Anxiously concerned with the needs of the age

Yesterday while walking through Valletta, Malta I came across a procession.  Lead by a pipe band it made its way through the narrow streets of the old city.  A group of children in long white cassocks followed and then adults with dramatic gowns and the Maltese emblem emblazoned on each shoulder.  Following them came a group of men struggling under the weight of a huge wooden structure carrying a cross and other figures.  Their walk was peculiar with a sideways sway to every step forward.  Then as they grew closer I saw the strain on their faces and began to appreciate the weight they were carrying.  At the corner of a street they lowered their burden and huge swollen patches on their shoulders were evident.  Not red patches but massive protrusions the size of two huge fists.  They looked sore beyond belief and suddenly the spectacle had ceased to hold any appeal.  It reminded me of the followers who scourge themselves for religious reasons.  I felt my heart sink, much as I tried and did admire the tenacity of their devotion.  It just seems to be that in this day our devotion much surely be shown in service to our fellow humans not in such practices.  Here on Malta there is a 80-year-old Franciscan priest who has been running a shelter for the refugees fleeing to Europe for forty years.  Being on the edge of Europe, people in makeshift boats head across the Mediterranean to find sanctuary and refuge.  The centre called the Peace Laboratory provides an oasis of calm and security to those who have nothing.  At a time when so many want to make their mark on the world, wouldn’t it be good if many more chose to serve humanity and became anxiously concerned with the needs of the age we live in.