Il-pajjiżi bl-ikbar numru ta’ nies infettati bil-lebbra huma l-Indja, il-Brażil u l-Indoneżja, kif ukoll f’ċerti pajjiżi Afrikani. Iktar min-nofs tal-każi ġodda tal-marda huma fl-Indja fejn jgħixu terz mill-fqar tad-dinja. Hija mar-da krudili, iżda l-familji u t-tfal ta’ dawn in-nies m’għandhomx jibqgħu jbatu daqs kemm ibatu l-ġenituri tagħhom.

Għall-grazzja t’Alla, it-tfal ta’ min hu infettat bil-marda tal-lebbra llum qed jiġu mgħejju-na biex imorru l-iskola bħal ħaddieħor biex huma wkoll jirnexxilhom jilħqu l-potenzjal tagħhom. Għaliex għandhom ibatu huma wkoll sempliċiment għax xi ħadd mill-ġenituri tagħhom huwa marid?

Ħafna nies fil-pajjiżi fejn il-lebbra taħkem bil-kbir huma bdiewa li jgħixu f’faqar kbir. L-edukazzjoni li tingħata lil uliedhom hija mod wieħed kif il-ġenerazzjoni futura tista’ tirnexxi u ma tibqax tgħix kif jgħixu l-ġenituri tagħhom. Mingħajr l-għajnuna tagħna, dawn qatt ma jista’ jkollhom prospetti ta’ xogħol tajjeb.

L-istigma soċjali li jbatu minnha l-lebbrużi hija ostaklu kbir għal uliedhom li jkollhom jittalbu fit-toroq biex ikunu jistgħu jgħixu. Il-missjonijiet li jaħdmu fost il-lebbrużi qed jagħmlu minn kollox biex jipprovdu taħriġ u edukazzjoni liż-żgħażagħ biex jirtnexxilhom isibu xogħol li jrendi għalihom u għall-familji tagħhom.

Dawk iż-żgħażagħ li huma infettati bil-marda ftit għandhom opportunitajiet biex jaqilgħu x’jieklu jekk mhux billi jikinsu t-toroq u jagħmlu xogħol li ħadd ma jrid jagħmlu. Il-missjonijiet jgħallmuhom sen-għa biex ‘il quddiem ikunu jistgħu jimpjeg-aw ruħhom f’xogħol iktar addatt għalihom bħala nies mekkaniċi, ħajjata, eċċ.

Chev. Tony C. Cutajar

Editorjal—It-tfal tal-lebbruzi

April 2015

The Raoul Follereau Foundation (Malta) - The Order of Charity

is a registered NGO [No. VO/0980]

administered by the

Grand Priory of the Maltese Islands

of the

Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem

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Rendikont Finanzjarju—2014

BILANĊ TOTALI fil-Bank

sa Jannar 2014……….......€18,493.14

DĦUL: Total: ……...….€60,253.21

Maratona………...….... €40,717.00

Donazzjonijiet…...….... €19,536.21

HRUG MATUL 2014…...€41,529.09*

BILANĊ TOTALI fil-Bank

sa Dicembru 2015…….€37,217.26

* HRUG MATUL 2014

Total: ………………...€ 41,529.09

Newsletter Posta/stamper... € 963.09

Stationary………………….€ 26.00

Donazzjonijiet………....…..€ 40,540.00

Editorjal 1

Rendikont finanzjarju 1

L-istorja tal-lebbra f’Malta 2

Lebbruzi famuzi 2

Bible stories for children 3

Inside this issue:

DONAZZJONIJIET MATUL 2014

Assoċjazzjonijiet:

Capuchin Fathers………………………... €14,000

Conventual Capuchin Fathers…………… €10,000

Medical Missionaries of Mary....................... €10,010

Helping Hands (Dr. Donald Sammut)........ € 2,530

Missjoni Filippini (Sr Ann Catania).............. € 1,000

Missjoni Nigerjana (Sr Maria Consaga)....... € 1,000

Gesu fil-Proxxmu (Fr Gorg Grima )........... € 1,000

Donazzjoni lil zewg lebbruzi Maltin……...€ 1,000

Total.....................................................€ 40,540

NIRRINGRAZZJAW LIL DAWK IŻ-

ŻEWĠ MEMBRI U BENEFATTURI LI

BEJNIETHOM BAGĦTU €3,000 GĦAL-

GĦAJNUNA LIL LEBBRUŻI U GĦAL

RIĊERKA DWAR IL-MARDA.

