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Earlier today the community of our Seminary celebrated the Holy Mass and animated a Eucharistic Adoration with special prayers for vocations at the parish church of Nadur.

December is a special time of the year. It is a time when mankind reflects on the figure of Baby Jesus, born for the salvation of mankind. It is a special time for the Seminary community too. The building itself is donned with Christmas decorations and the daily programme of events takes on a different schedule. During Advent, we have more communal prayers. Every day at 6.10am we recite together the Office of Readings. At Mass, then, we have reflections on the Word of God by our formators. The seminarians conduct the reflections on the Novena days. The seminarians and formators decorate the building with images of Baby Jesus, the crib, the Christmas tree and Christmas lights. Christmas time is associated with gifts. The seminarians and formators too exchange gifts, which are appreciated not for their value but for what they represent: a sense of generosity on the part of an individual who is ready to give and expects nothing in return. Friday 18th December was the final day of the first term at the Seminary. We concluded this first term by celebrating the Mass at 6.00pm. This was led by the Bishop of Gozo Msgr Anton Teuma. Formators, lecturers, sisters, and relatives of the seminarians participated in this celebration which was held in the Seminary hall. At the end of the mass everyone exchanged his wishes for this festive season. Afterwards the seminarians stared their Christmas holidays. They will return back to the Seminary on Monday, 4th January 2021 so as to start their second term. We wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Last Saturday Sr Mary Borg, one of the three sisters of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus residing at the Seminary convent, celebrated her 80^th birthday. On this day we took the opportunity to thank Sr Mary for her joyful presence and service among us. We also prayed God so that He continues to enrich our Diocese with more holy vocations. We also prayed for all the Franciscan sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who helped our Seminary throughout all these years. The Franciscan sisters have been serving our Seminary for almost one hundred years.

On Tuesday 8^th December, solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, seminarian Gabriel Vella who is in his sixth year of formation, was conferred with the ministry of Acolyte by our bishop H.L. Mgr Anthony Teuma. The conferral of this ministry took place at 9.30am during the Pontifical Mass celebrated in the parish church of Qala, which is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and Saint Joseph. Gabriel Vella, the new acolyte, hails from this same parish. The acolyte’s ministry is to assist the priest and deacon during liturgical celebration, distribute the Holy Eucharist to the faithful in church and to the sick at their homes, and expose the Blessed Sacrament for Adoration.

On Tuesday 8^th December our community joined the rest of the Catholic Church in the celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This is a special feast for our community since the chapel of our Seminary is dedicated to Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception. In the morning we prayed the Invitatory, the Office of Readings, and sang the Lauds. These prayers were led by our vice-rector Fr Samuel Grech. At 9.30am the community participated in the Pontifical Mass of the feast of Immaculate Conception at the parish church of Qala, during which our bishop H.L. Mgr Anthony Teuma conferred the ministry of Acolyte to seminarian Gabriel Vella. In the evening we continued the feast celebrations in our chapel, where we prayed the Holy Rosary and sang the Vespers, which were led by our rector Fr Richard-Nazzareno Farrugia. During the Vespers Seminarian Gabriel Vella shared some thoughts for this occasion. We concluded this moment by singing the antiphon “Beata Mater” and afterwards we received the Eucharistic Benediction.

Yesterday the community of our Seminary animated a Eucharistic Adoration with special prayers for vocations at the parish church of Saint Lawrence. Afterwards we celebrated the Holy Mass together.

Last Saturday, at noon, with the beginning of Advent, the Church commenced a new liturgical year. The Seminary community prepared for the starting of this liturgical season with the Proclamation of Advent, held at the Seminary Chapel.

The celebration, which began at 11.00am was divided in four parts. During the first part, the Word of God was enthroned on the altar and after the initial greeting by the celebrant, the Rector Can Richard N. Farrugia, the first Advent candle was lit. The second part of the celebration was the Liturgy of the Word. After the reading of 1 Cor 1: 3-9, which is the second reading of the liturgy for the first Sunday of Advent (B), the Rector did a Lectio Divina on the text. The third part was the enthronement of the new icon representing this year’s theme: Kings 19, 1-15. This was then followed by an explanation of the symbols in the icon, by the iconographer Daniel Mercieca and the blessing of the icon by the Rector. The celebration ended shortly after noon with the blessing of the celebrant on the community.

During this Advent, the Seminary community will be following a slightly different program compared to the rest of the year. Before mass, at 6.10am, the community will be meeting to pray the Office of Readings in the chapel. Also, during mass, the celebrant will be making a short reflection after the reading of the Gospel.

