10 phrases by Pope Francis that have changed the world

Il-Ġrajja tal-Milied skont l-Evanġelju ta' San Luqa --- Gospel of Luke 2:1-20 --- The Christmas Story --- & --- Presepju Malti fi Pjazza San Pietru fil-Vatikan, Milied 2016

Nativity scene and Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square evokes the tragedy of refugees - Published on 24 Dec 2016






Christmas Message by Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna from St Peter’s Square, Vatican City
http://thechurchinmalta.org/en/posts/65164/christmas-message-by-archbishop-charles-j-scicluna-from-st-peters-square%2C-vatican-city

VATICAN - St Peter's square, decorated with the crib from Gozo, Malta during Christmas season 2016

“The world needs a revolution of tenderness" (Pope Francis) - Published on Dec 19, 2016 by Aleteia

2. It-twelid ta' Ġesù Kristu

[Lq:2:1] F'dik il-ħabta Ċesari Awgustu ħareġ digriet biex isir ċensiment fid-dinja kollha. [Lq:2:2] Dan kien l-ewwel ċensiment li sar meta Kirinu kien gvernatur tas-Sirja. [Lq:2:3] U kulħadd mar biex jinkiteb, kull wieħed fil-belt tiegħu. [Lq:2:4] Ġużeppi wkoll mar mill-Galilija, mill-belt ta' Nazaret, u tala' l-Lhudija, fil-belt ta' David jisimha Betlehem - għax hu kien mid-dar u l-familja ta' David - [Lq:2:5] biex jinkiteb flimkien ma' Marija l-għarusa tiegħu, li kienet tqila. [Lq:2:6] Ġara li, meta kienu hemm, Marija għalqilha ż-żmien biex teħles, [Lq:2:7] u wildet l-ewwel iben tagħha, fisqietu u medditu f'maxtura, għax ma kienx hemm post għalihom fil-lukanda.

Ir-rgħajja u l-anġli

[Lq:2:8] F'dawk l-inħawi kien hemm xi rgħajja fir-raba', għassa mal-merħla tagħhom billejl. [Lq:2:9] U dehrilhom anġlu tal-Mulej, il-glorja tal-Mulej iddiet madwarhom, u qabadhom biża' kbir. [Lq:2:10] Iżda l-anġlu qalilhom: "Tibżgħux, għax araw, qiegħed inħabbrilkom ferħ kbir, ferħ li se jkun għall-poplu kollu. [Lq:2:11] Illum, fil-belt ta' David, twildilkom Salvatur, li hu l-Messija, il-Mulej. [Lq:2:12] U bħala sinjal ikollkom dan; issibu tarbija mfisqija u mimduda f'maxtura." [Lq:2:13] F'daqqa waħda ngħaqdu ma' l-anġlu għadd kbir ta' qtajja' tas-sema, ifaħħru lil Alla u jgħidu:

     [Lq:2:14] "Glorja lil Alla fl-ogħla tas-smewwiet,

     u sliem fl-art lill-bnedmin li jogħġbu lilu!"

[Lq:2:15] Meta mbagħad l-anġli ħallewhom u telgħu s-sema, ir-rgħajja bdew jgħidu lil xulxin: "Ejjew immorru Betlehem ħa naraw x'ġara kif għarrafna l-Mulej." [Lq:2:16] Marru mela jgħaġġlu, u sabu lil Marija u 'l Ġużeppi, bit-tarbija mimduda f'maxtura. [Lq:2:17] Kif raw dan, bdew jgħarrfu b'kull ma kien intqal lilhom dwar dik it-tarbija, [Lq:2:18] u kull min semagħhom baqa' mistagħġeb b'dak li qalulhom ir-rgħajja. [Lq:2:19] Marija, min-naħa tagħha, baqgħet tgħożż f'qalbha dawn il-ħwejjeġ kollha u taħseb fuqhom bejnha u bejn ruħha. [Lq:2:20] Ir-rgħajja mbagħad reġgħu lura, isebbħu u jfaħħru lil Alla għal kull ma kienu raw u semgħu, kif l-anġlu kien qalilhom.

JOSEPH DEAREST, JOSEPH MINE

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https://medjugorjemalta.blogspot.com.mt/2017/11/gimmanu-el-alla-magna-mistax-il-ganja.html
- Patri Ġorġ Żammit u l-"greyfriars"




14. Il-Ġrajja tal-Milied






15. Il-Kewkba tal Milied



 

 

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Luke 2:1-20
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ All went to their own towns to be registered. ⁴ Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. ⁵ He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
 

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸ In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹ to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,  praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

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DECEMBER 13 - Feast of St Lucy, Virgin and Martyr --- How Faith Comes From the Soul

 

 

 

 

 

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Does A Priest Need Conversion ?...Fr Elija Vella OFM Conv - and some of his missions around the world to spread THE TRUTH

http://www.ccr.org.uk/archive/gn1103/g10.htm

Fr. Elija Vella OFM, the Official Exorcist of the Archdiocese of Malta, tells his faith story and how he came to a deeper conversion to Christ through the Catholic Charismatic Renewal

 

 



