The last day of the congress

November 20, 2013 9:07 pm

This is above all the panel of the leaders of the conference of bishops of the US, Canada, Latin America and Brazil. Also the bishop from the Philippines and Caribbean was included but because of the tragedy he didn’t come, which is understandable.

I will need some more time to put these matters in order but I can see already how important his meetings was and even though it concerned America, many things can be related to our situation.

What was did the speakers stress most? That evangelisation is not only our thing but it is also the great concern of God for all the children to come back to Him.

There is no evangelisation that does not stream from an individual encounter with God so at the first place there is prayer and the personal relationship with Jesus. The church and all of us are missionaries – this is not a post or a title but the identity of each of us. When we encounter the living Jesus, we want to share this experience with everyone.

The Holy Spirit, promised to us, will lead in us in every situation. This requires openness and internal freedom. We must also constantly reflect on things and react to changing reality. The social structure of many countries is changing from rural to urban societies. What was good before is no longer sufficient. For example, in Toronto 50% inhabitants were not born in Canada. This shows that we are in a very happy situation, although in our country we can also see the trend from rural to urban.

A parish is a community of communities, we repeat it often and we must come back to it again and again. Each of us needs a smaller community that gives a sense of closeness and understanding. But our mission is not to serve our community or even our parish but… the world. We need to conquer the world for Jesus. We discussed the need to change our mentality to become missionaries. We need to change our parishes in mission territories. For example: bring every year two new married couples to our meetings – what would happen in 5 years’ time?

Every day we started and ended with a prayer. I was happy that there was ample time for prayer, so it was not theoretical speaking of the need to pray but putting in practice what was said.

Remembering you all

Padre J.

The Basilica – the Sanctuary of Our Lady

November 19, 2013 9:17 pm

It is an extraordinary place. Every time I come here I am deeply impressed. It is so much alike our Jasna Gora but is also very unique. Maybe this is because it is so diversified and full of Indians coming from various tribes and wearing their tribal clothes.

There are 12 million pilgrims coming here every year, three times as many as to Czestochowa. People come here all the time. When a baby is born, it is brought here to be presented to Our Lady and flowers are brought to her in big heaps.

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Candles and water is brought to be consecrated and people come to dance before Our Lady.

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IMG_1146Today I didn’t take lunch (partly because I was not entitled to a common lunch and I didn’t want to lose… time on individual lunch) and I went to visit Our Lady. I didn’t quite succeed because here when a priest is around, people approach him to ask for a blessing for a child or wife or mother. When I sat in a bench, one family came for a blessing and then a whole queue was formed, so I had to leave – not because I didn’t want to bless but because The Holy Mass began.

But I wish all priests could have such experiences – a queue of people asking to be prayed for and blessed. I had do refuse when asked for confession in Spanish. It is so sad but I need some more time, this is what I say to myself but so far I have had too little time to do it and there are people around who speak English. I keep promising myself that this will change and will probably change soon because Bishop Carlos is planning for me a new place to stay in a parish where no-one speaks English.

And coming back to the Congress: it’s been very interesting and today we’re having a presentation of all group work. I keep learning new things. The most interesting thing today was a comment of one of the participants: Jesus said: GO! and we say COME! Perhaps we should go back to the roots? maybe that’s why Pope Francis says we must be on the way and if we’re not on the way, it is not good.

In the evening we had a beautiful celebration for Our Lady when a rose offered by Pope Francis was presented. Just like Our Lady asked Juan Diego to offer her roses, She is offered roses today. It’s difficult to hold back tears.IMG_1151

Greetings on the way to the last day of the Congress

Padre J.

 

 

 

Laity and…

November 18, 2013 10:07 pm

Mary of Guadalupe spoke to a poor Indian from from the Aztec tribe but although she talked to him, she asked him to repeat everything to his bishop. During the congress many speakers stressed this fact. There is no new evangelisation without the lay people but it must happen in unity with the bishops. Mary watches over this everywhere. The church is hierarchical but is not limited to hierarchy only . Today a lot of attention was paid to the forming of laity and it is lay people who talked about it and ask cardinals and bishops for it. They would like permanent forming and leading to be accessible. What for? So that their evangelist mission is not based on emotions but on knowledge and truth.

Our Programmes are based on the truth for which continuous work is needed and therefore we give you homework. How are you doing? No breaks, no “freezes”? Because, you know, they will not just do themselves on their own. But once done, they will bring a crop a hundred times what was sown.

