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Sacred Heart Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes

Upon this Rock magazine is published monthly by

EuropeAxess Media Ltd, Gibraltar.

Editor Fr. Stuart Chipolina: editor@uponthisrock.eu

Production Editor: A. Sargent

angela@europeaxess.comCover: From Fr. George

Grima’s images of the people he ministers to in Kenya.

Upon this Rock magazine is entirely supported by advertising and donations. It is run in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar by EuropeAxess Media Ltd. as a not-for-profit project.

To advertise: This magazine is hand-delivered to homes, churches, hospitals and many businesses around Gibraltar every month. To discuss your advertising requirements, or promote your church group or charity, call Tel: 200 79335 email angela@europeaxess.com

Editorial is selected by EuropeAxess Media in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar. Neither of these parties is responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein, nor do the views and opinions expressed herein necessarily reflect the views and opinions of either party. Advertisers are not endorsed by virtue of advertising in this magazine. EuropeAxess Media reserves the right to refuse space to any submissions or advertisements.

F o r t h c o m i n g E v e n t s a n d a L e t t e r t o t h e E d i t o r

How nice and how en-couraging it is, when one hears that there

are people like Mario Hook, (our Ombudsman) who, the moment he heard that many of our brothers and sisters on the other side of the border could not afford to buy toys for their children (for the Three Kings celebration), immediately or-ganized a collection of toys here in Gibraltar. And how nice and how encouraging also, to hear of the overwhelming response, after which, within a few days, around 4,000 toys were collected and taken to Caritas Parroquial in La Linea. These 4000 toys together with those collected in the Campo de Gibraltar, were distributed to those families in need, in San Roque, El Puente, Campamento and La Linea.

This sort of charitable reaction and action, is what takes place, when we comply with Our Lord’s commandment, “Love God above everything else and love your neighbour as you love yourself.” We should love and care for our neighbours, irrespective of their nationality, culture, colour or creed. (The parable of the Good Samaritan is a wonderful example).We must always remember that frontiers are signs of division created by man, but that we are all citizens of the world and we are all sons and daughters of the same God. My heartiest congratulations to Mario and all those who contributed and collaborated with him, May God bless you all abundantly. Louis J. Lombard. <><

A successful cross border charitable

initiative.

2011 Sacred Heart Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes

3-11 February at 6.30 pm

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me” (Matthew 25:40)

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How do you expectthe Lord to treat you, when you ask for his help?

Dear Friends F r . S t u a r t C h i p o l i n a

The finger of God

Do you approach with fear and doubt, or with faith and confidence?

Jesus never turned anyone aside who approached Him with sincerity and trust. And whatever Jesus did, He did well. He demonstrated both the beauty and goodness of God in His actions. When Jesus approaches a man who is both deaf and a stutterer, Jesus shows His consideration for this man’s predicament. Jesus takes him aside privately, not doubt to save him embarrassment before

a noisy crowd of gawkers. Jesus then puts His fingers into the deaf man’s ears and He touches the man’s tongue with His own spittle to physically identify with this man’s infirmity and to awaken faith in him. With a word of command the poor man’s ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.What is the significance of Jesus putting His fingers into the man’s ears? Gregory the Great, a Church father from the 6th century, comments on this miracle: “The Spirit is called the

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Dear Friends F r . S t u a r t C h i p o l i n a

The finger of God

finger of God. When the Lord puts His fingers into the ears of the deaf mute, He was opening the soul of man to faith through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”The people’s response to this

miracle testifies to Jesus’ great care for others: He has done all things well. No problem or burden was too much for Jesus’ careful consideration. The Lord treats each of us with kindness

and compassion and He calls us to treat one another in like kind. The Holy Spirit who dwells within us enables us to love as Jesus loves. Do you show kindness and compassion to

your neighbours and do you treat them with consideration as Jesus did?God Bless You,

Fr Stuart

Note on the artwork:The Creation of Adam is a section of Michelangelo’s fresco Sistine Chapel ceiling painted circa 1511. God sits on high in a shape that looks a bit like a cross section of a human brain. From this floating base His right arm is outstretched to impart the spark of life from His own finger into that of Adam, who appears to be very weak, barely raising himself from the Earth. Adam’s left arm is extended in a pose mirroring God’s, a reminder that man is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26). The inspiration for Michelangelo’s treatment of the subject may come from a medieval hymn called Veni Creator Spiritus, which asks the ‘finger of the paternal right hand’ (digitus paternae dexterae) to give the Faithful speech.

