Saturday, 16th May 2009
Religious matters
Malta is a very religious country although secular trends are becoming part and parcel of everyday life. As such, it is worthwhile to discuss several religious matters of interest to one and all.
Village Feasts
President George Abela is quite right to state that he will not be attending village feasts where there is pique and division. Indeed, I congratulate him on such a statement! I find it absolutely ridiculous that an event which is meant to promote love of others and solidarity is turned upside down by a few immature individuals to the detriment of all those who work selflessly throughout the year to make such a religious event both a spiritual and a material success.
Perhaps even more important is the President’s initiative to solve current problems by convening meetings of stakeholders where some village feasts are known to be problematic because of piques and divisions among the local communities involved. Village feasts should serve as occasions of spiritual awakening and regeneration and, on the material level, enjoyable social occasions for both Maltese and visiting tourists. Having mentioned tourists, have we ever stopped to reflect on the damage sustained by our tourism industry when tourists are caught in the middle of a free-for-all during a village feast.
Sunday Mass
It is wonderful to see whole families attending Mass on a Sunday because Sunday Mass should serve not only as a religious occasion but even as a social one. However, some people sometimes spoil the solemnity of the occasion by their behaviour. For example, I have never understood the rationale behind attending Sunday Mass just because it is a tradition in the family to do so. I recently attended Sunday Mass in one of the churches in my locality and was negatively impressed by the fact that the church was half-empty when the Mass started and gradually filled up as time passed. Close to a quarter of an hour after the Mass had started, people were still entering and distracting those already hearing the Mass.
Equally negative is the behaviour of some people who attend for all the wrong reasons, those who cannot even bother to participate in the Mass and finish up chatting throughout. In doing so, they enervate people who sit near to them and who want to listen to what the priest is saying and not to the trivial conversation of those near them. Of course, the point I am trying to make is that people should attend out of religious conviction and not out of sheer habit. To be fair, some preachers need to improve their delivery because some homilies tend to be really boring and how can you expect to captivate people’s attention when you bore them half to death?
Freedom of Belief
In this enlightened day and age, one still finds in Malta people who think that they should interfere in what others believe or do not believe, the lifestyle of others, etc. Such persons are guilty of the biggest disservice possible to religion. Practising one’s religion does not mean imposing one’s beliefs on others. What religion does not need are busybodies who censure opinions, lifestyles, traditions, etc., which are contrary to their religious beliefs. If you want others to respect your religion, then respect the different religions of others and the position of those who are professed atheists. The days of converting others through pressure are, thankfully, long over, at least in our part of the world.
The best way to positively advertise your religion is surely through helping others in everyday life. It is definitely not through becoming your brother’s or your sister’s keeper. Unfortunately, I believe that in Malta we still need to socially mature in this direction. Much too often, we witness various contributions from private citizens, in the media, which are nothing more than condemnations of opinions and lifestyles which are different from our own because they are based on different religions or on a secular approach to life. My advice is to practise your religion to the full and in the best possible way but leave others free to live as they wish. As long as they are not breaking the law or engaging in anti-social behaviour, you have absolutely no right to interfere.
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