Jun 21, 2021 | NEWS
Saint John the Baptist is one of the few saints who is mentioned many times in the liturgy. In the church year we celebrate both his birth – June 24, and martyrdom – August 29. He is also, next to Mary, one of the leading figures during Advent …
The Evangelists recall the story of his long-awaited birth, accompanied by signs of power from on high (Lk 1: 5 – 25, 39 – 40; 57 – 80). We see John on the Jordan instructing, baptizing, and pointing to the Messiah (Lk 3: 1-18; Mt 3: 1-12; Mk 1: 1-8; Jn 1: 19-31). He himself confesses that he is not and describes himself as “the voice of one crying in the desert.” As the Savior’s predecessor and the last of the Old Testament prophets, fully devoted to the mission entrusted to him, he participates in the revelation of the Three Divine Persons at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan (Lk 3: 21-22; Mt 3: 13-17; Mk 1: 9-11; John 1, 32-34). He is the greatest of women born, as Jesus himself described him. This prophet is a very humble man. Although he came from a priestly family, he lives simple, radical and ascetic. As a Nazirite of God, he feeds and dresses modestly. He moves away to the desert. His lifestyle didn’t seem very appealing. Yet “all the land of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were drawn to him.” When disputes and conjectures arise around the person of John in connection with the commencement of Jesus’ public ministry, he calls himself a friend of the Bridegroom and announces his departure: “He must increase and I must decrease” (Jn 3: 29-30).
The figure of St. John the Baptist is very close to the consecrated life. Today, we are a sign to the world as long as we live the mission to which the Lord called us. Through vows and community life, we show that it is possible to be together despite differences in age, characters, interests and abilities. Looking at our ordinary life in chastity, poverty and obedience, undertaken out of love for the Bridegroom, people can find God’s closeness in everyday life and open themselves to His graces in the Church, despite many difficult experiences. The prophetic dimension of our lives helps to recognize the primacy of God in obedience to his commandments and the newness of the Gospel. By living in chastity, we show lay people the value of fidelity in the family, marriage and the dignity of every human person. Life in poverty, on the other hand, directs the human gaze to God, the source of all good. In this witness of life, we also strengthen one another in communities. John the Baptist, although he seems to be a loner, created a community with his students. However, he did not tie them to himself, but sent them back to Jesus. Some of John’s disciples later became Apostles.
Looking at the figure of St. John the Baptist is especially troubled by the subject of admonition. It is Herod’s admonition, Herodias’ envy and naivety mixed with the demoralization of young Salome that lead to the death of the prophet (Mt 14: 1-12; Mk 6: 17-29). When reprimanding others, one can sometimes pay a very high price, even if we do it for the common good, for the good of the reproached person. It was not only John who rebuked the ruler, many prophets did so. Usually, reprimanding was associated with an unfavorable reaction of the addressees. King David reacted exceptionally to the words of admonition from the prophet Nathan when, after sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah the Hittite of the Ammonites with the sword, he heard the explanation of the parable about the rich man taking the only lamb from the poor, repented and took the trouble to convert (2 Samuel 12: 1-16). Much depends on the heart. The warnings of the Book of Wisdom proved correct in both cases: “Do not scold the mocker lest he hate you, rebuke the wise one and he will love you” (Wis 9: 8). Jesus himself teaches us about fraternal rebuke, in the sequence of actions taken – first in private, then in front of the witnesses, and finally by the superiors (Mt 18: 15-20). How much is this order to be kept in mind when practicing admonition, which in itself is never pleasant. It requires courage and delicacy, humility and love, clarity of expression, specific approach to facts and respect for the person rebuked. From the catechism we know the works of mercy in the body and in the soul. Each of them is of great value in the eyes of God. To admonish sinners is the first of the soul’s works of mercy – perhaps the most difficult. Unfortunately, neglecting it may expose us to share in other people’s sins, which are also mentioned in the catechism, for example: keep silent when seeing other people’s sins; to permit the sins of others; being able not to prevent someone else’s sins. We also deal with the issue of rebuke in our religious documents.
Working with children and young people, I have repeatedly found out about the value of admonishing with love in the care of the pupils. I also notice a beautiful feature of young people that we often lose with age – openness to the kind remarks of the educator and the ability to change. Thanks to this, I understand more clearly the words of the Lord Jesus, in which it is precisely children who are placed for us by a model to follow in faith and trust in God (Mt 18: 3). Coming back to John the Baptist, the last word of Jesus comes to mind: “Among those born of women, no greater has arisen than John the Baptist. But the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he ”(Mt 11:11). There is hope for us in these words …
Sr. Michaela Musiał
Jun 16, 2021 | FORUM, NEWS
On March 26, 2021 Our daughter, Bianca, was born at the hospital in Gliwice. As a result of perinatal complications, the child was diagnosed with acute circulatory and respiratory failure, meconium aspiration syndrome, DIC syndrome, collapsed left lung, and severe birth asphyxia. She was resuscitated twice: right after giving birth and in the ambulance during the transport to the neonatal intensive care unit in Zabrze. The child’s health was very serious, the doctors did everything they could to help her, and they were unable to do anything else. They said, “We are doctors, not God. Please pray.
