15Oct

October 15, 2024 MASC

Dear members of MASC,

Greetings !

Our first issue of the newsletter for this year will reach you half way through the Summer months. Our last event, the Foundation Day Colloquium was a success. Thanks to all involved in the organisation, the speakers and all participants. In this issue of our newsletter you will find Fr Charló’s address and the talk by Mr Martin Azzopardi. We also suggest you read the study by Fr Matthew Pulis and his group of researchers in Melita Theologica. The executive board will meet shortly to evaluate the last year and plan the upcoming for 2025. completed our Association requirements for Inland Revenue Tax Return (2023) and for OCVO Annual Report (2023), such that there are no further demands regarding external agencies for the Association. Work on the organisation of paper file for the records of our current administration, this month, is nearly completed and the pdf file was accepted by the OCVO. A word of thanks to Edward for completing these necessary tasks, in order for MASC to have everything in order as a VO.

To recieve a pdf copy of the newsletter, kindly contact: info@masc.org.mt

15Oct

MASC FOUNDATION DAY COLLOQUIUM

October 15, 2024 MASC

A Theology of Hope: Insights from Jürgen Moltman

Objective: A presentation of Jürgen Moltmann’s Theology of Hope and it’s validity for today’s world.

MASC is pleased to extend a warm invitation to our annual Foundation Day Colloquium, a cherished occasion that brings together theology, reflection, and community.

In this Jubilee Year of Hope, we are especially delighted to widen our invitation to include fellow Christians of various confessions and denominations present in Malta. As members of the one Body of Christ—hidden in God and in the world—we are united in our shared calling to be seeds of hope in a battered and wounded world. Your presence would be a sign of this unity and of our collective witness.

In the context of our 2024–2025 framework, the Association has been particularly active—most notably through its Series of Public Seminars on Christian Hope, in collaboration with the Carmelite Institute Malta, among other initiatives. This year’s Foundation Day, taking place on Saturday, 21st June 2025, offers a valuable opportunity, particularly for MASC members, to gather in person and celebrate our life together as an association.

The colloquium, entitled A Theology of Hope: Insights from Jürgen Moltmann, will feature a distinguished lecture by Professor John Berry, Professor of Dogmatic Theology. The talk will reflect on the life and theological legacy of Jürgen Moltmann—widely recognised as the “Theologian of Hope” whose profound reflections on eschatology, suffering, and the promises of God continue to speak powerfully to the challenges of our time.

As we mark the first anniversary of Moltmann’s death († 3rd June 2024), this lecture will offer timely insights into how his thought may inspire and sustain our contemporary Christian witness.

MASC Executive has worked with extraordinary dedication, fulfilling the Association’s responsibilities while also managing a number of personal challenges. We are grateful for your support and look forward to welcoming you to this special event.

Event Details
Lecture Title: A Theology of Hope: Insights from Jürgen Moltmann*
Speaker:Professor John Berry
Date:Saturday, 21st June 2025
Time: 09:30 – 12:30
Venue:CST, Birkirkara

The colloquium will include space for thoughtful dialogue and reflection.

We warmly welcome all MASC members and the general public to join us for this enriching occasion.

We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with you!

15Oct

“Introduction to Christian Hope” Seminar

October 15, 2024 MASC

MASC and the Carmelite Institute Malta would like to invite you for the
first seminar on Christian Hope, which will be held at the CST Sala
Madonna tal-Karmnu in Birkirkara,a ahjacent to St Therese of Lisieux
Shrine and Friary. The event is scheduled on a Saturday morning from
9:30 – 13:00. The CST Hall is accessible from the street, and parking
will be available in the square in front of the church.

These events, sponsored jointly by MASC and by the Carmelite Institute
Malta, will be open to the public, including Association members and
their guests, participants gathered by the Carmelite Institute Malta,
and members of St. Therese community who may wish to benefit from
participating.

Accordingly, the date for the first seminar, titled “Introduction to
Christian Hope” will be held on 26 October 2024 and will be conducted by
Dr Dorianne Buttigieg.