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Episcopal Visit to St. Paul’s Parish

Bishop Ralph con-celebrated Mass with Fr. Stuart Chipolina,

and afterwards a reception was held at the GASA clubhouse which was attended by many of the parishoners. Bishop Ralph said he was impressed by the “huge throng and wide age range, including many families” among those who went to the 12 o’clock Mass, that day. He also remembered the impressive meal that was prepared for the reception afterwards, including a large paella and all the different dishes

people had brought along to share. He concluded ‘It was a very joyous occasion’.This is part of a series of Official Visits to all the parishes in the diocese. St. Theresa’s parish received their official Episcopal Visit on the occasion of the Consecration of the Church there, for instance. In a larger diocese the Bishop may take months and even years to complete the circuit of all the parishes, but it is expected that Bishop Ralph will make his way round Gibraltar rather more quickly.

On Sunday 12th December His Lordship Rt. Rev. Ralph Heskett C.S.s.R. made an official visit to St. Paul’s parish.

Bishop Ralph was impressed at the numbers, and wide range of age groups attending the 12 o’clock Sunday Mass at St. Paul’s in Varyl Begg Estate.

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The Diocesan Crib Competition Photos Angela Sargent and Louisa Aguilera

The ‘Belen’ is the Span-ish word for the name of the town where Je-

sus was born - Bethlehem, and reflects the all encompassing format of Mediterranean style nativity scenes, so much more than just a ‘crib’ which, in the UK would really only be the stable with the attendant char-acters that visited there. The nativity scenes we saw var-ied hugely, taxing the judges to the utmost. How can you com-pare a children’s live presenta-tion, where all the costumes have been specially made for the day, with a family owned set of char-acters lovingly laid out the same

way, generation after generation. To help us we looked at four cat-egories this year: • The level of involvement of all members of the group or com-munity.• The originality of the presenta-tion.• The degree of biblical interpre-tation shown in the layout.• The amount of creativity.We gave marks out of 10 for each of these categories and, by sim-ple addition, the highest scorers were established. While some were named as Best Crib, others were given Certificates of Com-mendation.Another year the judges may in-

clude further categories, which were suggested by the particular entries this year. Some examples:• Public witness - where a crib is displayed in a place where many people can see it.• Use of recycled material - for cribs made from scratch from found objects.• Realism - where the nativity scene displayed many real ele-ments, such as live fish in the Bethlehem village pond or spe-cial lighting effects.Incredibly, all of these we saw on our tour of cribs on the 13th De-cember last year. What surprises will the 2011 cribs have for the judges?

Increased participation in Crib CompetitionAt a time when it is often a struggle to keep Christ in Christmas, Gibraltar families and institutions have shown their great love for the traditional ‘belen’ or nativity scene.

Highly Commended Hand Crafted Children’s Crib: James and Georgina Mifsud

Highly Commended for Creativity: Loreto Convent – Reception.

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The Diocesan Crib Competition Photos Angela Sargent and Louisa Aguilera

Increased participation in Crib CompetitionAt a time when it is often a struggle to keep Christ in Christmas, Gibraltar families and institutions have shown their great love for the traditional ‘belen’ or nativity scene.

Overall Winner for Best Home Crib: Brian Brosco. The judges were impressed as so many of the elements were handmade showing outstanding craftsmanship, with incredible attention to detail and dedication to the project.

Overall Winner for Best Middle School Crib: Sacred Heart. Pupils who are in-terested in working on the school crib meet with their art teacher for a lunch time Art Club. The project begins as early in September in order to have the crib ready for December. The judges appreciated that the pupils who give up their lunch times to join this club do so specifically because they want to take part in creating the school crib.

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Overall Winner for Best Young Adult Crib: St Bernadette’s Occupational Ther-apy Centre

Highly Commended Most Realistic and Animated Crib: The Ramos Family, with lighting effects to simulate night and day, a cloud that rains, and a pond with live fish in the nativity scene, Mr Ramos tells a very graphic story of how baby Jesus arrived in this world, born in humility while the villagers went about their daily lives.

Highly Commended for Creativity: Joseph Chang. People often might think they don’t have room at home to put up a nativity scene, but the judges were im-pressed by the way in which Joseph Chang had fitted a base for his crib in the front hall suspended over the telephone table. There were also many hand made components incorporated in this crib.

Highly Commended Most Realistic and Animated Crib: Governor’s Meadow School

WHEN Fr. George Grima visited Gibraltar last year,

he said, with his dry sense of humour and thick Maltese accent, “I’m bringing you a ‘3-for-1’ appeal.” and he proceeded to tell me about the horrible dangers the albino population in Kenya and Tanzania face, the incredible work the sisters are doing with outcast disabled children, and perhaps as though he were keeping the best bit for last, the abandoned babies.

