Hajja Salesjana March April 2017

4 As we head into the reflective period of Lent, we once again renew and revive the deep memories within our heart and mind about the immense love of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who chose to give everything for us and for our salvation. And he did this for all of us even before we even knew him and professed our faith in him, who is the sure Way, the unshakeable Truth and the everlasting Life we all yearn for as we pilgrim here on Earth amid our ups and downs, joys and sorrows, trials and triumphs surrounded by constant global change at a pace, faster than we have ever imagined or thought possible. Lent helps us to stop and practice the much needed reflective pause in our life to once again, cherish and be grateful for all that God did for us all. He gave us His one and only Son that through his sacrifice on the cross, we may live freely as children of God, unshackled by sin that warps and breaks us inwardly. As followers of Jesus, young and old, we must never forget this reality deeply embedded within our collective memories. God sent His Son to us that whosoever believes in Him may have eternal life and will not be lost (Jn.3,16). It is what must be at the foundation of our life as we strive to witness to this unfathomable Divine Love and Mercy in today’s topsy-turvy world where good is being labelled as old fashioned and where evil is being purported to be updated, new and hip. Christ’s loving guidance, shared with us in the Scriptures together with the Church's teachings, must forever be our modern compass as we journey through the thick, misty forests of today. As sailors before modern times kept the Northern Star as their guiding light in the dark, may Christ’s Eternal Word be to us our own bright beacon showing us the way forward, helping us to overcome tempting calls to veer left and right from the safe path, with the unfounded promises of an easier short cut forward. There is only one way Home and that way has a name... Jesus Christ. Only He can lead us safely home. Only He can help us proceed forward even through the guidance of His chosen ones. Only He can be our one sure guide assisting us to avoid deep pitfalls, treacherous crevices and cavernous ravines on the way. With Him, as our Good Shepherd, triumphant over sin and death, with Him our victorious Risen Lord, we can be sure to be journeying on the straight and narrow path mentioned in the Gospel. Ultimately the choice is in our hands: Shall we revive and remember with gratitude, during this time of Lent, the memories of Jesus’ love deeply embedded in our heart and mind or shall we opt to smother and wipe them out replacing them with fictitious promises of those who are powerful today but gone and forgotten tomorrow? The choice is in our hands but if we wish to choose life, be sons and daughters of light and ambassadors of love here and now, there is only one way – Jesus Christ. Fr. Sandro Camilleri sdb “...IF WE WISH TO CHOOSE LIFE, BE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF LIGHT AND AMBASSADORS OF LOVE HERE AND NOW, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY – JESUS CHRIST. ” E D I T O R I A L Memor ies of the heart