Looking forward to meeting you !

To apply: contact: info@masc.org.mt

15Oct

Awakening to Christian Hope

October 15, 2024 MASC

MASC in collaboration with Carmelite Institute Malta are excited to announce a year-long programme of seminars on Christian Hope in preparation for the Jubilee of Hope in 2025. These monthly sessions will explore the deep spiritual foundations and living expressions of Christian hope, offering insights and inspiration as we journey together toward this special Jubilee celebration. Open to all, these seminars aim to deepen our understanding of hope rooted in faith, especially in times of challenge and renewal. Join us as we prepare our hearts and minds for this joyful and transformative event!

Programme

Seminars will run from 9.30am to 1.00pm. Venue: Ċentru Spiritwalità Tereżjana (CST), B’Kara. To apply contact: info@masc.org.mt

Seminar 1: Introduction to Christian Hope (26 October 2024)

Objective: To introduce participants to the concept of hope within Christian theology and its significance in the Christian life.

Seminar 2: Hope in the Old Testament (30 November 2024)

Objective: To explore how hope is portrayed and developed in the Old Testament.

Seminar 3: Hope in the New Testament (14 December 2024)

Objective: To understand the New Testament’s teaching on hope and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Seminar 4: Hope in the Christian Life (11 January 2025)

Objective: To explore practical ways in which hope is lived out in the daily life of believers.

Seminar 5: Hope and the Future (22 February 2025)

Objective: To reflect on the eschatological aspect of Christian hope and its implications for the future.

Seminar 6: Saved by Hope (29 March 2025)

Objective: To reflect on Rom 8: 24 as expressed in Spe salvi facti sumus

12Mar

Psycho-Spirituality Talks

March 12, 2024 MASC

Psycho-Spirituality Formation Talks

Venue: St. John of the Cross Parish Church, Ta’Xbiex, 6.30pm

Monthly talks are presented by Martin Azzopardi, sdc [MASC] that interface the human side of spirituality, yielding practical insights for everyday living and in our daily interaction with others, as spiritual persons who, first and foundationally, are very deeply human, also in our merciful and grace-filled spiritual formation.

PSIKOSpiritwalità tal-Ħajja

11 Jan 2023: The Therapeutic of ‘Letting Go in Life’

1 Feb 2023: The Therapy ‘when feeling afraid or phobic’

19 Apr 2023: “Il-gratitudni u l-apprezzament huma mezz ta’ fejqan fil-ħajja tal-bniedem.” [Gratitude and appreciation are therapeutic in human life]

3 May 2023: “Għajnuniet prattiċi kontra l-Ansjeta u d-Dipressjoni?” [Practical help against anxiety and depression]

6 Jun 2023: “Il-Weġgħat tal-Qalb!!” [The wounded heart]

4 Oct 2023: “L-effett u l-psikologija tal-kelma.” [The effect and psychology of words]

1 Nov 2023: “Il-ħajja u l-mewt kif għandna nħarsu lejhom?” [How should we look towards life and death?]

6 Dec 2023: “X’ifisser li jien inkun rigal għall-oħrajn?” [What does it mean that I am a gift for others?]

8 February 2024: “Il-Weġgħat li jġibu l-preferenzi,” i.e., “Family preferences – impact on our psyche.”

13 March 2024: “X’jagħmel persuna iktar sensittiva minn oħrajn u x’jimplika li tkun sensittiv?” i.e. “What makes a person hughly sensitive and what is the implication of that sensitivity?”

12Mar

New Publication: Christopher F. Bezzina, Reclaiming Men’s Spirituality. Spiritual Direction of Men through the Lens of Saint John of the Cross (Pickwick Publications, 2024).

March 12, 2024 MASC

“In a time of radical changes in masculinity and spirituality, Christopher Bezzina’s erudite study offers a fresh and impassioned approach to the perennial ‘Who am I?’ question which is at the back of both the perception of self and the existential understanding of the human spiritual dimension. Combining spiritual theory from John of the Cross and real-life attentive reading of men telling their stories, Bezzina manages to convincingly throw light on the dynamics at play in the painful process of the transformation of desire.”

