Hajja Salesjana Jan-Mar 2019

H AJJA S ALESJANA A new dawn, a new day and a new year, together with a new Óajja Salesjana lay out, has come. Time relentlessly moves forward and it is up to you and me to appreciate it and use it well because we only have one life to live and it does indeed matter to make it truly a worth while journey. Indeed, time is the best gift we can offer to one another. Sharing time with others is giving a part of ourselves which we can never take back. The older one gets, the more one realises how precious time is and how much of it is wasted when we muse about the past choosing to remain hostages there rather than freely living the present, the gift of the moment, as we proceed forward in life. How many persons still hold onto grudges? How many persons seethe with vengeance and hatred towards others for various reasons? How many persons spend their days plotting how to break others or how to make them feel bad about themselves so as to get back at them? Is this not sheer waste of precious time that also leaves disastrous consequences on one’s spiritual, psychological, emotional and physical health? Undoubtedly we all make mistakes. None of us is perfect. By the simple fact that we live, we are bound to make mistakes because we are not infallible. However we are not defined by our mistakes especially if we bear in mind that what matters is to learn from one’s mistakes, avoid repeating them and moving foward. Alas as obvious as these life lessons may be to many, some opt to consciously or unconsciously remain stuck in the past and never seem to garner the ability to decide to move on impelled by the stark awareness of how fleeting life is. The biggest looser is the one who never learns from his/her mistake and keeps on remembering something that hurt him/her without deciding to let it go and let God do the rest. Life is too short and too beautiful to be wasted on matters such as this. If one wishes to soar high and proceed onto uncharted territories of growth, experience, wisdom and insight, one must be free, light and unhampered by too much baggage. As we commence a new year, my wish for all of us is to decide once and for all to learn from what has scarred us in the past, as we strive to live fully, but then make a deliberate decision to look ahead towards the dawning of 2019. May Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be the Light that guides us forward through life’s ups and downs. May His Word and His Sacraments be a GPS to us all. May His and our Mother Mary, be the bright star that directs us towards pastures of peace, hope, love, courage, forgiveness and kindness here and now and beyond unto eternity. May they both inspire us to forgive and let go of all that has caused us deep pain so that we may travel lighter and with a heart more ready to love. In so doing we can go beyond our comfort zones and achieve further holistic growth as human beings striving towards wholeness and holiness. May we all have a grace-filled New Year 2019 full of God’s blessings! Fr. Sandro Camilleri sdb 4 A new dawn, a new day and a new year ....