Apr 2013 142

1JOY TO ALL MEN AND PEACE TO MANKIND friend us on

On Sunday morning the women who had stood with Jesus when he died upon the cross on Good Friday went to the tomb to pay their last tribute

to a dead body. The disciples thought that everything had finished in tragedy. None of Jesus’ followers were expecting to see an empty tomb and hear the angel’s message, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise” (Luke 24:5-7). The angel urged them to believe that Jesus had indeed risen just as he had promised. This good news was not easy for them to grasp because their hearts were still weighed down with grief and doubt. In wonder they went to share the good news with the other disciples.Is it any small wonder that it was the women, rather than the apostles, who first witnessed the empty tomb and then the appearance of the resurrected Lord (Matthew 28:8-10; Mark 16:9; John 20:15-18)? Isidore of Seville (560-636 AD), a great teacher and bishop, commented on the signicance of the women being the first to hear the good news of the resurrection: “As a woman (Eve) was first to taste death, so a woman (Mary Magdalene) was first to taste life.

He is Risen

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Upon this Rock magazine is published monthly by EuropeAxess Media, Gibraltar. Editor: Fr. Stuart Chipolina: [email protected] Production Editor: A. Sargent [email protected]: Top: Pope Francis photo: Botttom: Gibraltar Diocese Pilgrimage to Fatima, photo A.Sargent Upon this Rock magazine is entirely supported by advertising and donations. It is run in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar by EuropeAxess Media Ltd. as a not-for-profit project. For Advertisers: This magazine is hand-delivered to homes, churches, hospitals and many businesses around Gibraltar every month. To discuss your advertising requirements, or promote your church group or charity, call Tel: 200 79335 email: [email protected]

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As a woman was prescient in the fall, so a woman was prescient in beholding the dawning of redemption, thus reversing the curse upon Eve.” The first to testify to the risen Lord was a woman from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons.What is the significance of the stone being rolled away? It would have taken several people to move such a stone. And besides, the sealed tomb had been guarded by soldiers! This is clearly the first sign of the resurrection. Bede (672-735 AD), a renowned scripture commentator from England, wrote: “[The angel] rolled back the stone

not to throw open a way for our Lord to come forth, but to provide evidence to people that he had already come forth. As the virgin’s womb was closed, so the sepulchre was closed, yet he entered the world through her closed womb, and so he left the world through the closed sepulchre”(from Homilies on the Gospels 2,7,24). Peter Chrysologus (400-450 AD), another early Church Father remarked: “To behold the resurrection, the stone must first be rolled away from our hearts.”God Bless you & Happy Easter, Fr Stuart

He is Risen

The first to testify to the risen Lord was a woman...

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Follow us on tweet to @uponthisrockmag Share us round the world online SEE NEW .gi WEB ADDRESS: www.upoonthisrock.gi 3 Like Upon This Rock onFollow us on tweet to @uponthisrockmag Share us round the world online SEE NEW .gi WEB ADDRESS: www.upoonthisrock.gi

On Saint Valentine’s Day this year, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, celebrated Mass at the Metropolitan

Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ( main photo above) On Wednesday, March 13, 2013, Cardinal Bergoglio was elected the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church (cover photo). He is the first Jesuit pope, the first ever from the Americas and the first from

outside Europe in more than a millennium. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, 17 December 1936, one of the five children of Mario José Bergoglio, a railway worker, born in Portacomaro (Asti) in Italy’s Piedmont region, and his wife Regina María Sivori, a housewife, born in Buenos Aires to a family of northern Italian origin (photo left). Francis has

been a supporter of the San Lorenzo de Almagro football club since his childhood (insert photo below). As a 12-year-old he had a girlfriend, Amalia, who has said that Bergoglio asked for her hand in marriage. He graduated from the technical secondary school Escuelas Técnicas #27, Hipólito Yrigoyen, and earned a degree as a chemical technician. According to some sources, he earned a masters’ degree in chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires. At the age of 21, he decided to become a priest and was ordained in 1969. As Sviatoslav Shevchuk says, Pope Francis was mentored by salezian Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest, Fr. Stepan Chmil and knows the Byzantine liturgy well. In 1998 he became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and in 2001 a cardinal.