—Charló Camilleri, OCarm, senior lecturer in moral and spiritual theology, University of Malta

“In this rich and nuanced study, Christopher Bezzina draws on the spiritual doctrine of St. John of the Cross to explore the life stories of men engaging in spiritual direction and their relationship to their spiritual directors. Bezzina offers important insights into men’s spirituality and the spiritual aspects of the construction of masculinities. His study is also relevant for anyone interested in the processes of spiritual direction more generally.”

—Charlotte Methuen, professor of ecclesiastical history, University of Glasgow

12Mar

New Publication: Edward J. Clemmer, Julian of Norwich in Her Phenomenology: Her Spiritual Texts and Their Historical Contexts (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2023).

March 12, 2024 MASC

«You have done a magnificent study of Julian. The initial chapters are splendidly researched though I missed the Syon Abbey contribution. Then I loved your final chapters where the footnotes keep giving Julian’s text. I especially applaud your seeing the Carmelite aspect which I don’t think others have.»

(Julia Bolton Holloway, Hermit of the Holy Family, Florence)

«A new work on Julian of Norwich is always a cause for celebration and Dr Clemmer’s book is no exception. The reader is enabled to follow Julian closely before, during and after her unique visionary experience, examining contemporary history and spirituality from many angles. And the story continues right up to Edith Stein in the twentieth century. This book will delight all Julian lovers, as well as others who want to know Julian better and appreciate her in greater depths.»

(Sr Elizabeth Ruth Obbard ODC, Quidenham Carmel, Norwich)

Julian of Norwich in Her Phenomenology engages Julian’s primordial religious experience of May 1373; her subsequent definition to its revelation within her spiritual texts; and their hermeneutics made manifest from centuries of historical context. The meaning of Julian’s experience continued to unfold throughout her life: with its grace, and by insight with her own use of phenomenological method. The historical manifestation of Julian’s graced experience is given its closest phenomenological expression within her Short Text (Amherst) and in her Long Text (Sloane), with their collective human-Divine collaborations. But first, they arise phenomenally for Julian in the reciprocal gaze exchanged between her God and her soul. It is by God’s Trinitarian gift of love, and in her grace-filled collaboration with others, that Julian’s spiritual texts preserve, and guard, her experience of prayer and contemplation grounded in God: namely, with humanity’s resting in God’s substance, and with God’s resting and ruling in her own soul as God’s homeliest home.

12Mar

New publication: Charló Camilleri, Politics in the Gospel (Horizons: Malta, 2023)

March 12, 2024 MASC

This book is well-written in a clearly flowing style that is easy to read. The approach to biblical interpretation provides a stimulating and fresh theological perspective, with excellent analogies intended to guide the readers to a better understanding of the biblical texts.

Rev. Dr Martin Micallef
Faculty of Theology, University of Malta

Seeing that my reflections on the role of believers in the political arena is contained in a book that collects the Gospel reflections of the author in the leading newspaper of record, it is only apt to conclude my reflections by quoting Karl Barth’s famous quip to TIME magazine: “Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible” (1 May 1966).

Ms Alessandra de Crespo

12Mar

Spiritual Accompaniment for Persons in terminal phases of life

March 12, 2024 MASC

Rev. Dr Charló Camilleri will be coordinating a session on the guidelines in ‘Samaritanus bonus’ on the Spiritual Accompaniment for Persons in terminal phases of life. The session, open to MASC members and MA Spirituality and Spiritual Accompaniment alumni, will take place on March 15, 2024 at the MSSP Centre. The session will include a discussion of a case study.

12Mar

Reflective Practice in Spiritual Companionship

March 12, 2024 MASC

Rev. Dr Charló Camilleri, O.Carm, Ms Lorraine Tabone Mr Warren J. Borg Ebejer directed a session on ‘Reflective Practice in Spiritual Companionship’ for alumni of the MA Spirituality and MA Spiritual Companionship programmes, along with members of MASC.