

E Spark 47

Hemm tant affarijiet li se jkolli nħalli warajja [semmi dak kollu li tista' tkun marbut miegħu... hobby, ħbieb,

xogħol, xi kors li tkun tixtieq tagħmel]? X'se jiġri? Kif nista' nkun kuntent?

PRO-VOKAZZJONI

(is-sejħa bħala stedina posittiva imma li tista' wkoll iġġib tfixkil)

Ix-xahar li għadda bdejna naraw xi domandi li jrid jiffaċċja min jiġi wiċċ imb'wiċċ

mar-rieda ta' Alla. Huma domandi li jolqtu lil min hu msejjaħ għal stat ta' ħajja

"permanenti" bħalma hu s-saċerdozju jew il-ħajja reliġjuża. Imma jgħoddu wkoll

għal kull nisrani li jibda jieħu lil Alla bis-serjetà.

Ovvja li se niddejjaq jekk xi ħadd jurini triq oħra apparti dik li

nkun irrid ngħaddi minnha jien! U fil-każ ta' vokazzjoni hekk

jiġri. Immaġina li int diġa għandek ħsieb x'se tagħmel

b'ħajtek. U bla ma taf kif titfaċċa din l-idea li ssir qassis.

Forsi tkun ilha hemm imma qatt ma tkun tajt każha. U

f'moħħok jibdew ġejjin ħafna oġġezzjonijiet. Anke affarijiet

li tixtieq tagħmel u li se jkollok tħallihom warajk.

Għaliex jibdew ġejjin f'moħħi dawn? Forsi għax diġa nkun

qed nirċievi l-qawwa biex nitlaq dan kollu! Hawn min jinduna

li qed isseħħ fih xi ħaġa "stramba" għax l-affarijiet li jkun

iħobb jagħmel qabel, jibdew jitilfu l-importanza tagħhom

Nibda ninduna li l-ħajja mhux tiegħi biss. Mhux kollox

idur miegħi imma hemm xi ħaġa u xi ħadd akbar u

aqwa minni. Niskopri qawwa li mhux ġejja minni.

Ovvja li se tħossok qisek qed tagħmel ġennata. Imma

mhux ġennata ta' mument, bħal meta taf li hemm

riskju kbir u xorta ma tagħtix każ. Din mhux qabża fid-

dlam u l-baħħ, imma qabża maħsuba... u fid-dawl.

Għax il-fidi fi Kristu u fl-imħabba tiegħu hija dejjem

qabża fid-dawl.

E Spark 47

Li naċċetta s-sejħa li nsir qassis tfisser li qatt mhu ser ikolli tfajla jew familja?

Min jgħix ħajja ċelibi (jiġifieri ma jkunx f'relazzjoni) ma jfissirx li ma

jkunx iħobb il-familja, jew li ma jkunx irid lil xi ħadd li jħobbu. Għax

hawn min jaħseb li ċ-ċelibat ifisser li bniedem qed jibża' mill-intimità,

jew qed jaħrab mill-istrapazz tal-ħajja miżżewġa. Is-sejħa għall-

intimità fiż-żwieġ hija sejħa mogħtija lil kull bniedem, anke lill-

qassis. Imma dan jagħraf li hemm bżonnu mod ieħor. Jinduna li Alla

qed joffrilu xi ħaġa "akbar".

"Akbar" mhux għax hi aħjar miż-żwieġ imma għax hi akbar mill-

bniedem u mill-bżonnijiet tiegħu. Alla jkun qed jgħidli biex il-

biżgħat u l-bżonnijiet tiegħi inħallihom f'idejh u jieħu ħsiebi hu. U

r-raġuni hi, li Alla jrid li l-qassis ikun iħobb b'mod miftuħ li jinkludi

lil kulħadd.

Żgur li dan ir-raġunament jidher kontra l-kurrent. Imma jekk inderri

lili nnnifsi nkun ġeneruż, anke fl-affarijiet żgħar ta' kuljum, dak li Alla

jitlob minni jibda jagħmel sens.

Kollox jitlob ġenerożità: li relazzjoni nwassalha sas-żwieġ... li

nagħti lili nnifsi u nħobb lil ta' madwari... By default aħna

pprogrammati li nippreferu d-djuq, dak li jaqbel lilna, dak li hu

komdu, l-egoiżmu. Imma bil-grazzja ta' Alla ninfetħu għal dak li

Alla jkun qed jgħidilna.