Even during his short appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s one could see something of the character of the man. He gently moved the heavy Petrine stole aside when offered it again, and after the blessing, asked for the microphone once more and made an impromptu invitation to approximately 150,000 people to let them know he would be at St. Mary

Maggiore Basilica the next day, rather in the way you or I might invite a few of our friends round. There followed

reports that he had refused to ride in the Papal Limousine, packing his own things up where he had been staying, settling his bill, and carrying his own case to his new quarters. We also heard he joked with the other Cardinals ‘God forgive you for what you have done to me.’ and when his sister heard the news she is reported to have said ‘Poor man!’ We pray that this humble man may find peace in the role the Holy Spirit has bestowed

upon him.Main Photo: AP/Natacha Pisarenko

Getting to know POPE Francis


WElcOming TWO nEW lay FranciscansSecular Franciscan Order Christine Frendo sfm

ON Sunday the 17th of February at a Mass celebrated by Fr. Patrick Lonsdale OFM,

Gladys Mifsud and Antonia Carreras made their Profession into the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) at the culmination of the Divine Mercy OFS Fraternity’s Lenten Retreat at the Retreat Centre. Christine Frendo OFS reports: “Fr. Patrick Lonsdale OFM visited us from the UK for the occasion, and concelebrated Mass with Fr. Derek Alvarez, who is our Spiritual Assistant.”Profession is the solemn ecclesial act by which the candidate, remembering the call received from Christ, renews the Baptismal promises and publicly affirms his or her personal commitment to live the Gospel in the world according to the example of St. Francis and following the Rule of the OFS. (Gen. Const. Art. 42:1)Christine continues. “It was a very joyful occasion and the Fraternity gladly welcomed two new Sisters.”

Saying goodbye to louis and andrewSadly, continued Christine, within the week our brothers Andrew Mauro and Louis Lombard were embraced by The Lord. They were both well-prepared and both evangelized and gave a strong Franciscan

witness beyond this life. Recently when we were listening to a talk, the speaker quoted St. Paul’s words: “Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.” (Eph. 1:3) “Don’t miss anything God wants to give you!” she said. When I heard these words both Andrew and Louis came to mind. I can truly say that, both to their last breath and in their own particular way fulfilled this.Andrew made his Profession in 1996. Throughout all these years I do not think that anybody has been more punctual. Although his health was frail, he was always enthusiastic, forever eager to start on new courses of formation, or supporting all our apostolates. According to his wishes Andrew was buried holding his Franciscan crown, rosary and prayer book. He also wished that there be no flowers at his funeral, but that instead this money should go to the funds for our money-raising event, ‘Wipe a Tear’, which we organize to raise money for Gib. Mission Africa.Some time back, Louis sent an email thanking his friends for their prayers during his stay in ICU. At the end of the email he wrote:

Continued on page 8


i pray for my future husband, may we be able

to have a fruitful relationship and for our lives to be full of blessings. May you always be at the centre of our relationship and help us grow stronger. Dear god, I pray for my future spouse to be a my soul-mate and my love, to be there for me when times gets tough and to forever respect, care and love me. I wish that he will be loyal and trustworthy. Please protect him and keep him on the right path of God. I am trying to keep myself pure for his love, therefore help me and him to be able to love each other in a clean loving way until the day we become one.

i pray to keep us faithful to each other and to be able to create a loving Christian family. Lastly I pray for our health, I pray that we may stay together for better or worse no matter what. Amen xi pray that my future husband will respect, trust, care for, and unconditionally love me throughout our married lives. God, I pray that you give both of us the perseverance and courage to be able to achieve self-control while we are not yet married and therefore be able to make our love pure. Thank you for everything you have given me. Amen.

A Youth Retreat was held earlier this year on the theme of relationships and courtship, here are some personal prayers that were sent to us for publication...

To my futureSPOuSE

Sacred Heart ChurchMass for

Expectant MothersOrganised by HOPE

Monday 8th April 7pmExpectant Mothers family and

friends cordially invited to attend

To god, I pray for the man of my life and dreams. I pray that we are both faithful and loyal in our prayer life and relationship. I also pray for joy and happiness during the good and bad times. I pray for you to protect us and make sure I am guided through the right path, hand in hand with you. I pray that he will be my first and last love and that we will give up our lives to each other. I pray for strength and guidance to help me trust in everything you teach and want for me.To my dearest wifeMy heart will only be for you and I want you to know that having you in my life, you make me the luckiest guy in the world.I hope that this will last forever. I love you! Don’t ever forget that. XXXTo god, I pray one day to find a love as close enough as yours. In which there is trust and loyalty, to find a love that is unconditional and never ending. Please help and guide me along this path in order to reach this love. I will promise for the rest of my life.To my wife, Whoever you may be, I know that I will love you completely. I know that you are a God-send to my life and that no matter what, you will love me too, I may not know you yet, but I do know that it

will be true because it is God given.Dear future wife, hope you are funny and a good mum.Dear love of my life.I am writing to express what I feel. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about you. I will pray for you, care for you, be the father of our beautiful children. The rest is for you to find out. xxxTo my dearest wife,I hope that the Lord may be able to bless our marriage and that we may become one with this love, a true, deep, profound and everlasting life that may conquer all! May the Lord also bless us with a wonderful family and that Christ may be the centre of it!To my lovely wife, I would love you everyday. (since I met you) till death do us part. Your path would be my path, your love would be my love and together we would pass through every obstacle together. Most important, God is going to be with us, as we would be with Him till eternity. Love you! xxTo my darling wife, I am writing to express my love to you. I pray we will be able to live a happy and loving life together with God as the centre of our relationship. Everyday I will strive to love you more. I will love you forever. XX


