Last year I wrote about one of the firms producing running shoes (my favourite one, by the way): “A good day is when we get to run. A great day is when we inspire someone else to run.”

For a week I’ve been training with Paul, the eldest son of Mrs and Mr Hilgers. We started the trainings in a calm pace, although at a fairly ambitious distance – 5 km. At the beginning we had the speed of 7.2 km/h. Today we’ve run over 6 km with the speed 9.2km/h (testing at the same time the new running shoes). Paul has had today also his first sprint uphill (more for the joy of running than for the needs of the training). And he calculated his strength in such a way that he had enough until the end.

It is such a joy to observe someone making his first steps on running routes. During the training we have time to explain the methods of building the condition, diversifying the training, specialist running and in general -to rejoice that we are active. Wise and experienced people say that only 2% of adults are able to run for 1 km. We are happy then that we are in the lead.

It’s difficult to think of a better preparation for the day than a run at dawn. In Omaha it is still almost winter time. There is no snow lying around but we still have it when it snows and days are cold. But for runners it’s even better.
From running routes in Omaha

Fr Jay

They can change our lives so much and centre them around people and not about things to do.

Today, on a winter’s morning, I went for a run (and to think that in Poland it’s so warm and here I shiver from cold before I do the warm-up. It’s so unfair!). The rain changed smoothly into nagging hail and then into snow. But I didn’t wait for this last development. Beaten with hail, I had an additional motivation to come back home as soon as possible.

On the way I met some cars that waited to join the traffic. It is really so nice when you see the drivers pull back when they see you running so that you don’t have to change your route. It is a simple gesture but not seen for the first time and it is always so heart-warming. Someone has seen you and helped you as much as he could. And ten someone will hold the lift for you or bring you some water. Our life consists of so many small gestures. You can find so much kindness in them.

I send you greetings, full of kindness.

Fr. Jay

Finally we stayed with Michał in Chicago. We re flying only tomorrow provided our plane takes off. So we had a whole day for ourselves to recover after the very active time and after a long journey. Our friends from Chicago, Janina and Janusz, took care of us. They collected us at night and just before four o’clock at night we were in beds. In this way Michał could see Chicago (from the windows of the plane) and admire the real skyscrapers – they truly seemed to scrape the sky because of the rain and mist that obscured their tops. But we visited the monuments of Kościuszko and Kopernik.
We also had time for a Holy Mass in a true Chicago parish (the parish of Father Tadeusz), where everything is in Polish, all the inscriptions, although there is an English translation for foreigners as it turns out that there are still people in Chicago who don’t understand Polish. So we had a very flexible beginning of our stay in the States – we were abroad but everything was in Polish. Tomorrow the real stuff begins – everything in American.
Thank you for your support – thanks to you we manage to cope:)

Your foreign correspondent
Fr. Jay

Father Captain started yesterday another missionary journey of his. Thie time it will last 6 weeks and it will lead him further than the end of the world and back.

The first stage of that trip is Education Phase II at Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, USA – and it will involve his pastoral care during the education program for NaProTechnology doctors and Creighton Model FertilityCare System Parctitioners. He’s not travelling alone –  but together with one of our blog Authors, Michał, who could not take part in EP II in Łomianki, as his little son was just born in that time. Now he’ll get the chance to be in the heart of NaProTechnology – we’re with him with all our hearts.

The Board of Editiors, while expecting any sign of life from their Mobile Team, started to look for the Bermuda Triangle on the map, doubting it could have been on the way from Poland to Nebraska. But luckily, an hour ago a text message arrived:

We got stuck at the airport in Chicago. 25 h ago we left Home in Łomianki. In 6.5 h we have the next flight, in the “stand-by” version, i.e. we’ll board if places are available. If not, the next flight is on Friday. For now, we do sightiseeing at the airport. Talk to you soon. From Chicago, Fr Jay

So we’re looking forward to the story of creative ways to spend time at the airport – hopefully in the shorter version of travel delay. 🙂

M

Today is the beginning of the Lent. This is a very special time, a time of grace. I read with a new sensitivity the Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for Lent.

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/lent/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20121015_lent-2013_en.html

In the light of what happened on Monday I read his words a bit like a testament because quite soon he will stop preaching as the Pope.

The whole Message is wonderful. It is worth reading carefully. Let me share with you two sentences from it:

Christians are people who have been conquered by Christ’s love and accordingly, under the influence of that love – – they are profoundly open to loving their neighbour in concrete ways (cf. ibid., 33).“ [nr 1]

Everything begins from the humble acceptance of faith (“knowing that one is loved by God”), but has to arrive at the truth of charity (“knowing how to love God and neighbour”), which remains for ever, as the fulfilment of all the virtues (cf. 1 Cor 13:13). [nr 4]

We can say in concise terms that what we need to is to “believe Love”  (1 J 4, 16).  This is the programme for the Lent. For each of us it means different things, different efforts and a different point of departure… The point of arrival is common to all of us.

See you on the way.

I remember you all and pray for you.

Father  Jarosław

I left. And went straight into action – to the meeting of families of our Wrocław Holy Family Center.

