|
PRESENTATION The Devotion towards the Passion, Death and Rising from Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer in Senglea It was appropriate and fitting that a book like this one is published to give details on how the devotions in Senglea towards the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ which led Him to victory by Rising from the death, especially now that we are fast approaching the end of the second millennium and the beginning of the third millennium, when His Holiness Pope John Paul II is exhorting us to celebrate the Great Jubilee of our Redemption. The setting up of the Fraternities of Charity and of the Crucifix; the organization of the Good Friday procession; the development of the liturgical functions during the Holy Week; the great devotion shown towards the statue of Jesus the Redeemer; the explanation of how these celebrations developed through the years and much more information added and abated by a large number of beautiful pictures, some of them very rare, makes of this book a precious book and one that should be greatly appreciated. I would like to personally thank Mario Caruana and Fabian Mangion who together worked hard so that they could produce this book. May, by the will of God, this book be in the hands of all the people of Senglea and of those who appreciate the traditional Christian values in Malta. May, by the help of God, this piece of art, bring honour to the parish of Senglea which took the initiative to publish it, and may it serve as a living testament to the many people who in our own times and in the times before us, made sure that they imbue in us the devotion and love towards Our Lord who ‘humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even to death on the cross.’ Philippians, 2, 8. Senglea Tuesday, 14th September 1999 Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross Kan. Dun Vincenz Cachia Archpriest of Senglea ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FORWARD A BOOKLET ISSUED AT THE START OF THE JUBILEE OF THE YEAR 2000 We have been playing with the idea of gathering as much information as we can about the Fraternity of the Crucifix and the procession of Good Friday. A lot of valuable information re this subject was already coming out in the parochial magazine as from March-April 1989. But this was not enough. There was still much work to be done before we had enough data and information regarding the history and traditions of Holy Week in Senglea, which information had to be supplemented by interesting photographs.
After two years of hard work, we finally arrived at our goal. We are today publishing this book which, we hope, the readers will realise how the people of Senglea, since many years ago, celebrated the remembrance of our Salvation and at the same time help them understand and reflect on this dramatic event which happened nearly 2000 years ago.
The feast and tradition of Good Friday and Easter had and still have deep roots in the religious beliefs of the Maltese people. The celebrations of the Holy Week are among the most beautiful and well attended ceremonies of the Church. These liturgical ceremonies help men, who throughout his life pass through lots of difficulties, to feel closer to God – who during His Life on earth passed through the trauma of tracery, abandonment from his friends to extreme suffering culminating with His Death on the Cross.
The days of preparation for Easter are very dear to the Maltese. It is little wonder that in Malta we have lots of customs by which from time to time we show our faith in these days when we remember our Redemption. On Good Friday the believers come to church and genuflect in adoration in front of Jesus on the Cross. Then they get up and kiss the Cross as a sign of love towards Him who was ready to die to redeem us.
‘Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows; and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our inequities, he was bruised for our sins; the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his bruises we are healed.’ Isaias 53, 4-5. The sense of gratitude to what Our Lord did for us dominate the liturgy during Holy Week. He again made us friend with God and opened the way to our salvation. When we partake in the Liturgy, we feel for Our Lord and make our utmost to join Him in His sufferings. On the other hand Jesus Himself exhorts us not too feel too much sorrow for Him. He wants us to have a good look at ourselves, cry for our sins and repent. That is why on his way to the Golgotha, He had warned the women from Jerusalem: ‘do not weep for me but weep for yourselves and for your children.’ Luke 23, 28
It is very obvious that our forefathers were not satisfied with just taking part in the liturgical ceremonies held in the Church. They felt that by partaking in the procession their part in the story of salvation would be more fulfilled. They were of the opinion that the procession would strengthen the unity of the parish. Our parish is one of the oldest which organised this procession. The procession today has taken the form of a religious spectacle with the participation of little children, young men and women and adults carrying symbols or dressed as biblical personalities connected with this unique event.
Without doubt we all appreciate anything that is dear to us. This is precisely the main aim of this book: to be a dear remembrance not only to those persons who take part in the procession but also to those people from Senglea, Malta and Gozo who love and appreciate the historical, cultural and above all religious inheritance which our forefathers left us. We have in our hand the history of the setting up and the first activities of the Fraternity of the Crucifix. These activities were the start of the popular devotions which grew up all through the years and became as we know them now – great devotion towards this event of the great love of God towards men. This book pays tribute to those who came before us and urges us to continue in their footsteps. All that we have is what we gathered from what was sowed years ago. It is of great pleasure nowadays to see so many youngsters doing their utmost so that the Good Friday procession does not lose the devotion and popularity it always had. It is also of great satisfaction to see so many people praying in front of the statue of Jesus the Redeemer every Friday and more so during Lent. We thank God continually when we see the large crowds from all over Malta which fill the streets of Senglea every time this statue is carried out in procession.
While we give our heartily thanks to all those who helped us in compiling this book, we hope that our little contribution will be appreciated. We hope that this book published in the beginning of the Jubilee of the year 2000 will serve as a means of renewal of our faith and continue to urge us, so that through the intercession of Our Lady we can be nearer to Her Son Jesus. May this book falls into the hands of all the Sengleans, those who live here and those who do not, so that we can keep on appreciating what our forefathers did for us and what our contemporaries are trying to do so that we can keep alive the remembrance of the Passion and Death and the Raising from the Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Senglea Saturday, 1st January 2000 The feast of Our Lady Mother of God. Mario Caruana Fabian Mangion
|