Lord, who knows the hearts of all

May 14, 2015 11:20 am

“Then they prayed, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.’ Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles.” (ACTS 1: 24-26)

Our Lord “knows the hearts of all,” and He prepares us for service in the Church in the best place for us. Some are elected to be apostles (or their successors), some to be missionaries, and some husbands and fathers. We are given different vocations and different roles but always the same unconditional love of Our Lord, who chooses for us the best: “show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry.” We are His children, chosen to bring everlasting fruits not by what we do, but especially by who we are and how much we love Him and His Church. We are chosen to be not to do only. “He was counted with the Eleven Apostles.”

“I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.” (Gospel Acclamation)

The hearts of fathers and sons

December 13, 2014 8:17 am

“You who are ready at the appointed time, it is written, to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.” (Sir. 48:10)

We are God’s children first. In the second place, we belong to our parents. Our parents have received from God the honor and privilege to participate–together with Him–in the extraordinary mission of transmitting human life. He knows how important is the father and son relationship. Whatever we first learn about ourselves comes from the father (and mother); whatever we learn about God comes from the father, too. So He takes care of this relationship, as he “turns back the hearts of fathers towards their sons”.

“Behold, I am coming soon and my recompense is with me, says the Lord, to bestow a reward according to the deeds of each.” Communion Antiphon

These little ones and their angels

August 12, 2014 9:07 am

“…whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.’” (Mt 18:5.10)

God’s love protects everybody, but in a very special way the “little ones”: not only by giving them their Angels in Heaven, but also by identifying with them -“whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me”. Happy is every mother and father when they receive a long awaited child, happy they are even more with receiving with their child also Our Lord himself.

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Gospel Acclamation)

I will give you rest

July 17, 2014 5:00 am

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).

God never gets bored with telling us how important we are for Him. His invitation and care for us bring a huge relief to us whenever we experience fatigue and being burdened. “Come to me” solves everything.

“The sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for her young: by your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, for ever singing your praise”. (Communion Antiphon)

Exceedingly fertile

April 10, 2014 11:01 am

“I will render you exceedingly fertile” (GN 17:6).

We understand these words in a very special way. You as a parents, You as a FertilityCare Practitioners, doctors, teachers… And in a very special way – you who suffer from infertility or suffer from the loss of a child.

He is the most merciful Father and all parenthood comes from Him. There is no parenthood without God. And we are called to be servants to His love and His creation. And when we suffer – He suffers with us. And with Him there is always the happy ending (see the post in our blog) – even if we do not know how and when. When we listen to His voice, when we read the Gospel, we get to know Him better and understand His will better.

He knows how to change your life into “exceedingly fertile”.

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Verse before the Gospel).

Divided household

January 27, 2014 9:26 am

“And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never last.” (Mk 3:25)

A divided household.

Ono of the biggest sufferings in family life. A divided couple, divided parents, divided children… The main temptation: I am right. True love is not about who is right. It is about… love. Beyond who is right. What we can do for our children is to give them a united household. United thruough the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of love. When we can’t see, when we can’t hear, when we can’t feel the other person, it is the ultimate time to pray to the Holy Spirit. He will not tell us who is right, He will tell us how to love.

“Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought light to life through the Gospel” (Alleluia versus)

 

Authority

January 14, 2014 10:25 am

“And His teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, He taught them with authority.” (Mk 1:22)

With authority. The true authority is based on love not on position, profession or bank account. “His teaching made a deep impression”. Mark didn’t write any detail about His teaching, only how much His listeners were impressed. Later, they saw how an unclean spirit went out of a man. And their comment was exactly the same: “Here is a teaching that is new, and with authority behind it” (Mk 1:27).

Every parent knows this. Their authority over children comes not from age, position or anything like that. The true authority comes from their love to children. And every child will follow this authority automatically.

I found it to be true so many times. When I put all my love into my words, my gestures – everything bacame simpler. Everyone prefers to answer to love and not to force. When your child is crying and you say: “stop crying!”, this is teaching by force; when you say: “please come and tell me what happened”, this is teaching by love.

“Receive the word of God, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God” (Alleluia versus)

Monday

January 13, 2014 11:10 am

of the First Week in Ordinary Time.

Ordinary time is never “ordinary”. Every day is a chance to be called: “Come after me” (Mark 1:17). We are invited to follow Him. And we have no idea where this adventure will take us. I was 18 years old when He said these words to me. And I imagined that I would be a parish priest in a small town in my small Diocese in Poland. 28 years later I am in Mexico, happy after presenting Program 2 to six couples, and surprised to see so many miracles. And at the beginning there was only a simple answer to His invitation.

The same happens to every marriage invited to be parents. The answer has changed your life totally. A wife has become a mother, A husband has become a father and your child has received parents. And with this new vocation you have been appointed to a new identity and new responsibility – to be an example of God’s love. To represent Him and His love. The first person to love is your wife/your husband. After him/her come your children. The better you are as a husband/wife, the better you are as a father/mother.

The couples who have attended Program 2: “WE+FAMILY” found the time to invest in their vocation. They were invited by God to become parents and they know how important their vocation is. It was such a special grace to look at their effort and hard work, and to see how happy they were taking part in this Program.

In every life God comes with an invitation to follow Him. And to love like He does. It is not our idea, it is His invitation. This invitation comes with grace.

“It was not you who chose me, says the Lord, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruits, fruit that will last” ( Cf Jn 15:16).

 

The Holy Family

December 29, 2013 10:06 pm

“And be thankful” (Col 3:16)

The life of the Holy Family, very private life, hidden life. Thirty years in silence. We know only about the beginning, escape to Egypt, episode in the Temple when Jesus was twelve years old and … nothing more.

We can say that Jesus wasted thirty years of His life doing nothing. Meaning: nothing important for God, like for example saving this world. But no.

This part of His life is so important for us. He chose to spend all those years in the family, with Mary, His mother, and St. Joseph – and only three years outside. The mission was the same: God “gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (J 3:16). In the family and outside the family.

That is why St. Paul wrote in such detail: “Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged” (Col 3:18-19.21).

This is still the same mission, Good News: “so that everyone … may have eternal life” (J 3:16).

And today is a very special day to “be thankful”. For the Holy Family, for the beauty of family life, which is a very special and personal way to sanctification: “put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection” (Col 3:12-14).

O God, who were pleased to give us the shining example of the Holy Family, graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtue of family life and in the bonds of charity, and so, in the joy of your house, delight one day in eternal rewards. (Collect)

Keeping all of You in my prayer

Fr. Jay

Respectful parents

November 22, 2013 8:18 am

„The most important thing in respect is looking. But looking at what? According to us, respect for other person consists in looking at everything they experience and in particular, paying attention to their feelings and needs. When you look at your child, you can concentrate on many things. You can look at their behaviour and assess it from your point of view: from the perspective of your needs and your criteria. But you can also try to look at the child from their own perspective, taking into account their needs and their feelings”. (Sura Hart, Victora Kindle Hodson, Respectful Parents, Respectful Kids 7 Keys to Turn Family Conflicts Into Co-operation)

And here we are close to what Benedict XVI wrote about:

„Going beyond exterior appearances, I perceive in others an interior desire for a sign of love, of concern.  (…). Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave. ” (Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est, 18)

Basia