Dear Louise with her two friends has taken us today to visit St. Joseph.

Peak District, hills covered with heather, so very English that you can’t get any more English than that. There’s a bee-house-shaped chapel there, dedicated to St. Joseph.

A small shelf that can act as an altar and a kneeling bench, all covered with small papers with requests to St. Joseph and gifts, candles.

We asked him for help and we gave Him all our problems. We know that He was with us and changed our hearts, that He wonderfully took care of everything.

And later a true picnic. It didn’t matter that it was the beginning of March. There’s no trip without a picnic. We had blankets, flasks with coffee, sandwiches, salads, plates, cups, napkins.  Not even the smallest detail failed. Even the sun was shining and some snow around did not bother us at all.  It really fit in.

Today is a break, the day to say farewell to the team members: Margaret and Andrew. They helped so much, it’s so good they were here. They gave such a good testimony. The next weekend Karolina and Tadeusz will be asked to do the same in Brussels. Perhaps somewhat easier, because in Polish, but it’s always an effort and big responsibility.

Tomorrow, on our way to Glasgow, we shall visit the blessed cardinal Newman. It’s good to visit him first because in Glasgow we’ll have a conference from Newman to John Paul II.  🙂

Please pray for me and for Margaret and Andrew’s return trip, and for my further itinerary. You get always so many of intentions for prayer from us – but we remember you, too.

Your traveller

Fr. Jay

First some facts. Our host is Fr Jonathan Mitchell, and he recieves us at his parish house. 5 couples take part in the Program. The eldest couple has been together for 43 years, and the others have been married for 34, 26, 25 and 13 years, respectively.  As you can see, our participants, in majority, are mature and experienced, and working with them is a pure pleasure. They are very responsive and have a great sense of humour, so in the end we have no idea what the famous proverbial “English sense of humour” is all about.

But the most outstanding hero of the Program is our Host – Fr. Johnatan. Not only does he take part in the retreat, but also cooks delicious meals for all of us, washes up, prepares excellent coffee and pampers us in all ways… A former hotel manager and a rugby player, a would-be chef, and a convert. He wears his cassock all the time, even when he goes shopping (before noon he fetched some additional items, the bags full of which he then brought with himself into the kitchen). Being the only relatively “free” person in the team, I do what I can to help, which gives us the opportunity to talk and share our experience of being a priest.

Today we had so many intense hours of work, in a very warm and homely atmosphere  which reminds me of the Program in Springfield. The retreat finishes tomorrow.

Let us not stop praying,

Fr Jay

We’re after the Connference. The tension slowly subsides. In spite of my stage fright, I managed to speak in a foreign language about the beautiful and fragile gift – human sexuality. And to say how important is what we show and say to our children so that later they can live their lives, creating the civilisation of life and love. Your prayers have helped so much.

The organisers were nicely surprised at the numbers of the participants – though we are all fully aware that we are a minority. But still, as Benedict XVI said, it is a part of society that can contribute to it so much. When Jesus called the 12 Apostles, he knew very well that it is not even a tiny drop.  And He keeps giving us tasks that are beyond our strength.  He wants us to count on Him, trust Him, open ourselves to the grace and try to do the impossible.

And we need to bear in mind that the Catholics are a real minority here – 2% of the society are practising Catholics, a large part of them used to be Anglicans or Methodists, they have the government and the media against them and it requires from them a lot of efforts and work.

After the challenging conference, according to the guidelines of Alfred Hitchcock, we need to go up one level and organise Programme 1 for the British participants. Which means the continuation of prayer alarm with support for our Team.

Fr Jay

being ripped off our continental habits.

David Kirk, Louise’s Husband, was so kind to come and pick us up from Manchester Airport.

After a 40-minutes’ drive – getting this strange feeling that we’re on the wrong side of the carriageway – we arrive at a beautiful farmhouse, dating back to the 16th century in its oldest part. Being welcomed in such a place gives us an extraordinary feeling.

At dinner we meet Tom, a friend of David’s from the times of his study at Oxford University. He is the editor of Louise’s book on educating children in sexuality, which will be launched tomorrow during the conference.

We could go on talking till the morning, but our better judgement tells us to go to our rooms. For us it is already 1 o’clock a.m. (local time is 1h ahead of Poland). It’s been a very intense day, and we should expect tomorrow to be even more busy.

We commend ourselves to your prayer,

Your English correspondent,

Fr. Jay

(with Margaret from our blog team and her Husband Andrew)

I think that God is very happy about the great Saints who “believed Love”. Thay heard it, accepted it and laid their lives for it.