The Renewal retreat with Padre Chus

Book ReviewThe Rosary in Space and

Time, by Ruth Rees, Gracewing. £7.99.This book, written disarmingly by ‘a sinner for sinners’ and dedicated to the Holy Family, is certainly the most stimulating book I have read on this subject for a long time. This is because it is not written from a pious or narrowly devotional perspective. It is written in forthright prose by a journalist and a convert from Judaism, who once worked as an actress.Hence it is both very readable and also dramatic, with the added richness of a Jewish viewpoint on this often difficult but most

beautiful of all prayers. All the earnest fidelity of the author’s Jewish forebears has been harnessed to her Catholic zeal.It is divided into two parts: Part I, ‘On prayer generally’, gives a cosmic slant to her theme. She emphasises that there can be no conflict between science and faith; physics and metaphysics are different sides of the same coin. Thus prayer is never simply personal and parochial; the author reminds us that the physicists’ ‘butterfly effect’ – in which the tiny movement of a butterfly’s wings can cause a physical reaction the other side of the globe – is also true of prayer: one loving,

humble plea to God can move a mountain if we truly have faith. How much more preferable to the scientific expression ‘Big

Bang’ is Ruth Rees’s definition of the origin of the world, where the cosmos is seen as ‘an explosion of divine love’. Through prayer we can harness that love to transform the world, whether we fight on the front line, like the contemplative orders, or we are lay people like the author, who prays for everyone on the Bakerloo Line when she travels on the London underground.Part II is on the rosary itself. Here the ‘time’ and ‘place’ of the title include much local Jewish tradition of the time, which a Christian might not know: what an inn and a stable meant

in Palestine 2,000 years ago; what the Temple in Jerusalem would have looked like; what a betrothal signified and much more. Throughout this book, and its greatest value, is Ruth Rees’ urgent reminder that Christians must pray in order to ‘increase the spiritual capital that is running out so quickly’. Indeed, she asserts that ‘if you do not pray you are not a Christian’. The book ends, as it begins, with the cosmos, and that the time will come when a new generation of missionaries will spread the Gospel throughout the universe, and take their Rosaries along with them. We will be reaching, literally, for the stars.© Francis Phillips (abridged)


A Tribute to Louis J. Lombard tributes from friends and family compiled by Anne Mesilio

a man of god

Saying goodbye...Continued from page 5“I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.”1 Surely this quote applies to Louis and to Andrew! Louis and Sylvia made their Profession in 2003. Louis has been an indefatigable worker, serving the Church, tirelessly in many groups. He asked that his service should be as Franciscan as possible and also that it would evangelize. He also asked for no flowers and the money to go to “Cancer Relief”. Louis wanted Andrew to head his funeral Procession into the Church holding the Cross of San Damiano. Andrew had been at the Retreat over the weekend and the night before he passed away I spoke to him and told him that Louis was very poorly and his wish. Andrew agreed to head procession! Little did Louis know that Andrew went to the Lord four days before him! Louis’ grandson Charles headed the procession with the San Damiano Cross.

louis lombard was almost larger than life, and therefore it is not

surprising that more than one person would be consulted to write about his life. Anne Mesilio has brought together tributes from a few of those who were close to him. “For me it was more than a funeral, it was a retreat.” Not a comment one associates with a funeral so it intrigued me. The definition of ‘retreat’ is: ‘a personal encounter with God through a balance of communal prayer, inspirational talks, silence and solitude, natural beauty and sacramental grace. This sacred time brings renewal for body mind and spirit’. Unable to fully grasp how this could work for a funeral I asked his son, Louis Lombard, whose beloved father had recently passed away and the remark had been made in connection with his funeral service.Louis explained how his Dad had left explicit written instructions on how he wanted his funeral to be conducted. He had chosen the hymns and “he wanted it to be joyful, a way to evangelise, something which he held very dear”. Despite his recent sad loss Louis spoke calmly with affection and respect for his parent who, during his lifetime devoted to evangelisation, made this his last act to those he loved. “Even on his death-bed we were all praying together, the


whole family were present when my mother bravely urged him ‘you can go now Louis’ and his end was peaceful. We then had two days to prepare for the funeral which helped us put his wishes in place. There were many prayerful moments of joy in all this sadness and all the family felt it had been a special experience”. Louis had been diagnosed with renal cancer and had part of one kidney removed but the cancer re-appeared ten years later. It spread to his lungs and to his bones but his spirit was such that “he enjoyed life despite this, he really made the best of things, he even thanked God for his cancer because it helped him feel closer to those who were suffering”. His son went on to share that his mother Sylvia, about forty years previously had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and whilst a similar diagnosis today will instill fear despite all the truly wonderful medical advances, it can only be imagined how this threat was met way back then. He described this time as “a beautiful story, there was a lot of prayer, people came home every day to pray and from there it evolved into a weekly prayer meeting which continued for years”.With a family of five to support Louis was a hard worker, often working extra hours when the need arose. After working at BIA for some time he decided to move on and start his own business, the Hardware

