Photo: Reuters

The first reading which was read out during Daphne Caruana Galizia’s funeral mass by her eldest son Matthew Caruana Galizia had a special meaning for the assassinated journalist, and indeed she had referred to it in a blog post last year. 

The reference was pointed out by Matthew Caruana Galizia himself, in a comment underneath an article on the blog of Manuel Delia about the Ecclesiastes passage he had read out yesterday.

“If I am still making a public nuisance of myself at 80, please take me out and have me shot before my sons do,” Daphne Caruana Galizia had written last year. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen, because Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 is engraved in my heart”.

This is full passage:

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

And this is the Maltese translation, as was read out during the funeral.

“Kollox għandu żmienu, u kull ħaġa għandha waqtha taħt is-sema: 

Żmien li titwieled, u żmien li tmut; żmien li tħawwel, u żmien li taħsad l-imħawwel; 

Żmien li toqtol, u żmien li tfejjaq; żmien li ġġarraf, u żmien li tibni; 

Żmien li tibki, u żmien li tidħak; żmien li tagħli, u żmien li tiżfen; 

Żmien li tarmi l-ġebel, u żmien li tiġbru; żmien li tgħannaq, u żmien li tiċċaħħad mit-tagħniq; 

Żmien li tikseb, u żmien li titlef; żmien li terfa’, u żmien li tarmi; 

Żmien li tqatta’, u żmien li ssewwi; żmien li tiskot, u żmien li titkellem; 

Żmien li tħobb, u żmien li tobgħod; żmien it-taqbid, u żmien il-paċi.”

Daphne and Matthew Caruana Galizia- Photo: Facebook

President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Adrian Delia were all absent from the funeral yesterday. Speaker Anglu Farrugia – who, like the other three leaders, was often criticised and mocked by Daphne Caruana Galizia – didn’t attend either, but sent a wreath with a large banner reading ‘Speaker’ stuck onto it.  

However, when Matthew Caruana Galizia saw this banner, he ripped it off the wreath and shredded it to pieces.

READ NEXT: Daphne Caruana Galizia’s Funeral Brings Thousands Of People To Mosta Church

Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]