Upon this Rock magazine is published monthly by EuropeAxess Media, Gibraltar. Editor: Fr. S. Chipolina: editor@uponthisrock.gi. Production Editor: A. Sargent angela@europeaxess.com. Upon this Rock magazine is entirely supported by advertising and donations. It is run in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar by EuropeAxess Media Ltd. as a not-for-profit project. For Advertisers: This magazine is hand-delivered to homes, churches, hospitals and many businesses around Gibraltar every month. To discuss your advertising requirements, or promote your church group or charity, call Tel: +350 200 79335 email: angela@europeaxess.com. Editorial is selected by EuropeAxess Media in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar. Neither of these parties is responsible for the accuracy of the information

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Fr. Stuart on finding true freedom in Lent

Free... . . . from sin

D ear Friends A common and i n c r e a s i n g l y

fashionable misinterpreta-tion as we enter the liturgi-cal season of Lent, is that the traditional practice of “giving something up” is a negative approach. Noth-ing could be farther from the truth!

Lent is a season of penitential reflection in which we take a sober inventory of our lives, specifically our daily behaviours, and evaluate them against our claim to be Disciples of Christ. Disciples are under a discipline, the discipline of a love greater then ourselves, for an agenda more important than our own instinctual whims and wants.

This liturgical season invites us to die to the tyranny of our willful agendas and self-interested attachments, that we might willingly live in the freedom of God’s loving agenda and plan for our lives. It’s a 40 day period of time, to reflect on what gets in the way of our receiving and living out our vocation to love. Our vocation as Christians is to emulate Christ’s suffering, revealed in the paschal mystery, his death and resurrection FOR LOVE OF US! When something is in the way in such an important relationship, we want to remove it, so no obstacle impedes our spiritual progress of growing into the fully mature man or woman in Christ.

Lent is not about doing more, but doing less; not about addition, but subtraction. It goes against a relentless cultural conditioning that promotes the idea that we are all better off the more we have, the more we do, the more we achieve, the more we are known. This season teaches us to say “No”

Free... . . . from sin

again to that kind of societal brainwashing that suggests we have too little and to reassert our freedom in a Christian message of “Yes” to having more than enough in Christ.

We specifically give things up to exercise our freedom and practice our “No” to those compulsory attachments to things, people and activities that we unthinkingly turn to instead of the one thing necessary: eternal friendship with God, glimpsing its joyous splendor even now while on our daily earthy pilgrimage.

Lent does ask something more of us; to fast, to pray

and to give alms to the poor. These are the built-in scriptural additions, “the more” of Lent. But to remember to eat more moderately, pray more consistently and give to the poor (not just materially, but emotionally, spiritually or socially) more intentionally, we need “a daily trigger”, as it were; a reminder that this time is not like any other time of the year. But this is only the beginning of our Lenten effort. The trigger is for the real work of Lent: turning to God disguised as our impoverished brother and sister in some kind of

need, rather than saying, “not my responsibility” or “I shouldn’t get involved.”So, far from being

negative, the season of Lent is always about the posit ive: the positive retrieval of our God-given freedom to choose what really fills us and to detach ourselves from the superfluous pursuits that leave us, in the long run, increasingly unfree and imprisoned.

God bless us all during this Lent,

+Father Stuart.

Background image this page: Make a good confession in the Catholic Church. from truegoodandbeautiful.net

H e came to us during Lent, 13 March 2013,

the new Bishop of Rome, who announced himself to the world as Pope Francis. Since then he has been reaching out to people more than any of his predecessors and in his Lenten messages with his exhortation to “‘make your hearts firm’ (James 5: 8), by interceding before God for the many situations of poverty and suffering in the world.”

Lent we understand is a preparation for Easter and since earliest times of the Church there is evidence of some kind of arrangements for this. The word Lent comes from the Teutonic word for Spring and the practice developed out of Jewish preparation for the Passover. During the Council of Nicea in AD 325, Emperor Constantine officially recognised the Church as the Roman Empire’s state religion, since then, in the greater part of the Western Church, Lent has consisted of forty days of fasting, increased prayer and almsgiving. “Lent,”

the Pope has said “comes providentially to awaken us, to shake us from our lethargy”. It is meant to wake us up and to get us to pray for the strength to change our lives meaningfully as the Prophet Joel put it, “Rend your hearts, not your garments”.

