The Church in Malta is celebrating the shipwreck of St Paul next Sunday, 31^st January instead of February 10  because that day is Ash Wednesday and therefore the start of Lent. Additionally, Sunday, February 7^th is carnival  and that makes it a further problem to celebrate St Paul’s coming among us in AD60.

The Shipwreck of St Paul Apostle at Malta

In-Nawfraġju ta’ San Pawl  Appostlu

Messalin B pp 528

First Reading                   From the Book of Wisdom, 14, 3-7

But your providence, O Father! guides it, for you have  furnished even in the sea a road, and through the waves a steady path,  Showing that you can save from any danger, so that even one without  skill may embark.  But you will that the products of your Wisdom be not  idle; therefore men trust their lives even to frailest wood, and have been  safe crossing the surge on a raft. For of old, when the proud giants were  being destroyed, the hope of the universe, who took refuge on a raft, left to  the world a future for his race, under the guidance of your hand. For blest  is the wood through which justice comes about; This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari                         Qari mill-Ktieb ta’ l-Għerf 14, 3-7

O Missier, bil-provvidenza tiegħek inti tmexxi il-bniedem.għax int tajtu triq bil-baħar, u  mogħdija żgura fuq il-ħalel. Int urejtu li int tista’ tħarsu minn kull  tiġrif, hekk li wkoll min mhux tas-sengħa jista’ jbaħħar. Int ma tridx li l-opri tal-għerf tiegħek jisfgħu fix-xejn; għalhekk il-bnedmin jafdaw ħajjithom fuq daqsxejn ta’ laqxa, jaqsmu l-imwieġ fuq dgħajsa u jsalu fil-port bis-sliem. Għax  tassew, sa mill-bidu taż-żmien,  meta ġganti  kburin kienu qegħdin jinqerdu, it-tama tad-dinja sabet il-kenn fuq dgħajsa u,  immexxija minn idek,  ħalliet lid-dinja ż-żerriegħa ta’ nisel ġdid. Imbierka l-għuda li biha jsir is-sewwa. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm   -  PSALM 107

  R/  Let them thank the LORD for such kindness, such wondrous deeds for mere mortals.

Let them offer a sacrifice in thanks,

declare his works with shouts of joy.

Some went off to sea in ships,

plied their trade on the deep waters.                                    R/

They rose up to the heavens, sank to the depths;

their hearts trembled at the danger.

They reeled, staggered like drunkards;

their skill was of no avail.                                                             R/

In their distress they cried to the LORD,

who brought them out of their peril,

Hushed the storm to a murmur;

the waves of the sea were stilled.

They rejoiced that the sea grew calm,

that God brought them to the harbor they longed for.R/

The upright saw this and rejoiced;

all wickedness shut its mouth.

Whoever is wise will take note of these things,

will ponder the merciful deeds of the LORD                      R/

Salm Responsorjali                    SALM  106

R/    Ħa jsebbħu l-Mulej għal tjubitu, għall-għegubijiet tiegħu mal-bnedmin!

Ħa jsebbħu l-Mulej għal tjubitu,

għall-għeġubijiet tiegħu mal-bnedmin!

Ħa joffru sagrifiċċji  ta’ radd il-ħajr,

u jxandru l-għemejjel tiegħu b’għana ferrieħi. R/

Dawk li jmorru bil-baħar fuq l-iġfna,

li jagħmlu l-qligħ f’ibħra kbar ħafna,

huma raw l-għemejjel tal-Mulej

u l-opri tiegħu tal-għaġeb f’qiegħ il-baħar.                        R/

Hu ordna u qajjem riefnu,

li qanqal imwieġ il-baħar.

Għolew  m’ogħla s-smewwiet,

niżlu sa qiegħ il-baħar;

qalbhom tmewtet bil-biża tat-telfa.                                      R/

Bdew iduru u jixxenglu bħal nies fis-sakra,

u tilfu ħilithom kollha.

Sejħu l-Mulej fit-tiġrib tagħhom,

u mill-hemm tagħħom ħelishom.

Hu bidel ir-riefnu f’żiffa,

u siektu mwieġ il-baħar.                                                              R/

Huma ferħu għax waqfu l-imwieġ ;

u hu mexxihom sal-port li xtaqu.

