Advice and Accountability...

Accountability is a good thing: to be people who are ready to get advice when we need it. Too often, because of emotions, tiredness and bias we tend not to see things clearly. Those who keep to themselves, and are not open to asking for help are liable to getting advice from all the wrong places!

One of these "wrong places" is fear. Never take advice from your fears!! In other words: do not go back on a decision you made at a time of courage and clarity when you are fearful and confused!

We do get scared, but our "territory" (1 Chr 4:10 - Bible) is increased when we move forward on previous, positive decisions in spite of our fears!

Christmas Message!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Almost 5 days have passed since I was ordained a deacon and I am posting this blog from Tropical Cairns in Queensland where I am enjoying time with my parents. The ordination celebration was one that surpassed my expectations. It was such an honour to be surrounded by friends and my parents who came over from Malta for this special occasion.

Over 1,000 people packed the Bendigo Cathedral; a decent number of whom flew in from Sydney, Adelaide, and two bus-loads of people took the two-hour drive there and back from Melbourne. What an honour!

The service took the form of a mass, attended to by some 50 priests and presided by Bishop Joe Grech. It was a peaceful and prayerful experience, helped a lot by the magnificent choir and music present. After the mass there were drinks and some food offered, accompanied by some live music. I could not have imagined a clearer and fresher spring evening!

I have spent 7 years in formation and am more passionate about my vocation today than I have ever been. I am looking forward to work with and serve the people here in Australia over the next few years, and possibly returning to Malta after that. I will be working in a country parish over the summer (Kerang) and a more suburban parish after that (Benalla) while I finish off my last year at university.

My ordination to the priesthood is planned for October 2010 in Malta! I excitedly await to seeing you there!

I pray you are all well… thanks so much for your beautiful and encouraging emails. Wishing you were all here!

God bless!
(Rev. ;) Rob

Ordained!

Overwhelmed by the love of God and the amazing people in my life! Last Friday 20th November I was ordained a Deacon by Bishop Joe Grech at an amazing and peaceful ceremony, before 1,000 faithful at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo, Australia.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!!
The best is yet to come!!!

Diaconate Ordination

Just 3 days until my Ordination to the Diaconate and I am lying in bed unable to sleep with excitement. I am excited about what is to come but just as excited about what God has done to bring me to this point!

Who would have thought?!? A rebellious teenager picked out from a crowd to serve a great God in and through ordained ministry!? I could have thought of 'better' things to do with my life; my family and friends too could have given a few sugestions... but a Deacon? A priest?!

Humbled and honoured I am excited because if God has the ability to bring me to this point, with a life lived in His grace, I know that the best is yet to come!

Stronger 2009 Promo Video!

"More of You" Re-Release!!

It's official... the re-release of my 2004 EP "More of You" is NOW OUT on iTunes and CDBaby.com. This is the digital release of my very first recording project which went out of print in 2006! To celebrate the re-release we are including a never-before released song "Reign in Glory"!

iTunes >>>>

CD Baby >>>>

New Song

"GOD DOES NOT MAKE RUBBISH"

Download it from iTunes!

LISTEN TO SONG (Free) >>>

DOWNLOAD SONG (iTunes) >>>

IF YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED THE SONG PLEASE RATE SONG AND LEAVE A REVIEW

DOWNLOAD LYRICS & GUITAR CHORDS >>>

This is a song written by Seminarian Rob Galea and Bishop Joe Grech, using the words that Bishop Joe loves to use during his passionate preaching!

"God Does Not Make Rubbish" features Bishop Joe Grech.

Also e available from

Napster, Rhapsody and other digital music stores...

NEW SONG... Coming Very Soon!

Download Guitar Chords Here...

//Loved//

30-days of silence and prayer are over and now the new Seminary semester begins. I am so excited about this semester - Ordination to Diaconate (God willing), new subjects to study, a few concerts (www.ThatsWorship.com for more info), recording and just enjoying and digging deeper into the mind and heart of God!

A small note: It is such an amazing gift to feel loved, accepted and liked!! But so many of us walk through life feeling that we need to prove ourselves; that we need to win the love and acceptance of others. My prayer for you is that you would realise, even for just a moment, just how loved and treasured you are by the One who made you!! You ARE loved... "Lord, teach me to let You love me!!"

Thank God For Music!

Thank God for the gift of music!!! The right music helps us turn our hearts to the right place... here are some New Christian Releases I recommend:

1. Life Light Up - Christy Nockels

Available from Amazon.com and iTunes

2. The Power of One - Israel Houghton

Available from Amazon.com

(iTunes Australia and Europe don't seem to have it.)

3. Faith+Hope+Love - Hillsong

Available from Amazon.com and iTunes.

