Audio Clip Right ClickHERE

A short clip in Maltese from Ven George Preca
talking in an open air conference (Sajda)

Blessed George Preca (1880-1962) priest, catechist, founder

George Preca - seventh in a family of nine children,
son of a merchant and health inspector -
was ordained priest in his native Malta in 1906.

Within four months of his ordination,
he and a group of young lay people gathered to grow
in the spiritual life and to teach the Faith.

Fr Preca - known to the Maltese as ‘Dun Gorg’ -
gave several names to the society, which continue today.
‘MUSEUM’ stood for the latin initials of ‘Master,
would that the whole world might follow the Gospel’.

They are commonly known as the Society for Christian Doctrine -
Societas Doctrinae Christianae in latin
and Socjeta’ tad-Duttrina Nisranija in Maltese.

The members - men and women - are celibate,
lay workers, dedicated without reserve to the apostolate of catechesis.
Some live in community.

The Society went through some troubled times,
including his bishop closing all the centres.

Nonetheless Dun Gorg and the Society continued to spread the Gospel.
He was described by John Paul II as ‘Malta’s second father in faith’.

Dun Gorg died, revered by all, on 26 July 1962.

Today the Society carries out its work for Jesus Christ
in Albania, Australia, England, Kenya, Malta, South America and the Sudan

 Click HERE

Aspects of Spirituality
in Blessed Preca’s Writings

MORTIFICATION OF THE SENSES

Right Click HERE

Dun Ġorġ Preca bidel il-kelma M.U.S.E.U.M. fil-frażi bil-Latin:
Magister Utinam Sequatur Evangelium Universus Mundus.
Din tfisser: Mgħallem, mhux li kien id-dinja kollha timxi wara l Evanġelju!

________________

Father Ġorġ Preca changed the word M.U.S.E.U.M. to the Latin phrase:
Magister Utinam Sequatur Evangelium Universus Mundus.
This means: Master, would that the whole world would follow the Gospel!

The Verbum Dei

Fr George Preca felt great gratitude to Jesus who was not ashamed to declare that he was one of us, his brethren. The expression that struck Fr Preca as the most beautiful was the precious sentence Verbum Dei caro factum est --- "The Word of God was made flesh" (jn 1, 14). His devotion to these words increased after reading the life of Venerable Sister Mary of the Sacred Passion (1866-1912). These very words were given to her by Our Lord himself as a powerfull means of help in times of temptations. 

The first time that Fr Preca used the words of the Verbum Dei was when his father was dying, on 5 December 1917. instances of alleged cures of people who faithfully accepted this devotion brought more and more people to think and speak of Fr Preca as a holy priest. However, it seems that he had acquired his reputation long before. He spread this devotion everywhere. He had those holy words printed on cards which he distributed all over Malta, and later on even overseas. His also wished that the Members of his Society wear badges with these words, thereby proclaiming their faith in Christ's incarnation

In the joy of Easter I make my own the words of the Risen Lord: "Peace be with you! Il-paci maghkom! I thank you for your warm welcome. It shows that the hospitality which once embraced the Apostle Paul (cf. Acts 28:2) is still to be found in Malta. I am grateful for the gracious words spoken on behalf of both branches of the Society by the Superior General, who expressed all your love for the Church and for the Successor of Peter.

The island of Malta is a rock rising from the sea, where the soil is often thin and the sun harsh. Even this place where we are meeting bears the name Blata l-Bajda, the "White Rock". Yet down the centuries Malta has been extraordinarily generous and fertile in the deeper ways of the Spirit. The unshakeable faith of the Maltese people has ensured that this rock has been the good soil of which the Gospel speaks. In this soil, Blessed Gorg Preca planted the Society of Christian Doctrine, where it has flourished in the century of its life. Unlike the fig-tree of the Gospel story which we have just heard (cf. Lk 13:6-9), you have produced fruit in abundance, and for that we give glory to God and thank him here today.

Not only did Dun Gorg sow the seed; he tended the sapling and fed the young tree so that it would grow strong and fruitful, as it has. You have flourished because you have roots reaching deep into Christ, and because you have been well nurtured by Dun Gorg's life of holiness.

To understand your vocation more deeply, consider the fig-tree. Its new leaves are a sign that summer is at hand (cf. Lk 21:29-31); in the hot season, its shade provides shelter from the sun; it gives abundant sweet fruit as food; and Scripture says that its fruit has healing power (cf. Is 38:21). This is an image of what you are called to be! As catechists, you are to provide sweet nourishment for all who hunger for God; you are to bring healing to those who are suffering for lack of light and love. If you do these things, you will truly be a sign of the springtime which the Holy Spirit is now preparing for the Church.

