“When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.” (Lk 2: 39-40)

Our Lord had a place which He could call “home”: “they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.” He would be there for 30 years, practicing family life and being obedient to “the law of the Lord,” He would not only fulfill “all the prescriptions of the law” but also live the beauty of the normal, daily life of the family: staying together, being responsible for some duties, sharing love and life, helping each other and praying together, just like we do in our daily lives.

“A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. Today a great light has come upon the earth.” (Gospel Acclamation)

Dear Friends,

Today is the first day of my individual retreat. I will spend the next two weeks in a hermitage (run by Carmelite Fathers in Poland), alone in a small simple cabin in the forest: with no electricity, only with a fireplace and a small propane bottle for cooking, BUT with the chapel and  the Blessed Sacrament.  Large enough for  the two of us: Our Lord and me. And the Angels, of course. 🙂

It’s the most important time in my life every year. It’s the time maent not to be separated from you, but to be closer to you–because of being closer to Him. A very blessed and a very difficult time, because the “desert” shows you the truth about yourself: about your weaknesses, your pride, your egoism and your sins. Fortunately, it also shows you the unconditional love of God–how much you are loved.

I will keep you in my prayer, but at the same time there will be no homilies for two weeks, as I will be outside communication technologies. The editors will publish one sentence from the daily readings on our Family Support Foundation blog, together with a photo which features the hermitage. Please keep His word alive in your heart, and keep me in your prayer. And see you in two weeks. 🙂

“He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God.” (Is 61: 1-2)

One day for Our Lord is like 1000 years for us, and when He proclaims “a year of favor” it means much, much more then 365 days; it means that He never stops “bringing tidings to the poor,” “healing the brokenhearted” or “proclaiming liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.” His love never stops, never gets tired and never ends.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” (Entrance Antiphon)

ps.Personal note. I was ordained exactly 29 years ago on this Sunday, which is called “Gaudete-Rejoice.” And I strongly believe that the readings from that Sunday are somehow “responsible” for leading me in that direction: “to announce a year of favor from the Lord,” especially for married couples: to remind them how much they are loved, how much they have received from each other and how much joy is in their vocation. Please pray for me today to be always faithful to this mission.

“May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it”. (1 Thes 5: 23-24)

It’s been one year since you started receiving my short homilies.

I strongly believe that Our Lord’s Word answers all our questions and needs. It’s been a beautiful experience for me to share with you my reflections based on the Daily Readings. I usually wrote them very early in the morning, but sometimes, in a very busy schedule, I needed to stay up very late (once I spent almost 5 hours trying to finish a homily, fighting with sleep). Sometimes I had to come up with a piece two or three days in advance, but generally it was always the best time I had. What I did was meditating and asking for the words for you, my dear Brothers and Sisters, my spiritual children.

I also wanted the homilies to be part of assistance after Program I+YOU=WE for the Love and Life Programs participants: a word of inspiration for your marriage–to help you follow your vocation of a spouse and make the best of it.

I would like to say a very special “thank you” to people who have been helping me and are invisible:

to Carol–a former teacher of academic writing–for sharing her outstanding proofreading talents with us, her availability and prayers,
to Margaret–our Editor-in-Chief–for her dedication, edition, publication and beautiful pictures on Facebook, which make the homilies more understandable (one picture is worth 1000 words),

to Majo – our translator in Spanish, and to Beatriz – our great supporter in Latinamerica (and from time to time – also translator),

to Agnieszka Buczkowska, who used to translate the blog post together with Margaret before my wiritng in English here began one year ago

“… Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified Body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.” (Phil 3: 20-21–4:1)

Our Lord knows us perfectly. We are His beloved brothers and sisters not because we are perfect, but because we are chosen by God the Father to be His children. He knows our limits, “our lowly body,” so He doesn’t expect that we will be able to change ourselves into “his glorified body.” We “await a savior” who will change our lowly body by His power and will “bring all things into subjection to himself.”

I like to think about you, my brothers and sisters, readers of my daily homilies, like St. Paul: “my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.”

“You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, O Lord.” (Communion Antiphon)

“…I became a minister by the gift of God’s grace that was granted me in accord with the exercise of his power. To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ…” (Eph 3: 7-8)

His grace accompanies every vocation, every role and every task. His power is given not because we deserve it or we are worthy of it, but because we are chosen and equipped for our ministry. God’s grace accepted, given even to “the very least of all the holy ones,” makes miracles and changes ordinary men into holy men.

“The Lord chose him for himself as high priest, and, opening his treasure house, made him rich in all good things.” (Entrance Antiphon)

“And in his name the Gentiles will hope.” (Mt 12: 21)

Sometimes we forget how strong His name is: it can fill us with courage, hope and love. How often have I met dying people whose only relief was repeating His name over and over again.

“He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Communion Antiphon)

“Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it” (Is 55:10-11).

We are invited to be “fertile and fruitful.” In different ways, but still it is our vocation: for couples, the unmarried and the consecrated. When we open the daily readings to listen to Him, we change our life into fertile and fruitful. He only expects from us that we will open our hearts for Him and He will bring a word for me, which is able to change my life totally.

“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower. All who come to him will have life for ever” (Gospel Acclamation).

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest’” (Mt 9: 37-38).

Our Lord’s request is still valid; we urgently need “laborers for his harvest.” The number of vocations has decreased. Our Lord gave us the solution: “ask the master of the harvest.” Because the vocation to the priesthood is to serve to the community, so the community is responsible for asking.

“I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me” (Gospel Acclamation).

“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go” (Mt 8:19)

Declaration which every seminarian understands perfectly: “wherever you go”. We would like to conquer the whole world for Our Lord. Later, the idea slowly moves from “wherever” to determining “where.” The only way to avoid this temptation is to focus on Him; with the accent on “follow you” and only then “wherever you go.” It is more difficult for us, men, to be focused on a person rather than on action, but… it’s crucial.

“O Father, I pray for them, that they may be one in us, that the world may believe that you have sent me, says the Lord.” (Communion Antiphon)