Christians embrace Lent as a time for self denial and fasting, and fasting the Pope has said “should exercise our hearts”, and it really makes sense “if it chips away at our securities” and allows us to focus on the needs of others, “interceding before God for the many situations of poverty and suffering in the world”.

This can be a time of spiritual battle as we face temptations which can be both attractive and seductive.

Remember when Jesus was fasting in the desert, with the devil lurking, ready to pounce?

He did so when the Lord was weak and tired. Fasting is exhausting. These temptations were real and Jesus had to battle in order to overcome them, but he did so because he allowed

himself to be led by the Spirit. There is no sin in temptation but we have to pray earnestly for the Grace to resist and overcome.

We begin our Lenten journey marking our foreheads with his cross, in the form of the ashes of the burnt Passion Sunday palm leaves from the previous year. Pope Francis tells us...

“it is a time of renewal for the whole Church, for each community and every believer”.

He speaks of temptation “we are tempted by indifference” which he calls “the globalisation of indifference” and refers to the gruesome news reports and stark images of human suffering which flood the Media on a daily basis. Recently, this flood has become a tsunami. Innocent victims of war, poverty, flooding, the premature deaths of young people and lost hopes overwhelm us. Desperate situations are endured in so many places around the world now, with deep unspeakable suffering. Adversity, hardship and misfortune are part of the human condition, and are never far away. So, we either turn away from God in anger, or grow closer to Him in trust and confidence through prayer. The Pope exhorts us to pray, “let us not underestimate the power of so many voices united in prayer”. He has called Christians to observe “24 hours for the Lord - GOD RICH IN MERCY”. This initiative was received with great enthusiasm

in 2014 and will be celebrated once again in 2015 on March 13-14.

Pope Francis will preside at a penitential celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica, in order to place the Sacrament of Reconciliation at the centre of the Church’s mission of the new evangelization.

The theme which will guide the reflection in 2015 is: God rich in mercy (Eph 2:4).

He recommends acts of charity. “Lent is a favourable time for showing concern for others by small yet concrete signs of our belonging to the one human family”. This goes beyond just fasting as the Pope points out, “it is not just to follow the rules of fasting and abstinence, because that would lead to self satisfaction”.

Fasting and repentance go together but there is no point in planting a seed if the ground is frozen. We must ‘make our hearts firm’ as the Pope asks and let these hearts be touched by Grace and learn to trust in the infinite possibilities “which Gods love holds for us”.

Make YourHearts

Firm Words of encouragement from the ‘Lenten Pope’.

Anne Mesilio

St.Patrick’s Breastplate

St.Patrick’s Breastplate

S t . P a t r i c k ’ s D a y 1 7 t h M a r c h

St. Patrick’s Breastplate is a popular prayer attributed to one of Ireland’s most beloved patron saints whose Saint’s Day falls on the 17th of March. According to tradition, St. Patrick wrote it in 433 A.D. for divine protection before successfully converting the Irish King Leoghaire and his subjects from paganism to Christianity.

I arise today, Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the

Oneness of the Creator of creation.I arise today, Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism, Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial, Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension, Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.I arise today, Through the strength of the love of cherubim, In the obedience of angels, In the service of archangels, In the hope of resur-rection to meet with reward, In the prayers of patriarchs, In the predictions of prophets, In the preaching of apostles, In the faith of confessors, In the innocence of holy virgins, In the deeds of righteous men.I arise today, through The strength of heaven, The light of the sun, The radiance of the moon, The splendor of fire, The speed of lightning, The swiftness of wind, The depth of the sea, The stability of the earth, The firmness of rock.I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me, God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s shield to protect

me, God’s host to save me From snares of dev-ils, From temptation of vices, From everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and near.I summon today All these powers between me and those evils, Against every cruel and merci-less power that may oppose my body and soul, Against incantations of false prophets, Against black laws of pagandom, Against false laws of heretics, Against craft of idolatry, Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards, Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul; Christ to shield me today Against poi-son, against burning, Against drowning, against wounding, So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

When St. Paul referred to put-ting on the “Armour of God” in his letter to the E p h e s i a n s (6:11) to fight sin and evil i nc l ina t ions , he could have been thinking of prayers just like this one! This prayer is a valuable piece in our armour for protection against spiritual adversity.