All of these CD's have been a real blessing for me over the last few weeks!! Get a hold of at least one and let me know what you think!!

// AWAY //

Hey... This is a quick "public notice" letting u know that I will me on silent retreat until the 20th of July! Ill try to leave some of my thoughts on Twitter every few days (twitter.com/robgalea) but will not be able to respond to emails, comments, etc!

Please say a small prayer for me... Silence and I don't get on too well!! ;)

Singing before 200,000!

Studying!

Studying... a necessary evil for some and a pleasure for others. I'm not the 'always- at- your- desk- studying' type; far from it, although I do realize the importance of it. God created us in his image and each and every one of us are personally called to become more like Him. One way we do that is through reaching our mental potential (he he.. it rhymes)... Moving on...

Through prayer we listen to what is on the heart of God, however, through study we can learn more about the mind of God. Study may be a sacrifice, but in the context of eternity it one worth making... So let us give our studies all we've got!

Echuca Moama

Greetings from Echuca Moama,
I am now 260K's from Melbourne & am here to sing & speak at a Catholic College about how much God loves us... all I hope is that these 15 to 17 year olds would catch a glimpse of how much they are loved & treasured by God.
Please keep the young people of Australia in your prayers!!
Rob

Also Coming Up...

Persevere!

Prayer... sometimes I find that an easy thing to do, but more times than not it is a big struggle. But the power in prayer is not in feeling good or sensing God near (though that is a great thing), but in perseverence! If we keep at it God is given the space to work miracles in our life - miracles we sometimes don't even know we need! So my encouragement to you is to keep at it... Keep seeking God in prayer through thick and thin... That is where the power is!

Coming up...

Health!

Life is a wonderful gift & we need our health to live it to the full! God has made it quite easy for us to live in good health, through choosing what enters into our system and when, the countless exercise opportunities available around us (from a daily walk to your local athletics club or gym), to reading good material about how to stay healthy!

The Bible too has a bit to say about health: take the book of Daniel as an example (Dan 1:8-20).

Anyway, my point is that we out to make a good effort to look after out bodies, as well as our souls! These bodies we live in are the instruments through which we are to learn to know, love and serve God!

A Glimpse!

I just spent a weekend 'preaching an singing' in Wodonga, 360 or so Km's from Melbourne and once again I am burning with enthusiasm for the Kingdom! Sometimes we catch a glimpse what we were made for & that just gives us the energy and the drive to go on with the everyday, sometimes mundane stuff!

Ok... Will be in the studio over the next few weeks recording and working on the DEVOTION SERIES ... please do keep this in your prayers!!
Stay well!!

Thoughts & Twitters

"If we don't have control over our thoughts, how can we expect to have control over our actions?" So true!! Our thoughts determine so much of our life... We need to be positive by thinking positive, live a life of love by thinking loving thoughts!

On another note... You may have noted the Twitter updates on the right of this blog... I post some thoughts and some of my 'doings' every few hours & it gets updated here. You can go directly to www.Twitter.com/RobGalea to follow the updates.-->

Resurrection Sunday

Greetings from Melbourne Airport!
It's been a busy week full if God's blessings in Bendigo & now I sit exhausted in Terminal 3 waiting for my flight to board. I am off to Sydney to give a concert...
I sit here with an energy level close to Zero, but my heart is on fire... There is a message that God has 'whispered' into my heart & I just can not be silent until I shout it out to those who are willing to listen! I pray that during this concert there will be hearts ready to listen...
Flight is boarding...
catcha'!

Lectures!

The last 4 hours of lectures for the term and I can't wait to get to Bendigo & be a part of parish life! As I sit in my lecture, here is my basic setup and 'strategy':
1. Laptop
2. Coffee
3. Sit at back of class where my coffee drinking and typing won't drive the lecturer mad,
4. Take notes
5. Stop myself from day-dreaming!

6. Try Learn a thing or two...

Mac Freak

After a long time tolerating a constantly- crashing phone I finally got my hands on a new iphone 3G. I am now officially a 'Mac Freak'. It's been hard to put the phone down over the last few hours, but with a great push of will-power it is presently out of my hands;)

Holy Week is now almost upon us and we'll (some of the Sandhurst seminarians) be traveling to Bendigo and will be on retreat with Bishop Joe for the week. So exciting!! The week after that I, once again, head for Sydney for a concert.

Yesterday I also had the privilege of giving a mini-concert to some prisoners in Melbourne... man, music is a powerful thing!!!

Rest!

We are two weeks away from Easter. This Lent has been an awesome time of grace for me... seeing God work in my heart has been so encouraging. It is not too late to look to, and think about what Jesus did for you and me on the Cross... 

