Last Friday the Bishop of Gozo, His Grace Mons. Mario Grech, was given a warm welcome upon his arrival in Sydney, Australia, on a month long pastoral visit. On 13 October Bishop Grech is due to visit the Maltese community in Canberra, before flying to Melbourne on 14 October, where he will be spending almost two weeks visiting the Maltese community. Bishop Grech is scheduled to fly back to Malta at the end of October.
In anticipation of his visit to this continent, the Bishop issued a letter to the Maltese migrants. In his letter, the Bishop wrote:
“My dear brothers and sisters emigrants,
In a few days time I will start off on my journey to come to you in Australia. Although it will be a long journey as you are far away, I am convinced that the ties that bind us together bring us together and will overcome the physical distances that separate us!
Indeed all that I have learnt about the Maltese and Gozitan emigrants in Australia have helped me nurture in my heart sentiments which normally grow in the context of a family! Although this is my first time that I will be coming to the Australian continent, I feel that I am coming to a large family which embraces several generations of Maltese and Gozitans. I am convinced that your desire to welcome me is as strong as my longing to meet you.
We are bound together by patriotic ties because Maltese blood runs in our veins. I know that you always held the name of our nation high and you have taken care to cultivate our Maltese cultural heritage. I also know that many of you have succeeded to make a good name for yourselves and for our country. Indeed on my last visit to Ms. Anne Quinane, the Australian High Commissioner to Malta, she affirmed that you are a people known for your industry and conscientiousness. I am looking forward to confirm this personally during my visit.
But I am coming amongst you as your brother in the journey of faith following Christ and also as a spiritual pastor. It is no small consolation for me to hear of your love for the patrimony of the faith. This is confirmed by the Maltese and Gozitan priests and religious living amongst you and by some of your Australian Bishops whom I recently met in Madrid where we celebrated World Youth Day.
In this pastoral visit which I will be celebrating amongst you I will let myself be inspired by Paul’s sentiments for the poeple of the city ofr Corinth: “when I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power”(1 Cor 2, 1 – 5).
I am coming to you in order to know you better, to share with you the satisfaction of the many good things you have, learn from you especially about the experience of faith and the Church you are living, partake of your difficulties in the different aspects of life, such as religion, solitude, the family, work, inculturation etc. In this visit I am eager and have a strong desire to come to know Australia which has become your second home and which you have enhanced by your substantial contribution; and I want to meet you and your families who are the treasures of your heart. All this I want to undertake as the servant of Jesus Christ. I have a great wish that during these weeks that I am amongst you, I am an instrument in the hands of God so as to share with you a word of solace and encourament which Jesus Christ has entrusted to the Church.
With these few lines I wish to greet all our emigrants in Australia. Aware of the fact that you have a special devotion toward Our Lady of Ta Pinu, I put this pastoral mission under Her protection.
+ Mario Grech
Bishop of Gozo
25th September, 2011
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The following is the Maltese version of the Bishop’s letter:
Għeżiez ħuti emigranti,
Ftit jiem oħra għandi nibda vjaġġ biex nasal għandhom fl-Awstralja. Għalkemm huwa vjaġġ twil għax tinsabu ‘l bogħod, jien konvint li r-rabtiet ta bejnietna tant jagħmluna qrib ta xulxin li d-distanzi fiziċi li jifirduna jintgħelbu!
Infatti minn dak li qrajt u smajt dwar l-emigranti Maltin u Għawdxin f’Awstralja, gammajt f’qalbi sentimenti li normalment ngarrabhom fil-kuntest ta familja! Infatti għalkemm din hija l-ewwel darba li ser nirfes fuq il-kontinent Awstraljan, inħossni ġej għand familja kbira li tħaddan lid-diversi ġenerazzjonijiet ta Maltin u Għawdxin. Jien konvint li daqskemm għandi ħerqa biex niltaqa magħkom daqstant ieħor hemm stennija fostkom biex tilqgħuni.
Bejnietna hemm rabtiet patriotiċi għax fil-vini tagħna jiġri demm Malti. Jien infurmat li intom dejjem zammejtu isem in-nazzjon tagħna fil-ġieħ u ħadtu ħsieb li tindukraw it-toma kulturali maltija. Naf ukoll li ħafna minnkom irnexxilkom tagħmlu isem tajjeb għalikom u għal pajjizkom tant li kif qaltli l-Kummisarju Għoli Awstraljana ghal Malta Ms. Anne Ms Quinane, meta mort naraha ftit jiem ilu, intom ġens magħruf għal bzulija u s-serjeta. Dan kollu nixtieq nikkonfermah personalment matul din iz-zjara.
Imma jien ġej fostkom bħala ħukom fil-mixja tal-fidi wara Kristu u bħala ragħaj spiritwali. Għalhekk huwa ta konsolazzjoni mhix zghira għalija li nisma bl-għozza tagħkom għal patrimonju tal-fidi nisranija. Dan jgħiduhuli s-sacerdoti u r-reliġjuzi Maltin u Għawdxin li hemm fostkom kif ukoll xi uħud mill-Isqfijiet Awstraljani tagħkom li dan l-aħħar iltqajt magħhom f’Madrid meta ccelebrajna l-World Youth Day.
Għal din iz-zjara pastorali li ner nagħmel fostkom, nagħmel tiegħi l-istess sentimenti li San Pawl jesprimi man-nies tal-belt ta Korintu: “meta jien wasalt għandkom, ħuti, na ppretendejtx li kont naf xi ħaġa fostkom, ħlief lil Ġesù Kristu, u ‘l dan imsallab. U jiena ġejt għandkom dgħajjef, mbeżża’ u mriegħed; il-kelma u l-predikazzjoni tiegħi ma kinux imlibbsa bil-kliem qawwi tal-għerf, imma bil-wiri tal-Ispirtu u l-qawwa, sabiex il-fidi tagħkom tinbena mhux fuq l-għerf tal-bniedem, imma fuq il-qawwa ta’ Alla. (1 Kor 2, 1-5).
Ġej fostkom biex insir nafkom aħjar, naqsam magħkom is-sodisfazzjon tal-ħafna affarijiet tajbin li għandkom, nitgħallem minnkom partikularment dwar l-esperjenza ta fidi u ta Knisja li qegħdin tagħmlu, inġarrab magħkom it-toqol tad-diffikultajiet li għandkom fid-diversi oqsma tal-ħajja bħalma huma r-religjon, is-solitudni, il-familja, ix-xogħol, l-inkulturizazzjoni etc,. Għandi premura u ħeġġa qawwija biex permezz ta din iz-zjara nagħmel żewġ skoperti: nixtieq insir naf din l-art li saret it-tieni dar tagħkom u li intom sebbaħtu bil-kontribut mhux zgħir tagħkom; fl-istess waqt nixtieq niltaqa magħkom u mal-familji tagħkom li huma l-għozza tagħkom. Dan kollu nagħmlu bħala qaddej ta Gesu Kristu. Għandi xewqa kbira li matul dawn il-ġimghat li ser nagħmel fostkom, inkun strument f’idejn Alla biex naqsam magħkom kelma ta faraġ u kuraħħ li Ġesu Kristu jafda lil Knisja.
B’dawn il-ftit versi xtaqt insellem lill-emigranti kollha tagħna fl-Awstralja. Billi naf kemm intom l-emigranti għandko
m devozzjoni lejn il-Madonna Ta Pinu, inqiegħed din il-missjoni pastorali taħt il-ħarsien tagħħa.
+ Mario Grech
Isqof t’Għawdex
25 ta’ Settembru, 2011