Wherever Dun Gorg went to preach he was followed by crowds of people. They were captivated by his words. Why? It was because they recognized in the preaching of Dun Gorg the voice of Jesus himself. It was the Lord to whom they were listening; they were drawn by the irresistible attractiveness of Christ who alone, they knew, could satisfy the deepest longing of their hearts. The beauty of holiness which is found supremely in Jesus and is reflected in today’s new Beatus will never fail to draw the human heart. It is certain that if we can show forth the face of the Risen Lord to the world then we shall touch and win souls in ways that will be surprising!

It is in the depths of contemplation that we discover "the glory of God which is in the face of Christ" (2 Cor 4:6). That is why your rule of life urges you to pray often and to meet regularly with your spiritual director, who serves as guide and companion on the path of your fidelity. To contemplate the face of Christ is to be filled with spiritual energy for the mission entrusted to you. Like Saint Paul, from contemplation you are called to go forth as missionaries: not just as teachers but as witnesses who can speak with power because you can say, like the first disciples: "We have seen the Lord!" (Jn 20:25). It was Pope Paul VI who wrote that "the people of our day are more impressed by witnesses than by teachers, and if they listen to these it is because they also bear witness" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41). This was true of Dun Gorg in a wonderful way, and it must also be true of you, his spiritual children. In his Letter to the Galatians, Saint Paul writes that God "was pleased to reveal his Son in me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles" (1:16). He does not speak of Christ revealed "to me" but of Christ revealed "in me". Once Jesus reveals himself to Saul on the road to Damascus, and once Paul opens his heart to receive the gift, the Apostle himself then becomes the revelation. He is filled with Christ, so that he can say in the same Letter: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (2:20). His whole life, all that he does, says and thinks, his body, mind, heart and soul, become the revelation of Jesus to the world. This is the mystery of the sublime vocation given not just to Saint Paul and Blessed Gorg Preca, but to each of you as well.

Your founder was especially devoted to the words: Verbum Dei caro factum est; based on the Prologue of Saint John’s Gospel: "The Word was made flesh" (1:14). Here in fact is the foundation of your vocation and apostolate. The Divine Word in a certain sense continually takes flesh in his Mystical Body, the Church. You are to help in this by doing for others what Dun Gorg has done for you. You are to plant the seed of God’s word in people’s hearts, so that Christ may live in them! You must teach everyone – children, young people, adults – to contemplate the face of Christ, to see the Lord (cf. Novo Millennio Ineunte, 16), so that the light of God’s glory which shines from the face of Jesus may shine forth from them as well. This is the "rooting of the Church in time and place [which] mirrors the movement of the Incarnation itself" (ibid. 3).

As you set forth and continue this sacred mission, let the words of your founder echo ceaselessly in your hearts: MUSEUM – Magister, utinam sequatur Evangelium universus mundus! Divine Teacher, may the whole world follow the Gospel! Entrusting you to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Paul and Blessed Gorg Preca, as well as Blessed Ignatius and Blessed Adeodata also beatified today, I impart my Apostolic Blessing to all the members of the Society of Christian Doctrine as a pledge of endless mercy in Jesus Christ, "the faithful witness and firstborn from the dead" (Rev 1:5). Il-paci maghkom!

 The society was set up by Dun Ġorġ Preca in 1907, when he gathered a group of youths to discuss Catholicism in a building he rented in Ħamrun. The celebration of the society’s 100th anniversary has taken on special significance since Blessed Dun Ġorġ Preca will receive sainthood on the 3rd June 2007.

Activities to mark the setting up of the MUSEUM will start on Wednesday with the celebration of solemn mass and will continue throughout the rest of the year.

In turn, speaking of the society’s anniversary on Tuesday, Minister for Education, employment and Youths Louis Galea said “The MUSEUM is a providential project for religious formation as well as Catholic doctrine. It is additionally an excellent project that spread literacy and education among the Maltese and Gozitan populations. Local citizens can never show Dun Ġorġ Preca enough gratitude and all other MUSEUM members, both present and past, who dedicated their lives to teach youngsters and educate them on many different levels.”

Curia officials to meet travel agents

Frank Chetcuti, member with the Regional Executive Council of MUSEUM explained that around 600 males and 150 female members will be attending the Vatican functions. He added that preparations are under way so that the group will depart as one on the 3rd June 2007.

The activities that will be held in Rome will form part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary since the foundation of the MUSEUM. The society was set up by Dun Ġorġ Preca himself in 1907, when he gathered a group of youths to discuss Catholicism in a building he rented in Ħamrun.

AirMalta General Manager Marketing and Product Brian Bartolo announced that for the occasion it is expected that around 30 extra flights will be coordinated between the 1st and the 4th June 2007.

Yesterday, the Government said that Maltese travelling to Rome for the Canonisation Ceremony of Dun Ġorġ Preca will be exempt from paying airport taxes.

The exempt flights include those departing from Malta on the 1st June and return back to the island from Rome on the 4th June. In a statement the Ministry of Finances said it came to this decision because it believes that the late priest’s canonization is a unique occasion for all Maltese and Gozitan citizens.