As with all the images he brought on a pen drive to our meeting that day, he introduced each child by name and told me their stories.Of the woman on the front cover of this month’s magazine he explained, “When her husband died, she became the ‘property’ of his brother, as is the custom among her people. He was infected with HIV AIDS, and now she is too, so too is their child whom she holds in her arms. So now they are all sick. She will look after the man’s

older children as well as her own child as best she can.” According to the ‘Feed the Children’ website 40-60% of African population live in over-crowded slums. Their homes may have mud walls and a dirt floor with no running water or electricity. The sisters visit vulnerable

young people in situations like this to help support them. But all too often the babies are simply abandoned. Children play in alleyways running with sewage and filled with rubbish. The landfill site is often seen as a resource, and children and adults alike will go foraging

GibMissionAfrica Appeal: Part 3 AngelaSargent

-to come unto me’ Fr. George Grima opens his doors to all Kenya’s abandoned babies.

‘Suffer the little children-

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GibMissionAfrica Appeal: Part 3 AngelaSargent

‘Suffer the little children-

amongst the filthy waste to find anything of value they can sell to buy food. Above left is a picture of a toilet, it is just a hole in the ground with a rough corrugated shack built over it. The little child the sister is holding was found as a newborn baby abandoned here. She has been taken in, nursed back to health, and with care and attention, is thriving. They have taken her back to her birthplace for the photo.Desperate mothers will aban-don their babies anywhere, in litter bins, in rubbish dumps, or in the bush, where they risk be-ing found by wild animals. Fr.

Grima is building more houses where he can care for these aban-doned children, but he needs our help, in order to be able to provide more homes where the sisters can carry on working miracles each day with great love.

GibMissionAfrica is a local charity set up to support Fr. George Grima and other Afri-can missionaries. www.gibma.org. If you can help please send donations to GibMissionAfrica, Leon House, 3rd Floor, Suite 8, 1 Secretary’s Lane, P.O.Box 1437, Gibraltar.

The journey from abandoned newborn baby to healthy toddler is not an easy one, Fr. George Grima has let it be known that desperate mothers should bring their babies to him if they are too sick to look after them themselves. But he needs more houses.

In Kenya there is a word ‘harambee’ first heard back in the time of British rule when gangs of railway workers would chant it as they lifted the heavy train tracks into place. It means ‘Let’s all pull together.’ Now it is often used for community projects. Can we ‘all pull together’ to help Fr. George Grima lift the heavy burden of poverty felt by these children and so many more?

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A lighthearted look at the Saint(s) of the Month Anne Mesilio

Hearts and flowersWhere did it all

begin, this strange mixture of custom

and tradition we are saddled with today? A ritual for this, a custom for that, a belief or two, festivals, story, song, prophecy, is there no end to it?I was reminded of all of this as I took a post Christmas stroll down Main Street and noticed that the seasonal tinsel had been packed away. Our traditional calendar is jam packed with, what are for the most part, relics of pre-Christian festivals. Where I grew up the 1st of February was celebrated as the first day of Spring. On this day the farmers’ working year began with the ploughing.

A day I am not in the least enamoured of (no pun intended!) is the one around the corner. I refer to St. Valentine’s Day, of course, and all the mushy romantic twaddle that seems to accompany it these days. Now where did this come from? Good question I thought and looked it up, for all the good it did me. Apparently, there are two of them, St. Valentines that is. Two celebrated martyrs, they flourished in the second half of the third century, both died on February 14th and both were buried in the Flaminian Way, wherever that is. But wait, there is a third St. Valentine celebrated on this day which the Catholic Church originally

created as a remembrance day for all three martyrs. I find all that rather drear and try as I might I cannot find a modicum of romance there. Well, maybe a little. Legend has it that St. Valentine was a priest who defied the orders of the Roman Emperor Claudius 11 who had banned marriages in the belief that single men made better soldiers, and performed secret marriage ceremonies. OK, then it seems that during the Middle Ages a belief arose that birds begin to mate on February 14th. Now, that’s more like it. February 14th is the day set aside for love exchanges between sweethearts, friends and family. These take the form of greeting

cards of which almost 200 million are sent, and next to Christmas it is the largest card selling occasion of the year. Boxes of chocolates, presents and flowers which are in the greeting card league with the red rose, symbol of warmth and feeling, the colour of the heart being very popular expressions of love. There are so many other ways to express your love, not just on February 14th but every day. For those in established relationships love expressions may not be heard too often, and love thrives on communication, both words and actions. I love you, yes of course, three little words which may often be just paying lip service but how do I love you? I love being with you, you make me smile/laugh, you are the sunshine on my dark days, got the idea, now make up some of your own and use liberally. Love really is all about communication and

Anne Mesilio looks beyond the mushy romantic twaddle that surrounds St. Valentine’s Day.