A Tribute to Louis J. Lombard tributes from friends and family compiled by Anne Mesilio

a man of god

All these days have been packed with mixed emotions, with prayerful, joyful and faith filled preparations for all events. Praying and singing around Louis’ bed with his family have left beautiful moments to cherish.St. Francis said “The Lord gave me what was mine to do, may He give you yours...” These words were lived by both of our beloved Brothers, Andrew and Louis.Dear Andrew and Louis “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. ... This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure for ever.” (Isaiah 55:12-13) We hope and trust that Jesus met them with words “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world…(Matt. 25:34) So it is not goodbye as we hold them in our hearts and know that we remain united in the Lord they love so much. 1A quote is attributed to Stephen Grellet, the famous French missionary.

Centre. Later he joined the civil service and worked in the Electricity Department until he retired.Louis was a man of God with a great zeal for evangelisation to bring Christ to others. He had undergone a personal encounter with the Lord when he participated in a ‘Cursillo’ over forty years ago. “He was brought up in the Catholic faith”, Louis was telling me, “but this changed his vision of religion and how to live it”. He became actively involved in the community being responsible for setting up many charitable organisations and leading by example, he worked tirelessly and was highly influential in their development. He was an energetic member of the Third Order of St. Francis, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal often participating in the Life in the Spirit Seminars, he became involved with Faith and Light and was president of the Friends of Mt. Alvernia. He contributed to the establishment of Bruce’s Farm, a residential treatment centre for alcoholism, drug dependency, eating disorders and gambling, set in an idyllic location on the slopes of the Rock, and I feel maybe he was ahead of his time when he launched the Prison Ministry over thirty years ago. Audrey Borastero had this to say, “Louis was a part of Bruce’s farm from its inception in 1999. He was a member of the board of Trustees for many years. When he retired from the board he continued to come regularly with Louis Bruzon to give ‘spiritual talks’ every single

week. He continued to come up even through his illness, when you could see he was struggling! These talks always played a major part in the recovery of our service-users. Through the years Louis has always helped many, no request was too much, for both service-users and staff alike. He was a man of

great faith and strength with a kind and caring nature! He is greatly missed and will always be remembered by all, he has I am sure made a difference in many people’s lives.

On a personal note, Louis was a good friend to me and my family, having known Louis has been a privilege and an honour, and he is truly missed”.

Continued on page 14


We prayed for you in FaTima

10

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Fatima 2013

The desert is not an easy place in which to survive. For this very reason one becomes aware of a dependency beyond oneself.

It has a revelatory power which is manifest in the beauty it expresses.But it is this beauty, as well as one’s dependency, which turns one’s heart and mind to God. The beauty reveals a beautiful face of God: God is beauty. The beauty turns our gaze outward and beyond ourselves. This beauty is a share in the divine life. These settings of beauty draw one’s attention outward. Thus, in contrast to other situations of prayer in which I felt a peace within me, I can describe the experience of the desert only as my becoming part of it, rather than its becoming part of me.A desert experience can be an incredible growth experience and an awesome opportunity to get to find the God we are seeking. When one thinks of desert, one thinks of desertedness and barrenness. Yet it is a barrenness balanced with beauty.These two words, unpredictable and surprising, are the two words with which I would describe my own experience of the desert. The unpredictability can be frightening, the surprise enlightening. The desert will lead us out of ourselves, and into love of our neighbour. We will forget ourselves and live up to the commandment ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. For, in the end, even Paul summarizes the Law as Love of neighbour, and the Lucan parable of the Samaritan indicates who is our neighbour - anyone who is in need. So this is where the journey into thedesert leads us - back out again.From light to darkness to light.Let us not be too quick to interpret the desert and one’s experience of it in a negative way, it might turn out to be not only enriching but one of the deepest experiences of God we will ever have.

Approximately eighty people took part in the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Fatima between 21st and 25th February, travelling there by coach, and staying at the Convent Hotel Casa das Irmãs Dominicanas. During the four day retreat Bishop Ralph and Fr. Stuart gave short Lenten meditations on sharing Jesus’ experience of life in the desert:

Some of the eighty pilgrims expressed what it meant to them to be on pilgrimage in Fatima:“ I was ill with cancer 18 months ago and I promised, that if I should survive, I would go to all those places where people had prayed for me during my illness, and pray for them, now I am clear of the disease, so here I am praying not only for those people, but for all people who are suffering from the disease and for those who I met along the way that did not make it.”“I come here to experience peace, it’s not like Lourdes, here you can be very quiet.”

