Newsletter 

N.30                                                                                                               February 2006

Peace in the Heart

St. Augustine died in A.D. 370. Since then, his writings have exerted a great influence on the mentality and religious attitudes of innumerable generations of people. His famous work called City of God is full of insights about how society can be organised in line with gospel values. He never intended this book as a proposal for the establishment of a Kingdom of God on this earth. His was another-worldly ideal, involving a distinction between two kinds of persons: the spiritual and the worldly. A particular kind of person results in a particular kind of society. The two societies described by Augustine would never be formally institutionalised in the course of time. They co-exit. Jesus himself had used a similar allegory when he gave us the parable of the darnel (Mt. 13: 18-23). The good seed and the bad seed are both left to grow till harvest time. The two kinds of people live together in spite of the opposed motivations deep in their hearts. Only after the Last Judgement will they be separated. 

Can this be applied to us today? At the time when Augustine was writing this book, Rome was crumbling before the advances of the hordes from the north. The strange thing was that many of these invaders where Christians. To the conservative pagan families of this turbulent period in the history of Rome, Christianity started to look not only like an insidious threat from within, but also like an open danger from outside. Some prominent officials, like Marcellinus, brought this charge to the attention of Augustine. It was widely rumoured that Christianity had become a corroding influence to the Pax Romana. Supporters of the old paganism therefore welcomed the opportunity to attack the spread of Christianity.

In a way, in today's secular world, we are living in a similar situation. In public debates, even the word 'God' is sometimes considered a suspicious word, because it might cause division. For many, it seems, even though religion has played a major role in the construction of Europe in the past, it should now be considered obsolete. It has accomplished its purpose. We must now learn how to live without it, because according to them, it has become a divisive influence on society at large. Multi-culturalism is everywhere. We are all aware of the fact that immigrants of all sorts want to live with us for some reason or other. Hence many argue that, rather than accommodating the many gods of a multi-ethnic situation, it is better to exclude all the gods, and manage without them.

What St. Augustine had done during his time is useful for us now. His main argument was clear. The benefits of Christianity touch society not at the level of its political organisation but at the more foundational level of the inner character of its members. The two kinds of society are distinguishable by their members. Every member of society is driven by a certain love or fundamental desire. The two kinds of society are distinguishable therefore by their loves. He writes: 'There are the two loves: the first is holy, the second foul; the first is social, the second selfish; the first consults the common welfare for the sake of a celestial society, the second grasps at a selfish control of social affairs for the sake of arrogant domination; the first is submissive to God, the second tries to rival God; the first is quiet, the second restless; the first is peaceful, the second trouble-making; the first prefers truth to the praises of those who are in error, the second is greedy for praise, however it may be obtained' ('Literal commentary on Genesis' xi, 15.20). More than a thousand years later, St. Ignatius places this same distinction at the centre of his Spiritual Exercises (136-148). For him, the first kind of person seeks a life of virtue modelled on Jesus. The second kind seeks a life of lies and extortion modelled on Satan. The first, therefore, resists and rejects arrogance and the craving for riches, for honours. The second covets riches; does everything to achieve honours, and aspire always to dominate others. 

How is peace to be gained in such a mixed situation? St. Augustine associates peace with harmony among the parts: 'The peace of the body consists in the duly proportioned arrangement of its parts. The peace of the body and soul is the well-ordered and harmonious life and health of the living creature… Peace between man and man is well-ordered concord…The peace of all things is the tranquillity of order.' (City of God 19,13). Herein lies the direction we need to take for resolving the tensions arising from a multi-ethnic situation. There is no other sure way forward for society but to ensure that its members are genuinely at peace with themselves. Only then can order begin to reign in society. The message therefore is quite simple. Lasting peace cannot be realised in a society of disturbed members. Peace in the heart is a necessary condition for peace in society.

Louis Caruana sj

Questions to help stimulate a discussion in a group on the theme of Peace.

• What are the causes which disturb global peace in the times we are living in?

• Is Christ's teaching still relevant to achieve peace among warring peoples?

• Which passages can you recall from the Gospels that help us to reflect on the theme of peace? 

Book Review:

Moment by Moment: A Retreat in Daily Life
Caroline Smith, Gene Merz

Paperback 96 pages (August 2000)
Publisher: Ave Maria Press,U.S.
ISBN: 0877939454

This book of prayer exercises, inspired by "The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola," seeks to "occasion a conversion of heart and mind so that a person may follow Jesus with greater faith, love and freedom." Each "moment" is intended to offer an intense experience that will bring the soul closer to God. At the same time, the authors are far from narrow scholastics; every exercise is designed to offer an opportunity for deep personal reflection. 

The prayer exercises are structured in terms of a specific spiritual "desire," leading to an interrogation of Scripture, as well as of the self, about the best way to attain that desire (for example, the desire to "grow in the inner freedom needed to commit my life to God" or "to hear God's call when it comes and to be willing to respond generously.") What differentiates this book from other prayer guides is its attention to the difficulty of prayer, its understanding that to pray requires discipline and structure, that ecstatic communion only follows after long, hard concentration and labor, the readying of the soul for God.