Ħa jsebbħu l-Mulej għal-tjubitu,

Għall-għeġubijiet tiegħu mal-bnedmin!                             R/

Second Reading    -  From Book of the Acts of Apostles, 27, 16-28; 28, 1-6

We passed along the sheltered side of an island named Cauda and  managed only with difficulty to get the dinghy under control. They hoisted it aboard, then used cables to undergird the ship. Because of their fear that they would run aground on the shoal of Syrtis, they lowered the drift anchor and were carried along in this way. We were being pounded by the storm so violently that the next day they jettisoned some cargo, and on the third day with their own hands they threw even the ship's tackle overboard. Neither the sun nor the stars were visible for many days, and no small storm raged. Finally, all hope of our surviving was taken away. When many would no longer eat, Paul stood among them and said, "Men, you should have taken my advice and not have set sail from Crete and you would have avoided this disastrous loss. I urge you now to keep up your courage; not one of you will be lost, only the ship. For last night an angel of the God to whom  belong and whom I serve stood by me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You are destined to stand before Caesar; and behold, for your sake, God has granted safety to all who are sailing with you.' Therefore, keep up your courage, men; I trust in God that it will turn out as I have been told. We are destined to run aground on some island."  On the fourteenth night, as we were still being driven about on the Adriatic Sea, toward midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were nearing land. They took soundings and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on, they again took soundings and found fifteen fathoms. Fearing that we would run aground on a rocky coast, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. The sailors then tried to abandon ship; they lowered the dinghy to the sea on the pretext of going to lay out anchors from the bow. But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." So the soldiers cut the ropes of the dinghy and set it adrift. Until the day began to dawn, Paul kept urging all to take some food. He said, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting, going hungry and eating nothing. I urge you, therefore, to take some food; it will help you survive. Not a hair of the head of anyone of you will be lost." When he said this, he took bread, ⁴ gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat. They were all encouraged, and took somefood themselves. In all, there were two hundred seventy-six of us on the ship. After they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea. When day came they did not recognize the land, but made out a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore on it, if they could. So they cast off the anchors and abandoned them to the sea, and at the same time they unfastened the lines of the rudders, and hoisting the foresail into the wind, they made for the beach. But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow was wedged in and could not be moved, but the stern began to break up under the pounding (of the waves). The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so that none might swim away and escape, but the centurion wanted to save Paul and so kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to the shore, and then the rest, some on planks, others on debris from the ship. In this way, all reached shore safely.  Once we had reached safety we learned that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us extraordinary hospitality; they lit a fire and welcomed all of us because it had begun to rain and was cold. Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire when a viper, escaping from the heat, fastened on his hand. When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "This man must certainly be a murderer; though he escaped the sea, Justice ¹ has not let him remain alive."  But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm.  They were expecting him to swell up or sudden to fall down dead but, after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god. This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Qari   -    mill-Atti ta’ l-Appostli  27, 16-28,6

