Monday, 11th May 2026: A homily by Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi during a Mass celebrating the 60th anniversary of Religious Profession of Mother Mary Chantal, and the 25th anniversary of Religious Profession of Sr Amali. Little Sisters of the Poor, Ħamrun.
Homily by Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi
Today we gather in thanksgiving. It is a thanksgiving for fidelity, for vocation, and for the grace of God that has sustained two beautiful journeys of consecrated life. We celebrate Mother Mary Chantal marking sixty years of Religious Profession and Sr Amali celebrating twenty-five years. These are not simply anniversaries measured in numbers. They represent years filled with prayer, sacrifice, perseverance, hidden generosity, community life, service, and love. They represent years in which Christ has continued to say each day, “Follow me,” and in which these sisters continued to answer, day after day, “Yes, Lord.”
The readings we have heard today beautifully express the meaning of such a celebration.
My neighbour
In today’s Gospel, an expert in the law approaches Jesus and asks: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 10:25) Jesus leads him back to the heart of the Law: love of God and love of neighbour. But then comes the question that reveals the deeper challenge: “And who is my neighbour?” (Lk 10:29)
Jesus answers not with a definition but with a story – the parable of the Good Samaritan. A wounded man lies abandoned on the roadside. Others pass by. They notice him, but they do not stop. Perhaps they are afraid, perhaps too busy, perhaps preoccupied with their own concerns or duties. But the Samaritan stops. He allows himself to be moved with compassion. He approaches the wounded man, tends to his wounds, lifts him up, carries him to safety, and promises to continue caring for him. The Samaritan becomes a neighbour through compassion and action.
And this, dear friends, is also a profound image of an authentic religious life. Dear sisters, your vocation is not merely about external signs or observances. At its heart, consecrated life is the daily decision to stop beside those who are wounded along the road of life. For sixty years and for twenty-five years, you have striven to do precisely that – sharing your life with those in need. Perhaps not in ways that attract attention, but through countless hidden acts of love: listening, nursing, praying, comforting, accompanying, encouraging, and simply being present to those in need.
The world often admires power, visibility, achievement, and success. But the Gospel places before us another kind of greatness: compassion. The true greatness of your consecrated life is not found in recognition but in love that quietly perseveres.
Sharing bread
The first reading from Isaiah deepens this message even further. The prophet reminds the people that true worship is not simply about external religious practices. God says: This is the fasting that I wish: to loose the chains of injustice, to share your bread with the hungry, to shelter the homeless and oppressed (cf. Isaiah 58:6-7). The Lord teaches us that faith without love becomes empty. True holiness is always expressed through mercy, justice, and compassion.
This is one of the most beautiful dimensions of religious life. A sister is not consecrated simply to perform religious duties, but to become a living sign of God’s tenderness in the world. The vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and hospitality are not merely sacrifices; they are ways of loving more freely and more completely. Poverty proclaims that God is our true treasure; chastity reveals a heart entirely given to Christ; obedience becomes a daily act of trust in God’s will, and hospitality is the total dedication to the elderly poor. And, when these vows are lived faithfully over many years, they become a light for others. Isaiah tells us: Then your light shall rise in the darkness (cf. Isaiah 58:8).
How many people throughout these years have encountered that light through the witness of these sisters? Many may not remember particular words, but they remember kindness. They remember a sister who visited them in illness, who encouraged them in moments of struggle, who remained faithful and present. Consecrated life becomes a quiet but powerful light shining in the darkness of the world.
My Shepherd
Today’s Responsorial Psalm gives us the secret behind such long and faithful perseverance: “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want” (Psalm 23:1).
No one remains faithful for sixty years, or even twenty-five years, by personal strength alone. Fidelity is always first the work of God’s grace. The Good Shepherd has guided these sisters through changing times, through moments of joy and enthusiasm, and also through moments of fatigue, uncertainty, sacrifice, and loss. Through all the seasons of life, the Shepherd has remained faithful.
And perhaps this is the deepest meaning of today’s celebration: not only celebrating what these sisters have done for God, but above all celebrating what God has done in them and through them. Every vocation begins not with our choice of God, but with God’s loving choice of us. Before we ever loved him, he loved us. Before we ever chose him, he called us. Today we rejoice in the faithfulness of God that has sustained these vocations across the years.
A witness we need
Our world today deeply needs the witness of such a consecrated life. We live in a culture that often fears lifelong commitment and permanence. Many people wonder whether enduring fidelity is still possible. And your lives, dear sisters, become a living answer to that question. Not because the journey was always easy, but because love remained stronger than every difficulty. Your perseverance proclaims that giving one’s life completely to Christ is not a loss, but a beautiful and fulfilling way of living. Your witness reminds the Church and the world that the Gospel is still worth everything.
You also remind us that holiness is not built only in extraordinary moments. Holiness is formed quietly, day after day, through ordinary fidelity – through prayer, service, patience, forgiveness, and perseverance in love.
Gratitude
Today, therefore, our hearts are filled with gratitude. We thank God for your “yes,” for your fidelity, for your witness, for your hidden sacrifices, for your prayer, and for the countless ways you have become Good Samaritans to so many people throughout these years.
Some fruits of your vocation you already know. Many others you may only discover in eternity. Every hidden act of love, and every act of kindness matter deeply before God. And today the Church says to you: thank you.
As we celebrate today, we pray that the Lord will continue to bless Mother Mary Chantal and Sister Amali with peace, joy, strength, and renewed hope. Dear sisters, may the Good Shepherd continue to guide you faithfully. May your lives continue to shine as light in the darkness. And may all of us learn from your witness that the most beautiful life is a life given lovingly to God and generously to others.
Joseph Galea Curmi
Auxiliary Bishop