Bianeczka’s parents, grandparents, friends and other relatives prayed for her. We asked the Sisters from the Monastery in Brzezie for a prayer and she was put in prayer and incorporated into the Novena, to the Servant of God, Sister Dulcissima. The grandparents went to Brzezie to visit the grave of sr. Dulcissima to ask for her intercession to God for the grace of health and life for Bianca.
Daily prayers led Bianca to throw off her respirator after Easter, began to breathe on her own, and began working hard for her life. The child’s condition was still severe, but the doctors said it was a miracle that the child had survived such a serious condition and one should thank God. The condition improved day by day and after a month Bianca left the hospital and we were able to celebrate our baby.
We believe that it was Sister Dulcissima’s intercession and prayers that led Bianca to be with us. Today we rejoice for our daughter, who still has a long way to go to her full recovery, but we do not forget to continue praying through the intercession of Sister Dulcissima.
Please keep on praying. God bless you
Grateful parents of Bianca.
Racibórz, May 30, 2021
Jun 6, 2021 | FORUM, NEWS
My name is Magdalena and I am 35 years old.
The Sisters of Mary Immaculate have always accompanied me in my life.
Already in kindergarten, the sisters taught me catechesis. While in primary school, Sr. Małgorzata ran a small community called “Children of Mary” to which I belonged. I remember wearing such blue capes back then. There were about 25 children of us We actively participated in Holy Masses – during Lent we led the Way of the Cross for children during the Rosary period, in October we led the rosary, and during Advent we went to the rorat.
Those were beautiful times.
Later, as a teenager, for several years I went on a retreat for girls in Bard Śląski or Wrocław, which were organized by the Sisters (I have contact with some of them who participated or led them). I remember the time of the retreat very well. It was an amazing time, a time of meeting new people, a time of integration with the Sisters and other girls, a time of getting to know the life of the Sisters. Daily Holy Masses, adoration, were extraordinary for me, I could come closer and get to know the love of the Lord Jesus, adore the Blessed Sacrament, be filled with God’s presence.
As a teenager, I was also a volunteer in the Nursing and Treatment Institution for children with mental and physical disabilities run by the Sisters. During the children’s visits, I also had the opportunity to go to the chapel to pray, sometimes I prayed the rosary and the breviary with the Sisters.
I was very eager to come to spend time with these children, play, cuddle them, make their time more pleasant, give them some love that they lacked, because they often did not have parents who would visit them.
This period was beautiful and at the same time difficult, because many of these children were seriously ill, but each was beautiful, because she was a child of God.
It was from there, from this voluntary service with the Sisters, that my vocation to work with sick people came to me. Currently, I have been working as a medical tutor for 13 years. Although sometimes my work is difficult, it gives me a lot of satisfaction because I can help another person in need, take care of him, smile, talk, do all the caring activities that they themselves are often unable to do on their own.
We do not really appreciate what we have until we ourselves are in the shoes of sick people, after accidents or strokes….
My motto in life is: “Treat another person as yourself would like to be treated “, so I try to take care of the people entrusted to me in the way I would like to be treated myself if I felt ill and needed constant care.
I am very happy that in my life I had the opportunity to meet the Sisters of Mary Immaculate. In the past, I even thought of becoming a nun, but I found out that my calling is to live in marriage life.
In retrospect, I can see that everything that I “sat up with” as a girl, later as a teenager by participating in the retreat organized by the Sisters, participating in volunteering, emanated on my further life.
The sisters taught me a lot, especially patience and empathy towards others.
Many people ask me this question: “Magda, where do you get your optimism from, you are always so smiling”. In fact, I get a lot from my faith and the work I do. I am a believer and it will never change!! I am happy with each new day given to me.
THE LORD’S LOVE IS GREAT! and more than once have experienced His presence in my life. Sometimes we complain that something went wrong … that we don’t have something. And do we wonder, Is it that important? Do material good count so much? Do positions, education constitute my value?
When Jesus took the cross on his shoulders – no one asked if he wanted to take it. He took the cross and then died for our sins. He did not complain that it was hard for him.
LET’S REMEMBER that everything that seems impossible to man with God everything is possible.