But I am very happy that He remembers also about the people who are not so great. Those who look up to Him every now and and ask “Do you love me?”. And this thought has really struck me – that during every Holy Mass He takes the effort  to repeat it when His offer of the Cross is repeated. I have loved you so much. I am dying because of love for you. I am unable to express this love more strongly. 

And then He comes in a palpable way, as food that saves our life, to repeat all of this once again.

I am so grateful that He is not weary of ensuring us about His love and that there are chaplains who are not tired of talking about it. I can only say that the listeners are never tired and that the hunger for this truth never comes to an end.

M

I state this with certainty, looking ath the face of our little Son. I could do it for hours on end.  .

There has been so much joy and emotions for the two weeks. How much peace and gentleness such a Little One can bring into family, He can extract so much good and warmth from the family members. Though so small and helpless, He influences us so strongly – if only because whoever looks at him, smiles.

And he does not only come to take from us, although I must admit that taking care of such a baby is rather difficult. But when we remember that a child is above all a blessing, all other things come more easily…

Basia

I wonder which of you remembers this post:

http://inharbour.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/21/

It was published one year ago, on Feb 23th, 2012. It arrived to Father Jaroslaw to the local seat of the editing team in the following form:

Why was it written on a napkin? Just because we knew perfectly from the very beginning what a blog was. Blog in literature does not occupy any prominent place, It is written “incidentally” and with anything that comes handy. Hence, it is close to people and everyday life. But it also helps to write simply and gives a very personal touch to this writing.

We check every day whether writing is “close to people”, throughout all the 274 notes published until today. We dream of course that the Reader who comes to the Harbour sad, leaves this place with a smile. If they come tired, they should leave inspired.

Thank you very much for being with us for the entire year. Although we write this blog passionately and the blog writes on us, too, without readers it would all be pretty useless. Let us know what we could do better. And if you want to drop us a line, here’s our address.

M on behalf of the editing team

It is about all of us. And each of carries a treasure within.

Moses was chosen to speak to the Pharaoh. And he stuttered. Peter was impulsive. Thomas was distrustful, very critical, he was afraid of the rain even on a sunny day. The Sons of Thunder would have preferred the use of force, etc.

And still God doesn’t mind. It is this way so that He can show His great strength and not we.

We are so easy to hurt, touch, harm. We feel so easily offended.

Lent is the time when we need to believe Love, that we are loved just we are. We are not created as metal or iron pots that do not fear a fall from a height, that do not have  to cry over spilt milk because they are strong.

He wants us to to be fragile, delicate, vulnerable. He wants us go to through through life, concentrated on every, even the smallest piece of love.

She is quiet and delicate. She wakes up at every movement of the child. She is happy with every smile and every sign of love. She will justify, explain, save everything.

Father Jarosław

My daughter is in a football ream with a girl who hasn’t got one hand. She’s doing really fine. She plays fantastic. All of them seem the happiest people in the world, when I look at a fragment of the workout.

Sometimes we think that if we haven’t got something, have lost it or it has been taken from us – it is our curse. “We lived in poverty, we couldn’t afford anything”,  “the father never talked to me”, “I was the smallest in the class”, or “I have been used”. But deficiencies may be a powerful driving force. “I did not have many things, but I learned Spanish on my own”. “I talk a lot with my son so that he has better memories than I have”. “I was small, but the fastest runner”. “I shall never use another person”.

These are only examples. You are who you are thanks to what you have been given. But your uniqueness and beauty also result from all that you didn’t get. And you have so much more richness – yes, in the “failure” and “suffering” compartment – which you can use once it’s been healed and changed, and employ as your greatest talent, your personal gift.

M

How very different is the House which was for 10 days since morning until late evening (the longest working day finished at 00.30) so full of life. Now the corridors are empty, there are no people in the rooms and there’s no-one in our small, nice cafe.

But there are memories. The chapel is still full of prayers left by the participants of the courses, the rooms are filled with words that have not yet died away, the corridors echo countless conversations and consultations.

It’s so good to have been part of it. Many people said – this was a real retreat, we leave strengthened (although dog-tired), it’s pity it’s the end… 

We were bound by something important. Each of us could, through the example of others, believe in love again, because love comes on so many paths, in so many ways.When there’s love, it gives strength for everything.

I wish you a good Sunday so that you won’t forget that it’s given us to find each other, to get closer to each other than every day, to look for love in places  different than every day.

With my warm support

Fr Jay