After being a priest for 15 years, the Lord called me to follow Him in a new way, a way that would change my life forever. The first time I came into contact with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal was when we invited a Jesuit priest, Fr Bob Faricy SJ to Malta to lead a retreat. One of the many things he said that touched me deeply was his remark that “the most difficult people to bring to conversion are priests”, and then he added “especially Jesuits”. After many years I can confirm that what Fr Bob said is true. As a priest I had reached a point in my life when I had come to believe that I had learned everything I needed to know and had fulfilled the aim of my calling. Then in 1978 God showed his mercy to me and showed me this was not true and saved me from myself. I was sorted! It was the year 1978 when there was a big Catholic Charismatic Renewal(CCR) international meeting in Dublin, Ireland. A group of young friends insisted that I should accompany them and I agreed. To be honest at this time I did not believe in the CCR because of the exaggerated emotions that I had seen many times being manifested by those who participated in these meetings. At the time I was teaching theology and I didn’t want anything to disturb my quiet and comfortable life. I was a member of the Provincial council of my order in Malta. I was leading retreats all over the world. I was called to speak on various TV programmes. I was writing books… I felt I was doing pretty well and didn’t feel the need of anything else. I was, so to speak “sorted” as far as my life was concerned. Although I wasn’t keen, these young friends insisted so much that I changed my mind and decided to accompany them. They had paid the air fare for me already so I felt I couldn’t say no. As we arrived at the meeting place there were 800 priests and religious there and 2000 nuns. The programme of the conference was varied and we were divided into small groups according to our state in life. I was part of a group led by an Irishman who gave us a simple question to start with. The question was “Why are you here?” My answer was obvious I thought. “I am a theology teacher and I want to know more of this reality and have more information about it to share with others.” I never thought for a moment that I was there to receive something myself! Those who answered before me gave me what I thought were amazing and strange answers. I remember one priest said, “I am here to meet the Lord”. Personally I could not relate to this kind of answer and I wondered how can a priest who has served the Lord for so long still need to encounter Him? His answer was thus incomprehensible to me. Even more shocking was the answer given by another priest who said, “I am here to ask the Lord to convert me.” I was deeply scandalized by such a response. I thought “how can a priest who celebrates Mass every day ask for conversion?” I started asking myself “where am I?” When my turn to answer came I replied that I was there to learn something more to teach my students. I remember the priest who was leading the group looked at me and almost ordered me to kneel down as I was in need of prayer! His invitation sounded like an order and took me so much by surprise that I obeyed and found myself kneeling down with all the other priests surrounding me, praying for me to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Everything went so fast that I do not really remember what happened after that except that I started crying and I realized that something inside me was being unblocked. Anyway, after this first session we all gathered together with the rest of the participants. When I met my young friends they asked me why I seemed so perturbed. I tried to change the subject because I felt embarrassed by the event that had just taken place. But they insisted so much that I confessed what really happened. They listened to me very attentively and afterwards confessed to me that they had all been praying for me for a while that I might experience conversion in my life. I felt a real change after that prayer. I was still doing the same things as before but I knew that something was different. I had the Holy Spirit in a new way and He was bringing more joy to my existence. We have constant need of Him We all need to open our hearts to receive the Holy Spirit. We are all called to co-operate with God in furthering His Kingdom. We can only do that when we acknowledge that we are sinners and that we have a constant need of Him and His love to be changed, transformed and converted so that we can become perfect witnesses. Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical “Evangelii Nuntiandi” said “The world does not need theologians, but if they are needed, they have to be witnesses as well.” When I studied Dogmatic Theology we did not consider mystical experiences. as gifts of the Holy Spirit for us theologians. We saw these as belonging to spirituality and not to dogmatics. The Holy Spirit was something to be understood rationally rather than experienced mystically. For me my experience has been like someone who has lived all his life underground, talking about the sun, but who finds it difficult to believe the words of those who see the sun every day and who enjoy its light and its warmth. My real conversion consisted in trying to look at the sun rather than only speak about it. It consisted in beginning to let the Word of God flow from the mind to the heart. Remember that Mary kept all in her heart, not in her mind. It consisted in meeting Jesus rather than only speaking about him. It consisted in living the liturgy rather than doing it. It consisted in experiencing Jesus as mystics do rather than discussing the mysteries as most theologians do. I really thank God that he made me meet the Charismatic Renewal in my life. It was through this movement that Jesus met me, distracted on my road... ... and yet again Fr. Elija Vella's same testimony in one of his produced programmes - God, Ocean of Love - Missier Ocejan ta' Mhabba   - on Radio Marija Malta - 11, April 2016  either --- http://radjumarija.org/april-gunju/missier-ocejan-ta-mhabba/11-04-2016/ or --- https://soundcloud.com/radju-marija-malta-581567819/il-missier-ocejan-ta-mhabba-11042016 ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> More on some of the missions to spread THE TRUTH from FR ELIJA VELLA OFM CONV. Found in Youtube Fr Elija (Elias) Vella OFM Conv. - CCR - Catholic Charismatic Renewal  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL07723B66BF0ED6AF ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>    Fr Elija (Elias) Vella OFM Conv https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC13779646740AC91   ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>   PRAYERS by Fr Elija Vella OFM Conv. http://en.freieliasvella.web763.kinghost.net/category/prayers ========================= ========================= ========================= Published on 28 Oct 2019 How does the devil attack a person? What are the weapons a Christian has against the powers of darkness? Listen to renowned exorcist Fr. Elias Vella, OFM, sharing about the many battles he has won against the forces of darkness in this Special Interview. Watch his testimony about the journey from ignorance about the existence of the devil to become a powerful exorcist and man of prayer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIiO6MFq6ag   ========================= ========================= 12 ta' Mejju 2021 -  Programm fuq TVM - L-Erbgħa fost il-Ġimgħa Konversazzjoni mal-eżorċista internazzjonali Patri Elija Vella OFM Conv. Part 1 - https://www.facebook.com/lerbgha/videos/3836973719744599 Part 2 - https://www.facebook.com/lerbgha/videos/1115687265603514 Part 3 - https://www.facebook.com/lerbgha/videos/476491753440726 Part 4 - https://www.facebook.com/lerbgha/videos/310025824039304 .