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A lighthearted look at the Saint(s) of the Month Anne Mesilio

Hearts and flowers

Alexander Graham Bell applied for the patent on the telephone on Valentines Day 1876. Just take a minute to reflect how far we have come today and the many ways of communication which are open to us. Take time out in a busy day to send a text; luv u, that’s all it takes as, to quote blind and deaf Helen Keller (1888-1968):

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart”.Without love the world would be a sorry place to live in. It is a strong emotion of personal attachment which begets human kindness, compassion and affection. In its religious context it is not just a virtue

A Kiss In the Rain.Samuel Minturn Peck. (1854-1938)One stormy morn I chanced to meetA lassie in the town.Her locks were like the ripened wheatHer laughing eyes were brown.I watched her as she tripped alongTill madness filled my brain,And then….and then….I know ‘twas wrongI kissed her in the rain.

That’s from a man with a name like ‘Peck’!

“O love, O fire! Once he drewWith one long kiss my whole soul throughMy lips, as sunlight drinketh dew”. (Alfred Lord Tennyson)

Heady stuff, now try this:

“Their lips drew near, and clung in a kiss,A long, long kiss,A kiss of youth and love,Each kiss a heart quake”(Lord Byron)

Glory be, and all this from men, you will notice. Not to be outdone I found this by a Jacinta (Bell, I think, )

Man is the slave to the kissWith a kiss a woman can tame The wildest man. By a kiss the strongest man’s willBecomes soft as wax.

Way to go girl!Birds do it, bugs do it, and apparently even snooker balls and slugs do it! Kissing has

evolved through primitive tribal rituals, surviving along the way religious bans, anti-kissing leagues, and, (I like this) garlic dips to become the most perfect expression of love between two human beings. Where will it all end, and where did it start in the first place? Go on, bet you can’t guess. It’s back to Eve in her Garden of Eden where she learned it from the Angels. Hrm, I wonder where Adam was?

but the basis for all being. On St. Valentine’s day we are encouraged to celebrate love with Cupid (pudgy-winged son of Venus), doves, love birds, roses, arrows, hearts and flowers. We cannot buy love however, not even on E-Bay so be prepared to go that extra mile, put the effort into making the day a special one and do not forget the 364 remaining days in the year!

It usually starts with a kiss, does it not and I wondered about this. The dictionary says a kiss is “a salute made by touching with the lips pressed closely together and suddenly parting them”. I can’t stop laughing. What does a dictionary know, well about words maybe, but a kiss, nothing. So, at this time of hearts and flowers, and yes, kissing, I searched out a few poems and quotes just for the fun of it:

Artwork: Auguste Rodin’s ‘The Kiss’ The sculpture, The Kiss, was originally titled Francesca da Rimini, as it depicts the 13th-century Italian noblewoman immortalised in Dante’s Inferno (Circle 2, Canto 5). The lovers’ lips do not actually touch in the sculpture, suggesting that they were interrupted. When critics first saw the sculpture in 1887, they suggested the less specific title Le Baiser (The Kiss).Rodin indicated that his approach to sculpting women was of homage to them and their bodies, not just submitting to men but as full partners in ardour. (Wikipedia)

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Dom Sebastian writes:Now at last eros finds a voice in RomeFor me to feel: the pain-body unfed*Desire awakes to its eternal homeOf eucharist the true life-giving breadDesire has waited for this recognitionFor my life long and for the Church’s tooTo give new colour to an ancient missionAnd be at last emotionally trueAnd tell this world of sex commercialisedOf the girl Beatrice theologicalTo be by men and women higher prizedThan ever yet, now heard her gentle call.God bless our Benedict and his researchIncipit vita nova for the church.

The Theologian continues:In his book, New Life, Dante has this wonderful opening: ‘When I open the book of memory, I find, nine summers past, a rubric in the margin that reads: Here begins the new life.’ It was when he first saw Beatrice, who was to be the central figure of the Divine Comedy. When the pope praised eros in an official document, he set up a watershed.*The pain-body can be starved by immediately silencing its stories of woe, and this lessens my resistance to true desire. I consider this one my best discoveries.

