| S p i r i t u a l i t y |
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| S p i r i t u a l i t y |
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BLESSED GEORGE PRECA
AND CHRIST JESUS
Fr Preca undertook his spiritual journey
based on a Christ-centered spirituality. This is confirmed from his own writings
and special programmes that he devised for the Members on special feasts.
His spiritual journey to Christ was not of an emotional
nature but in the manner indicated by the Church. He was quite conscious that
nobody can build a healthy relationship without knowing the one whom he is going
to love. So Fr Preca studied earnestly the basics of Catholic Dogma. Through
this study he became conscious of the person of Jesus Christ, and the salvation
that he brought us from sin. The teaching of Dogmatic Theology he received from
the Seminary was not enough for him, so he continued studying St Thomas Aquinas
and the Church Fathers. When reading thoroughly the "Readings for December", it
seems to me that l am reading a doctor of the Church. In these pages Fr Preca
imparts a lot of reflections on the Incarnation of Our Lord, while at the same
time composing a Christological Treatise.
But we are certainly mistaken if we affirm that of Christ he
had intellectual knowledge only. Fr Preca strengthened this knowledge by
praying, contemplating and imitating Christ. The "School of Bethlehem" is an
example of how the Founder based his teaching on Jesus Christ on prayer and
meditation, while proving his assertions by using Sacred Scripture. In this way
he was an excellent teacher of giving others the Christ of Dogmatic Theology and
that of meditation, in a balanced and interwoven way. Scholars like Hans Urs Von
Balthasar affirm that even Doctors of the Church, like St Francis de Sales and
St Alphonsus de Liguori, failed in this synthesis.
Fr Preca used extensively Sacred Scripture to meditate on the
Person of Jesus Christ. This can be proved from the episodes in The Watch,
in which in a simple but clear manner he devised short meditations for all
Members of the Society. If a Member prays The Watch daily, he can
experience how the Founder reflected about Christ in a simple manner. The
Mansions composed for first the Friday of every month is another example of
how the Founder meditated, sometimes on insignificant details, which appear in
certain narratives in the Gospels.
The Founder fixed all his attention on two episodes in
Christ’s life: the incarnation and his passion and death on the cross. While the
Latin Tradition emphasized Christ’s death with great celebration of Good Friday,
the eastern Church highlighted the Incarnation. Also great saints like St
Francis of Assisi meditated on these moments of Christ’s life.
In fact Fr Preca was very devout of the Incarnation and birth
of Jesus Christ For him the Incarnation was a mystery and a message that ought
to be remembered and celebrated. He wanted everybody to wear the badge showing
the words "Verbum Dei caro factum est", but gradually became a
distinctive badge of the Society of Christian Doctrine. Like St Francis of
Assisi who devised the first crib, Blessed George Preca initiated in Malta the
procession with Baby Jesus on Christmas eve. He was so fond of meditating about
the Incarnation that he wanted this procession to be carried inside the centres
every 25th
day of every month.
With equal vigour, he also contemplated Christ dying on the
cross. He used to encourage Members to install a devout crucifix in the chapel
of every centre and promoted in Malta the holy devotion to the Lord’s wounds.
His aspirations and reflections beneath the crucifix can be clearly seen in the
The Great Book. It consists of fifty meditations drawn from Christ
suffering until death.
Unlike the trends of his time, Fr Preca
was a balanced writer and shunned all false and emotional devotions. So he
meditated on Christ Crucified as perfect model of instruction and example:
"Jesus Christ, the true and only Master of all humanity, and through whom God
has communicated to us the knowledge of eternal life, is slain on the cross thus
emphasising, by his example, what He had taught. Who does not see the importance
of good instruction in this zeal of God to give us his very Son to teach us not
only by word but also by example" (Page Forty-three — "The Necessity of Good
Instruction")
This lesson attests how keen was Fr Preca in his devotions
based on sound theology. Although he kept on stressing that Christ’s role was
that of Teacher, he never failed to grasp that all Christ’s teaching would have
been in vain, unless he redeemed us from sin. He was so familiar with Jesus that
he used to present him in diverse manners: as a Teacher with his students and
followers, and as a Medical Doctor in a hospital consisting of different wards.
These images show how the Founder depicted Christ with symbols full of meaning.
God willed that Fr Preca thread the way from meditation to
contemplation. The latter is a human activity aided by grace by which the person
involved finds spiritual delight in thinking about a mystery of faith or fixing
his gaze on Jesus Christ or other persons of the Holy Trinity. Blessed George
Preca used to go in front of the Tabernacle and pray by reminding Christ a story
from his life. He named this prayer "The exercise of Friar Franku". From this
contemplation he devised the Holy Week Programmes that show that the Founder had
infused contemplation, which God gives to those persons in advanced stage of
spiritual life.
Fr Preca was not content to contemplate Christ alone. He
followed the maxim "Contemplatio aliis tradere", which means"giving the
fruits of contemplation to others". He used to give conferences about Christian
doctrine and he was well aware that to love Jesus is to give him to others. The
meaning that he gave to the name MUSEUM ("may the whole world follow your
Gospel") is of a missionary nature. In fact he dedicated himself to this ideal
by word, example and writings.
He so loved Christ that he was ready to follow him even among
tribulations. The short essay named "Six Apostrophes on God" show us that he was
united with him in a most intimate way, reserved for those who had undergone the
night of the senses and of the spirit. In the night of the senses, the persons
involved do not experience sensible consolations but darkness, while in that of
the spirit one becomes so conscious of his faults, that one thinks that he is
going to hell. We do not know for certain whether Blessed George Preca underwent
this spiritual experience but it is true that he had to suffer many hardships
for promoting Christian Doctrine.
So, in this manner, he followed Christ even when his
Superiors ordered him to close all the branches, and like Christ he forgave all
those who were hindering his noble and holy work.
All his life was "with Christ, in Christ and for Christ". He
so loved him that he was determined with all his strength to remain a loyal
follower until his death. Even a few days before meeting Christ in heaven, he
was reading the Gospel of St John without tiring himself.
Angelo Xuereb sdc
Qala – Gozo
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