E Spark 47

HELP ME TO SAY YES

Michel Quoist

Marked by the joy of his first self-giving, the committed Christian can no longer retreat. Aroused by love, his emotions have helped him to surmount many obstacles. He is swept along, pushed along by those whose demands become more and more pressing. And now God appears, no longer hidden behind other persons but in full light. He asks to be received and be given first place in one’s life.The Christian who has recognized Him often runs away, for he knows that God will ask of him total and unconditional self-giving. Relentlessly, the Lord pursues him to get the consent which will make his life divine. Only those who have experienced this “wrestling” with God can really understand what it finally means to say “yes”. It can be a painful stage; and the educator, the friend, the spiritual director, the superior, must understand it. He must be tactful—not to hinder God, for he has himself just undertaken the training of his son—but be there to enlighten through faith when and where it is needed: helping him to recognize the Lord, interpreting the questions which Love asks constantly through the events of life, pointing out God’s invitations, His advances, His wooing. He must encourage the Christian and urge him to say “yes”. If it hurts, it is because of his resistance—and he must be aided in discovering this. For one always loses when one strives against God; He is stronger. His love is stronger

A Priest is a man of prayer

E Spark 47

I am afraid of saying “yes”, Lord.

Where will you take me?

I am afraid of drawing the longer straw,

I am afraid of signing my name to an unread agreement,

I am afraid of the “yes” that will entail other “yeses”.

Yet I am not at peace.

For you pursue me, besiege me.

I seek out the din for fear of hearing you,

but in a moment of silence,

you slip through.

I turn from the road,

for I have caught sight of you,

but at the end of the path,

you are there, awaiting me.

Where shall I hide?

I meet you everywhere.

Is it even possible to escape you?

I am afraid to say “yes”, Lord.

I am afraid of putting my hand in yours,

for you to hold on to it.

I am afraid of meeting your eyes,

for I know you will win me.

I am afraid of your demands.

I am hemmed in, yet I continue to hide.

I am captured, yet I continue to struggle,

and I fight, knowing that I am defeated.

For you are the stronger one, Lord,

you own the world,

and you take it from me.

When I stretch out my hand,

to catch hold of people and things,

they vanish before my eyes.

I can’t seem to keep anything for myself.

The flower I pick withers in my hands.

My laughter freezes on my lips.

Everything seems empty,

everything seems hollow.

For you have made a desert around me.

I am hungry and thirsty,

and nothing in this world seems to satisfy me.

And yet I have loved you, Lord,

I’ve worked for you; gave my whole life to you,

followed your voice in the night,

from the earliest days of my youth.

O great and terrible God,

what more do you want?

Why won’t you leave me in peace?

To be a priest is to be a man of God.

E Spark 47

My son, I want more for you and the world,

until now, you have planned your actions, but I have no need of them. You have asked for my approval. You have asked for my support. You have wanted to interest me in your work. But do you not see, that you were reversing the roles? I have watched you, I have seen your good will. And I want more than you, now. You will no longer do your own works, but the will of the one who has called you, who has whispered to you on that night, when you were merely a child.

Say “yes”, son.

I need your “yes” as I needed Mary’s, to come to earth. For it is I who must do your work. It is I who must live in your family, not you. It is I who must be in those whose lives you touch, not you. It is I whose words they must hear, not yours. It is I whose eyes they must look into, not yours. It is my Word that carries weight, not yours. It is my Life that transforms, not yours. Give all to me, abandon all to me. I need your “yes” to be united with you, and to come down to earth. I need your “yes” to continue saving the world. O Lord, I am afraid of your demands. But who can resist you? That your Kingdom may come, and not mine. That your Will may be done, and not mine.

A Priest preaches and teaches the Gospel of

Jesus Christ

http://kdz.org.mt/volunteers-send-off-2012.html

http://kdz.org.mt/list-of-groups-16.html

E Spark 47

E-Spark hija newsletter elettronika mahruga mic-Centru tal-Vokazzjonijiet tas-Seminarju, tal-

Virtu,Rabat . Tel: 21450354 - www.vokazzjoni.com

E Spark 47

Prayer for

Choosing a State of Life

My God,

You Who are the God of wisdom and

good counsel, You Who read in my

heart a sincere desire to please You

alone and to direct myself in regard

to my choice of a state of life, in

conformity with Your Holy will in all

things; by the intercession of the

most holy Virgin, my Mother, and of

my Patron Saints, grant me the grace

to know that state of life which I

ought to choose, and to embrace it

when known, in order that thus I may

seek Your glory and increase it, work

out my own salvation and deserve the

heavenly reward which You have

promised to those who do

Your holy will.

Amen.

Contact

Fr Michael and

share your

comments,

suggestions, ideas

or problems

email:

dunkilin@catholic.org

Tel :

21450354 /79964557.

Vocational Centre

Archbishop’s

Seminary

Tal-Virtu, Rabat

Priests are not priests for themselves,

but for you.