An annual activity held by the Seminary community is the Lungo Passeggio. As the name suggests it is a long walk around the Gozitan countryside. A different route is chosen each year; this year being from Mġarr Harbour to Xlendi Bay. The seminarians together with three of the formators, namely the rector Fr Richard Farrugia, the vice-rector Fr Samuel Grech and the prefect of studies Fr Noel Debono, left the Seminary at around 8.45am. After a short drive to Mġarr, the walk started at the area near Fort Chambray. Then, the group proceeded to x-Xatt l-Aħmar Bay and afterwards to Mġarr ix-Xini Tower where they took a short break. They continued walking to the Ta’ Ċenċ area and finally by the Sanap Cliffs before reaching the Xlendi Tower. The walk took just over four hours. Although it had been quite a rainy week, this morning’s weather was ideal. Naturally, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all members of the group wore face masks at all times. To better observe social distancing, the group was split into smaller groups. The Seminary community returned to the Seminary at around 1.15pm.

On Wednesday 25^th November 2020 our Seminary hosted Ms Carmen Ogilvie-Galea and Mr Eugene Bugeja who shared with us their experience of commitment within the civil service. Ms Ogilvie-Galea, who is the Director General of the Operations Division within the Ministry for Gozo, shared with us her civil work experience. She explained the several divisions within the Ministry for Gozo and talked about the importance of maintaining commitment, order, and flexibility. These values help in serving the people in a better way. Civil service, being a service for the people, is a way of practicing Christian values. Mr Bugeja, who is the Assistant Director (Human Resources Management) of the Corporate Services Directorate within the Ministry for Gozo, also shared with us his long work experience within the civil service. At the end of this meeting we were given the opportunity to ask questions.

Yesterday the community of our Seminary animated a Eucharistic Adoration with special prayers for vocations in the Corpus Christi parish church of Għasri. Afterwards we celebrated the Holy Mass together.

The 4^th of November 2020 marks the 154^th anniversary of the inauguration of our Seminary. During all these years this building has housed many young men who answered the call of the Father and accepted to follow Him. On this day we pray God to continue blessing our diocese with more holy vocations and to help all the priests who have left this Seminary to continue with their mission of love. We also pray for the many benefactors that throughout the years have sustained our Seminary.

Last week the Liturgical and Missionary Group organised various activities in view of the World Mission Sunday celebrated on 18^th October 2020. The theme of this week was inspired by the phrase “We are all in the same boat” which was used by Pope Francis during his Urbi et Orbi blessing last March. The message that the Group wished to convey was that every human being can spread God’s love, even during these particular times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This Mission Week started on Monday 12^th October 2020. On this day the community prayed for Fr Manuel Cutajar, who is a Gozitan missionary in Albania.

On Tuesday 13^th October 2020, the Seminary community made a video call with Fr Victor Zammit MSSP, who is a Gozitan missionary in Peru. During this video call Fr Victor shared with the community his missionary experience of these last 17 years. He also talked about the difficulties encountered, especially during these times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fr Victor emphasised the importance of inculturation and evangelisation which render mission a beautiful adventure. He also prayed that each one of us would have a mission-oriented heart. Each member of the community had the opportunity to ask him questions.

On Wednesday 14^th October 2020, the Seminary community prayed for bishop George Bugeja OFM, who is a Gozitan missionary in Tripoli. After dinner the seminarians watched the film “Alla luce del sole”. This film is about the life of Don Pino Puglisi, a Sicilian priest killed by the mafia on his birthday because of his emphasis against corruption.

On Thursday 15^th October 2020, the Seminary community welcomed Fr Joseph Camilleri, who is a Gozitan missionary in Guatemala. Fr Joseph celebrated mass, in which he shared his missionary experience. The community also made a prayer for his mission.

On Friday 16^th October 2020, the Seminary community prayed for Fr Mario Curmi, a Gozitan missionary in Guatemala.

On Saturday 17^th October 2020, the Seminary community prayed for bishop Giovanni Cefai MSSP, who is a Gozitan missionary in Peru. During this day the community attended a half-day seminar at Manresa Retreat House in Victoria, led by Fr Noel Debono. This year’s theme is inspired by 1 Kings 19, 1-15.

Apart from the above mentioned activities, every day a poster with an extract from the Pope’s message for the Mission Sunday was uploaded on the Seminary’s Facebook and Instagram page. Also, a brief video prepared by the Liturgical and Missionary Group was sent to all the Gozitan secondary schools so as to deliver a message for this week. The activities for the Mission Week came to an end during the weekend, where the seminarians continued to spread the message among the groups in the parishes where they are assigned for their pastoral work. Although this Mission Week was quite different due to the COVID-19 restrictions, its message was still delivered effectively.