“In Lourdes there are a lot of distractions which I find upsetting. Here I find it easier to pray”“When you sit in the Chapel of the Apparitions, it is very easy to focus on prayer, it’s like there is nothing between you and God.”“It came to my mind that ‘Ours is a Faith of peace and of love, not of vengeance and hate.’ And I spent the rest of the weekend meditating on those words.”The Via Crucis, led us out into the countryside, a member of the group led the prayer at each Station. The walk included a visit to the spot where Mary had appeared to the young visionaries after they had been banned from going to the tree where they had seen her on the 13th of each month almost 100 years previously.On the Sunday we visited Santarem, but the Eucharistic Miracle we saw there is worthy of its own article in a future magazine, many people commented that they would like to return there to spend longer in the fascinating church, and explore the town a bit more.On more than one occasion the group came together to express their gratitude to Bishop Ralph, to Father Stuart, and to Richard Martinez for all the hard work that they had put into the smooth organisation of the pilgrimage.

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11JOY TO ALL MEN AND PEACE TO MANKIND friend us on

100 years Devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes at the Sacred Heart Church: a report on the Concert, Novena and Procession. concertTo commence the centennial celebrations of 100 years devotions to Our Lady of Lourdes, the Sacred Heart Church held a very successful concert on the 24th January. The guests of honour were His Lordship the Bishop, Mgr. Ralph Heskett, The Hon. & Mrs S. Linares, The Hon. D. Feetham, and His Worship the Mayor and Mrs Lima.The participants were a very talented group of local singers, choirs, dancers and musicians who gave of their time and effort voluntarily. The music and songs were all of a religious genre and the evening began with the choir from Sacred Heart Middle School directed by Mrs A. Saxby. Christian Fa had flown back from his UK studies specifically to participate in the concert, with his skills clearly polished. Keith Vinnecombe and Manuel Bonavia on acoustic guitars played a medley of songs. Claire Hawkins received a standing ovation after singing the Ave Maria. This was followed by the Santos Productions Choir. One of their songs from Jesus Christ Superstar made the audience erupt into a very rapturous applause. Giles Ramirez sang a song he composed several years ago and was dedicated to his mother. He was accompanied by Nigel Palmer and Richard Gomila. Melissa Hayes of ‘Tears of Joy’ with Danza Academy then took the stage. This was followed by Richard Gomila on

acoustic guitar and his cousin Joe Gomila on clarinet. Melissa returned to sing ‘Let It Be’ with Annalise Berllaque accompanied by Danza Academy again. Gail Hernandez was accompanied by Richard Gomila. She was followed by Ana Maria Ghio singing the Song of Bernadette, ably portrayed by the dancers of Danza Academy. Philip Borge sang an operatic aria and later directed the Harmonics. The grand finale was the hymn Ave Maria composed by the late William Gomez, which was to be sung by all participants, however much to everyone’s amazement there was a spontaneous reaction whend the audience all stood up and joined in bringing the concert to an emotional closure.

Congratulations to Fr Jonathan, his group of tireless helpers and to the participants who should be very proud of their talents.

novenaThis year’s novena was a very special one for the Sacred Heart Church as it was celebrating 100yrs devotions to Our Lady of Lourdes. As usual the church was beautifully adorned with flowers and banners. This year

being special, the outside of the church was decorated with lights with the help of the Ministry of Culture and GibElec. The novena was held from the


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Marriage Encounter Weekend31 May - 2 June 2013

The Weekend is intended for married couples who the Catholic Church defines as having committed themselves to “the marriage covenant by which a man and a woman establish themselves as a partnership for their whole life.” Although Catholic in origin and ethos, married couples of any or no faith are welcome.The next Marriage Encounter Weekend will be held from Friday 31st May to Sunday 2nd June 2013 at the Europa Retreat Centre.

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3rd to 11th of February. The service commenced each night with the rosary, benediction, followed by Holy Mass. The sermons were delivered by different clergy after the Gospel. This year the preachers were Fr Jonathan, Mgr Paul Bear, Mgr Charles Azzopardi, Padre Jose Marquez and Padre Felix Martinez. The last two are members of the Claretian Order (Misioneros Hijos del Inmaculado Corazon de Maria) Padre Felix being the Provincial Superior of the Andalucian Order. This was the Order that first instigated the devotions at the Church. During the nine nights, one night was dedicated to the children when a floral decade of the rosary was presented to Our Lady, another to a healing service, and a third night the veneration of each member of the congregation to the image of Our Lady, followed by a floral presentation.On the last night, before His Lordship the Bishop concelebrated Holy Mass, he read out a letter from the Vatican which conveyed best wishes and blessings from His Holiness the Pope. Apart from some members of the local clergy there were also members of the clergy from the hinterland. At the conclusion of Holy Mass the outdoor torch-light procession proceeded from the Church to the Moorish Castle Estate Grotto, this was also adorned with flowers and lights, by courtesy of the Ministry of Culture and GibElec. Prayers were said at the Grotto and the ‘Tears of Joy’ Choir sang whilst a short fireworks display was held. The procession returned to the church

where solemn benediction brought the novena to a close.Each night the church was filled to capacity with people from all over Gibraltar attending. As every year there has been positive feedback both on spiritual and organisational side.