B’ġirja waħda għaddejn taħt ir-riħ ta’ daqsxejn ta’ gżira jisimgħa Kawda.  Bilkemm stajna  nżommu d-dgħajsa warajna, u għalhekk tellgħuha mill-baħar.    Imbagħad qabdu  l-armar u rabtu l-ġifen dawramejt biċ-ċimi, niżżlu l-qlugħ u l-arbli,   għax beżgħu li ninkaljaw fuq is-Sirti, u hekk ħallejn l-mewġ ikaxkarna miegħu.  Il-għada t-tempesta ħabbtitna ħafna, bdew iwaddbu t-tagħbija l-baħar, u fit-tielet  jum irmew il-parank tal-ġifen b’idejhom stess.  Għal ħafna jiem la dehret xemx u  lanqas kwiekeb, it-tempesta li laqtitna ma kienitx ħafifa,   Hekk li fl-aħħar tlifna kull  tama li nsalvaw. In-nies kienu ilhom ħafna ma jieħdu xi ħaġa  biex jitrejqu; Pawlu waqaf f’nofshom u qalilhom:  “Ħbieb,  kien imisskom smajtu minni u ma tlaqtux minn Kreta; kontu teħilsu minn din il-ħsara u t-telf, imma issa nwissikom biex tagħmlu l-qalb, għax ħadd minnkom mhu se jitlef ħajtu;  il-ġifen biss jintilef. Għax dal-lejl deherli anġlu ta’ dak Alla li tiegħu  jien u li lilu nqim,  u qalli: “Tibżax, Pawlu.  Jeħtieġ  li inti tidher quddiem Ċesari:  ara, Alla tak il-ħajja ta’  dawk kollha li qegħdin jivvaġaw  miegħek.  Mela qawwu qalbkom, ħbieb.  Jien nemmen f’Alla li hekk isir, sewwa sew kif tħabbar lili. Jeħtieġ iżda li naħbtu ma’ gżira.“Meta wasal l-erbatax-il-lejl, konna ninsabu mitfugħin ‘l hawn u ‘l hemm fil-baħar ta’  Adrja.   Għall-ħabta  ta’ nofs il-lejl il-baħrin ħassew li konna resqin qrib xi art.  Skandaljaw il-għoli tal-baħar, u sabu għoxrin qama;  imxejna ftit ieħor ‘il quddiem reġgħu skandaljaw, u sabu ħmistax.  Huma beżgħu li xi mkien se naħbtu ma’ xi sikka, u għalhekk niżżlu  erba’ ankri mill-poppa.  Ix-xewqa tagħhom kienet li ma  jdumx ma jisbaħ.  Il-baħrin bdew ifittxu li jaħarbu mill-ġifen, u niżżlu d-dgħajsa  l-baħar bħallikieku biex idendlu xi ankri mill-pruwa. Iżda Pawlu qal liċ-ċentirjun u lis-suldati:  “Jekk dawn ma jibqgħux fuq il-ġifen, intom ma tistghux issalvaw.“   imbagħad is-suldati qaċċtu l-ħbula tad-dgħajsa u ħallewha tmur għal riħha.    Meta sar il-ħin biex jisbaħ, Pawlu qabad iħajjarhom ilkoll biex jtrejqu bi ħaġa, u qalilhom:  ˝Issa ġa ilkom erbatax-il-ġurnata tistennew  sajmin, u ma dduqu xejn.  Għalhekk inħajjarkom tieħdu xi ħaġa ta’ l-ikel, u jwetikom f’saħħitkom, għax ħadd minnkom mhi se tintiliflu xagħra waħda minn rasu˝.   Kif qal dan, qabad il-ħobż, radd il-ħajr ‘l Alla quddiem kulħadd qasam u beda jiekol.  Imbagħad kulħadd għamel il-qalb u ħadu xi ħaġa ta’ l-ikel huma wkoll. Konna b’kollox mitejn u sitta u sebgħin ruħ fuq il-ġifen.  Wara li xebgħu, bdew iħeffu l-ġifen u jwaddbu l-qamħ il-baħar.  Meta mbagħad sebaħ, l-art ma għarfuhiex, lemħu biss bajja bi xtajta fiha, u qatgħuha li jekk jista’ jkun, jitfgħu l-ġifen fuqha.  Irħew l-ankri u telquħom il-baħar, u ħallew ukoll l-irbit tat-tmun.  Imbagħad tellgħu l-qala tat-trinkett għar-riħ u ħadu għax-xtajta.  Iżda ħbatna ma’ sikka, li kellha l-baħar miż-żewġ naħat.  Il-pruwa baqgħet imwaħħla sewwa fil-post  u ma tħarrkitx iżjed, imma l-poppa bdiet  titfarrak bil-qilla tal-mewġ.  Is-suldati riedu kieku joqtlu l-priġunieri, li ma jaħrabx xi ћadd minnhom bil-għawm;  iżda ċ-ċenturjun, li ried isalva ‘l Pawlu, ma ħalliex il-ħsieb tagħhom iseħħ.  Lil dawk li kienu jafu jgħumu ordnalhom jintefgħu huma l-ewwel il-baħar u jmorru l-art;   lill-oħrajn ordnalhom jilħqu x-xatt min fuq twavel u minn fuq bċejjeċ imkissra tal-ġifen.  U hekk kulħadd qabad l-art qawwi u sħiħ.Meta ħlisna mil-għarqa, sirna nafu li l-gżira kien jisimha Malta.  In-nies tagħha ġiebu ruħhom magħna bil-ħlewwa liema bħalha.  Laqgħuna tajjeb lilna lkoll u qabbdulna ħuġġieġa, għax kienet bdiet nieżla x-xita u kien il-bard.  Mela Pawlu ġabar qatta zkuk niexfa u tefagħhom fin-nar.  Fiz-zkuk kien hekk lifgħa li malli ħaset is-sħana, ħarġet u qabdel ma’ id Pawlu.  In-nies tal-gżira, kif raw il-lifgħa mdendla ma’ idu, bdew igħidu wieħed lill-ieħor: “Dar-raġel żgur xi qattiel, għax għad li ħelisha mill-baħar, il-ġustizzja ma ħallitux igħix!“  imma hu farfar il-lifgħa ġon-nar u ma  ġralu xejn.  Huma stennew li se jarawh jintefaħ jew jaqa’ u jmut f’daqqa.  Wara li damu jistennew ħafna u raw li ma ġralu ebda deni, biddlu l-ħsieb  u bdew igħidu li kien xi Alla.     Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