Photo: St. Patrick from St. Joseph’s Church, Gibraltar by Anne Mesilio

L iving here in Gibraltar we can

not imagine the level of poverty experienced by the poorest of the poor in Calcutta (now Kolkata), the third largest city in India, whose urban metropolitan

area is home to over fourteen million people.

It was on 7 October, 1950, that the new congregation of the Missionaries of Charity was officially established in the Archdiocese of Calcutta at their Mother House to the East of the Hooghly River. The determined young nun was

given an area by the city in Kaligatt, where her work with the dying is well documented. As the Missionaries of Charity took in increasing numbers of lost children, Mother Teresa felt the need to create a separate refuge for them. In 1955 she opened the facility at Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, the Children’s Home of the Immaculate Heart.

This refuge for abandoned babies, those who were put out because they were sick or because they were unwanted, has the capacity for 300 babies and young children. There they are safe, can receive first aid, some nourishment and above all love. The centre never has fewer than 50 helping, their numbers are made up of the Sisters, qualified volunteer nurses and doctors, and helpers both locally and from around the world. Any visitor to the centre will be asked to help, the sisters are very wary of visitors who want to come just to see, to take photos. If the sisters are asked ‘How can I help?’ the visitor will not be asked to open their cheque book, but to open their heart, they will be asked ‘How long have you got?’ And they will be invited to help with the work of running the centre in a practical way, or perhaps given a specific child to take care of, or an area to oversee.

The Sister’s work is sustained by prayer. If they didn’t put God above everything else they would never have the strength or power to do what they do. It’s all achieved through love, seeing baby Jesus in the infants they care for. A high priority for them is to spend time before the blessed sacrament in adoration.

Mass is of course the ultimate form of adoration, Monseigneur Paul Bear has been to Shishu Bhavan seven times. One year he was asked to look after a patio, where the children play, and where the food is prepared. One small boy, who had just

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was called to minister not to the poor, but to the poorest of the poor, to those who had no one, to those who were found on the street, abandoned and dying.

to serve

Hearts to love and

Hands

The Legacy of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata Angela Sargent

Left: Adopted by a Swiss Catholic family, Dhani Bergmann is a testimony to the work of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata: Photo: Getty Images, Gamma Rapho. Above left: A Sister and two volunteers help feed the babies at Shishu Bhavan. Below: Blessed Theresa of Kolkata Founder of the Missionaries of Charity

arrived there, was brought to him, for him to look after, he bathed the boy, cut his hair for him, served him a meal and put him to bed.

The next morning Father did not see the boy when it was time for breakfast, so he went to look for him and found him still in his bed. He was all smiles, but he could not move when Father indicated it was time to get up. Father called the Sister, who was also a doctor, and when she lifted his leg a little way off the cot, it fell as if it were lifeless, “Polio” was her tragic diagnosis.

After receiving primary care at Shishu Bhavan the babies will be re-homed as soon as the Sisters can find somewhere suitable for them, another medical facility, a family or a place in an orphanage. One baby who came through Shishu Bhavan over 21 years ago, Dhani, was eventually adopted by a Swiss couple from Lucern when he was five years old. He is now serving as a member of the Swiss Guard, the Vatican’s militia and he has sworn to protect the life of the Pope.

I know when people first learned about Mother Teresa in the 90’s, after reading the books that were published, many felt the tug to go and help her in Kolkata. Mother Teresa was quite clear on that point, I read how many young women from the west, particularly America, had made that journey. Arriving there, they were overcome by total culture shock, the aggressive environment, the soot, noise and

heat of the Indian sub continent, this meant they were not able to work, but often in need of care themselves! So Mother asked them not to come but to become aware of those suffering in their own families, and their own communities, saying:

“The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty - it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There’s a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.”

Carmen Xeri heard the call as so many of us did, but she put it into action in Gibraltar, firstly in her own heart, she became a Lay Missionary of Charity, taking vows of chastity, poverty (or perfect charity), and obedience as well as a forth vow, particular to the Order, to give “wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor.” To date she is the only one locally who became a Lay Missionary of the Order.