a man of god

On the morning of 29th June, 2012 I left my house not

knowing that I would not set foot in it again for another 8 weeks. I remember it was a beautiful summer’s day and my daughter and I went off to do a bit of shopping in Main Street. After our lunch we parted ways and I went off to keep my appointment at the hairdresser’s. It was while Mari Hook was shampooing my hair that I suddenly felt a pain at the back of my head and I was overcome by severe dizziness. She realised that something was wrong immediately, sent for an ambulance and called my family.I do not have any memory of my arrival at St. Bernard’s Hospital although I am told I was conscious all the time. My next recollection was when I found myself in Puerta Del Mar

Continued from page 9On learning how he was greatly loved by prisoners and their families I asked Francis Napoli who became involved with the Prison Minstry a few years ago and worked closely with Louis, to explain what the Ministry in-volved. I learned the aim is to evangelise ‘as no life is beyond God’s power’. “Three years ago it was decided to expand the Min-istry and Bishop Ralph Heskett became the Patron. There are nine people involved and these include a chaplain, a counsellor and drugs rehabilitation advi-sor as the aim, whilst bringing comfort and fellowship, (Mass is now celebrated on an additional day, Saturday) is to see all pris-oners restored to Christ, their families and communities. The ministry works to meet the spiri-tual, physical and personal needs of prisoners and their families. “Louis was affectionately known as Grandad and will be greatly missed, he made a great differ-ence in peoples’ lives and from his example the team are learn-

ing from him,” Francis told me.I have no doubt of how big a part this Ministry, among others, played in Louis’s life as I learned from his son how “he was always ready to give a helping hand and even whilst his strength was failing him he made a huge effort to continue to visit those in prison, he never put this aside because of his illness”. Louis explained, that he bore his illness with great courage and dignity. Always a joyful man with a great sense of humour and always ready to cheer people up with a joke. He was also very creative with wood-work, “Dad was a carpenter”, Louis was telling me, adding with a rueful smile, “this gift has not been inherited by his sons”. Other gifts have though. “He was a great father, a hard worker, a very kind man always ready with a helping hand. Often growing up we felt we were being left out but as we got older we came to understand and appreciate what his work involved and that his first love was his family”. Louis

was not grudging in his praise for his father. I asked him how he would like his father to be remembered. “He never wanted to blow his own trumpet, he was a man of God who trusted implicitly in Him and wanted to help people experience this love”. Louis Lombard, a dearly beloved and highly respected citizen of Gibraltar, passed away on Saturday 23rd February, aged eighty years. We pray for Sylvia, Annette, Louis, Paul and Mark, and all the family, that God’s grace will give them the strength they need at this time.

An example of Louis Lombard’s woodwork

my SecondOlga Caruana a testimony...

On the 6th of March twenty ladies assembled in an up-

per room at the Catholic Com-munity Centre to listen to an introductory talk on the Wom-en of Grace Study Programme led by Monique Risso. The Programme is designed to lead women on an exciting journey to discover the gift of authentic femininity, holiness of life, and woman’s purpose

and mission in the world today. Taking the Blessed Virgin Mary as their exemplar and Spiritual Mother participants grow in the feminine virtues and the secrets of true fulfilment.The programme takes a multi-faceted approach by exploring

Women of grace


PRiDE & Humility my Second

Hospital, Cadiz, after undergoing life saving surgery to treat a cerebral aneurysm. Once I had recovered from this operation I had further surgery to correct a malformation in the blood supply to my brain.The road to recovery was long and arduous and not without lots of setbacks and worrying moments for my family. One thing I am absolutely convinced about is that God was with me all the time and that He had His reasons for keeping me alive.

The truth is, that God is always with us and we are the ones who forget or ignore His presence. The closeness I felt to God was overwhelming and I knew there and then as I lay in my hospital bed that God wanted something from me.It was whilst attending the Novena of Our Lady of Lourdes and hearing Fr. Stuart preach that the thought entered my mind that I should make public this testimony in thanks-giving for God’s gift of life to me. In

thanks-giving for the wonderful medical team who took such good care of me. In thanks-giving to everyone who prayed for me in the different prayer groups. In thanks-giving to my friends, the priests, that magnificent body of men who have dedicated their whole lives to the service of God and others. What would we do without them? In thanks-giving to Bishop Ralph who visited me at home. In thanks-giving to Christine Loddo and Anne Diaz who brought me Holy

Communion at home when I was unable to go out. To conclude I would like to thank God for my wonderful family who found themselves wrenched from their homes and who cared for me round the clock not knowing whether I would live or die. God Bless you all.