Remembering you

Padre J

Varekai – Wherever

November 15, 2013 9:20 pm

We came back from the Mexican village earlier than planned. Everyone wanted to have a moment of rest. The kind hosts probably also enjoyed a moment of peace:) We came back to work, meaning; important meetings, but I’ll come back to it later.

Today I’d like to share with you a unique experience, something I dreamt of ever since I saw for the first time the Cirque de Soleil in San Diego, in the Oceanarium. I didn’t know then that this Cirque was an incredible group touring the world and showing its performances, so I dreamt of seeing them again. For the time being I had to be content myself with watching their shows or fragments thereof on YouTube. I recommend them to you to see in your spare time.

And it turned out that they were here, in Mexico, with the show entitled “Verekai – Wherever”. Good people, when they heard my joy that the Cirque was here, took care of the tickets and so I could see the show live, an unforgettable experience.

This was a mixture of fairytale stories, costumes beyond imagination and choreography with live music played on stage. The actors controlled their bodies perfectly and all this meant that the show was truly unforgettable.

It’s difficult to say what was the most impressive element – acrobats on the rope without any safety measures, flawless jugglery or perfectly supple bodies? Each of these things was extraordinary but for me the most impressive thing were the exploits of acrobats – not only individual performance but team effort – so that one person thrown in the air landed precisely on the arms of colleagues. The joy of people who are happy to go beyond the limits of the possible.

Probably none of the watchers will start practising at home but we will not be able to say so easily that something is impossible because these people show us that if you really want something, it is possible.

Remembering you

Padre J.

Mexican piety

November 12, 2013 8:59 am

I went for a few days to the Mexican countryside and I stayed for a while in Malinalco – Puebla Magica. It is a place worth visiting. Perhaps one day I shall relate my impressions but today I’d like to share a few images from the visit to the Divino Salvador  church and the Transfiguracion convent, founded by the augustins in 1540. The place is worth visiting not only because of archeological artefacts of the Aztec culture but also to see the black and white frescos made by Indians on all the walls of the viridary.

But I was more attracted to the signs of piety; it is good to entrust the child or someone from the family to Mary, it is worth making a request to San Charbel Makhlouf, the much revered maronite,but it’s also good to make sure that they will remember.

I must say it has touched me deeply. They must have a lot of intentions to attend to so a small mind-jogger will be helpful. I wonder if there is some cleaning done from time to time – there must be room for new intentions.

Remembering you all

Padre J.

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The important day

November 10, 2013 11:21 am

It has passed. Thanks to the prayer of so many of you, thanks to your support I have thrown myself in at the deep end and for the first time in my life – not taking into account Holy Masses – I have spoken a conference in English, without a paper, without a crib, using only a presentation prepared by the Boss of our Editorial Team  –  I don’t know how to show it to you, as it’s worth seeing.

I was only paralysed by the awareness that my speech was planed to last an hour. I prevented the organisers that it would be great if I managed to talk for 30, possibly 40 minutes. They told me it was all right – there would be a break, someone could speak about their experiences with the Creighton model, then a NaPro doctor, something about the Programme planned for mid-January and somehow we would make it until noon.

Everything started later. Instead of the planned 10 am we moved on at 10.20. Eloisa said a few words about the speaker, welcomed the viewers in other countries –  the conference was transmitted live – and I took the floor. When I finished speaking it was 12 am. I have never noticed that one hour and a half have passed! When I lacked words, the participants helped me, when I did not know the right word, I used a description; when I made a mistake and noticed it, I corrected myself.. I just shared what I had in my heart. Strangely enough, no-one protested that it took so long, no-one pointed out my mistakes.

I’m writing about all this because we know each other and that I know I can share with you this joy that I have overcome myself and have done something that seemed to me impossible not a long time ago. I wish you the same: the courage to overcame obstacles and the courage to witness. Believe me, when someone who for the whole adult life is a speaker and knows the ropes, feels that they have limitations in a foreign language, it may take the courage away.

Thanks to your support it was possible. Thank you for your being here and your support.

With thankful prayer

Padre J.