In turn, the Education Division informed Heads of schools that requests for unpaid leave from teaching staff and school administrators between the period 31st May and 6th June 2007 will not be entertained. The time frame mentioned in the memo coincides with the canonisation of Dun Gorg in Rome.

The internal memo from the director of operations was sent to all Heads of schools, and it will affect more than 3,000 teachers and hundreds of other staff in the education division.

Telegraph.co.uk

Baby's 'miracle' recovery in British hospital to give Malta its first saint

The relic consisting in the blood of Dun Gorg Preca in a glass tube will be taken to Rome for canonization led by Archbishop Paul Cremona.  On its return to Malta, the relic of the Saint will be displayed for the veneration of the public, both in Malta and Gozo.

To commemorate this event, the Department of Information (D.O.I) has issued a unique film on DVD depicting the last farewell given to Dun Gorg Preca in July 1962.

The film is a historical documentary which had been produced by DOI for broadcasting on the national television station.   It depicts the deep loss felt by the Maltese upon the death of this much loved priest who will be canonized in the coming days.

The documentary also offers a good opportunity to observe the various aspects of the Maltese way of life in the early sixties, such as our customs, dress, buildings, streets and shops.   It also depicts well known personalities most of whom have passed away.

The DVD was today presented to the Archbishop Paul Cremona.

Subsequently, it will be brought back to the Maltese islands for public veneration.  

In a statement on Tuesday, the Curia explained that the relic, a tube containing blood of the late priest, is one among three belonging to Dr Lawrence Spiteri who was Dun Ġorġ’s doctor. One of the tubes was handed over to the St Gaetano Parish of Ħamrun, while the other was given to the M.U.S.E.U.M society. The third is being retained by the doctor.  

The golden reliquary, created in 2001 for Dun Ġorġ Preca’s beatification, was designed by Renzo Gauci and made by Joe Galea and Cutajar works.   

The Curia has also reiterated that all other Dun Ġorġ Preca relics are being distributed for free by Churches and the Cathoilic doctrine society M.U.S.E.U.M only, after receiving a number of reports of persons selling holy pictures of the blessed.   

The sellers are claiming that the holy pictures were held over Dun Ġorġ Preca’s tomb.   

The Curia added in a statement on Monday that Postulator Mgr Charles J.Scicluna, in agreement with the M.U.S.E.U.M and Curia, warned that money towards the costs involved in the canonization process will not be collected from the general public.   

It was also emphasized that authentic Dun Ġorġ Preca relics may only be collected from Churches and the M.U.S.E.U.M society

Yahoo News

By DANIELA PETROFF, Associated Press Writer Sun Jun 3, 10:43 PM ET

VATICAN CITY named four new saints Sunday from France, Malta, the Netherlands and Poland at a ceremony in St. Peter's Square attended by several heads of state and thousands of faithful.

Pope Benedict XVI

The presidents of Ireland, Malta, Poland and the Philippines attended the canonization Mass for the three priests and a nun, whom Benedict praised as models for Catholics to emulate.

"Let us be attracted by their example, let us be guided by their teachings," he told the crowd, which filled St. Peter's Square for the two-hour Mass despite rain.

Among those honored was Sister Marie Eugenie de Jesus Milleret, a French nun who in 1839 founded the Religious of the Assumption to educate young girls. Today, the order has 1,200 nuns in 170 communities around the world.

Philippine President attended the Mass because a young Philippine child who was diagnosed with severe brain damage affecting her sight was cured after praying to Sister Marie Eugenie — the miracle the needed to canonize the nun.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Vatican

The child, who is now 12 and attends an Assumption school in the Philippines, was present at Sunday's Mass and was part of the offertory procession bringing gifts up to the pope.

"May the example of St. Marie Eugenie invite men and women of today to transmit to the young the values that will help them become strong adults ... May young people not be afraid to welcome these moral and spiritual values, to live them with patience and fidelity," Benedict said in honoring the new saint.

Benedict also canonized:

_The Rev. George Preca of Malta, who founded the Society of Christian Doctrine in 1932 as a group of lay people who teach the faith to others. Maltese President Edward Fenech Adami attended the Mass in honor of the new saint.

_The Rev. Szymon z Lipnicy of Poland, a Franciscan monk who comforted Poles afflicted by the plague that broke out in Krakow from 1482-83 and died of it himself. Benedict canonized him with Polish President Lech Kaczynski in attendance as the saint's order, the Franciscan Friars Minor, celebrated the 800th anniversary of their founding.

_The Rev. Charles of St. Andrew, who was born Karel Van Sint Andries Houben in the Netherlands in 1821. Although he never mastered the English language, Father Charles spent much of his life in Ireland and England, where he achieved fame as a miracle worker with thousands flocking to his monastery outside Dublin to seek his blessing. He was canonized after the inexplicable cure of a man from his hometown who was suffering from a painful gangrenous and perforated appendicitis. Irish President Mary McAleese headed the Irish delegation attending the Mass.