GRAZZI MINN QALBNA.

Il-Kavallieri ta' San Gwann waslu Malta fis-sena 1530 wara li dawn kienu mkeccija minn Rodi mis-Sultan Suleman. Waqt li kienu f' Rodi fi zmien il-Granmastru Emery d'Amboise, il-kavallieri kienu ifformulaw serje ta' regolamenti sanitarji li kienu wkoll jindirizzaw il-lebbra. Fuq basi ta' dawn ir-regolamenti, il-lebbruzi kienu jircievu benefficji specjali mill-fondi karitatevoli ta' l' Ordni. Imma, dawn il-morda ma setghawx jkollhom xi forma ta' kuntatt socjali ma' dawn li kienu f'siektom. Ma setghux jghatu xi haga jew oggett li xi hadd f' siektu kontra pieni horox. Kienu resstritti wkoll fit-tip ta' xoghol li setghu jaghmlu u kellhom bzonn il-permess ta' l-awtoritajiet sanitarji biex jaghmlu xi tipi ta' xoghol. Dawn ir-regolamenti iddahhlu u gew addottati f' Malta.

L- ewwel kaz ta' lebbra li nafu bija f'din l- epoka kien kaz ta' patri Dumnikan fil-kunvent tar-Rabat f' 1629. Il-kunvent xtara skjav specifikament biex jdur b'dan il-patri, li miet f' April 1630. Fis-sena 1659, il- Gran Consiglio ta' l-Ordni wera il-preokkupazzjoni tal-infettivitá tal-marda tal-lebbra u anke wera il-preokkupazzjoni ta'

x'jigri mill-morda. Fis-sena 1679, l-Ordni holqot kum-missjoni biex tistudja il-kundizzjoni ta' dawk affetwati mill-lebbra. Din issugerrit li dawn il- morda kellhom jigu ittrattati fid-djar taghhom u mghotija sapport finanzjarju. Dawn il-barranin morda bil-lebbra kellhom jigu ikkurati fis-sezzjoni tal-Falanga fis-Sacra Infermerija. Fis-sena 1725, is-Sacra Infermerija kienet tiehu hsieb ghal bzonnijiet ta' kuljum ta' dawn jsofru mill- lebbra.

Matul din l-epoka, kazi-jiet tal-lebbra kienu j e z i s t u . I t - t a b i b Giuseppe Zammit, li kien l-ewwel professur tal-kirurgija u anatomija

fl- iskola medika ta' Malta, anke iddeskriva hames kazijiet lil ghaqda Akademja Medika. Fis-sena 1702, il-barbiera li dak iz-znien kienu wkoll jghatu kura medika bazika, kienu mwissija li sahhithom kienet f'periklu meta jattendu ghal-kura tal-lebbruzi.

L-interess akad-emiku fil-marda baqghet, u fis-sena 1764 it-tabib Giuseppe Demarco kiteb tezi intitolata

Ezempji ta skulturi famuzi minn tieghu jinkludu it-tnax il-profeta f’qies ta bniedem, mwaqqfin fit-tarag tal- Knisja ta Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, fil-belt ta Congonhas do Campo. Il-knejjes ta San Frangisk ta Assisi, f’ São João Del Rei u fil- Ouro Preto, hemm ukoll l-arkitettura tieghu.

Antonio Francisco Lisboa, l’ Aleijadi-nho jew kif maghruf ‘il-maghtub’ kien artist Braziljan prominenti, mwieled fl-1738. Huwa miet fil-Brazil stess fl-1814 fejn halla xi xoghol minn tieghu li kien relattivament ma-ghruf. Aleijadinho halla warajh arti relatata mar-religjon, skulturi u disinji arkitettonici fil-knejjes, kunventi u monasteri, filwaqt li kien principal-ment rapprezentant tal-Barokk

Braziljan. Hadem hafna taht kundizzjonijiet severi min-habba l-fatt li kellu deformitajiet fizikali minhabba l-lebbra u kien ikollhom jorbtulu l-ghodda ma jdejh biex jahdem.

