Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale288

Paul's shipwreck and his three-month stay in Malta left an indelible mark

upon the history of your country. His words to his companions prior to his

arrival in Malta are recorded for us in the Acts of the Apostles and have been a

special theme in your preparation for my visit. Those words - "Jeh̄tieg iżda

li naslu fi gżira" ["But we are to be stranded on some island"].1 - In their

original context are a summons to courage in the face of the unknown and to

unfailing confidence in God's mysterious providence. The castaways were, in

fact, warmly welcomed by the Maltese people, following the lead given by

Saint Publius. In God's plan, Saint Paul thus became your father in the

Christian faith. Thanks to his presence among you, the Gospel of Jesus Christ

took deep root and bore fruit not only in the lives of individuals, families and

communities, but also in the formation of Malta's national identity and its

vibrant and distinctive culture.

Paul's apostolic labours also bore a rich harvest in the generations of

preachers who followed in his footsteps, and particularly in the great number

of priests and religious who imitated his missionary zeal by leaving Malta in

order to bring the Gospel to distant shores. I am happy to have had the

opportunity to meet so many of them today in this Church of Saint Paul,

and to encourage them in their challenging and often heroic vocation. Dear

missionaries: I thank all of you, in the name of the whole Church, for your

witness to the Risen Lord and for your lives spent in the service of others.

Your presence and activity in so many countries of the world brings honour

to your country and testifies to an evangelical impulse deeply embedded in

the Church in Malta. Let us ask the Lord to raise up many more men and

women to carry forward the noble mission of proclaiming the Gospel and

working for the advancement of Christ's Kingdom in every land and people!

Saint Paul's arrival in Malta was not planned. As we know, he was travel-

ling to Rome when a violent storm arose and his ship ran aground on this

island. Sailors can map a journey, but God, in his wisdom and providence,

charts a course of his own. Paul, who dramatically encountered the Risen

Lord while on the road to Damascus, knew this well. The course of his life was

suddenly changed; henceforth, for him, to live was Christ; 2 his every thought

and action was directed to proclaiming the mystery of the Cross and its

message of God's reconciling love.

1 Acts 27:26. 2 Cfr. Phil 1:21.