The work she started with the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa continues under the leadership of Valerie Triay. The scope of the Gibraltar Co-Workers of Mother Teresa is breathtaking. There are three groups, and a big priority is to help Mother Teresa’s Mission of Charity House in Tangiers. In

Tangiers the Mission of Charity (M.C.) Sisters’ main focus is to care for unmarried mothers, who are ostracised and may be in physical danger in their own community. Young pregnant women are given refuge until the birth of their child, and their babies are cared for in the crèche for up to two years. Everything the Sisters need is sent from Gibraltar. “People are wonderful,” explained Valerie “I collect clean, used clothes for the babies and children, as well as nappies, and toiletries.

We have to take these in suitcases and on trollies now as they stopped us taking a van, but

we will carry on helping them. “The Sisters are such an

example of what loving God and God’s love really is. They always have a smile on their faces, always laughing as if they lived in the most luxurious hotel in the world.”

“There’s such humility, love and peace in every single room of that House in Tangiers. When we come back in the Ferry I always ask myself, how dare I complain of anything and everything after what I’ve lived in the few hours in their company?”

The Sisters have also taken in

Angela Sargent

sick or dying adults, to the degree that they have facilities for them, and currently are caring for a woman who was found paralysed and in a bad way.

The M.C. Sisters also offer ‘street boys’—homeless youths, showers and clean clothes and a meal every Wednesday.

The Gibraltar Co-Workers of Mother Teresa have also reached out in our local community, and through an extension of their support for the work in Tangiers, are able to invite many elderly people locally to join in campaigns, for instance the ‘Knitters’. Those with time on their hands are invited to knit blankets, scarves, and baby clothes for the children cared for in Tangiers.

For many years they have been organising the Christmas Party for children, which takes place in the Catholic Community Centre, and is sponsored by the Cavalcade Committee.

Their outreach to disadvantaged families led to them regularly visiting a young woman in Prison, and since then, they have continued visiting as some come from far away places and would otherwise have no visitors at all.

The Co-Workers founded, and continue to help in the Day

Centre at Waterport Terraces, which is now also supported by the Social Services. This offers elderly people a place where they can get out and meet people in a caring environment, fulfilling one of Mother Teresa’s wishes, to alleviate loneliness. Sometimes it is hard to tell who are the ‘clients’ and who are the ‘helpers’, for everyone seems to be mucking in together on the various projects they undertake and having a great time!

Wherever they have found need the Co-Workers have tried to help, whether it is on the Rock, in Tangiers, or in Portugal at the M.C. Sisters house for the elderly. Valerie continues, “We decorate the whole House for Christmas. Three cribs and six Christmas trees!”

The generosity of Gibraltarians even reaches Siberia! For the Co-Workers send cold cream and warm clothes, plus colouring books and crayons to the poor children there at Christmas time.

As to fund-raising for all these activities, Mother Teresa was very strict on this point, even enshrining her instructions in an amended constitution of the International Association of Co-Workers in 1988. Point 9 reads...

“Co-Workers depend on Divine Providence and do not undertake any public fund-raising.”

No one is allowed to ask for money in the name of Mother Teresa! The Co-Workers are to rely entirely on prayer and God’s Providence. Mother Teresa wrote in person to explain her position on this point to each of the groups. Among the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa there are various different levels of involvement, there are volunteers, who contribute in whatever way they can. As well as ‘Sick and suffering’ Co-Workers who cannot physically help, but are

linked with a Brother, Sister or Father for whom they pray, offering their suffering in union with the Cross of Jesus, as a spiritual support. This is deeply valued by the Missionaries, Mother Teresa said...“Everyone and anyone who wishes to become a Missionary of Charity, a carrier of God’s love, is welcome. We shall be able to do great things for love of Him, because of you.” In this way prayerful relationships build up which are actually of mutual benefit. The Co-workers of Mother Teresa have a ‘Holy Hour’ the last Tuesday of the month at the Cathedral led by Fr. Paul, please come and pray with us.

CLOSER TO HOME: Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Tangiers. Photos Clockwise, top left: new mothers. The Missionaries of Charity with Gibraltar Co-Workers of Mother Theresa in Tangiers. The two year old’s crèche. The babies crèche.

Four years ago, Gerard of Christ The King prayer group, invited me and

my husband to attend a Life In The Spirit Seminar.

Without hesitating I said yes, as we were going through some difficult times and I really needed some strength and a boost in my prayer life. This seminar was familiar to me as thirty years before I had been involved with the youth prayer groups.