Lebbruzi famuzi fl-Istorja Antônio Francisco Lisboa, the Aleijadinho

L-istorja tal-Lebbra f'Malta It-tieni Parti: Zmien il-Kavallieri ta' San Gwann

Prof. C. Savona-Ventura

L-istorja tal-Lebbra

f’Malta

Page 2 ORDER OF CHARITY NEWSLETTER

"Tractus affectuum cutaneorum" dwar il-kundizzjoni. Din ghada tezisti bhala manuskrit fil-Bibljoteka Naz-zjonili. Kaz specifku iehor li nafu bih huwa ta' soru mil-Monasteru ta' Santa Katarina fil-Belt Valletta li fis-sena 1770 "zvillupat ulceri u deni u saret lebbruza". Fis-sena 1771, nafu li wasal f' Malta tifel lebbruz ta' ufficjal Tork li kien sejjer lejn Mar-silja biex forsi jsib kura hemm.

Matul il-perjodu taht il-kavallieri ta' San Gwann jidher li l-attegjament lejn il-nies morda bil-lebbra kienet ta' sapport socjali u mediku b'ele-ment ta' biza’ mill-infettivitá tal-marda. Dan ta' l-ahhar imma ma kienx jfisser li l-morda kienu b'xi mod izolati f' centri specifici ghalihom kif kienet id-drawwa fiz-zmien Medjevali. Dan l-attagjament baqa matul is-snin tas-seklu 19 waqt il -perjodu Ingliz. Is-sitwazzjoni tbddilet ghall-ahhar tas-seklu 19 meta ligijiet gew imfassla biex il-lebbruzi jigu issegregati mil-gdid.

Lebbruzi famuzi

Today's story can be found in the first three books of the New Testa-ment in the Bible. This story is about a man with leprosy. So what is leprosy?

Leprosy is a disease that is caused by an infection. It looks very bad, even gross. It can make a face look bumpy and can completely change the way a person looks. Some peo-ple get it on their hands or feet and loose their fingers and toes from it.

This isn't everything leprosy is, but you get the picture. On top of it all, during the time when Jesus was around people thought leprosy was caused by people's sin. So, if some-one had leprosy it was because he had done something wrong.

For all these reasons the 'lepers' as they were called, were kicked out of the city and had to live outside of it. They weren't allowed in stores or churches or any public place so many times they went to live in the dumps where the garbage was, to find food and other things they needed. No one wanted to see them for fear of touching them and catch-ing the disease or becoming 'unclean' because of their sin.

The Story

Jesus, he reached out his hand and said to the man, "I will heal you. Be clean." And right in that moment the leprosy left him.

Jesus then asked the man to do one thing. He asked him not to tell anyone what just happened and to go to the priest to be checked out. This would show that he was cleansed and he would leave an offering. Then the priest would give permission for him to come back and live with the people again. By going to priest the healed man would send a message that Jesus had a special power from God. The people were waiting for a Messi-ah (someone that would come and save them) and the priests and Jews believed that only God could cure leprosy. This was supposed to be a sign that the Messiah had come.

Instead the man was too excited and told everyone he saw what had happened. This made it hard for Jesus to walk around in the cities because large crowds would flock to Him and the Jewish leaders started to go against Jesus because they didn't believe that he was sent by God. Jesus would often go off by himself and pray but people kept coming to see Him from everywhere.

The message that I want you to take from this story is that it doesn't matter to Jesus what you've done, how you look or what other people think about you. He made you and he loves you no matter what! Everyday Jesus is trying to reach out and show His love to you but some-times we're too busy to notice. Start taking notice of the beauti-ful things outside (a butterfly, flowers, or a sunset), the love from a parent or a friend and even kindness from a stranger. All these things are ways God is trying to show his love for you.

Jesus was going around at this time healing people and telling stories. Word got around about Jesus, so people would follow him because they wanted hear what he said or to see a miracle. While Jesus was walk-ing and talking with people a man with leprosy approached him, fell to his knees and put his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord if you want to, you can heal me and make me clean."