Dom Sebastian Moore sees a new life begining for the Church.

Dante’s La Vita Nuova (“The New Life”), published in 1295, is a collection of prose and poetry that tells the autobiographic story of his love for Beatrice. Dante first saw the girl when he was nine years old, and she eight, and remained infatuated with her from that day forth.

Right: Henry Holiday’s depiction of Dante’s first meeting with Beatrice. She is the one wearing the “crimson mantle”, turning her head to him.

The nature of their love affair no doubt seems bizarre to us today: although he barely knew her, she was the primary muse for all of his writings. She is the guide that leads him through Paradise in The Divine Comedy, and is often described as “Love herself”. He claims to have only met her twice; each occasion a brief meeting on the streets of Florence (in the first, they do not even speak to each other). She subsequently married a banker and died when she was just 24 years old. Dante himself married a woman named Gemma Donati, who one imagines must have been perturbed by her husband’s obsession for “the Divine Beatrice”, whom Dante claims regularly visited him in dreams.

Because of the nature of their (non-)relationship, critics often praise Dante’s depictions of Beatrice as being some of the clearest representations of courtly

Eros at lastIn his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict wrote in praise of eros, and went on to say that with generosity, a couple could move via eros toward agape.

love (you may recognise this phrase from school-Shakespeare: the idea of love being asexual, unfulfilled, secretive and worshipful). Nonetheless, Dante’s love sonnets contain some intensely physical imagery. My favourite sonnet from “La Vita Nuova” describes a vision that Dante has, shortly after meeting Beatrice for the second and final time:

To every captive soul and gentle heartinto whose sight this present speech may come,so that they might write its meaning for me,greetings, in their lord’s name, who is Love.Already a third of the hours were almost pastof the time when all the stars were shining,when Love suddenly appeared to mewhose memory fills me with terror.Joyfully Love seemed to me to holdmy heart in his hand, and held in his armsmy lady wrapped in a cloth sleeping.Then he woke her, and that burning hearthe fed to her reverently, she fearing,afterwards he went not to be seen weeping.

Souce: morogroves.blogspot.com

BACKGROUND NOTE

“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (I Jn 4:16).These words that begin the Encyclical express the core of the Christian faith. In a world in which God’s name is sometimes linked with revenge or even with hatred and violence, the Christian message of God’s Love is very timely.

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Dom Sebastian Moore sees a new life begining for the Church.

Br. François

We put 10 or so ques-tions to Brother François in a light-

hearted interview over coffee: Where were you born?‘I was born in California but we were there for only six months, then my parents returned to Canada and I consider Canada my home. I spent my school years in Mexico so that’s another home, and of course Lourdes is a big home. So I’m a citizen of the world.’When did you first feel a calling to the religious life?‘I was 18 years old and had just finished secondary school and I went to tell my father and he said ‘No, you are too young to make this decision and you should study, we’ve set money aside for you. You should learn to use all your capacities.’ With hindsight I think he was right, it was too early to make that decision.’ Why did you go to tell your father that then?‘Because that was what I wanted. If you ask me, the exact moment I knew, it is not possible to put your finger on it. But if I ask you ‘When did you fall in love with your husband’ you will probably reply that it was lots of little things over time. So it was with my vocation. As you go along in your life you meet different people whom God puts in your

path, and they suggest, “Have you thought of becoming a religious?”Which Congregation do you belong to?‘I belong to the Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception of Lourdes. I was always attracted to Lourdes. My Grandmother read to me from a book of the apparitions of Our Lady and I liked the story of Lourdes best, it was my favourite among all the apparitions. As soon as I was old enough I would go as a volunteer to Lourdes, helping to wheel the sick down to the sanctuary and so on, and it was on one of these trips I met Fr. Brito. I mentioned in conversation that I was interested in religious life and he said “Well our mother house is nearby here, why don’t you come and see how you like it?” Well I went there and stayed for four days and felt really at home there. At the end of that time of volunteering I returned to Canada as scheduled, but in six months I was back again, and so for a while I went back and forth. This was an important time of discernment, as I came closer to my decision in stages.’ If you could go back in time which saint would you most like to be and why?‘I don’t think I’d like to live the lives of any of the saints as they mostly had very hard lives and ended up getting TB or suffering

