For several reasons we had to move the continuation of the pilot Program to early-afternoon hours. But we managed to meet. On Wednesday we went through the remaining four thematic parts of I+YOU=WE.They are relevant in Mexico, too. We discover that nothing has to be changed or adjusted; married couples experience similar problems all over the world. We can also admire how universal the teaching of the Church is in proclaiming God’s truth about marriage.

Both couples who take part in the pilot, Eli & Armando and Beatriz & Pepe have been married for similar time. The first couple are parents to four kids, the other one – to two. What they share is that they decided to put the values first in their lives. They also have in common that things haven’t always been easy for them and they’ve got a lot of life experience to build upon.

We needed one more meeting to discuss the workshop part – which will be run in Spanish, so we had to make sure everything was clear. And I had my moment of happiness, too, because the first Mexican couples liked the Program a lot. Even though they’re a bit afraid, they look forward to the weekend version of the Program they will be coaches at.

We take our time to make everytjing ready – to plan the meals, print out the materials, ensure there will be enough coffee for breaks, etc. Many people have their contribution in those preparations. There’s a lot to thank Heaven for.

Yo+Tu=Nosotros begins tomorow morning in Mexico, i.e. this afternoon Polish time. We commend ourselves to your prayers.

Always praying for you

Padre Jota

 When Jesus saw His Mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her,“Woman,^[a] here is your son,” ² and to the disciple, “Here is your Mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:26-27)

Worshipped in so many different representations, always showing herself akin to the culture She is coming to visit, She’s offering you this kind of proximity which binds together closest members of a family. And if you have never known the loving presence of a mother, she heals you to be able to experience it. Her Son wanted you so much to be part of His Family.

Our Lady of the Snow, Illionois

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

Our Lady of Częstochowa, Queen of Poland

And here someone took a picture of Her in the company of St Elizabeth:

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Since many couples are going to the weekend version of the Programme, there is no other option but to make a pilot version for the trainers. Unfortunately we have only time during the week, after work, late at night. At least the first meeting will be like that. We start just before 8 pm. Two subjects are foreseen: “Idealistic visions and reality” and “Respect and accepting the differences”. For the first time I will run the programme for two couples only and as a whole, together with the workshop part. It reminds me of the beginnings 6 years ago, when the first programme was created. We were only beginning to create the first team so we had to think about everything.

Luckily for us, English is a foreign language also for the listeners, so poor vocabulary and grammatical constructions make our task only easier. I think about Trainers with so much gratitude for their commitment, competences and availability. Now, when I run the workshops for the first time for many years, I appreciate once again the blessing of team work. It would be so difficult to run the programmes on my own.

We’ll be finishing late. Tomorrow – to be continued.

Padre Jota

That’s where the programme will run:

That’s where I live:

It is always such an amazing thing to be able to see God working in the intimacy of marriages. From the moment the team met Friday for dinner, until the moment we said good-bye to the Bolt’s and Fr. Jay, you could tell God was busy. He was busy making all the little details come together to make the facility be what we needed, when we needed it; to make the talks work upon the hearts of those who care enough about their marriages to take the time to make them better; to make the short nights be enough for us to face the long days ahead.

From one talk to the next, we could see the hearts of the couples be slowly moved from where they were to where He wanted them to be. With each exercise, you could see the knowledge gained to move forward and grow. With each opportunity for Confession, Adoration, Prayer, Mass, and especially Father praying over us in Polish; you could see the chains that were holding these marriages back slowly break away and let the love of our God in.

Here, two days later, I still feel immensely blessed to have been a part of the team this past weekend. I still feel blessed to have seen this retreat work wonders in my own, already good, marriage. I still feel blessed to have people like Father Jay, and Brad and Audrey Bolt as examples and reminders everyday of how to live out the vocation I have been called to. But, most of all, I feel blessed to have learned so many ways to be able to easily see the love of our Heavenly Father  through the love of the husband He has given me.

Daniele O’Toole

was the first Person I hurried to meet. What other place can compete with Her shrine?

Beatriz Gonzales, “our inside (wo)man in Mexico”, together with her husband Pepe have taken care of all the details to make our Program possible in Mexico. Since Pepe is at work, Beatriz picks me up from the airport and we go the Church on the top of the hill, built in the place where St Juan Diego met Our Lady.

The Mass that I celebrate on that day is in English and Spanish. I’m surprised to hear that people in the church give their answers in English. They turn out to be Mexicans, but living in Atlanta, USA. They wouldn’t have thought they’d have the opportunity to participate in the Mass celebrated in English.

I visit all the places on the hill, taking time to pray. I spend the longest while in the Basilica in front of the icon of Our Lady. It is my dream to be able to celebrate the Mass here one day. I remember that when I was here for the first time, celebrating the Mass even at the side altar was not possible without difficulty. My hosts of that time somehow made it possible for me.

We finish our meeting with Our Lady after 6 p.m. and go over to the parish house where I’ll stay and where the couple retreat will be held. Then we have supper at the hospitable house of Beatriz and Pepe (two minutes’s walk from the parish house) – and we’re joined by our friends – Pilar with her husband and daughter; we parted only two weeks ago in Omaha. Then it’s time for sleep.

The former carer of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Coming away from the weekend retreat with Fr. Jay and the other couples, I walk away feeling extremely blessed!  This past weekend of experiencing a third retreat with Fr. Jay has proved to be another God inspired event.  It is miraculous to see God working through Fr. Jay and him being so active to respond.

