Bishop Anton Teuma has issued a Pastoral Letter to mark the start of the Pastoral Year 2023-2024 – ” Stay with us, O Lord!” (Lk 24:49).

The Bishop highlights how difficult it is to be able to forgive and the lasting effects this can cause by not doing so.

The Pastoral Letter is shown in full below.

My dear Gozitan brothers and sisters,

How difficult it is to be able to forgive! Many of us go through experiences of great suffering because someone has hurt us or because we have hurt someone and they do not want to show us forgiveness! Many of these wounds become part of us and we carry them for a long time, and they can become a cause of mental or physical illness!

In the Gospel for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mt 18:21-35), Jesus presents us with the image of God as the king who continuously forgives those who are in debt with him. The servant had to give him 10,000 talents, that is, about three billion euros in today’s count, or 200,000 years of service. An exaggerated sum to show how great is the love of the Lord who forgives him all his debt! Then, the servant found it hard to forgive his companion who had to pay €300 in today’s money. It seems that the first servant never recognised the love that his Lord had for him. He never experienced truly this love. Otherwise, he would not have behaved in such a manner with his companion!

“Stay with us, Lord” (Lk 24:49), because when we feel forgiven and loved by our Father, we feel peace in our heart. “Stay with us, Lord!” because your forgiveness helps us to forgive and accept ourselves with our own weaknesses. “Stay with us, Lord!” because your forgiveness takes away all anger and resentment in the relationships we have with others, whoever they may be: your forgiveness increases our sense of respect towards animals, trees and the nature that surrounds us.

We experience this forgiveness in prayer and especially in the Sacrament of Penance.

During the forthcoming months, from now up to Easter, we will together try to reflect on our relationship with God, especially through the Sacrament of Penance. Prayer is our dialogue with the Father, and Confession is the revelation of love full of mercy as shown by God the Father towards us, his children. Penance is the sacrament that enables us to experience the kiss and embrace of the Father towards his younger son in the parable (Lk 15:11-32); the Father is so eager to meet us and embrace us with his love.

All of us, priests and lay people alike, we are in need of this relationship with God through prayer, and of this gratuitous love. Priests and lay people, we need to look for God in prayer and in this Sacrament of Mercy. As priests, we are called to pray not only in our name but also in your name, the people of God whom we tend to. At the same time, we are called to give from our time so that all those who look for the mercy of God may find an opportunity to find someone who lends them an ear in the name of Jesus, together with his forgiveness.

The beginning of the scholastic year brings along many commitments for children, youth and parents. With all my heart, I wish you a scholastic year full of teaching for both heart and mind. The same goes for parents, who together with their work loads, will have to address their children’s commitments related to sports, music and art, in the hope that they do not give the last place to the teaching of Catechism for them and their children. This goes especially for those whose children are being prepared for the Sacraments of Penance, Holy Communion and Confirmation.

I beseech God’s blessing upon you all.

Given from the Bishop’s Curia, Victoria, on the 8th of September 2023, Solemnity of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

+ Anton Teuma, Bishop of Gozo

Mgr Edward Zammit, Chancellor.

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