As my husband had recently become a Catholic, I thought this would be a great opportunity for him to learn about God, why he made us and how much he

loves us... and that it might help us with our problems... I thought doing the seminar was more for him than myself... how wrong I was!

Gabriel Sedda who came over from UK gave the talks and to say his talks were inspiring, remarkable and touching really does not do him justice. He was able to pray and touch parts of my life that I didn’t know needed healing.

The Seminar starts Friday evening, runs all through Saturday and finishes Sunday lunchtime. We are a very warm and loving group of people and we just want to share our faith with others. Even though there

are others unsure as to why they are there at first, maybe a bit shy, maybe just there because a friend wanted to go, I can assure you as the time goes by people relax and start to unwind. The weekend is non-residential, although if anyone has a genuine need to stay overnight it is not a problem. There are a number of talks and in between, ‘workshops’ which are private and confidential where you can open up as much as you want or not, it’s all very relaxed and any issues or questions of our faith can be aired in a safe environment. To me one of the highlights of the seminar is hearing those who have walked for many years with our Lord give their testimonies, as this has helped me when I see the powerful effect the Holy Spirit has had in

their lives. The key point though is the

baptism in the Holy Spirit on Sunday morning, where those that have taken part receive a renewal of the graces of the Holy Spirit that we received when we were babies in a very touching and moving service.

We are very excited this year as we have Father Mark from Ireland giving the talks. Some ladies from Christ the King met him in Medjugorje, this is what Anna has to say about him....

“We met Father Mark by chance, as he was staying in the same house with his group from Ireland. He invited us to join their group for their evening prayer meeting and we were touched by the depth of his prayer and the quality of his preaching. He then agreed to hear our confessions and I think each one of us will remember that particular confession for a long time to come.”

I can’t encourage you all enough to please take the step in faith and attend the weekend. I did four years ago thinking it would help my husband, it did, but it changed my life profoundly. We still had our problems but I found a strength from God I can’t possibly describe in words. Even if you think you are happy, you have no worries, you have no need for God in your life, you are doing ok... There is so much more in life, come and meet a loving God that is thirsting to show you how much he loves you... Only in him have I found what life is all about and the rest that I so need. We will make sure you are well looked after, provide you with food and delicious cakes! Please don’t hesitate to call me Joanna on 58008446 or Jeannine on 54014042 if you have any questions...

I do believe The Lord is calling all of you, take that step and he will give you rest!

God Bless Joanna.

JOANNA LETT WRITES

Celia and Mario Mosquera celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary last year. They came together from different parts of the world, Mario had been in Argentina, and Celia in

the USA, and she even was given a certificate from the White House on her 80th birthday to show for it! But after all their travels they met and married here in the Cathedral. They lived for many years in Humphrey’s Estate, and are now staying in Mount Alvernia.

Ana and Manuel Dalmedo say the Anniversary Celebrations have become a family tradition now. They took part ten years ago on their 50th Anniversary. They think the most

important virtue in marriage is Love, a lot of Love. They would really like to see more couples take part.

One of the younger couples who took part were Paul and Merche Imossi. Denise Duo invited them and conferring they agreed the most important virtue in marriage is

patience. They felt it was important to attend the celebration as they had renewed their marriage vows last year and they see this as a continuation of the celebration of their marriage journey.

Love isKind

CFM ‘Big Anniversary’ Celebrations 24th Jan

His Lordship, Bishop Ralph Heskett, presided over a beautiful, happy service at the Cathedral of St. Mary The Crowned on January 23, arranged by the Christian

Family Movement (CFM) to honour dozens of couples who had reached important milestones in their marriages in 2014. Bishop Ralph told the story about the woman who was not long for this world and she asked her husband to bring her a shoe box from the top of the wardrobe which he had promised not to open when they were newlywed. The husband did as he was asked and when she told him to open it he found two crocheted dolls and £50,000. She explained “Every time we argued I crocheted a doll.” The husband looked down at her where she lay on the bed with tears in his eyes, “Only two dolls!” “Yes, she said, I sold the others for £1 each in the market!”

CH

RISTIAN

TRUST

MISSIO N

F U N D I N G A V A I L A B L EThe Christian Mission Trust provides local Christians with donations for evangelistic initiatives and outreaches.