horrible deaths. But I really feel influenced by St. Francis de Sales because of his writings as he speaks a lot about the love of God which is so important to me.’Which saint would you least like to be and why?‘Any of the ones that got TB! I’d particularly not like to be the Jesuit marytrs in Canada, John de Brebeuf for instance.’ Wikipedia will tell us that John de Brebeuf was one of the first three Jesuits assigned to the Canadian mission. He preached among the Hurons, beginning in 1625. In 1648, he and another Jesuit priest were captured in an Iroquois raid and taken to what is now the village of Saint-Ignace in Ontario, where they were horribly tortured. De Brebeuf died 16 March 1649.” But Brother Françios will add to this knowledge. ‘The Iroquois had been so impressed by the courage of the Jesuits that after they had killed them, they ate their hearts, as they would eat the hearts of bears, because they believed that way they would gain the animal’s bravery!’ Br. François continued his ready wit, ‘I’m all for organ donation, but not like that!’What is your favourite season in the Church year, and why?‘That’s an easy question, Advent, because I love the readings at that time, they are so beautiful, and when the Masses are said

in a more traditional setting, the gregorian chant is particularly beautiful. I love reading about the role of our blessed mother, all that preparing and waiting for the Lord.’What is your favourite religious music?‘I love to sing in the choir and to listen to beautiful choirs, and yes gregorian chant, and for that I must mention that the Benedictine Sisters in Avignon who have just put out a CD ‘Voices: Chant From Avignon‘I’ve just been listening to that through and through again. But for me religious music should be about participation, so any music that allows the whole congregation to join in, and for that Gregorian Chant is too hard. I mean the sort of music that people go home humming, and that they find themselves singing as they are washing the dishes for instance, music that helps them get through the every day things. ‘Like the music from our prayer meetings?’ ‘Yes,’ Br. François agreed, ‘exactly, because even if you don’t remember all the words you’ll probably remember the chorus and you can sing or hum that as you work.’What is your favourite non-religious music?‘The classical tenors, like Placido continued on page 18

After a year in Gibraltar, Brother François has been ordained deacon and will join the clergy here.

Interview

Above: Sunday 16th January, Rev. Br. François Sainte-Marie, MIC after his first Mass as Deacon with Bishop Ralph Heskett and Fr. Jan, representing Fr. Horacio Brito, the Superior General of the Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception of Lourdes. Centre: Br. François’ good friend Chris Cortes was at the head of the queue of well wishers after the ordination on Saturday 15th January. Right: From the ordination itself, a moment during the liturgy.

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Prison, Prisoners and their Families Louis J. Lombard

This had been arranged by the Prison Ministry, for each prisoner to re-

ceive a Christmas card with a ten pound token from mem-bers of the church. This money would go to their ac-count in the prison, for them to spend at the tuck shop. The occasion of the Bishop’s

visit enabled him to hand out the envelopes addressed to each in-mate personally.This gesture was much appreci-ated by all. The prisoners of “E wing” have expressed their gratitude by cre-ating a poster with their signa-tures, which they were happy to have published in the magazine.

Christmas Gifts for the prisonersOn Christmas Day Bishop Ralph Heskett went to the prison to wish all the inmates a peaceful and happy Christmas and share a few words with them.

PILGRIMAGE TO

LOURDES

Join us on pilgrimage 24th April - 1st May 2011 Accompanied by Fr Stuart Chipolina

485 Eurosper person

Includes: Travel in luxury bus, 1 night in Madrid ‘en route’ in a Four Star Hotel and 1 night in Catalayud

on return journey in a converted Monastery/Hotel. Full board in Lourdes staying at Vatican Astoria Hotel.

Optional Tours in Lourdes.

For more information contact Fr Stuart on 58041000 or Richard Martinez on 54714000

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Prison, Prisoners and their Families Louis J. Lombard

Christmas Gifts for the prisonersBishop Ralph Heskett, visited the new prison. He was accompanied by Fr. Jonathan and Louis Lombard, and he was shown around in a very able and courteous manner, by the acting prison superintendent, Mr. D. Agius.

Above, a new altar which has been made by the prisoners, with the help and supervision of the prison works team. The old one, seen below, had been damaged in the move to the new prison. The emblem with the chalice on the front of the old altar was transferred to the new one, as it had been painted a number of years ago by one of the prisoners.