Something amazing happened next. Like it was no big deal Jesus just reached out and touched the man. This was not allowed then and now Jesus would be unclean...besides this man looked really bad and was sick! But none of this mattered to

Bible Stories for Children: Jesus heals the Man with Leprosy By Sharla Guenther

Stories for Children

Page 3 APRIL 2O15

The Raoul Follereau Foundation [Malta] - Order of Charity is a non-

profit organization set up in Malta in 1967 with the goal of col-

lecting monetary support for the assistance of lepers throughout

the World. It forms part of the international Raoul Follereau Foun-

dation established in 1946 by the world famous anthropologist

who died in 1977. The main aims of the Foundation are:

- to encourage social help to those suffering

from leprosy;

- to ascertain that these people are treated

as they should;

- to help lepers find their place in society;

- to give financial help to leprosaria and

missions working with them.

Billi issir membru tal-ghaqda—dan jiswa biss is-somma ta’ €5 fis-sena. Li tkun membru jfisser li tirce-vi in-newsletter regolari b’moghod elektroniku jew pubblikata.

Billi taghti donazzjoni b’kull ammont li tixtieq int. Sintendi kull donazzjoni tigi rikonnoxuta b’rcevuta

Billi tixtri il-ktieb Il-Patri Lebbruż li jippreżenta storja ta’ kuraġġ , dedikażżjoni u qlubija tal-qaddis li gie ddikjarat il-patrun tal-presuni morda bil-lebbra.Il-Patri Lebbruz Damjan ta’ Molokai kien mar jaħdem f’kolonja tal-lebbruzi abbandunati minn kulħadd. Ġħalihom kien sacerdot, tabib, bennej, mexxej, ħabib, missier. Fi ftit kliem kien l-għajn tas-salvazzjoni u t-tama tagħhom. Jum fost l-oħrajn, beda l-omelija tiegħu bil-kliem: “Ġħez iez ħuti lebbruzi...” biex hekk qasam mal-

kompatrijotti tiegħu fuq il-Ġz ira ta’ Molokaj, l-aħbar li hu wkoll kien ittieħed mill-marda. Miet ta’ 49 sena. Huwa u gie ddikjarat qaddis sitt snin ilu mill-Papa Benedittu XVI. Il-Ktieb jinbiegħ

€6.00 biss inkluss il-posta. Ibgħat cekk pagabbli lill-Ordni tal-Karita.

Kif tista int tghin ix-xoghol tal-Ordni tal-Karitá

Order of Charity,

Catholic Institute,

Floriana - Malta

Raoul Fo l lereau Foundation [Malta]

E-mail: tcutajar36@gmail.com

http://stlazarusmalta.org/aff_OoC.html

Help us help fight the scourge of leprosy

Offerta mill-qalb Jiena __________________________________ Nru tal-ID _____________ li noqgħod

_____________________________________________________ Kodiċi Postali _________,

Email: __________________________________________________________________

qed nibgħat ċekk nru _________ bhala donazzjoni bis-somma ta’:

€ € € € € €___

Nixtieq insir membru ta’ l’Ordni tal-Karitá u nibdha nircevi in-newsletter regolarment….€

Lest nircevi in-

Nippreferi in-

Nixtieq nixtri il-ktieb Il-Patri Lebbruz…………………………………...….€

Editorjal – IL-LEBBRA SPIRITWALI

Settembru 2015

The Raoul Follereau Foundation (Malta) - The Order of Charity

is a registered NGO [No. VO/0980]

administered by the

Grand Priory of the Maltese Islands

of the

Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem

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Editorjal 1

L-istorja tal-lebbra f’Malta 2

Famous Lepers 3

Leprosy in the Bible 3

Inside this issue:

Il-lebbra hija marda kerha hafna li taffettwa lil eluf ta’ nies b’mod

specjali fil-pajjizi fqar tat-tielet dinja. Hija marda li tattakka l-gilda, l-

ghajnejn, il- griezem u l-pulmuni. Meta l-marda tidhol ‘il gewwa sew, il-

morda spiss ma jibqghux ihossu jdejhom u saqajhom. Ma jindunawx li

jkunu harqu subghajhom jew iweggghu qiegh saqajhom. Hija marda li

thallik paralizzat jekk ma tinqabadx mill-ewwel. Gesù mess b’idejh u

fejjaq nies b’din il-marda ghax dawn tradizzjonalment kienu jigu

mwarrba mill-familji u l-girien taghhom. Gesù kisser din ittradizzjoni

ghax mhux talli kien imiss lill-imgiddma talli kien ifejjaqhom. Ahna wkoll,

flimkien mal-benefatturi taghna, qed nippruvaw nghinu biex intejba l-

hajja tal-lebbruzi u biex din il-marda tinqered ghal kollox.