The Trust is ecumenical and has provided money to many groups, individuals and churches during the last 12 years. It is run by a Board of Trustees.

We invite applications for funding from anyone who wishes to launch an evangelistic initiative or who needs support for an existing Christian missionary activity.

Please write to: The Chairman, Christian Mission Trust, 4 South Pavilion Road, Gibraltar.

A Novena in Honour of Our Lady of Lourdes was

again celebrated this year, at the Sacred Heart Church.

While the feast was first celebrated as a Triduum in 1913 when recognising the vast devotion there was in Gibraltar to Our Lady of Lourdes, the Misioneros Hijos del Immaculado Corazon de Maria

locally known as Los Padres Misioneros del Corazon de Maria, who were then in charge of the church, decided in 1914 to introduce the Novena in the Liturgical calendar of the Sacred Heart Church and this has been held, with the exception of the World War II years, ever since.

This year there was no priest from abroad, rather the sermons were delivered very eloquently as ever, by Fr Jonathan. These were well received by the large congregation who attended each night.

On the final night of the novena due to the forecast inclement weather and safety problems due to the works being carried out at Moorish Caste Estate, the procession was held within the church. The novena was brought to a close with solemn benediction imparted by Mgr. Paul Bear.

Parish NovenasOur Lady ofLourdesThe St. Paul’s Parish Novena to

Our Lady of Lourdes was led by Fr. Stuart, and culminated with an outdoor procession which stopped, among other places, at St. Bernard’s Hospital before returning to the Church via Varyl Begg Estate, just as a light rain came on.

Things that may have at one time been a treat or an

occasional indulgence, but have insidiously become part of daily life in a far greater way than we had intended.

Things like a donut, a bottle of wine, the after dinner pie and ice-cream, the lazy evening in front of the telly, even cigarettes (does anyone even smoke anymore?)… they are all enjoyable at the time (well maybe not the cigarettes, but addictive none the less), but result in negative consequences for us and those around us.

This may sound like catastrophic thinking, liking a

glass of wine doesn’t harm your family. But really, it’s not that inconceivable is it? When our logic doesn’t keep up with the change in frequency of the habit, we find ourselves rationalising an addiction as it takes hold and before we know it, the former treat becomes something we can’t live without, we’ve lost control.

The donut or pie that was Sunday lunch dessert, becomes part of the work day snacking routine, leading to weight issues, loss of energy, health problems, loss of quality of life for oneself and ones family.

That bottle of wine, Friday

night’s shared treat after a hard week of work, ends up a nightly routine, leading to hangovers, bad tempers and at worst case, alcoholism.

Don’t even get me started on the health, financial and social negatives of smoking, we all know those off by heart!

In my case it’s coffee. I never used to drink tea or coffee at home unless there was someone around to join me. Then I experienced a really good quality cappuccino at the Saturday morning farmers market with friends and I started grinding beans for the cafetiere. When the cafetiere broke I thought I’d give a coffee machine a go… enter the Nespresso machine. Its itty bitty shots of delicious espresso completely spoiled me for anything less than potent! So quick and easy, and yet over too fast. I was always left wired but still wanting more. Before my first cup I was groggy and lethargic. Once I had my coffee, the world was a wonderful place. I called it my liquid sunshine, perfectly replicating the effects of waking up to a beautiful sunny day. It became part of the daily routine, one to wake me up in the morning, one mid morning when

Words by Kat Chandler, main pic by Merche Vasquez Imossi

Often we discover things in our lives that are not doing us any favours.

Free yourself taking a work break, another to keep me going when feeling sluggish after lunch, anytime I felt bored or hungry between meals, any excuse really! This lead to spiking energy levels followed by crashing lows, reliance, mood swings and a hair trigger temper!

So I decided to spend January of this year attempting to live without coffee. While all over social media, people were doing the #dryjanuary fast from alcohol (I’m not much of a drinker, I will indulge for special occasions only if I’m fully prepared to handle a week of disrupted seratonine and energy levels), I was going to experience life without my poison of choice, a #nocoffeejanuary. An experiment really. To see if the coffee was to blame for the knife edge stress levels, or just amplifying some other cause or trigger.

It was an interesting experiment...

I failed miserably!

I think it was day eight when I caved and had a weak instant coffee, instantly regretting it.