Sheriff Electrical Contractors Ltd. Electrical Contractors Office 40/42 Cornwall’s Lane, Tel: (350) 200 79353, Fax: (350) 200 74515 E-mail: sheriffgib@gibtelecom.net Fire Services Division 3 Cornwall’s Parade, Tel: (350) 200 40583, Fax: (350) 200 74515 E-mail: sherelec@gibtelecom.net

A. A. Sheriff (Wholesale) Ltd. Retail 51 Engineer Lane, Tel: (350) 200 78065, Fax: (350) 200 74515 Wholesale Unit 12A, Watergardens, Tel: (350) 200 73083, Fax: (350) 200 40585 Planet Mobile Unit 12A, Watergardens, Tel: (350) 200 50063, Fax: (350) 200 40585 Offices 40/42 Cornwall’s Lane, Tel: (350) 200 40583, Fax: (350) 200 74515 E-mail: sheriffgib@gibtelecom.net Warehouse Unit 14, The New Harbours, Tel: (350) 200 41836, Fax: (350) 200 46344 E-mail: wisco@gibtelecom.net

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“Wow, what a year! Let’s give thanks!”

Eleven months have passed since I returned to the mission field and

I have been trying to reflect on those months, with thanks-giving and awe and with an analytical view to see how and where I have grown, the need to continue to do so, and also looking forward, seeking what plans God has in store for 2011. 2010 has been an incredible year where God has revealed

Himself in various practical, emotional and tangible ways. It would be very easy to just let that entire time pass without re-flection and thanksgiving.Summarising is a hard job, so I decided to come up with a list of words that have come up often throughout the year and reflect-ed on a few of them.Life: We need to battle for it, re-educate society on the intrin-sic value of life, bringing things down to the basics; that God

created us in His image. From the very beginning God knits us together in our mother’s womb and pours His Holy Spirit into us giving us even more value than the rest of creation and even that is not enough. God is so madly in love with us that He sends His Son to die for us.Proverbs 31:8-9 says“ Make your views heard, on behalf of the dumb, on behalf of all the unwanted; make your views

heard, pronounce an upright verdict, defend the cause of the poor and the wretched.” Are we going to answer that call, to be a voice for the voiceless? 46,000,000 abortions take place each year silently in our world, euthanasia is slowly taking hold in our societies…who are the voiceless in our community? What is your and my response?Unity: Deep, true, open-eyed reconciliation as opposed

Are we prepared to support our young people where they have demonstrated a strong calling to missionary work?

Youth on a mission on the far side of the Sea Sarah Cumming

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to “touchy feely” reconcilia-tion between Christians is hard work. Navigating through cul-tural and language barriers just within denominations takes commitment and is mind bog-gling in itself. Christ prays that we may be “One”.John 17:21-23 “May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so perfect-ed in unity that the world will recognise that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved me.”Are we a part of any Christian Unity activity? Do we agree to disagree, aim to bring under-standing? Do you and I pray for our brothers and sisters of other Christian denominations? Don’t we want the world to “recognise” that God sent His only son to die for all of us?The Far side of the Sea and-Faithfulness: Australia is one of the most beautiful coun-tries I have lived in, I have only experienced and seen a fraction. No one ever said (least of all me) that being a Lay missionary to a country that even though is one of the richest nations in the world, is poor in faith, would be easy. Nor did they say that being far from family would be either. However, God is faith-

ful to complete the work he has called each of us to do, He has demonstrated His endur-ing steadfastness and grace and fulfilled the promise He gave me from the start. Psalm 139:9-10 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” Therefore, in that knowledge, even in the hard times, it has not been difficult to remain faithful to Him in return. Generosity, Provision, Family & Friends:These past few months has been a time filled with many ups and downs, but isn’t that what life entails? Challenges, growth, frustrations, tears and disap-pointments balanced with lots of laughter, joy, grace and fun, friendships, family, inspiration and satisfaction. 2Corinthians 9:8 God will gen-erously provide for all you need.It has been an absolute honour and privilege to serve God in this unique way. Never a day has gone past when I have not been thankful to God for call-ing me to this and for you my family, friends and supporters. Without your prayers and gen-erous financial support, none of the things mentioned in this blog over the past few months, could have been achieved.Thank you all from the very bottom of my heart for partner-ing with me, you have been on the streets of Melbourne, in the nursing homes of Tasmania, in

the churches and chapels, by the side of young people mentoring and helping them discover the plans God has for their lives and how to reach that potential. You are a part of everything that has been said and done and even if at times I have not been able to give it my all, due to illness or circumstance, I know that God has used our presence there for His Glory and we have together been His witnesses to the ends of the earth.

To quote my Aussie friends

“BRING IT ON!”2011 will be a different kind of year with a lot more travelling involved and varied types of missionary work, training pro-grammes and continued disci-pleship and reaching out to not only the southern hemisphere, but the northern too, not only to Australia, but Europe also.