In completing a retreat and getting to work as part of the Team, I can feel the grace, joy, and passion Fr. Jay has through living out his calling of shepherding couples.  I am able to see that as I observe other couples at the retreat open up and expose those truths that were hindering their relationship. Through that, hurt is released and given to God, allowing love to take place.

I experienced this at my first retreat with my husband Brad, then again at the following two retreats I have been blessed to help out at.  It is always an honor to be in Fr. Jays presence, so I will continue to pray that the Holy Spirit continues to lead his journey.  It is also a powerful example to be on a team with such strong couples. Thanks be to God for allowing this retreat to take place once again in the beautiful Diocese of Springfield.  Thanks be to God for the willingness of couples to desire to live out the Sacrament of marriage. May we all continue to pray for this powerful ministry, and that through God’s grace, will change the face of marriages.

In Christ,

Audrey Bolt

After a short journey from the airport to Audrey and Brad’s home and after a short flight from St. Louis to Chicago, now over four hours’ flight to Mexico. This is already the second time that I’m going to this country (the first one was in 2009) where, just like in our country, Mary reigns, the patron of America.

Now the reason for the trip is meeting the married couples and our programme I+YOU=WE. For the first time in Latin America. It means that it may be different to what it was like in Germany, the UK, the US. I can only guess how different.

The date when this trip begins brings a lot of peace: April 28th. For us this date is very important as this when pour founder, Father Kazimierz Majdanski, was freed from Dachau (1945), when our Institute for Family Studies was founded (1975) and when the Founder died (2007). Yesterday a pilgrimage of gratitude to Kalisz was organised where Joseph, the head of the Holy Family, is the patron.

With some shyness, I’m trying to think about this trip as the continuation of the story that started in Dachau. Had it not been for Dachau, there would not have been my vocation and there wouldn’t have been the Programme that is the fruit of our calling. Even though there are a lot of questions and uncertainty, I feel in my heart peace and joy.

Dios los bendiga

Padre Jota

Paying a visit to Our Lady of Guadalupe

The last blog post penned by Fr Captain of the “Harbour” has got a post-script with the greetings sent for you, Dear Readers

already from the journey to Mexico

Fr. Jay, who soon will be renamed “Padre Jota” (“jota” – in Spanish means the letter “j”. That’s how I’m called – by the first letter of my first name, as almost nobody is able to pronounce Jarosław – not to mention “Szymczak”)

Yesterday in our parish the Homily for children was prepared by a Deacon and two seminarians – all from a missionary congregation. They asked the kids for help in getting a missionary-to-be ready for his trip to South America. So they picked different objects from the bag, asking if they will be useful for the young priest to reach people’s hearts. When the Deacon asked the seminarian, wearing already the poncho, straw hat and a stole, which country in South America he would like to visit, he confessed that he had always dreamt of going to Mexico. That was followed by some degree of confusion as to where Mexico was placed on the map, but they found their way out by saying that it’s somewhere between both Americas.

That’s why the blog editors decided to insert a map into this post, hoping it includes all that our Missionary, Fr Jay, may need on his way.*

*The bottom right corner is occupied by St Therese of Lisieux, the Patron Saint of missionaries. The map does not show our prayers, but it is as obvious as the Mexican sun that each of us may add up our (so necessary) support.

PS. On the day of the Pilgrimage of Families to St Joseph Shrine in Kalisz, Poland – we are also joining in prayers for healing Fr Darek (Fr Jay’s brother in priesthood from the Institute of the Holy Family) from cancer disease.

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Unfortunately, not all the couples were able to stay till the very end of the retreat, but those who managed, gathered in Christ the King Chapel to participate in the Holy Mass and renew their marriage vows. And that was an unusual experience.

Afterwards, there was the time for the Participants to share the things they discovered during the Program, their greatest joys and what they remembered most.

I remembered most that the couples liked very much my praying aloud for each of them, just before the Mass, “in tongues”, as they put it, and to be specific, in just one language, namely Polish. But for them it sounded absolutely mysterious and unearthly. 🙂 It turns out that even Polish language can be a foreign language. So it’s not so bad with the Poles, as we are able to use at least one foreign language. 😉

And seriously, I’m the happiest man in the world, because I was able to see the miracles of God’s grace. God never ceases to care for married couples – whom He called to life granting His own grace.

Praise be to Him forever.

With most sincere prayer for all of You

Fr. Jay

The day that is just coming to an end was very long for all of us. For the retreat participants it was also the day of travel. Only few of them arrived yesterday, most of them had to get up very early to make it on time.

Our Team is busy running the Program, but we also take every opportunity to spend  together each moment in between to go through all the subsequent activities, share our experience and impressions, and divide tasks. 

At the closing of the day we took part in a quiet and long adoration of the Holy Sacrament in the Christ the King Chapel, which we had just for us. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconcilliation was available for those who needed it, too.

We can feel the support of your prayers coming from so many different places in the world. We all know that the time of the retreat can be very difficult but at the same time – blessed and beneficial.

From Belleville,

Fr Jay

Audrey&Brad, Patrick&Daniele, and one Father from Poland

PS. Some of the Readers commented that the story described in the previous post – of a husband doing the laundry for his wife – was a nice thing but no big deal indeed. Theoretically yes, but if you take into account that Daniele and Patrick are parents to 12 children, 8 of whom are still at home, and the youngest one is a few months old, then…