The taste left a lot to be desired compared to the hits I was used to from the Nespresso pods. Also, my tea drinking soared through the roof! I was flying through cups of Earl Grey quicker than Captain Picard in fast forward!

On day 18, when out for a walk with friends I “treated” myself to a cappuccino. Wow did it taste good, so hot and comforting after a walk in a snow blanketed park… but boy oh boy did I see the fall out! Clear. As. Day. I came home completely wired

From Everyday Addictions

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If you Free Yourself from your

Everyday Addictions you would see an

increase in energy and health benefits that

have a great impact on your mental health and

well being.

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and started bossing everyone about, getting cross about every little thing until I crashed and had to have a nap to recover.

By the end of the month I had thankfully found a happy baseline of one instant coffee a day. I had justified it after hearing how caffeine is sometimes prescribed by doctors for people suffering

low energy and lethargy (see insert on health benefits). I would forgo that coffee if I knew there was a cappuccino on the horizon. My moods had stabilised, my easy going nature was floating back up to the now still surface.

When January gave way to February, I started to give the Nespresso machine suspicious

looks from my seat at the breakfast table. Could I do it? Could I go back to the good quality coffee? Would all my hard work be washed down, white with one sugar, as I started binge drinking again? There was only one way to find out!

Now it is February 9th, this article is due tomorrow and I

feel I can say with conviction that I have my coffee habit under control. I only have one a day, and not on days that I will be having coffee out. I only use the Nespresso machine if I’m going to heat and froth some milk for it, thus turning it into a ceremony akin to tea making in Japan.

Continued overleaf, p15

© Voltier Digital

John Pridmore and Friends...

Time flies... when you’re praising Christ. It seemed the one-liners started as soon

as the facebook event page was created by the Gibraltar Youth Ministry

announcing ‘John Pridmore is back.’ Such was the impact John had the first time

he spoke on the Rock, that when he called Fr.

Charlie last month, to say he was nearby on holiday and asked if he could be of service, a few days notice was all that was needed before the stage was set in St. Theresa’s.

Providentially, Christian Santos and his Choir were also available, and they converted what would always have been another memorable event into a family festival, leading the music with many familiar charismatic songs.

We were treated to an evening of sharing, praising and adoring Christ in the company of a truly inspirational John Pridmore, this time accompanied by his friend Fr. Frankie Muldew, formerly ‘Frankie Doodle’ of BBC tv fame. The packed church was thrilled by the juggling priest as he illustrated a point of theology with three balls in the air. Continuing on a lighthearted note, Fr. Frankie told us ‘the one about the Bishop’... it was Church, but not as we know it!

Fr. Frankie’s moving testimony left no one in doubt of the seriousness behind his vocation, when he had been called to turn his back on a successful tv and stage career to serve the Lord.

John Pridmore then

filled the spotlight, and told us how great he felt after his first confession, turning his back on a life of crime in the East End of London.

At the end of the evening, just before the pizza was served, Fr. Charlie addressed the youth Choir. He thanked them for putting their talent to work in the ‘right way’ with songs of praise, and encouraging them to put their Faith at the center of their lives.

Fr. Frankie asked the question ‘Does God LOL?’ and the answer has been published in a synonymous book by Darton, Longman & Todd, priced £7.99. John Pridmore is very prolific and has several titles to his name see: http://johnpridmore.yolasite.com Ph

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Continued from page 13No more quick hits before

rushing out the door, or just one more because the last one wasn’t quite hot enough. A friend recently told me that they had had to throw away their machine, that they couldn’t get things under control!

So I was bolstered by the knowledge that it wasn’t just me that had impulse control issues, and that it is either use it responsibly, or lose it all together. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is that I really enjoy it now, much more than before. It is back to being the treat, enjoyed with a magazine, a few paragraphs in my gratitude journal or a bit of a Skype chat with my Mom.

Abstinence really does make the heart grow fonder. And it makes moderation work again where gluttony had taken over.

Free yourselfFrom Everyday Addictions

Guidance on the use of The Creighton Model Fertility Care System is available in Gibraltar from:

Dr Monique Risso MB ChB MRCGP General Practitioner and NaPro Technology Physician at the

Specialist Medical Clinic, Unit 7, First Floor, ICC Building, Casemates Square, Gibraltar.

Tel: +350 200 49999 www.ladyofeuropefertilitycare.com

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