Il-lebbra spiritwali wkoll taghmilna nies paralizzati. Dawk minna li

ghandhom din il-marda spiritwali jitilfu l-kapacità li jhossu l-ispirtu ta’

Alla. Ma nibqghux nindunaw meta Alla jkun qed jahdem f’hajjitna u

f’hajjet dawk ta’ madwarna. Nitilfu kull kuntatt mar-realtà spiritwali u

nsiru nsara indifferenti. Hafna drabi, il-lebbruzi spiritwali ma jkunux jafu

li ghandhom din il-marda kerha ghax ma jkunux kapaci jaraw ir-realtà

spiritwali u jahsbu li kollox sejjer tajjeb. Mela, ha nahsbu sewwa fuq id-

dmirijiet taghna bhala nsara genwini.

Chev. Tony C. Cutajar

Din l-attitudini bagħqet ukoll matul il-biċċa kbira tas-seklu 19. Diversi tobba Maltin id-diskrevew każijiet ta’ din il-marda. Fl-1803, it-tabib Saydon iddiskriva tlett każijiet ta’ baħħara – wieħed minnhom Malti. Fl-1835, il-Professur Schinas ukoll iddeskriva kas, waqt li fl-1837 it-tabib Gravina iddeskriva żewg każijiet oħra. Każijiet oħra gew irraportati mit-tobba Gulia u Sammut. Ħadt mil-professjoni medika ma kien partikolarment allar-mat u b’risposta għar-rapport mitlub mil-Kumitat Speċjali tal-Kulleġġ Rejali tat-Tobba fil-1862, ġie irraportat li l-lebbra ma kienetx teżisti fil-Gżejjer Maltin. F’rapport ieħor ftit wa-ra, fl-1874, ġie rraportat li waqt li l-lebbra kienet preżenti fil-Gżejjer Maltin, din ma kienetx kommuni.

Fl-1883, il-awtoritajiet f’Malta ħatru kummissjoni ta’ sebgħa tobba biex jistudjaw il -problema f’Malta u jis-suġġerixxu kif din il-marda infettiva setgħat tiġi ikkontrol-lata. Dawn it-tobba identifikaw u studjaw 30 lebbrużi Maltin. Irraportaw li l-marda kienet żdiedet minħabba grupp ta’ suldati Indjani li kienu ġew stazzjonati l-Imrieħel fl-1878.

Il-kummissjoni issuġeriet li l-morda kellhom jiġu isseggrega-ti. Fl-1890, sar servej nazzjonali biex id-daqs tal-problema jiġi verament identifikat. Instabu 69 każ lebbruż fil-Gżejjer Malt-in bi prevalenza ta’ madwar 1 kull 2400 fil-popolazzjoni. Ħdax il-kas kienu fi stat ħażin ħafna u kienu miżmuma fl-Imgieret. Tmien każijiet kienu

jgħixu f’Għawdex. Ħafna mill-każijiet Maltin kienu minn Ħal Qormi jew il-Mosta. Fuq bażi ta’ dan is-servej, l- Kunsill tal-Gvern ippublika Ordinanza Numru VII b’attentat li jwaqqaf it-tixrid tal-lebbra. Din il-ligi pprovdiet għal notifi-kazzjoni kompulsiva ta’ kull kas li jiġi identifikat u ħatret Board ta’ ħames tobba biex jeżaminaw il-każijiet suspettużi u jikkon-fermaw id-djanjożi. Il-pazjent lebbruż kellu jigi immedjata-ment issegregat malli id- djanjożi tiġi ikkonfermata.

Waqt li l-liġi issa stabilixxiet li l-lebbrużi kollha kellhom jiġu issegregati, dan ma setgħax jsir għax ma kienx hemm lok ad-ekwat fejn wieħed jżommhom.

Fl-1900, sptar ddedikat għal-lebbrużi irġiel, ġie mibni l-Imgieret. Is-sezzjoni tan-nisa ġiet mibnija fl-1911 u għalhekk

n-nisa lebrużi setgħu jiġu ammesi wkoll. F’dik is-sena, dan l-isptar għal-lebbrużi kien jżomm 73 pazjent irgiel. Fl-1914, in-numru ta’ lebbrużi identifikati kien ta’ 107 nisa u irġiel, jew prevalenza ta’ 1 kull 2000 tal-populazjoni. Il-pazjenti kienu jiġu ammessi go l-isptar b’mod sfurzat u miżumin hemm fi stat ta’ arrest mill-pulizija.

