Fr. Rob Galea

God was willing and able to turn my mess into a message. Coming from a Catholic country (Malta), I was brought up as a Catholic. I attended Mass on weekends, but never really encountered my faith. I never really owned it.

At the age of 13, I ran away from home and ended up in a place of addiction. I was lost and confused and I had lost all sense of hope and purpose. I lost my ability to think straight and even to look after my own life. By the time I was 16, there was a group of gangsters looking to kill me. I was terrified. I was lost and confused. But it was when I reached the end of myself, that I had no where else to turn but to God. In my room in one desperate night, during a time of desperate prayer, I cried out to God- “God if you are real please save me!”

God reached out to me. I experienced God’s presence and His love. I experienced God’s glory at one moment. My heart was changed forever. It didn’t seem like it at the time, but I had encountered the love of God, even though I didn’t understand what it was.

I looked everywhere to find out what this experience and feeling was. Joining a youth group and eventually returning back to the Church, I discovered that it was the Risen Christ. It was the Holy Spirit that came to meet me in this dark and cold place. Today I live my life to reach out to others. I live my life to give the same hope that I experienced at the age of 16 to other people all across the world.

I love Jesus with all of my heart. I am still in many ways a mess, but I stand and hold onto a God who is always ready and able to turn this mess into a message.