Archbishop uses National Anthem as Christmas prayer ahead of 2024 anniversaries

Archbishop Charles Scicluna conveyed a Christmas message which called on Maltese and Gozitans to reflect on the prayer with which national poet Dun Karm Psaila imbued the national anthem.

“As Malta begins to celebrate important anniversaries like those of Independence and the Republic with great joy, let us pray, asking for what the national poet taught us to pray: sound judgement, mercy, health, unity, and peace,” Scicluna said, invoking Psaila’s words.

2024 commemorates two significant anniversaries: the 60th year since Malta became an independent state and its 50th year as a republic.

Scicluna said Christmas was a gift of God, who is implored by Psaila in L-Innu Malti to grant the islands five gifts “that delineate and provide the foundation of our life together as a society” – sound judgement, mercy, health, unity, and peace.

“The sound judgement that Dun Karm requested for the rulers, for those who govern, for those who have the authority to pass laws, is a gift that is also a gift from God because sound judgement is wisdom and integrity – the desire to work generously for the common good. Our prayer in the coming year shall be for sound judgement and wisdom to characterise the decisions and governing style of those who lead our society with legitimate authority,” Scicluna said.

He added mercy as a quality of the employer, emphasising the need for employers to be merciful, considering their responsibility for others and for migrant workers. “Our obligation extends beyond being merciful solely to fellow Maltese and Gozitans; we must also extend mercy to those who have chosen to live among us. Approximately 20% of our islands’ population consists of people who came here to work and build a new life. We need to show mercy and solidarity towards our brethren, regardless of their origins.”

Scicluna referred to health and well-being, linking it to the declining rate of childbirth. “I invite our couples to live with generosity and deep commitment. Children are a blessing and contribute to the health of a country and its future. As we celebrate the birth of a baby, I pray... we will also be blessed with new offspring, more children, and new generations of Maltese and Gozitan citizens.”

Dun Karm concluded the National Anthem with a prayer to strengthen unity and peace, which Scicluna linked to a call for respect for one another. “I pray that these five blessings, which Dun Karm prayed for in the Maltese National Anthem for our country, will be blessings that we actively work toward and welcome as a great gift from God. In doing so, we realise that perhaps we cannot achieve these alone but can do so together and with the help of God.”

Scicluna also called for prayers for peace and mourned the thousands of victims in the conflict in Gaza. “It is as though Herod is still with us, waiting in ambush in the heart of every person. We wish to show our solidarity with Israel and Palestine. We pray that, through the grace of this holy Christmas Day in the year 2023, God will soften the hardness of human hearts.”