https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39327 2026-04-15T07:54:40Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/130221 Title: Lasallian schools, centers of spirituality : a case study Abstract: This dissertation is a case study and focuses on how Lasallian schools are to serve as a centre of spirituality as envisioned by their founder, St. John Baptist De La Salle. Right from the beginning of his work in the field of education St. John Baptist De La Salle thought of schools to be centres of spirituality. He visualised the Lasallian schools as places where both students and teachers can nurture their spiritual life besides following an academic programme of studies. For the students, he timetabled a number of spiritual oriented religious activities that would help them grow spirituality. To enhance the spiritual life of his teachers he designed a life style based on the spirit of faith, zeal and community. This life style is more popularly known as Lasallian spirituality. After discussing the main themes of Lasallian spirituality, this study researches the activities being organized by Stella Maris College, one of the Lasallian schools in Malta. This school has designed a series of spiritual oriented activities aimed at helping each member of its community to mature spiritually. By evaluating what is happening at Stella Maris in the light of De La Salle's original plans, one can determine and understand better how this school is serving as a centre of Lasallian spirituality. Description: M.A.SPIRITUAL COMPANIONSHIP 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/129778 Title: Religious counselling in secondary schools Abstract: The research analyses Religious Counselling in secondary state schools in Malta and compares it with good chaplaincy practices in Irish secondary schools. A review of the relevant literature on school chaplaincy is presented. A triangulation of research methods is used, including in depth interviews, a one week job shadowing exercise and a questionnaire, to give a more comprehensive evaluation of the situation. The research indicates the importance of spiritual growth in holistic education and the role the religious counsellor should play in pastoral care. In Ireland, the school chaplain is a lay person, remunerated like any other member of the staff and is a full time presence of faith in the school. In Malta, the religious counsellor is a priest, on a part time voluntary basis and his role is focused mostly on sacrament celebration. The research concludes with a set of recommendations to improve religious counselling in Maltese secondary schools. Description: M.A.SPIRITUAL COMPANIONSHIP 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/127860 Title: St. John of the Cross' transformative love in the works of Stephenie Meyer Abstract: Stephenie Meyers name stands out amongst recent authors of fantasy-fiction largely due to the thematic versatility, beauty, imagination, and overall sense of peace that enlightens her work. These have mesmerized countless readers who have grown to love the characters at the centre of her books almost as much as the person who created them. Her novels are characterized by the centrality of love and its ability to transform, build, and renew. This springs in a large part from Meyers Christian Mormon beliefs, which she maintains heavily inform her writing. The dissertation will examine the complete published works of Stephenie Meyer to illustrate how they hring forward the Christian belief of the transformative power of love over against instinct, sin, and temptation. To facilitate this project, other works of vampire fiction will be be discussed in order to illustrate the growth of the vampire 'image ' and its relation to sin, evil, and raw instinct, thus highlighting how Meyer has appropriated and changed this inherited mythology and imbued it with Christian values and virtues. A detailed explanation of the Catholic doctrine surrounding love and its purifying effects on the soul will then be made, relying as a primary authority on the works of St. John of the Cross, while at the same time making comparisons to the various examples illustrating these values in Meyer's novels. In this way, the dissertation will show what is of value and what has perhaps been changed or glazed over in Stephenie Meyer's story-lines, as well as that which is wholly different from the Catholic-Christian mentality - largely due to the author's Mormon roots. The research will then conclude by a discussion on the value of this type of analysis of popular culture in Catholic catechesis and evangelization. Description: S.TH.L. 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/101622 Title: Mgr Prof. P.P. Saydon's version of 1 Thessalonians : an exegetical and translation-critical study Abstract: Mgr Prof. Peter Paul Saydon' s single-handed translation of the entire Bible from the original languages into Maltese has been hailed by many scholars as a monumental work. Saydon followed the norm for translations in force in the 1920s and 1930s, namely, a formal word-for-word translation which dictated a style that would help develop the Maltese language itself. In so doing, Saydon rendered the original languages noun for noun, verb for verb, adjective for adjective in as strict a manner as possible. Where no equivalent was found in Maltese, he either opted to choose obsolete or archaic words, or to construct lexemes from already existing words. Furthermore, he followed the Verb-Subject-Object order of constituents in his syntax. Saydon wanted his translation to be a literary masterpiece as well, besides excelling in scholarly exegetical procedures. According to him, a translation must be literal and literary; one that teaches, but also that pleases. However, these policies rendered his translation one that was well beyond the actual abilities of the majority of his readers with regards to comprehensibility and idiomaticity. It was a translation for the scholar's desk, and consequently not easy to use in public and liturgical contexts, where grammars, dictionaries and commentaries could not be at hand. Saydon himself had frequently shown his desire to revise his translation, prior to any second edition of his monumental work, especially because he had made his translation over a period of thirty years, during which even the Maltese language itself had evolved. The various attempts he made at this resulted in a haphazard, unsystematic revision, dictated by the needs of the moment, such as the re-publication of the Gospel of John for Maltese emigrants in Australia (1967). He never gave his authorisation to anyone else to revise his work. The revision of the Old Testament carried out after Saydon's demise by Rev. Carmel Attard for the Society of Christian Doctrine (M.U.S.E.U.M.) saw changes desired by Saydon, other changes in the ortography used by Saydon, and changes not envisaged by Saydon in his manuscript edition or the available published edition booklets. This thesis endeavours to analyse Saydon's exegetical and translation expertise for the First Letter to the Thessalonians as a case study, in order to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the Maltese Bible scholar, and possible criteria for future and better translations of the Bible from the original languages into Maltese. Description: PH.D.THEOLOGY 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z