L-istorja tal-Lebbra f'Malta – Żmien l-Ingliżi—1

Prof. C. Savona-Ventura

L-istorja tal-Lebbra

f’Malta—Zmien l-

Inglizi

Page 2 ORDER OF CHARITY NEWSLETTER

Dawn ir-restrizzjonijiet ġabu magħhom rewwixti u xi leb-brużi anke ħarbu mill-isptar. Bil mod il-mod, il-kundizzjonijiet tal-lebbrużi ġewwa l-isptar tjiebu tant li eventwalment

kienu jitħallew jmorru għal mixjiet fil-kampanja b’kun-trast ta’ l-ewwel snin fejn kienu miżmuma fi stat ta’ arrest preventiv.

Fl-1916, ġie maħtur kumitat ieħor biex jistudja il-kundizzjonijiet tal-lebbrużi f’dan is-sptar. Dan l-istudju ġab bidla fil-liġi li kienet tir-rigwardja il-kontrol ta’ din il-marda. L-Ordinanza ta’ 1919

għarfet li l-lebbruż seta’ ma jibqax infettiv. Għaldanstant dawn il-pazjenti setgħu jiġu meħlusa mill-isptar jew aħjar mill-‘ħabs lebbruż’. Fl-1937, l-isptar tal-lebbra ġie msemmi l-Isptar San Bartolomew f’atten-tat biex titneħa l-istigma as-soċjata miegħu. Fl-istess sena infetaħ sptar għal-lebrużi f’Għawdex.

Huwa popolaru u jibqa magħruf bħalha l-poeta tal-imħabba fil-Vjetnam. Poeżiji tiegħu b’tema folkloristi-ka huma wkoll magħrufa. Il-poeżiji tal-bidu ta’ Han Mac Tu kienu famużi għal purita ta’ ġurisdizzjoni u forma u juru wkoll li kellu interess qawwi fuq suġġetti realistiċi. Warajhom, il-poeżija tiegħu wriet ukoll l-influwenza ta’ simboliżmu Franċiż u wara li marad, din saret aktar vjolenti u bdiet turi wkoll nuqqas ta’ tama. Iktar minn poeta tal-imħabba, Han Mac Tu kien modernista u jfittex li l-poeżija tiegħu jkunu bl-lingwaġġ ġdid u bi tradizzjonijiet u esperjenzi differ-

enti. Il-bidu tal-poeżiji tiegħu kienu aġġornati bi tradizzjonijiet klassiċi u spiċċaw assorbew l-influwenza Franċiża li wassluħ f’taqliba tal-istorja ta’ ħajtu. Il-lingwa tiegħu ħraxet u baqgħet klassika u innovattiva l-ħin kollu, u għalkemm kien Kattoliku, għamel użu ta spiss bi xbihat u idejat Buddistiċi. Fl- 1937 ħa l-marda tal-lebbra u finalment spiċċa fl-Isptar ta Quy Hoa fejn miet xaharejn wara fl-1940 fl-eta ta’ 28 sena.

Lebbruzi famuzi fl-Istorja Hàn Mặc Tử

Il-poeta Vietnamiż, Nguyen Trong Tr, imlaqqam bħalha Han Mac Tu twie led f’Settembru 22 tal-1912 u miet fil-11 ta’ Novembru tal-1940. Huwa kien l-aktar figura Vjetnamiża Kattolika magħrufa matul il-Kolonja ta’ dak iż-żmien. Twieled fid- distrett Dong Hoi, fil-Provinċja ta’ Quang Binh. Kien magħruf bħalha Minh Due, Phong Tran,

Le Thanh u mbagħad finalment bħalha Han Mac Tu kif inhu magħruf illum. Trabba ġewwa familja fqira u missieru miet meta hu kien zgħir. Minn tfal wera l-ħila tiegħu bħalha poeta. Meta ltaqa ma Phan Boi Chau, irċieva kurraġġ u tifħir li għamlitu magħruf. Il-poeżiji tiegħu kienu ndirizzati lin-nisa veri jew fittizji, fil-mod ta Giacomo Leopardi fil-Punent per eżempju.

Page 3 SEPTTEMBRU 2O15

Famous Lepers

Why is leprosy talked about so much in the Bible?"

http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-leprosy.html

In the Bible, the word leprosy is mentioned upwards of 40 times, depending on the Bible version being used. Leprosy was common in Bible times, and the many references to it were well understood by those who lived in un-sanitary conditions. The main reason why leprosy is talked about so much in the Bible is that it is a graph-ic illustration of sin’s destructive power. In ancient Israel leprosy was a powerful object lesson of the de-bilitating influence of sin in a person’s life.

God had given the Israelites very specific instructions on how to deal with leprosy and other skin infec-tions (Leviticus 13). Anyone suspected of having this disease had to go to a priest for examination

(Leviticus 13:2-3). If found to be infected, “the leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:45-46). The leper then was considered utterly unclean—physically and spiritually.

Incurable by man, many believed God inflicted the curse of leprosy upon people for the sins they committed. In fact, those with leprosy were so despised and loathed that they were not allowed to live in any community with their own people (Numbers 5:2). Among the sixty-one defilements of ancient Jewish laws, leprosy was second only to a dead body in serious-ness. A leper wasn’t allowed to come within six feet of any other human, including his own family. The disease was considered so revolting that the leper wasn’t permitted to come within 150 feet of anyone when the wind was blowing. Lepers lived in a community with other lepers until they either got better or died. This was the only way the people knew to contain the spread of the contagious forms of leprosy.

The Bible records the story of a leper who was the first to be healed by Jesus (Matthew 8:2-4). The key lesson to be learned from this incident is that sin defiles us in the sight of God, but through Christ, we can be healed of the plague of sin that sepa-rates us from God. God loathes sin; it is repulsive to Him. Sin bans us from the presence of God because God will not allow sinful man in His sight and presence (Psalm 5:5; Habakkuk 1:13; Revelation 21:27). This is not only true of sins with a sexual connotation that are normally regarded as filthy and repulsive, but it includes all forms of disobedience and rebellion (1 Samu-el 15:23; Proverbs 15:9). All sin is abhorrent to God. But those who have been redeemed from sin by grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9) can stand in God’s presence in full confidence that we are accepted “in the Beloved,” and we praise Him for the grace He extends to us for that purpose (Ephesians 1:5-7).

When we’ve captured a glimpse of the holiness and purity of God, we have to exclaim as did the prophet Isaiah, “Woe to me … I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). Our attitude toward sin in the light of our Saviour should echo the words of Peter: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:1-8). Another key lesson we learn from the leper in Matthew’s Gospel is that just as the leper did, we can confidently approach Jesus in all our need, with all our sin and defilement. When we plead for cleansing and forgiveness, He will not turn us away (Hebrews 4:16; Psalm 103:12).

Leprosy in the Bible

The Raoul Follereau Foundation [Malta] - Order of Charity is a non-profit organisation

set up in Malta in 1967 with the goal of collecting monetary support for the assis-

tance of lepers throughout the World. It forms part of the international Raoul Fol-

lereau Foundation established in 1946 by the world famous anthropologist who died

in 1977. The main aims of the Foundation are:

- to encourage social help to those suffering from leprosy;

- to ascertain that these people are treated as they should;

- to help lepers find their place in society;

- to give financial help to leprosaria and missions working with them.

Leprosy is a curable disease using the highly effective multidrug therapy.

In 1981, a World Health Organization Study Group recommended mul-tidrug treatment with three medications: dapsone, rifampicin (Rifadin), and clofazimine (Lamprene).

This long-term treatment regimen cures the disease and prevents the complications associated with leprosy if started in its early stages.

These medications have been distributed free to all patients with leprosy since 1995, and the WHO distrib-utes the medications in convenient monthly calendar blister packs.

After the first doses of these medications, patients are no longer infectious and they do not transmit the disease to others.

In spite of the medications being available freely, it has not been as yet possible for the medication to reach all sufferers and the disease persists in a number of underdeveloped countries.

The Order of Charity strives to help organizations in their quest to distribute the necessary medication.

The treatment of leprosy

Order of Charity,

Catholic Institute,

Floriana - Malta

Raoul Fo l lereau Foundation [Malta]

E-mail: tcutajar36@gmail.com

http://stlazarusmalta.org/aff_OoC.html

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