The Gospel according to MARK 16, 15-20

He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.  They will pick up serpents (with their hands), and  if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick,and they will recover." So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven  and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju       Qari skond San Mark  16, 15-20

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesu’ qal lill-Ħdax: “Morru fid-dinja kollha,  xandru l-Bxara t-tajba lill-ħolqien kollu. min jemmen u jitgħammed, isalva;  iżda min ma jemminx, ikun ikkundantat.   U dawn huma l-mirakli li jsieħbu ‘l dawk li jemmnu:  f’ismi jkeċċu x-xjaten, jitkellmu b’ilsna ġodda, jaqbdu s-sriep b’idejhom, u jekk jixorbu xi xorb li  jġib il-mewt;  ma jagħmlilhomx ħsara;  iqiegħdu idejhom fuq il-morda u dawn ifiqu..˝  U hekk l-Mulej Ġesu’, wara li kellimhom, kien imtella’ fis-sema u qagħad in-naħa tal-lemin ta’ Alla.  Huma mbagħad marru jippriedkaw kullimkien; il-Mulej kien jaħdem magħhom u jwettaq il-kelma bil-mirakli li kienu jsiru magħha. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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COMMENTARY on  PAUL AT MALTA (Acts 28:1-14)

And when they were escaped, they knew that the island was called Malta.…

It is an ill wind which blows nobody good. Here is a case in point. The sailors regarded it an ill wind that wrecked their ship, but had it sunk them in mid-ocean it would have been a worse wind. It blew good to the islanders, for they got healing for the body and gospel for the soul. It blew good to the apostle, for he was received with an angel's welcome and became a dispenser of rich blessings. Indeed, can we call any wind an ill one? The stormy wind is ever fulfilling God's word. It is better than the south wind blowing softly, but often bringing peril. "Mysterious providences" is a phrase we ordinarily affix to unpleasant things, but in the light of accomplished facts our view of what is good or ill may be corrected. Our partial knowledge leads us to misjudgments. Wait till tomorrow. All will be well. Impatience is rebuked by the revelations of Providence.

The evangelist Luke speaks here of "barbarians," a people who did not speak Greek. We Englishmen have something of this feeling towards aliens, but we call it "patriotism." Worst of all is this clannish spirit when shown by some portion of the Church who say, "The temple of the Lord are we!" The Lord Jesus requires us to put away such exclusiveness. "No common kindness" was shown by these "barbarians," who were really friends, aye, Christians in a large sense, for did they not realise the Spirit of the Master? "I was ahungered," etc. I'd rather stand with them, at last, than with many robed and titled ones.

To feed the welcome fire and strengthen the blaze, Paul gathers wood in his hands. Those hands were always ready for service: to gather golden coin to the coffers of the Church, or to make tents for his own support; to raise the dead, or gather converts to Christ; to quell a mob, or, "beckoning," hold an audience with a wizard's spell. He now gathered sticks, for he was all things to all men, and had no respect for the "blue blood" which looks disdainfully on meaner men. He flung the faggots on the fire, and soon a frozen viper warmed by the heat, leaped forth and fastened itself on the apostle's hand.

The bystanders infer that Paul is a criminal, saved from the flood to die by the viper's fang. Notice, that even heathen have a conviction of the retributive justice of God. It is only the civilised fool who says, "No God," and he says it in his heart. How ready people are to jump at conclusions. Paul's chain settled the fact that he was a guilty criminal, and so we unjustly judge the accused and arrested before he is proved culpable. The innocent are often overshadowed. Charity "believes all things." The proverb is, "We guess eggs when we see egg shells," but there is a barn-door fowl as well as a cockatrice. Isaac Watts advises us always to "Endeavour to believe a story to be wrong which ought to be wrong." Remember the moral effect upon ourselves of the judgment we pass upon others.

The viper on Paul's hand produced no fatal harm. Paul "must stand before Caesar." Neither the high priest, the Jewish Parliament, the conspirators, the devil himself, the storm-lashed Mediterranean Sea, nor the venomous viper, can prevent his going to Rome. So we are going to heaven, and God is our continual guard. All nature is used by Him for our good and we need not fear.

There are different classes of vipers. Ingratitude is one. Its fangs are sharp, but may be shaken off. Slander is another. It would be venomous if its power were as good as its will.

But integrity comes out unharmed. The barbarian cried out, "He is a god!" It would have been truer to say, "He has a God." That was the secret of his safety. Have you one? If God be for us, who or what can be against us?  (From a thought by J. Jackson Wray.)