Pope Francis, referring to human beings, states: “Everyone has a name and a face, a story and the dignity of sons of God.”

In our daily life, we encounter three classes of people: lovers of wisdom, lovers of honour and lovers of gain. By nature, our heart wants love in return, our mind wants success and our soul wants peace.

Today, solitude and poverty are two main problems that condition and diversify the harmony of human beings, leading them to humility and the struggle against adversity.

People never realise how strong they are until they must face some sort of crisis in their daily life. When people are in crisis, they wish that things would have gone otherwise. However, in our daily life, we cannot expect to have everything the way we would like it. What we must do is move ahead and never give up.

We need to constantly bear in mind that our worst enemies, however cruel, are not the ignorant or simple folk but the intelligent and the

corrupt. So, sometimes, it is very hard to move on. Still, once you adopt a positive attitude, you will realise it was the best decision you have ever made. The climb is hard but when you get to the peak, the view is spectacular.

The world today is a very dangerous place, not because of evil but because of those who look on and do nothing. We are created to live in relationships and our heart is troubled until it responds to another heart. Relaxation time helps us to experiment this reality.

God is not ashamed of the loneliness of human beings and, here, He marches right in.

He chooses people as His instruments and performs His wonders where one would least expect them. He loves experiencing loneliness and the neglected, the unseemly, the marginalised, the weak and the broken. Especially those who, through no fault of their own, are suffering poverty.

Poverty today can be found everywhere, even in our small society. It all depends on the way one looks at things. Just think of the thousands of people who are victims of war. Yet, people blinkered by their power, riches and empty whims fail to realise that, next door, others are suffering deprivation.

Do the State and the Church in Malta realise that poverty is leading to an acute crisis?

Rudyard Kipling cautioned: “Beware of over-concern for money, position or glory. Someday, you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then, you will realise how poor you are.”

People never realise how strong they are until they face a crisis in their life- Fr Charles Cini

You are great when, though in crisis, you do not trample on the dignity of other people.

Each one is a treasure in oneself but one is obliged to share with others, especially those most in need.

In Malta, there are still people who confuse gentleness with weakness. Yet, God gave us an enormous gift, which surprises us and helps us to rise and restart again.

Aristotle wrote: “Unfortunately, our life is also deeply impregnated and soaked with evil and death. Besides, it knows ambiguity deeply rooted, inherent in beauty. Most of the trouble in our world is caused by people wanting to become rich. And people are afraid to face up to their obstacles and do something about them. And you will find that they haven’t half the strength you have.”

An African proverb states: “The sheep will spend its entire life fearing the wolf, only to be eaten by the shepherd.”

St Francis of Assisi asked the wolf a question: “Why don’t you talk to me anymore?” The wolf replied: “Because you humans have nothing human to say.”

In Malta, we are lacking a pleasant perspective.

Where are the politicians in our country, those who help us dream in our daily life? Dreaming is not easy in the life we are living. Many times, our brain is not working. We are becoming poor copies of each other, conditioned by many leaders in crisis.

There are lazy, blind sheep, paralysed by money, hunger for power and a crisis in faith. The direction we take and the example we give to each other deviate us from our daily life.

“There will come a time,” Giordano Bruno had said, “when man will wake up from oblivion and he will finally understand who he really is and who it is that has given up the reins of his existence to a false and mesogenic mind that makes him and keeps him a slave. Man has no limits, and when, one day, he realises it, he will be free even here in this world.”

Let us all bear in mind what is often said: if you go to church to find holy people, you have made a mistake. Because the church is a hospital of sinners not a club of saints.

Fr Charles Cini is a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco.