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5 Devout Maltese Millennials Discuss Christianity’s Relevance In 2017

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Featured Photo: Sara Zingariello

In Malta 2017, the Church is still a big part of life for many Maltese, but it’s slowly become less of an absolute given to identify as Catholic. Atheism is on the increase – among the younger generations especially – however, there are pockets of a new wave of young and immensely devout believers that might not fit your stereotype. 

Their faith extends to well beyond the physical church and the village parish, and some are more likely to be seen playing live music in soft rock bands than marching bands. Today’s technology plays a role in organised religious youth groups such as Y4J – Youth for Jesus – their website and event posters are minimalistic and hip. 

They’ve curated a much needed rebranding to a new and unseen side of religion, it would seem. It’s stripped back yet somehow seems more spiritual. For a 2,000 year-old religion, it all looks very modern. But do the teachings themselves still have a place in modern-day real life, in keeping with the modern look on the net?

Lovin Malta asked five devout millennials to share a little insight into why they believe that having faith in God still has its importance in today’s world. 

In their own words…

1. MATT URPANI, 28

Doctor and Graphic Designer

Matt

Being a Christian in 2017 comes along with a bevy of stereotypes, most of which, to a greater or lesser extent are justified. I think the problem is that most people, both those within the faith and those without, have become familiar with what it’s all about. This is counter-intuitive because we see what people supposedly believe while their actions say otherwise. Casual Christianity has become so predominant – especially in Malta – that many people cherry pick what they want from the faith; most of which stems more from tradition and society rather than actual spirituality. Looking at it from this lens, you could say it’s mostly antiquated morals that don’t really align with today’s progressive society. And I’d agree.

The problem is that to really understand Christianity you have to start with Christ. Things only began to make sense for me at a time when I was searching for answers about my life and became open to one possibility – that God exists, that He actually cares about me, and that I could have a relationship with Him. That’s the context for Christianity – having and living out a relationship with God – and it’s one which, sadly, a lot of people (even many Christians themselves) never really discover. My life only really began to have purpose once I had an encounter with a very real and a very relevant God. And it’s only once you can view Christianity through that lens that things start to make sense.

So does this relationship mean that I’ve become an all-star saint with a flawless track record?

Well, no. A relationship with God is like a relationship with anyone else – sometimes you won’t understand each other, sometimes you let the other down, sometimes you doubt, and with time you change and grow just as the relationship changes and grows. In other words, I’m still trying to figure it out.

I make mistakes. I’m undecided about some things. But I’m convinced that my life would not be the same without Jesus. The biggest problem with the Church is that it’s made up of people – people who are fundamentally flawed. We ourselves are to blame for giving God a bad rep. We are the ones who fail to be faithful. But as long as Jesus calls me to follow him, I’m going to keep trying to walk down that path. I want to know where it leads. Hopefully it’ll bring me to be more like him, and less like a “Christian”.

2. CARL ZAMMIT LA ROSA, 24

Advisory Associate at PwC
Carl

Nowadays, I find myself increasingly pulled apart. More distracted, more stressed, more depressed. Sometimes even more disappointed in myself – as if I’m meant to know better, be better, or do more, be more.

I’m surrounded by noise, views, trends, desires… unable to siphon what is truly relevant or meaningful. I’m ever more in need of prayer to remind me of who I am, of what God wants me to do; in need of silence and rest to cleanse myself of the chaos and stress of my day. In need of the Church and my community of faith to journey with me, support me and realign my focus to what truly matters; and of the Eucharist for the intimacy and divine strength I need each day. 

I need these, because in reality–who am I? A mere 24 year old, of average status, intelligence and looks. I am unable to accomplish much or save the world – here today and gone tomorrow. 

What can money or status or pleasure give me that truly satisfies? I tried them, like so many others, and realised that they don’t take you very far.

I am all too well aware of weakness and of my impermanence, of how lonely this world can get and how little my sheer will can achieve.

In a world devoid of hope and a future, a world that constantly trades in people and nature for short-term gains, I increasingly find my purpose in Christ, His strength and His church. Because what else endures?

3. ROBERT FARRUGIA FLORES. 32

Band Member and Primary School Teacher
Robert

Things change. Things evolve. Things shift. What does this all mean? Things appear to change, true, and so they must – for what stays the same is not worldly at all. But what is it that truly changes and makes change visible and sensible? 

My body is constantly changing, my environment, my decisions, views, experiences, and so on. But how am I to account, revise, dispute, discuss and analyse such changes? We must surely agree that we all have this insight of making sense of any changes in our lives, for would I trust that what I’m writing right now is true to me if I’m only just a changing piece of material?

Now, it seems to me that either one dismisses this as a mere word game or else takes it earnestly and keeps going. I personally believe that when taken seriously we become more authentic to our own being. This domain is surely a spiritual domain, the field where one dwells with perennial questions that have always been there and will always remain. 

