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Between Friday 12^th and Saturday 13^th of February 2021, a formation weekend was held at our Seminary. The theme was: “The Presbyteral Identity as a Process of Continuous Integration”, inspired from the verse from St Matthew’s Gospel: “But who do you say that I am?” (Mt 16, 15).

This seminar, conducted by Fr Bernard Falzon MSSP and Fr Alex Zammit MSSP, was divided in six sessions. During the first session, the members of the Seminary community had the opportunity to introduce themselves, express their views on current trends and tendencies within the Church, and voice their opinions and feeling about present challenges within the Catholic Church. Throughout this first session, Fr Bernard shared an analysis of the ever-changing contemporary society and of some of its characteristics, namely: consumerism, narcissism, a lost sense of time and history, and a tension between passion and commitment. This was done using Magisterial documents and several other texts. In the second session, Fr Alex shared some reflections about art as the expression of what humanity feels and lives during specific periods. The third session of the seminar, led by Fr Bernard, was the first one on Saturday. During this session, every seminarian was given the opportunity to express his views on priesthood by referring to a photograph chosen personally by him. The fourth session, introduced by Fr Alex and led by Fr Bernard, focused on the identity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the importance of forming one’s personal identity as a Christian. During the fifth session, by making use of Gal 1, 13-17, the group reflected on the priestly identity that is lived through humanity. In the sixth and final session the group reflected on Biblical texts which portray Jesus as the Priest who different from common perception of priesthood. At the end of this session, the Seminary community had time for asking questions or for sharing some highlights of the seminar. This formation weekend helped the seminarians reflect about the priestly identity which is founded on humanity and the importance of living this priestly identity according to the needs the present society.

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 Żebbuġ.

On Sunday 24^th January, the Sunday of the Word of God, seminarian Matthew Bajada who is in his fifth year of formation, was conferred with the ministry of Lector by our Bishop H.L. Mgr Anthony Teuma. The conferral of this ministry took place during the 10.00am Mass celebrated in the Corpus Christi parish church of Għasri. Matthew Bajada, the new Lector, hails from the parish of Għarb which is dedicated to the Visitation of Our Lady. Various priests, including the formators of the Seminary, concelebrated. The celebration was also attended by relatives of the seminarian and people from the parish of Għasri, Għarb, and Qala where Matthew is doing his pastoral experience. Following the reading of the Gospel, the candidate was presented to the Bishop. After the homily the Bishop prayed upon the candidate and presented the Bible to him, encouraging him to plan his life on it. Through the ministry of Lector the seminarian gets more acquainted with the Word of God and, by letting God make him a worthy tool, he spreads the Word of God to mankind during liturgical celebrations and pastoral contexts.

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.