Ronald Balzan

Lord, I can't take it anymore

Lord, I can't take it anymore. Lord, why have you abandoned me? I feel completely alone in a sea of suffering. I Look up to heaven and see nothing but dark clouds. I ask for help and my voice is lost in an abyss of nothingness as in a desert and no one hears me.

How difficult it is to believe in your love for me in these difficult moments. With my mouth I continually repeat, I believe, I believe in my God, but my frail body rebels and takes away that light which gives me certainty and that joy which fills me when all goes well. Yes, Lord, I love you and I want to love you more and more, but for me it is too difficult to accept your Will, which seems to triumph over my many dreams and projects that I have very much at heart.

The future seems to me all dark, full of uncertainties and fears. The journey of life seems all too long, too rough and too monotonous. Every now and then even my hope of an afterlife beyond this world is lost.

Lord, why do I have to suffer so much? Yes, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Help me to experience your love for me, even when that cross which first weighed heavily on the shoulder of your Son, is given to me also. Give me the strength to accept your Holy Will as the Virgin Mary accepted your Will on Calvary at the foot of the cross beneath her crucified Son. Fill my future with light and hope as Jesus filled the future of the good thief with hope saying to him today you shall be with me in paradise.

Lord, help me in this moment of anguish. Strengthen my faith in your love for me. Give me the courage to embrace your Holy Will, which is full of love, even if I don't understand and even if it will cost me a lot. Rise up within me an abundance of hope filled with the joy that awaits me when I shall meet you face to face in heaven. Amen

From the CIS Programme 

February 2006

Weekend Seminar: It-Talb f’ħajti - Esperjenza li tista’ tbiddilni

It-talb ifisser ħbiberija intima bejn il-Ħallieq u l-persuna li tgħolli qalba lejH. Din il-ħbiberija hija esperjenza ta’ mħabba reċiproka li għandha l-qawwa li tbiddlilna ħajjitna.

Dan is-seminar hu miftuħ għal dawk li diġa huma midħla tat-talb u li jixtiequ jidħlu aktar fil-fond u jkabbru r-relazzjoni tagħhom ma’ Alla.

Fis-seminar jiġu ttrattati temi bħal: id-difikultajiet fil-ħajja tat-talb; kif nintegraw il-ħajja tat-talb mal-ħajja ta’ kuljum; kif nagħrfu r-rieda ta’ Alla għalina…. Dan is-seminar jinkludi wkoll taħriġ prattiku individwali u qsim fi gruppi.

Post: Mount St Joseph Retreat House – Mosta
Dati: Mill-Ġimgħa 3 ta’ Frar, fis-6.00 pm sal-Ħadd 5, fil-5.00 pm 
Jiggwidaw: Il-Koppja Gordon u Josette Vassallo u Fr Reno Grech SJ

Irtir ta’ 3-Ijiem fuq kif Nesprimu t-Talb Personali bil-Persuna kollha tagħna (Embodying Prayer)
Dan l-irtir joffri opportunita’ ta’ skoperta ġdida kif nitgħallmu nitolbu billi nużaw il-persuna kollha tagħna…ruħ, moħħ u ġisem. Il-parteċipanti jkunu mgħejjuna jesprimu t-talb personali b’espressjonijiet skond il-modijiet u t-taħriġ ta’ l-atturi tat-teatru. L-irtir huwa miftuh għal 10 parteċipanti li jiġu ggwidati minn Ms Genevieve Mamo, ikkwalifikata fit-teatru u l-ispiritwalita’ u Ms Christine Sammut u Ms Mary Cassar, it-tnejn ikkwalifikati fl-ispiritwalita’ u l-psikoloġija.

Post: Mt St Joseph Retreat House, Mosta
Dati: Mill-Ġimgħa 10 ta’ Frar mid-9.00 ta’ filgħodu, sal-Ħadd 12, fil-5.00 pm

“Ruħi għatxana għalik Mulej”
Irtir għall-Irġiel biss. Kif nqatgħu l-għatx għal Alla fil-ħajja tagħna? Kif nitgħallmu nħallu spazju għaliH fil-ħajja mgħaġġla tagħna? Dan il-weekend joffri oasi ta’ skiet u ġabra sabiex nimlu l-vojt bl-ilma li jagħti l-ħajja … (Ġw Kap. 4).

Post: Mount St Joseph Retreat House - Mosta
Dati: Mill-Ġimgħa 24 ta’ Frar, fis-6.30 pm sal-Ħadd 26, fil-5.00 pm
Jiggwidaw: Fr Mario Jaccarini SJ

We would like to remind you that the Centre for Ignatian Spirituality offers personal spiritual direction to all those who would like to have any kind of spiritual experience like Ignatian retreats in every day life. Retreats can be tailored according to the needs and circumstances of the retreatant. CIS can call on experienced Jesuits, other religious and trained lay people to accompany retreatants through these experiences. 

Anyone interested can contact the Director on 21344349 or 99864561 or email vince@maltajesuitretreats.com.