A suggestion (meditation):
Get a Crucifix and just imagine yourself resting your head on the head of Jesus on upon the Cross... the thorns against your own head, listening to Jesus' breathe and giving him some rest and comfort as you take some of the weight off his neck...
Strange? Crazy? Maybe... but give it a try!

Canadian CD Promo

New Recording!

Studies are well underway! My ordination to the diaconate is getting closer... just 8 months to go!!! I have also been working on a new recording... this is not another album, but the first in what will be a Devotion Series! 

The first in the series should be released later this year... it is the Divine Mercy Chaplet, for which I have written some music. I am working with some great people for this project - whom I will mention some time later. 

Please keep all of this in your prayer! 

Blessings!

Update...

Greetings from Melbourne Catholic seminary!
The first few weeks here have been a true time of grace, but ‘jam-packed’ to say the least. With studies, seminary commitments and so on. I have also been doing some prison work & writing some songs. In the available gaps I am also visiting the recording studio to work on a project due to be released towards the end of the year. My ‘tour schedule’ is also getting longer – trying to fit those in my short holiday times. Ok...ok... got the point...

Anyway… Lent is upon us, and Easter round the corner… Easter can come and go without impacting your life… don’t let that happen!!
Keeping you in my prayers!!

Salt and Light TV Interview!

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE >>>


www.saltandlighttv.org

Some Random Thoughts

Life is a gift, but life itself is not enough. We need the grace to live it to the full .... not just to survive, but to conquer! Walking and living with God enables us to do just that!!!.... just thought I'd share that!

Loving my first few days at the seminary. Its such a blessing to be where I am; yet the closer I get to ordination, the more unprepared I feel. This is where I need to learn to depend more on the grace of God, and  dig deeper in prayer... I'll take it as one of my goals this year!

Bush Fires!

Hey guys,

I am just back from Fiji and am now preparing to board the plane to Sydney for tomorrow night's concert. I am overwhelmed by the devastation the bush fires have caused in Victoria Australia, where this "natural" disaster is being named as Australia's worst! Please do pray for the families that lost their homes and the families of the hundreds who's lives were lost!

Fiji 2!

Watch the second part of our Fiji trip here>>>

Welcome to Fiji!

Bula!! I have been in Fiji for 24 hours and I must say that I love what I see. I have not had the chance to see the beaches and rivers yet, but have been truly blessed spending time with the locals. I just came back from a meeting with a local community living in the slums – their passion for Jesus and for better education opportunities, as well as their selfless hospitality is truly inspiring!
I will continue to keep updates here every few days!
God bless!!

Fiji

I have just returned from Canada and am now packing for tomorrow's trip to Fiji. I hope it will be a time of relaxation and reflection. 

There is a little political unrest in Fiji at the moment, and there has also been some serious flooding, though I will be there with another seminarian and his local Fijian friends. 

Anyway... I'll be off! Be blessed!!!

Canada Video Update!

I'm just back in Australia and packing to head off to Fiji in a day. God has truly blessed me over the last few days. Watch the video below; it captures some of the moments of my Toronto Canada trip.

Toronto Update

I just returned from my second concert here in Toronto Canada. It has been an overwhelming few days where God has been doing wonderful things in my life and in those of those present at the concerts. Last night's concert was filmed and will soon be broadcast around Canada and North America. It is such an exciting time.

The temperature here is still well below the zero mark, and it has been snowing here today... beautiful! I leave Canada in two days and then prepare for my trip to Fiji!

Catcha L8R!!!

Greetings from Toronto, Canada! It's been a thrilling three days traveling from Australia's 40 to todays minus 23 degrees Celsius. I am here in Canada for 5 days for a concert and some interviews with Salt & Light TV. Salt and Light is a Catholic TV station which broadcasts to it's 2 million paid subscribers. It is going to be an exciting few days in which I pray I will be given the strength to carry Christ's spark of hope to many!

Chill!

2 days till I begin a hectic month. I have had to pack for 4 things - I move from Australian 36 degrees Summer to Canada's minus 20 degrees. Then the day after I return I go to thaw in Fiji - praying the flooding will stop by the time I arrive. Once I land back in Melbourne I have a few hours to pick up my bags before flying to Sydney. Wait...there is more... then I land return to Melbourne, drive back to Bendigo to pick up my stuff to move back into the seminary for the year! Wow... 

Anyway - apart from that I am reading a good book which I must recommend.. It's called "A Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. A must-read!! 

Happy 2009!!

I Wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009 is beginning with a bang as I spend the next few days in the studio, then in mid January, head off to Canada for a few concerts and TV appearances.

I am getting so excited about priesthood and feel so blessed to be called to such a great vocation.