Olga Caruana a testimony...

chance“I am absolutely convinced that

God was with me the whole time”

all aspects of the feminine person including spirituality, psychology, emotional reality, and physical being. The Women of Grace Foundational Study Series is presented using DVD lessons taught by Johnnette Benkovic, as well as a book and its accompanying study guide. Such was the thirst among those present for teachings of this kind that 90% signed up for the 18 week course.

Women of grace



For further information on NaProTechnology or to book an introductory session: Dr Monique Risso MB ChB MRCGP [email protected] General Practitioner and NaPro Technology Physician Specialist Medical Clinic, Unit 7, 1st Floor, ICC Building, Casemates Square, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 49999 www.ladyofeuropefertilitycare.com

Dr. Monique Risso

NaPro Technology:

“It’s the new Woman’s Health

science.”

This month I am sharing with you the abstract of the most recent study for NaProTechnology in General Practice. 66% of couples who continued treatment, conceived and had live births within two years with NaPro Technology. These are promising results. You can find the complete study via this link: http://www.cfp.ca/content/58/5/e267.full

abstract of the study: Natural procreative technologyfor infertility and recurrent miscarriage Outcomes in a Canadian family practice Elizabeth Tham MD CCFP FCFP Karen Schliep PhD MSPH Joseph Stanford MD MSPH Can Fam Physician. 2012 May; 58(5): e267–e274

Objective To study the outcomes of women with infertility or miscarriage treated with natural procreative technology (NaPro-Technology or NPT), a systematic medical approach to promoting conception in vivo; and to compare the outcomes with those previ-ously published from a general practice in Ireland.Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting An urban Canadian primary care practice in which the physician had a part-time practice in NPT.Participants Couples with infertility or recurrent miscarriage who received treatment in the practice between August 2000 and July 2006.Intervention All couples were taught to identify the fertile time of their menstrual cycles using the Creighton Model FertilityCare System (CrMS) and completed a standard NPT evaluation. Many also received additional medical treatment to enhance conception in vivo.Main outcome measures Live birth was the primary out-come; secondary outcomes included conceptions, multiple births, low birth weight, and prematurity.Results A total of 108 couples received NPT and were included in the analysis, of which 19 (18%) reported having 2 or more previ-ously unexplained miscarriages. The average female age was 35.4 years. Couples had been attempting to conceive for a mean of 3.2 years. Twenty-two participants (20%) had previously given birth; 24 (22%) had previous intrauterine insemination; and 9 (8%) had previous assisted reproductive technology. The cumulative adjusted proportion of first live births for those completing up to 24 months of NPT treatment was 66 per 100 couples, and the crude proportion was 38%. The cumulative adjusted proportion of first conceptions was 73 per 100 couples, and the crude proportion was 47%. Of the 51 couples who conceived, 12 couples (24%) conceived with CrMS instruction alone, 35 (69%) conceived with CrMS and NPT medical treatment, and 4 (8%) conceived after additional surgical treatment. All births were singleton births; 54% were born at 37 weeks gesta-tion or later; and 78% had birth weights of 2500g or greater.Conclusion Natural procreative technology in a family physi-cian’s office was effective in treating infertility and miscarriage with outcomes that were comparable to those in an NPT general practice in Ireland. Larger multi-centre prospective studies to compare NPT directly to other forms of infertility treatment are warranted.


What is anger? You may be surprised to learn it is a natural human emotion, a normal response to threats, attacks, injustice, disappointment or when you

feel someone you care about has been offended or insulted. Buddha, the Awakened One, gave us three states of mind as the source of all our unhappiness around 500 years before Christ. These are wrong knowing, obsessive desire and anger. The last is seen as the most powerful emotion because in less than a heart-beat, lives can be ruined because anger does not dissipate once unleashed. Anger places blame. A manager came home grumpy and his wife asked what was wrong. “The worker I scream and shout at did not turn up today”. He failed to see how his shouting and screaming belittled and humiliated his employee whilst his anger made him seem dominant and powerful and someone best avoided.

is anger a sin? Sin results from mankind’s rejection of God. Everyone sins by nature, but as Christians we are called to discipline our earthly

nature, our uncontrolled passions, such as anger. When we fail we risk losing everything we care about. We are called to a higher spiritual way of life through our belief in Christ. ‘For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’

What drives anger? For the past several months I have been ‘re-visiting’ the seven deadly sins and it has become apparent that

all the sins work together and that pride, envy and anger form an unholy alliance. Anger is often fuelled by the desire for revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, imagined or otherwise and in many instances it is used to soothe our own ruffled pride in the form of violence. Violence comes from the Latin word vis, meaning life force. As sin separates man from God it is worth mentioning that our God-given free will should be exercised responsibly because when we misuse our gifts of reason and free will we stray from God’s law.

