Hajja Salesjana May June 2017

4 Have you ever been to a vast big valley or among tall majestic mountains and shouted out your name or said a phrase only to hear it bounce back to you by echo? Indeed it is always enchanting to hear your same words echoing back to you. In the same way you and I can also cause ripples and echoes in the lives of those around us by what we say or do. Even though plenty of years may pass, some good deeds we might have done or some precious words of encouragement we may have whispered to somebody, may still be echoing, bearing rich and abundant fruit in the lives of these persons as they trek forward on their life’s journey. Indeed this is the thought that came to my mind lately when I heard the joyous news that two very young children aged 9 and 10 years of age will soon become the youngest ever canonized saints during this month of May 2017. I am referring to Jacinta and Francisco Marto, both poor, simple shepherds and cousins of Lucia Dos Santos, the third Fatima visionary, who exactly a hundred years ago this month on the famous 13th day, were blessed to see the Lady more brilliant than the sun right before their mesmerised eyes as She came down from the heavenly courts to meet them and impart to them a special mission. How awesome it must have been to behold Her whose beauty is indescribable? This heavenly encounter was to repeat itself for six months till October 1917 when the famous miracle of the dancing sun, witnessed and documented profusely by over 70,000 pilgrims in attendance, occurred to prove the veracity of these famous Marian apparitions. The lives of the Marto siblings and that of their elder cousin were forever changed after these apparitions. Despite their young age, their spiritual stature grew by leaps and bounds. The echo of their profound witness and example has rebounded for a hundred years reaching its culmination now during this month with the declaration by Pope Francis that the young Jacinta and Francisco are to be declared saints. Isn’t it a wonder how two young children can leave such a deep impact? Isn’t it a wonder how so many other big leaders and worldly characters have taken centre stage on the world’s affairs since 1917 and yet while they have all vanished in the oblivion of time’s relentless passage, the life of these two peasant children has continued to echo through time because of their integrity, genuineness, sincerity, good will, courage, sacrifice, stamina and deep faith in God and His Mother? Wouldn’t it be great if you and I can also leave such an echo behind us when our time is up on this earth? Wouldn’t it be awesome to leave a legacy of love, mercy, care and integrity echoing behind us by truly having the courage the young Martos had, to stand up and truly live our Catholic faith? The choice as always is in our hands but the consequences of this choice will resound far beyond the limits of our time. May our life echo beautifully in the hearts and minds of those who cross our path because we would have founded it safely on Jesus Christ, whose echo of eternal Love and Mercy we still partake of today. Fr. Sandro Camilleri sdb “...MAY OUR LIFE ECHO BEAUTIFULLY IN THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF THOSE WHO CROSS OUR PATH ” E D I T O R I A L Our l i fe’s echo. . .