It is with joy, excitement, and nervousness that I once again say with all of my heart “Here I am Lord, send me”Till next time, with lots of love, hugs and prayers, Sarah <><

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Youth on a mission on the far side of the Sea Sarah Cumming

CAN YOU HELP?In order to continue on her missionary calling in 2011 Sarah needs to raise £15,000. If you can contribute even a little towards her goal, donations can be made in a number of ways:• online via paypal - www.

farsideofthesea.org/donate.php

• bank transfer - for details email Sarah@kteams.org or call 20073124

• cheque sent to Sarah Cumming at 13/1 Governor’s Street, Gibraltar

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The capital of Chess

The chess world has again gathered on the Rock for the latest international

chess tournament. The 2011 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival is taking place at the Caleta Hotel and is now in its ninth edition attracting the top leading professional grand-masters from around the world with over 300 players immersed in the game of chess from morn-

ing to night. Back to defend his title is last year’s winner Michael Adams. This year’s tournament which began 26 January and ends 4 February is proving to be the strongest yet.The new primary sponsors, Tradewise Insurance Company Ltd, enabled the prize fund to be increased to £126,000, with £17,500 going to the winner of the Gibraltar Masters, £10,000 to the top woman scorer and two extra rating prizes (of £2,000 and £1,000) being awarded to each of two further rating bands (2000-2099 and under 2000) in the Masters. The tournament is powered by previous primary sponsors Gibtelecom.Gibraltar was recently described as the ‘the capital city of chess’, words reinforced by comments

made by Daily Telegraph col-umnist Malcolm Pein ahead of this years tournament who said the Gibraltar congress had be-come the foremost open compe-tition in the world, also leading the way in chess technology on the internet.The 10 day festival is the Rock’s biggest annual international event with a series of tourna-ments running simultaneously: the Masters, the Challengers and the Amateurs.

This simply means that The Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festi-val offers superlative opportuni-ties for professional and amateur players to compete for big prizes and watch the stars in action. There are a handful of local chess players who every year support the festival and who this year have been led by our first local British Chess Champion young Stephen Whatley.The festival is big on the web and attracts millions of hits each

Top players in Gibraltar Tradewise Chess Festival

Deep thinkers assembled on the Rock Alice Mascarenhas A Special Blessing

continued from page 13 Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, but also the American singer Josh Groban’. Josh Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum. To this list Br. François added, ‘IL

DIVO’ a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by reality TV star Simon Cowell.If you could choose to live anywhere in the world, where would you live?‘I have chosen Gibraltar as my home and I am hopefully looking forward to a future here.’Why Gibraltar?‘When I first returned to Lourdes after visiting here with the other chaplains and told Fr. Brito and the others I wanted to come to live here, they did not understand, but after visiting me here for the ordination, and feeling the welcome of the people, and their gracious generosity, Fr. Jan turned to me and said. “Now I understand why you want to live here!” We are at an important time in the Church in Gibraltar,’ Evangelization for instance, what do we do now? And what should

Br. François continued

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Stewart Rubens playing with young players

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The capital of Chess year... this year will be no excep-tion as the commentary facilities are enhanced and with former primary sponsors Gibtelecom continuing to put their consider-able technological power at the tournament’s disposal and the Caleta Hotel providing a custom-built broadcasting suite.Brian Callaghan, organiser of the festival, believes this event has also brought benefits to Gibral-tar as a whole, and that the Rock should be promoting more events of this nature based on ‘Event-tourism’.The chess tournament he says has grown beyond anyone’s wildest expectations, and will continue to grow in stature.The website for the 2011 tour-nament has now been launched at http://www.gibraltarchess-congress.com

Deep thinkers assembled on the Rock Alice Mascarenhas A Special Blessing

we be doing in the future? Should we be going out and be meeting people more? The results of a survey show that the number one reason for people stopping coming to Mass is that they get out of the habit, and after they miss a few Sundays in a row they find it hard to go back. I think people just need an invitation, a parish visit, someone to talk through any issues they have and reassure them that they are welcome at

church. Vocations, this is another area where I feel there is so much more we could be doing, young men are well catered for as we have young priests here, but what about young women? Sister Jennifer went to Ronda, and of course ages ago there was Simi Cohen, the young Jewish girl who went to Medina Sidonia. But to whom can young women, who feel they may have a calling, turn to for advice in Gibraltar?

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40th Anniversary Celebration

Malcolm & Mariecarmen Beanland celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary last month and were delighted to have a special blessing from Fr. Stuart who attended their party in the GASA hall.

Above left, Fr. Stuart gives the blessing. Above Fr. Stuart with Malcolm and Mariecarmen at the Episcopal Visit reception a few days later. (see page 3). Photos right and left from the anniversary party.

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