When does anger become a sin? Modern psychologists see anger as having a functional capacity, necessary for our survival. The word vis again,

We need motivation to redress a wrong and defend ourselves. It is only when we allow our actions to be controlled by anger rather than reason

that sin enters and becomes wrath. Wrath is a deep abiding rage; it is hatred spinning out of control, hatred of someone or something that has done nothing to deserve one’s wrath. It is irrational and is considered the root cause of the sins of murder, assault, genocide and war. Our human history is shaped by warfare springing from intolerance, hate and greed. Wrath is a disease of the soul, it negates good sense and the use of reason and its destructive effects may never be repaired or recovered from.Recently our world has taken a beating from nature’s wrath. A dreadful combination of nature’s forces unleashed a wrath of colossal force. Oceans overflowing, homes swept away, the earth exploding as mighty storms and earthquakes ravaged and destroyed, causing untold misery. These deadly events come and go quickly leaving a trail of destruction and suffering in their aftermath, as does our human wrath which starts out as anger. The hurricane starts as a storm but gets fed by warm water vapour creating heat energy which, once started nothing can stop. Once we too start building up the hot vapour of anger until we reach boiling point we are no longer in control and this anger must be vented. This is destructive anger however and while the surge has been released nothing good has come of it. It is worth taking a look at why we need to control and manage our anger. Aristotle (384BC-322BC) was a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy. “Anybody can become angry- that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way- that is not within everybody’s power and it is not easy.” The first mortal sin recorded by the scriptures was a sin of anger. Cain fell from grace long before he murdered his brother. In today’s society it is a tragedy that it is within families, that wrath seems to know no bounds. Consider domestic violence against women, child abuse, alcohol and drug abuse, the consequences all wreaking havoc as an angry response to the unfairness of life, perceptions of inferiority etc. Anger is related to a failure to form or sustain meaningful relationships in adulthood leading to violence to self and others. This is a rejection of the good God has created in others and oneself. There is danger in anger for other reasons too. Angry people

Don’t let your blood

BOil Anne Mesilio


are more likely to make risky decisions because dangers are overlooked, perception becomes distorted, ventures seem more probable to succeed. St. James warns us; “let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to anger. For the anger of man worketh not the justice of God”.Anger is a powerful force, ill considered reactions to it destroy families, wreck nations. We are all familiar with the labels road rage and air rage which have been given to extremely angry

and violent behaviour whilst driving or being a passenger on an aircraft. These rages are deemed to be due to a breakdown in our shared values as a community, as respect and tolerance seem to be replaced by extreme rudeness. Whether on the road or at 30,000 feet people experiencing these rages lose capacity for rational thought and worryingly these episodes seem to be on the increase.Learning to control our emotions often places us in a morally ambivalent situation.

It is ok to get angry in the way Aristotle describes it but the reality is very different. Yet, we must learn to master our anger by taking responsibility for it. The old adage of deep breathing and counting to ten is a start, giving time to refrain from unwarranted words or actions. Pope John Paul II; “It is better to cry than to be angry, because anger hurts others, while tears flow silently through the heart and cleanse the soul”. It has probably become a habit and whist it is often necessary to

exhibit anger it should never become a way of life. “Danger is only one alphabet letter away from anger. Therefore, if you can keep ‘anger’ at bay, your life will have fewer dangers”.

The Kevin Dobson Snooker Trophy 2013On a very wet, windy

and wuthering sort of night last month, there

was a grand gathering in St. Bernard’s Catholic Social Club to celebrate the presentation of The Kevin Dobson Trophy 2013 sponsored by Maurice Stagnetto.Those present included The Chief Minister, The Minister for Sport and The Mayor of Gibraltar, as well as the Commander of British Forces Gibraltar and his deputy together with representatives of Bayside School, the Snooker

and Billiards Fraternity, The Sergeants’ Mess, The Old Queensway Club, and many ex-pupils, colleagues, team-mates and friends of Kevin Dobson.The Minister for Sports, Stephen Linares made the presentations, to the winner of The 2013 Kevin Dobson Trophy Holder, Mukesh Bakhru, of St. Bernard’s Club, and to the other prizewinners. Members of the St. Bernard’s Club had come together to raise funds in honour of Kevin himself due to his untiring work with youth and Snooker on the Rock.

However Kevin had asked that the proceeds be donated to ‘The Panic Button Fund’, to which end the a cheque was presented to Manolo Ruiz of The Senior Citizens Association. In a final word from Eddie Newton on the star of the night in his absence, Kevin was summed up for all those who know him as “...a Yorkshireman, a rock of a man on the Rock of Gibraltar.”The President of St. Bernard’s Club then formally invited all present to wine and dine in Kevin’s honour!

Anne Mesilio


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