It is common practice for families to have the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a prominent place in the home with a light burning in front of it day and night.

Parents who commit themselves more meaningfully consecrate their family to the Sacred Heart.

The First Friday of the month is still a meaningful day for devotees. In most churches, in Malta and Gozo, a picture or a statue of the Sacred Heart is placed in a prominent place by way of reminding us that Friday is the first Friday of the month.

There is a marked increase in confessions and Mass attendance on the day. In most parishes the evening Mass is preceded by a Holy Hour and benediction.

The feast of the Sacred Heart in June is celebrated in a very special way. Parishes organise a novena of prayer and a special procession on the day. The procession proceeds slowly through the streets decorated with flowers and plants. Some parishioners hang a picture of the Sacred Heart and they light their balconies as a sign of welcome and respect.

So The Message found fertile ground when a certain Mr. Paul Galea Curmi took it upon himself to spread the message in Malta in the mid fifties and sixties. He got hold of a copy of "The Way of Divine Love" and he proceeded to translate excerpts from it into Maltese. He published them periodically in the form of little booklets which we bought for a few pence. Each booklet would have about eight pages of quotes.

My father memorised them and every evening after supper he would give us a gem out of this great treasure. Gradually he helped us translate our pious practices into a longing for a meaningful relationship with The Lord.

Josefa was for us like an older sister who was privileged enough to meet The Lord face to face. She was the one who brought us these messages directly from Him. They were messages that invited us to love more deeply. They were messages that revealed to us a God who loves us unconditionally. This was a big change from the God we feared and who kept a log on our First Fridays.

The passages about the passion opened for me a new way of meditating the Via Crucis. This was The Lord himself drawing us into the intimacy of those lonely moments when he faced rejection, betrayal, disappointment and physical suffering far greater than that of anyone else.

The message widened our horizons. Priests were for us persons who needed our prayers. The black cassock did not set them on a pedestal anymore. They became human like us, and like us they needed The Lord’s love and forgiveness.

Since those early days Malta has seen many changes. The Church and the State have had to define themselves as separate establishments serving the same population. The people became more secularised and, in the process, pious believers were marginalised still.

But The Lord keeps reaching out!

At present Josefa’s message is hardly known. The booklets have long become unavailable. Mr. Galea Curmi has gone to God and none of his publications have survived him. The translation into Maltese of the original text of Josefa’s writings is still in the making. Occasionally we find a copy of the English version of "The Way of Divine Love" in a bookstore on a shelf reserved for mystical writings.

Next to it we find St. Faustina’s Diaries in English and in the Maltese translation. They sell better, because thanks to Pope John Paul the second Faustina’s message of Divine Mercy has spread widely. The picture of Our Lord as revealed to Faustina is to be found everywhere. The devotion has grown and is now widespread. The Divine Mercy prayer groups can be found in every parish in Malta and Gozo. They take the initiative to organise holy hours and prayer meetings. On Sunday after Easter the feast of Divine Mercy is celebrated solemnly in every Parish in Malta and Gozo.

In this context I ask myself : How are we Religious of the Sacred Heart called today to spread the message that The Lord entrusted to the Society through Josefa?

What calls is The Lord making to us as Religious of the Sacred Heart today regarding His message to the world?

How can we offer believers a meaningful spirituality of Divine Mercy capable of allaying self-doubt and anxiety regarding salvation often seen in the rigid clinging to textual prayers and litanies?

Sr Mariella