The festa season has come to an end. Throughout the year, a lot of effort is made by several entities, organisations and individuals for villages to successfully celebrate their respective feasts in honour of their patron saints. In the eyes of many, feasts are, perhaps, being fruitful and successful. However, in reality, is it truly the case?

In order to evaluate this, we must go back to the roots of feasts, first and foremost as religious manifestations with spiritual aims. If we consider that, we soon realise that we are very much deviating from the sense of it all.

Let us be honest and move away from the assumption that anyone who presents themselves as a festa lover and a patron saint’s devotee is a genuine Catholic practitioner. Perhaps, in times when every single statement or opinion is considered judgemental, this may sound harsh. Having said that, we can never address a situation if we do not admit the realities surrounding us.

The Church is experiencing a drop in the number of people attending Mass and receiving the holy sacraments. On the other hand, they hang out later for external celebrations. This is already a clear indication of paganism at its best. There is also a category of the community that opts to fake it all.

These persons call themselves Catholics but are not convinced of their faith and, although they lead a double life and their line of thought does not comply with Catholic teachings, they show up and sit on reserved seats in church to catch the public eye.

Regardless of this, nowadays such attitude is somehow excused by the most commonly held idea that God is merciful. This without considering the fact that, although we cannot rebut God’s infinite mercy and forgiveness, when Jesus forgave sinners, He went on to say “Do not sin again”, do not take forgiveness for granted and keep doing whatever you are doing.

Therefore, it is very evident that we are not giving enough thought to matters pertaining to God while twisting the truth for our convenience. We have disregarded the concept of sin and speaking about it is now considered a taboo.

Another issue is that of indecency, lack of prudence and disrespect.

It has become the norm that people enter churches and follow processions in skimpy clothing. This is absurd, especially when considering that, as Catholics and patron saints’ devotees, we are called to emulate, as much as possible, their virtues and lead by example. Instead, we are doing exactly the contrary.

Another sort of disrespectful behaviour is that of people going around shouting, taking photos and giving their backs to the altar during religious functions, including the exposition and benediction of the Holy Blessed Sacrament.

Already a clear indication of paganism at its best- Alison Tonna

The obvious questions arise naturally. What messages are we conveying? Is this the kind of witness we would like to give of our supposedly Catholic faith?

When it comes to band and pyrotechnic clubs, we certainly cannot deny their relevance in feasts. Besides promoting Maltese culture through their voluntary work, they also encourage several individuals, especially youths, to engage in activities that can help them keep away from bad company and unhealthy addictions.

One may argue about the inconvenience and risk caused by fireworks. However, we will not go there. The focus is on the role of clubs when it comes to the smooth running of feasts.

There are instances when band marches are exaggerated both in their duration and in their wildness. Unfortunately, they are sometimes dominated by ridiculous competition, insults, foul language, swearing, inappropriate gestures, provocative banners and so on.

It has also become a trend for clubs to organise parties that last till the early hours of the morning, to the detriment of residents. In certain cases, this also happens on the feast day, till late afternoon.

It is the responsibility of club committees to ensure that these things do not happen. They cannot just close their eyes as if nothing is happening and pretend that everything is well.

A number of businesses are also taking advantage of feasts. If they hope to make more profit and succeed, well and good. One understands that everyone deserves to earn their daily bread. However, this must be done within respectful parameters.

The outdoor area occupied by these businesses and the type and duration of activities, both outside and inside their premises, should be reasonably controlled by law and the relevant authorities and the police should ensure enforcement.

All in all, the Church remains the master and the fulcrum of its religious feasts. It has the moral obligation to continue spreading the truth of the gospel without adhering to cheap compromises. It is also duty bound to continuously emphasise the importance of authentic and dignified celebrations.

With the goodwill and determination of its leaders and exponents in parishes and communities, the Church must lead by example and be a symbol of affirmation and unity by avoiding contradictions, controversies, preferences, fakeness and untruthfulness.

Alison Tonna

At the end of the day, we shall all be humble and turn to God with genuine intentions and an open heart. At that point, we hear, once again, His call, realise our continuous need of internal conversion and gain strength to live and celebrate in good spirit, honestly and fruitfully.

Alison Tonna studied law and is currently working as an educator.