I needed that long time spent on the journey (500 km) from the Hermitage to the city of Wrocław in order to slowly adjust. Almost two weeks of living outside civilization (no tap water, no electricity and a fire place to keep warm), but closer to God and simple lifestyle – have let me distance myself from that everyday pursuit for time, for getting all things done, answering e-mails swiftly and so many other details which are so challenging each day.

I’m sorry I’m writing as late as today to thank all of You for being with me, for your prayers, memory and support. I always need it and am happy to receive it 😉 , but believe me: it is particularly necessary during the time of the “desert”, when you have to face your own weakness, so surprisingly great (especially when you’d thought that “I’ve mastered this or that” or “it’s not so tragic with me as it used to be”) – and you also experience God’s love that goes beyond reason.

Thank you for being there with me.

With a heartfelt prayer of gratitude,

Fr Jay

So the Captain of the “Harbour” is leaving for his “me-time” alone with the One who holds all of us in the hollow of His hand.

So many of us owe him so much – of his time, being there for us, his readiness to share his experience, guidance and assistance. Always on the way, in journeys, called to all emergencies, pursued on the phone and by kilometers of texts or e-mails. On the train  or car – sleeping off the nights during which he stayed up to receive the last penitent. Because you must always find time for another man.

Isn’t it great that for the nearest two weeks we’ll be able to pay him back with our prayers, to ask Heaven for all the blessing needed in the hermitage?

So let’s support him in his stay at the end of the world. On the other hand – it is enough to stand in front of the Holy Sacrament to be quite close.

The Editors (=what’s left of them for the coming two weeks 😉 )

When in Florence I was boarding the plane to Frankfurt, I spotted a young and athletic dark-skinned guy. He walked, accompanied by two managers (?), slightly limping. We met again in Frankfurt, sitting next to each other’s tables in the restaurant zone where I was to wait for 5 hours for my connection to Warsaw.

I was wondering whether he’d won the marathon, so I just went towards him and asked (on the plane I saw the photo of the fastest few, neither of them was white). However, it turned out that he hadn’t because of the injury that had thwarted his plans of winning. He came… fourth. Time: 2:12. They asked about my time, too. ‘Almost 2 hours later, but 16 minutes before the last one’ , I said. And later, when the men left to catch their plane, I saw that one of them had left a charger cable. I chased off after them and caught the marathon runner. He thanked me whole-heartedly we shook our hand and said goodbye with a smile.

We, the marathon runners. may score different times at the finishing line but we all respect one another because each of us has to win over ourselves.

Thank you very much for all your kind words of support and congratulations. We’re all one in everything.

With my sincere prayers

Fr Jay

Yesterday each of us proudly exposed their medals. In the restaurants, in the streets. Those who ran understand it very well; and let those who didn’t – at least see them 🙂 A medal that we put in a rucksack today will be a reminder and motivation tomorrow.

We’ll be going back soon. This was the second time I’d visited Florence bacuse of the marathon and I must say that I know this city quite well from the perspective of  42,195 km (of course, multiplied by 2). And since I went then only because of the marathon, I took the last plane to Florence and the first plane after the race. There was not time to do any sightseeing. Maybe I’ll do it next time I run the marathon?

Afterwards – looong waiting time for a change in Frankfurt and a late return home. After the last marathon, since that was not yet the end of the season, I heard the following advice: ‘This week’s going to be a rest. Running only 3 times 12-14 km’. That’s how marathon runners take their rest. But now it’s the end of the season and we can laze around a bit. Winter is the time to get in shape. I don’t really have better running experiences than running on fresh snow in the forest. Of course it’s harder but instead the running strength grows. And we’re getting prepared for the marathon in the spring because there is still weakness that we have to overcome, and because we have to ask more of ourselves, because… Everyone fills in something for themselves.

See you on the running tracks. See you in the spring (or later) somewhere at the marathon.

Greetings for everyone

Fr Jay

The marathon is completed, and this with the result of my life. I do not know yet precisely, what the time was because just before the start my watch let me down and refused to operate. I know that the gross result was 4:14. The tail of the marathon where I found my proper place had to wait for a while before the time was measured.

The strategy was as follows: I start with those who ran 4:30 and than after a while I leave them and run at my own pace. Then I catch those who aim at 4:15 and I run to the finishing line. That’s what I did. I caught them before the half-way point and since I enjoyed running, I went on going at my own pace. The idea was that if I hit the wall, I could always come back to them. And I was right. Though I finished before them, I owe it to their pace makers that in spite of weakness I worked myself up and kept the pace.

Marathon is something special. This is a big challenge, an opportunity to face up to a real weakness when all that’s left is the will to fight while the body says “Enough”. On many, exceptionally many occasions I saw other runners who gave up or, worse still, were taken by ambulances. This shows that it is s true challenge. We know very well what’s happened with our runner at the half-marathon on the Uznam Island. I am proud of him because he didn;t give up and he keeps on training.

Next year we’ll fight again. And now we’re going to celebrate.

Fr Jay