“Joseph her husband” (Mt 1:19)

One of my favorites saints. For many ages totally hidden. “Discovered” and made famous by St. Therese of Avila. Recently “invited” to every Eucharistic Prayer soon after Our Lady, as a “Her Spouse”.

I have no idea how he was able to respond to all those challenges: fell in love with Our Lady, and was informed that she offered her virginity to God, found her pregnant, decided to leave her quietly, and after an Angel’s intervention took Her into his home, escaped to Egypt to protect his Family, all these years silent, protective, totally devoted to Our Lady and Jesus.

True inspiration for our life. True saint without any extraordinariness. Normal family life, full of work, daily family activities, oriented to God, close to Our Lady, in a real relationship with Jesus.

“He did as as the Angel of the Lord commanded him” (Mt 1, 24)

On October 13th, when Pope Francis consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a small group of the Holy Family met for the first time in Brussels. It is yet to early to call it a real Group and other conditions must also be met so it is at the moment more like a small sparkle that will hopefully turn into a real flame.

We hosted here Father Wiesław and this was the only professional element of the whole undertaking – the rest was a more or less spontaneous improvisation. The room we rented turned out to have been rented before by someone else, so has the church, so we wandered through the convent building in a joyful pilgrimage. To have the feeling of a meal together, we ordered in Pizza Hut 18 pizzas that were duly blessed by Father Wiesław. But it was as usual: what really happened turned out to be better than our plans – we could have our Mass in peace and did not need to hurry (which would have been the case if we had organised it in the church – there was another Mass coming).

Please pray for us so that we can continue and welcome to the group as many people as possible.

Agnieszka

As each year, the House in Łomianki opens its doors to the families from all the Groups. Cars went to and fro, transporting last minute urgencies. The closer we got to this date, the more young people there were who supported the House in the preparations to thie event.

This day is not only an excellent opportunity to get to know new families, refresh friendships with people met in the previous years but above all to thank the Holy Family for their care and everything that’s happened over this year. Apart from all the group activities there is time for silent meetings with the Holy Family in the chapel.

We have received so much good. There’s so much to thank for.

Remembering all of you who could not come

On your behalf before the Holy Family

Father Jarosław

Group 1 slowly begins their retreat in our retreat house at the seaside – the House of the Holy Family. Participants have been coming here since Saturday. As the school year in Poland hasn’t finished yet, the retreat is intended for a group of families with small children who don’t go to school yet. So you can see toddlers and babies everywhere. The pace is slower, because many of them require to be looked after round-the-clock, but even the older ones need constant attention. In the chapel the parents are trying to keep the children close, and the children – to get as much free space as possible. In the dining room the parents struggle to feed the kids before the ones who can already walk set off for the next exploratory journey on their own.

Most of the wives present here normally stay at home to take care of the children, and most of the husbands spend most of their time at work. Now that the family can be all day together, the fathers are besieged by their children. You can hear every now and then: Daddy, daddy, look! come! help me!

Time stops at evening Adorations. Children, after playing outside all day, fall asleep quicker, making it possible for their mums and dads to take a moment of prayer. It is particularly moving to see the husbands and fathers pray. How precious this time is. What a beautiful sight. I offer them to St Joseph.

Fr Jay

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

To celebrate birthday – it’s normal in our culture. Because the birth is certainly a moment when someone IS present. And today’s celebration is a feast dedicated to the conception. The beginning of man that is first known only to God. Today, in particular, the beginning of Mary.

Her beginning is special: it’s so full of grace as to take away from her the burden of sin – this fatal inclination that makes our life a struggle and that so often brings ourselves and the others to tears, However, this fullness of grace does not deprive Mary of her humanity. Because she was ‘greatly troubled’ when the Angel came to her, and posed him questions, and later on searched for her Son ‘anxiously” – and told Him about it. So She can accompany us with full understanding of our daily cares, questions, joys and disappointments.

When today we send to heaven our best wishes for Her, we can be sure that no conceived man is ever omitted by the Father of Life. The Word for today says is that ‘He chose us in Him before the creation of the world’ and  ‘in love He predestined us for adoption to sonship’. He chose you, He chose me. And He never called that off. He chose also this little One who was born several days ago with only half of the brain and the nuns from the
Foundation in Wrocław were looking for help for the baby.

In spite of all the circumstances, each beginning is a miracle of infinite love.

Małgosia

Heart to Heart. That’s how it should be.

We worship each Heart separately, because either of them is different. Though they have one thing in common: they’ve set the example of how to become a complete gift of oneself, and they are masters of loving to the end. They’re not only the objects of worship, but also the actual place where you meet love.

Each of us may find repose in Her Heart. That’s how the Son of God began his life – 9 months right under Her heart. And Her love was with Him to the end. Before He commanded His spirit to the Father, He entrusted us to Her care.

Blessed John Paul II – when he was meditating on the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus – said that in Christ God loves us in a human way, which has been great comfort for me ever since. How many ideas occur to me when I start thinking how SHE loves me…

Fr. Jay

Listening patiently. Powerful and delicate. Beautiful and discreet. Tender and kind.

How good it is to have a Queen like this!

*May 3rd is in our country the Feast of Mary, Queen of Poland.

Basia

In our family, the professor of the studies on family science is our 6-year-old son – a sparkle of genius imprisoned in the so-called  “inconsistent psychomotor development”, the origin of which remains unknown, despite advanced disagnostics. So on the one hand, our sonny needs a many-sided rehabilitation to catch up with other children, and on the other – he understands in an instant all the issues related to social life. His sensitivity is simply impressive.

A year ago he remembered a quote from one of Disney’s films – about an alien taken in by a little girl (the creature has all sorts of trouble due to his “being different”): “Ohana [in Hawaiian] means family. And family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.” It’s been translated into Polish even as  “no one is rejected or abandoned.” I should add, the Hawaiian “ohana” is about opening your heart to all blood-related, but also all close to heart. They all are part of the family.

One evening, when our family gathered round the icon of the Holy Family, our son said, while playing with his toys: “Well, that’s just ohana.”

I don’t know how this fits advanced theology but yes – I think it’s a great working definition of the Holy Family and any good family in general: the supportive bonds, the certainty of being loved. It’s something I’d like to whish for all of us.

Małgosia