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On Thursday, February 7th, 2008, His Eminence
and Grand Master, Fra' Andrew Bertie
was called home to God. Fra' Bertie was
the 78th Grand Master of the Order of
Malta, and he devoted himself wholeheartedly
to leading our Order for the past twenty
years. His death was brought about by cancer-related
causes. Please pray for the repose of
his soul, and for the consolation of
his family and friends in their time
of loss.
An excellent tribute
to Fra' Bertie may be found here.
Official Press Release
(PDF)
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Nearly forty members
of our Association and their friends took part in the fourth
annual “Walk for Life” in San Francisco
on January 19th. A crowd estimated at over 25,000 listened to inspirational
speeches by many pro-life leaders, including the niece of Martin
Luther King, jr., and then walked through the streets of San Francisco
to proclaim the sanctity of human life, and to say that “women
deserve better” than abortion. Involvement in the pro-life
movement brings together the two great purposes of our Order, the
defense of the faith and service to the sick and the poor. As Catholics,
we profess the Gospel of Life; as servants of the poor, we recognize
that the weakest among us, the unborn, are in need of our care – and
that often poor women are the target of
the abortion industry. The day began with Mass celebrated by Archbishop
Niederauer; he and seven other bishops took part in the Walk.
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Our Malta volunteers
headed by Kevin White contributed over 260 hours and turned
the Old Women’s Jail
cafeteria into a magical place full of
balloons, personalized Christmas stockings
with individual gifts, great home-cooked food and
Christmas carols. The love, respect and
spirit in the room touched the lives of
the residents in ways we could never have
imagined. As one of the counselors wrote, “You brought the
spirit of Christmas into the hearts of all the men and women
living there.” A poignant comment made by several of the
residents was “I can’t remember the last time I ate
off a real
plate.” The love and spirit of the event is captured in these
pictures.
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Early
on the morning of December 2nd, Benedict
XVI visited the Roman hospital of St.
John the Baptist, which belongs to the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta and
specializes in treating people suffering
from neurological disorders.
The Holy Father celebrated
M ass then went on to visit the reanimation
unit, an advanced structure for the cure
and rehabilitation of patients recovering
from comas.
In his homily, delivered
before patients and their families gathered
in a hall of the hospital, the Pope gave
assurances of his spiritual closeness and his daily prayers, inviting
them to "find support
and comfort in Jesus, and never to lose
trust."
"God visits
us mysteriously in suffering and sickness," said the Holy
Father, "and if we abandon ourselves to His will, we may
experience the power of His love. Hospitals and nursing homes,
precisely because they are inhabited by people tried by pain, can
become privileged places in which to bear witness to the Christian
love that nourishes hope and gives rise to fraternal solidarity."
Benedict XVI then
recalled how, at its origins, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
- of which Fra' Andrew Bertie is the current grand master - was
dedicated to helping pilgrims in the Holy Land by means of a Hospice-Infirmary,
and how "it sought to cure the sick, especially the poor
and marginalized. One testimony of such fraternal love," he
added, "is this hospital which, having been built in the 1970s,
is today a center of high technology and of solidarity where, alongside
the healthcare staff, many volunteers work with generous dedication."
The Holy Father told
the doctors, nurses and volunteers who work in the hospital that
they "are called to provide an important service to the sick
and to society, a service that calls for abnegation and a spirit
of sacrifice.
"In each sick
person," he added, "may you know how to recognize and
serve Christ Himself. Show Him, with your gestures and your words,
the signs of His merciful love."
Pope also took advantage
of his visit to the hospital "ideally" to present his
Encyclical "Spe salvi" to the Christian community of
Rome. And he invited his listeners to study the text "so as
to discover the reasons for that 'trustworthy hope, by virtue of
which we can face our present, ... even if it is arduous'."
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Most Holy Redeemer Aids Support Group has created a volunteer program
for the Knights and Dames of Malta that will make a tremendous
difference to those they serve.
This Aids Support
Group is in great need of our help. Basically are you willing
to be an Angel Driver?
Would
you be willing to assist
with the transportation needs of HIV / AIDS
patients with doctor appointments, outpatient
medical procedures, hospital discharge,
and numerous other needs? Often
requests for transportation assistance come
with little advance notice.
Right
now there is an unusual need. There is
an AIDS patient in Oakland that must receive
treatment that is only available at a hospital
in San Francisco. He is no longer able
to take public transportation. When
he reaches the hospital in SF he may need
assistance at the hospital.
As
it is now a staff member from MHR-ASG must
drive from San Francisco to Oakland, then
to San Francisco and then back to Oakland
and then back to San Francisco to the office.
Is there an Angel Driver who lives in the
East Bay who could do this for us?
The
Knights of Malta and MHR-ASG Angel Drivers
program works as follows.
We are creating an e-mail list of Knights
or Dames who have expressed an interest in
being an Angel Driver. When
a requirement comes up you will receive an
e-mail outlining the particulars.
If
you are interested and your schedule permits,
you can contact MHR-ASG for the next steps. Beyond
that there is no obligation.
www.mhr-asg.com/
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PHASE II –
Order of Malta Home Renovation Program in New Orleans,
Louisiana
September 2007-
April 2008
From
March 2005 to April 2006, over 250 members
of the Order of Malta from all across the
US participated in Phase I of the Order
of Malta Home Renovation Program in New
Orleans. Thanks to a successful partnership
with Rebuilding Together, Catholic Charities
of New Orleans and the New Orleans Marriott
our volunteers worked none different one-week
work sessions in Treme, Gentilly, and New
Orleans East. Sixteen families have moved
back in their homes as a result of the
great work done by our Order of Malta volunteers.
So successful was the program that we have
decided to extend it for six more sessions – Sept & Dec
2007 and Jan/Feb/March/April 2008.
The
exact work weeks are listed below, along
with all of the other information about
the program. One of the major differences
in Phase II will be the overall size and scope of the project. In Phase I our
volunteers were working on homes with major damage requiring extensive and
expensive repairs. Teams of 30-40 volunteers
would work all week, and the house would
still be weeks from completion. In Phase
II we will be working in houses that only
need a week’s worth of finishing work before the family can move back
in. We are only accepting 25 volunteers per week.
Our efforts will be concentrated in the Treme / Esplanade Ridge section of New
Orleans. Very near downtown / French Quarter, this entire neighborhood will positively
be re-built.
We
need six teams of volunteer workers, 20-25
per team, one team for each of the six
weeks listed below. Volunteers will arrive
on their own (usually) on Sunday afternoon,
and check into the New Orleans Marriott
( Canal Street). We work (usually) Monday – Thursday
from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM. All three
meals will be provided, and there will
be a farewell party on the last night.
If
you can help, please contact Bill Regan
at the Malta Office (415) 788-4550.
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