How so? Because they are not susceptible to change. They just are. This search is a pursuit for meaningfulness which must be faced with more than just our empirical day to day tools which measure mere change.

It seems to me that of all religions, the essence of Christianity seems to be continuously relevant through different epochs despite of many internal and external changes. Its concern is relationships – both between the creator and creation, as well as between the beings themselves. 

The epitome is love, since in Christian terms God is pure love. No wonder that our hearts yearn for God.

Now you tell me if this is relevant or not today as well? Surely, our relationships have changed through time, but has the importance, relevance and the very notion of love changed? I challenge anyone to read any Christian text and see for herself if it rings a bell.

4. JAMIE IAIAN GENOVESE, 23

Photographer

Jamie

Being asked why I ‘believe’ Christianity is relevant today (or whenever) seems simple enough. It isn’t, and I’d like to answer without appealing to any emotions, but also without sending people to catholic.com, or by saying things like ‘hypostatic union’, ‘transubstantiation’, ‘anamnesis’, or ‘expiation’. 

So unpacking it proved to be about as neat as trying to pick out a single, favourite pair of earphones out of a plastic bag of otherwise identical earphones so I can listen to a podcast by Bishop Robert Barron, or Kendrick Lamar’s Damn. Whatever, that’s irrelevant. Well, maybe. Is it irrelevant? 

If I had to point to any piece of media, from Taxi Driver (1976) to Silence (2016), from À la Recherche du Temps Perdu (1913), to listicles on the internet, I could come up a dozen reasons as to why they’re relevant in 2017. 

They’d all be ashes when the super-volcanoes blow, and those ashes will then be ionised bits of pixie dust once the sun stops being the sun — but they’re relevant, and any campaign to somehow eradicate them from the face of the Earth would not only be opposed, but futile. 

Asking why I believe Christianity is relevant in 2017 makes me think my story is all that matters (it isn’t, but it’s a long/good one). Asking why someone believes Christianity is relevant in 2017 seems to suggest that its relevance is a matter of opinion (How do you like your eggs in the morning?), and asking why someone believes Christianity is relevant in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ two-thousand and seventeen somehow suggests that the date is relevant (poached eggs if it’s a Sunday). 

I subscribe to the idea that there’s nothing new under the sun despite our progress as a species — despite the lucky few of us that are more comfortable than our ancestors could ever have been, all the marvellous wonders we’ve uncovered, all the new technologies we’ve designed, manufactured, and miniaturised into phones that are thinner than last year’s — we are yet still dogged by the same questions of meaning, of truth, and of beauty. 

It is true that poverty has been lowered, thanks to the compassion, initiatives, and dedication of the human race, as well as it has remained due to the greed, selfishness, and pride of the human race. But we still have the poor, and we still have the rich, we still have the foolish and the wise, the sick and the healthy, the old and the young, the joyful and the depressed, the hopeful and the hopeless. There is deep and intense suffering in the world. This has not changed.

And yet, knowing this, I can defend the relevance and existence of Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 in 2017. So, I wonder, how could Christ: the reason for my Christianity, the reason to love neighbour and enemy not be relevant? Why settle for the mediocre — in art or in love?

5. SARA ZINGARIELLO, 24

Lay Pastoral Assistant – University Chaplaincy

Sara

It does not take a Christian to realise that we’re living in a broken world. The refugee crisis; slavery; abuse; shootings; people ramming cars into crowds; poverty; global warming; corruption; governments using chemical weapons their own citizens. It seems pretty bleak, doesn’t it? Appalling really. We live in a beautiful world, but that doesn’t change the fact that we have broken it. 

I was raised with a choice. I was never forced into my belief. I was not forced to go to Church on Sunday, week after week. I never really understood anything about the Triduum until about three years ago. I discovered it through experience, and I could not be more convinced of my decision. 

Our world is broken in so many terrible ways. I believe Christianity cannot be more relevant, when we truly live it as our God instituted it. Jesus, God made man, gave himself for the love of others. He was persecuted, he suffered, he died. And he calls each and every one of us to do the same. Not just for our friends, but for everyone. 

I am called to love my family, my friends, my neighbours, my students, my nightmare manager, the kid who bullied me at school, the guy ahead of me in traffic who is driving at 15km/h.

The refugee who is dying alone, the prostitute who has to feed her family, the ISIS jihadi killing my brothers and sisters. It’s that deep. And I will spend the rest of my life trying to finally get it right. To really love with the life-giving love of Jesus.

In the words of Mother Teresa, a Saint who is close to my heart,  “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”

In a world full of darkness and hate, couldn’t this love bring a little light?

What do you think of these modern day Christian issues discussed? Let us know in the comments on Facebook!

READ NEXT: We Spoke To Malta’s Most Controversial Priest. He Didn’t Disappoint.

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