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During the past week, the Seminary community celebrated the solemnity of St Joseph, patron saint of the universal Church. Since on the 1^st of May the community would not have been at the Seminary to celebrate the memorial of St Joseph worker, it was transferred to the 29^th of April. However, the liturgy celebrated was that of St Joseph, patron saint of the universal Church. This is because on the 19^th of March, since the country was in partial lockdown, the Seminary was closed, and the community was not able to celebrate this important solemnity. Thus, these adjustments were made.

This year, the solemnity was observed in a different and more significative way. This is because on Pope Francis’s wish, the Church is celebrating a year dedicated to St Joseph, on the occasion of the 150^th anniversary from the proclamation of St Joseph as patron saint of the universal Church by Pope Pius IX. As spiritual preparation, the community celebrated a holy triduum from the 26^th to the 28^th of April. During these three day, the singing of the vespers started at 7.00pm. After the lectio brevis, Rev. Roberto Gauci delivered a 40-minute meditation inspired by the life of St Joseph. After the vespers, the antiphon Exsurgens Ioseph was sung on a musical arrangement by Mro Nazzareno Refalo. Each day of the triduum was concluded with a brief exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and the Eucharistic Benediction. On the 29^th April, at 6.30am, the Rector Can Richard Farrugia presided high mass. The homily was made by the deacon Rev. Andrew Grima.

The Church holds the fourth Sunday of Eastertide as a special day of prayer for vocations.  On this Sunday, the Church presents to us faithful the Gospel of the Good Shepherd to help us reflect on the gift of vocations.  We should remember that vocations are not related solely to priesthood.  We all have a vocation in life.  And what is our vocation?  Pope Francis says that a vocation is a treasure that God stores in the heart of human beings.  It is a treasure being the road which the Lord is inviting us to take and which leads us to happiness.  This happiness is He himself.  Every vocation is unique and everybody has to look deep into his heart to discover this treasure donated to him by God.

In simple terms, the Gospel of the Good Shepherd reminds us of the true definition of a vocation.  Naturally, if Christ is the Good Shepherd, we are called to be part of his flock. In the Gospel, Jesus states that they [the sheep] shall listen to my voice. Therefore, a vocation, the call of every Christian, demands from us above all a close attention to the Lord’s voice and will. We should reflect on our lives and ask ourselves whose voice we are heeding. Are we heeding God’s voice or other voices that we allow to influence our decisions?  Is our life following God’s call or is it following a vocation determined by ourselves for ourselves?

Therefore, the foundation of every vocation is prayer.  We pray to listen to God’s voice and to relate better with God, since if we do not learn to relate better with God, how can we discover his call for us?  The answer of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross sums it all: Vocation….is an answer which we get through prayer.

Today, seminarian Gabriel Vella and deacon Rev. Andrew Grima made their solemn profession of faith and their vows of celibacy and obedience, at Ta’ Pinu Sanctuary. This was done in view of their diaconal and presbyteral ordination respectively. The day started with a pilgrimage by the Seminary community to the Sanctuary. On the way the rosary was recited, by meditating the joyous and the glorious mysteries. Afterward, mass was said by the Rector Can. Richard Farrugia in the old chapel at Ta’ Pinu. After the proclamation of the Gospel, Gabriel and Andrew did their profession and vows.

The presbyteral ordination of Andrew Grima, who hails from the parish of San Lawrenz, will take place on the 30^th of April at Xewkija Parish Church. On the same day, Brother Etienne Gilson of the Franciscan Conventuals will also be ordained to priesthood. Gabriel Vella, who hails from the parish of The Immaculate Conception of Our Lady and St Joseph, in Qala, will be ordained deacon on the 18^th of June at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Victoria.

On Tuesday 16^th February, the eve of Ash Wednesday, the Seminary community celebrated the Proclamation of Lent. This celebration, held at the Seminary Chapel was led by the Rector Can Richard N. Farrugia. Following the Proclamation of Lent at the beginning of the celebration, the artal and the ambo were dressed in their Lenten array. The Rector shared a reflection on the reading from the Gospel of the First Sunday of Lent (Mk 1, 12-15). Lenten hymns were sung during this celebration. Finally, the Rector announced some changes in the programme and also the activities related with this liturgical period, reminding us that Lent is a special time for exercise in prayer, fasting, and charity. Once again, the Seminary will be offering various opportunities to the seminarians to reap the spiritual benefits of Lent, both for themselves and for the community as a whole.

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.