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The fruit of the meeting

November 8, 2013 9:32 pm

When I visited Bishop Carlos Briseno straight after my arrival, we talked about the areas and limits of my involvement so that there was time for everything. Of course I was supposed to support the local church with my knowledge of marriage and family, and offer my assistance in the trainings in NaProTechnology and FertiltyCare led by the Omaha team, as well as through the Programmes. This was clear and the next time we were to talk it over more specifically, with concrete dates.

This time we went to this meeting together:  Eloisa, Beatriz and me (Eloisa started promoting NaPro in Mexico and is the first trainer of the Creighton model and you know Beatriz from Programme 1 that was organised in May). The meeting was beautiful and fruitful, even more than I’d expected. There was only one problem: the Bishop wanted me to start with the information and motivation meetings this Saturday, so I have only this day to think over all the things I’d like to share. Perhaps it would not be so difficult as such but it will be in a language foreign to us all so I hope that Mexicans will forgive me mistakes in English.

So please pray for me to Mary of Guadalupe so that I receive the light and the wisdom and ease of speech and so that I can find the right words. I would like to try for the first time in my life to speak everything from the heart and from from a sheet of paper. I have found out many a time that when you speak from a sheet of paper, the words go also to the sheet of paper when the listeners take notes but if you speak from the heart it is also where the words go. When we speak the grammar is less complex. Please pray so that I can perform my task as the Holy Family wishes. If I survive the meeting, I will let you know what it was like.

Remembering you

Padre J

Rosary prayer in the evening

November 5, 2013 3:11 pm

I have mentioned before that waiting for a place in Bishop Carlos’ parish I stay in the family of Beatriz and Pepe. I participate in family life full of rituals like children going to school in the morning and their return, family dinner when we wait for Pepe to come back from work, plays and trips, doing homework and other duties.

I know this all so well from other homes that I visited during our meetings or programmes. But normally it was for 2-3 days and now it’s a bit longer. Ten days have passed since I landed in Mexico and there are another ten to go.

My favourite ritual has become the evening rosary. Of course, when we go somewhere, for example to a sanctuary of Mary, we pray on the way but if we are all at home, we meet together, preferably in the children’s room, when the kids are in pyjamas and ready to sleep. .

I remember all these homes where rosary is prayed with the whole family, every day. In the beginning it will always be difficult but slowly it becomes a wonderful part of the day that you look forward to. Can you imagine something more beautiful than a family that meet for rosary? It is so good to see a small daughter that falls asleep on her father’s lap during the prayer. We can lose so many grudges, purify so many desires. Perhaps we could continue with the rosary, even though October has come to an end?

With my prayers for you,

Padre J.

Colourful Mexico

November 5, 2013 9:36 am

Recently I have happened to move through the city in different directions, mostly through poor districts. What has impressed me particularly is that this city is so full of colours.

A typical poor district as we can imagine in our cities: old houses, not renovated for a very long time; plywood instead of a window pane, doors without hinges. But each of the houses is full of life and of a different colour – this is the work of the inhabitants who paint their world blue, red, green, yellow, in all possible shades. All streets are full of colourful houses. I have not yet made pictures but as soon as I Have them, I shall put them on this page.

I remember, by contrast, my quarters with their greyness. I don;t mean the modern part of the city but the places that tourists don;t go to – they are full of warm colours.
It is not about hiding poverty. It is still there but it does not prevail.

I am sure there are many reasons for this but I cannot do here an antropogical study. I’m only sharing what has impressed me again when I travelled through the city.

I am enclosing one interior picture.

Remembering you,

Padre J.

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Goodbye Omaha, Buenas tardes Mexico

October 26, 2013 12:33 pm

Time passed so quickly! I arrived lat at night on October, 9 and now the new stage of this journey is about to begin. The flight is scheduled for 6:00. Which means I should leave before 4 o’clock. A two hours’ flight to Houston, TX, and there I’ll have to wait two hours and a half for the final part of the trip – to Mexico. From Omaha, with 400,000 inhabitants, I’ll be moving to Mexico City with population of 22,000,000. What’s interesting, as far as territory is concerned, Poland is similar to the state of New Mexico (USA), and Mexico, which is my destination, is 6 times as large as Poland.

It’s my third trip to Mexico – however, for the first time for such a long time. Until now my stays used to last about a week. I’ve heard some place is being prepared for me, but the emotions which encompany this journey are great, of course. Which is normal, I guess. All the more so, I hope to be supported with your prayers.

And I surround you with my prayer,

on the move

Fr. Jay / Padre Jota