MAGDA
Jun 1, 2021 | NEWS
When the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord is approaching, many memories associated with the Blessed Sacrament come to my mind. There are so many documents, books, sermons and conferences on the Eucharist … I don’t remember where I came across this term: Sacrament of consecrated life. The author argued that since two states in the Church – priesthood and marriage – have their own sacrament, the Eucharist is the sacrament proper to consecrated persons, because in it they unite with their Bridegroom.
Most often, we have the opportunity to attend Holy Mass every day in our religious convents or parish churches. The time when, due to illness or other circumstances, I cannot participate in it is an unpleasant experience for me, a reminder of my own poverty and human limitations. Many believers have had similar experiences, especially today in an ongoing pandemic. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice is a daily source of grace and light coming through the Word of God or the texts of mass prayers, invitations or songs. Likewise, the bread and wine which Christ chose to become his body and blood,
in the simplicity of their matter, they remind us of God’s love for what is small, humble and fragile. The gesture of breaking the Bread before the rite of Communion reminds me of God’s humility and submission to man. And when the Lord Jesus comes in Holy Communion, He allows me to experience His transforming closeness and trust in me as a weak person. I am in communion with Him and with the Church, my community. Having contact with many people with different views, faith or lifestyle, when I come to church for the Eucharist, I feel more that I am at home. My Lord’s house is my home. Being at Holy Mass, I do not act individually, but in a community. The gestures, spoken words, and body postures lead to the transition from “I” to “we”. I discovered the unifying value of the Eucharist by spending many years in a small community when we could experience it together on Sundays, and as a community feast and distinction when the Holy Mass was celebrated in our community chapel.
Caring for a chapel with the Blessed Sacrament in each of our houses is an expression of the wisdom of the Church and Congregation. We really live under one roof with our Lord. His silent presence accompanies our daily affairs. When I remain in silent adoration in His presence, I am amazed by His love expressed in the sign of the Eucharistic Bread. I am to be His monstrance when I go to the sisters, to the apostolate in catechesis, always … and although I do not experience spiritual raptures, being in His presence is my peace, my strength. Daily communal adoration, which is on the agenda and faithfully practiced both in my old small community and nowadays, is of great value to me. By remaining with my sisters communally before the Lord, we strengthen each other with the testimony of faith and love.
Another form of Eucharistic worship is characteristic for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi – processions with the Blessed Sacrament. Since I was a child, I was aware that I was participating in the Eucharistic processions along the streets of my city in a particular form of manifestation of faith. I had a sense of distinction walking as if in the retinue of the Lamb, as St. John the Apostle: “They are those who accompany the Lamb wherever he goes; these men were redeemed as first fruits to God and the Lamb, and no lie was found in their mouth: they are blameless” (Rev 14: 4-5). And in another place: “And I did not see a temple in it: for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. And the city does not need sun or moon to illuminate it, for the glory of God has illuminated them, and the Lamb with his lamp. And the nations will walk in his light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour to him ” (Rev21: 22-24). The image of Christ the Lamb illuminating the city and the nations suited the crowds of processions stopping at the four altars and Jesus blessing us in the Blessed Sacrament.
The First Holy Communion celebrations usually fall on the time around Corpus Christi, and later their subsequent anniversaries. Finishing my reflections on such a day I will share one more memory. On the day of my First Communion after the celebration in the church in the family circle I was asked by someone from the guests who I would like to become when I grow up. Without thinking, I replied that I was to become a nun. There was consternation among those present because nothing foreshadowed it, nor did anyone expect such an answer. Time passed, and to this day I do not know where this answer came from, although … today I can repeat from St. Paul: “by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace was not in vain; on the contrary, I worked (…), not I, admittedly, but God’s grace with me” (1 Cor 15:10).
Sr. Michaela Musiał
May 17, 2021 | FORUM, NEWS
I am a Catholic newspaper journalist. I had a professional contact with the Servant of God, Sr. Dulcissima Hoffmann – one day I was just asked in the editorial office to write a text about this devout nun from Silesia. The editors responded to the request of Sr. Margret from the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, who promotes the person of Sr. Dulcissima. I was also one of those people who had not heard about the Servant of God before. I didn’t even want to take up this topic too much, because I thought that a friend who was considered to be a specialist in promoting pious nuns would better elaborate it, which I don’t really “feel”. In the end, I got the topic and I started working on the text.
After the first look at the dulcissima.pl website, I felt a great sympathy for the nice Helena Hoffmann, who was looking at me with sharp and piercing eyes from numerous photos posted on the Internet. I was captivated by the maturity of this young girl in accepting a serious disease, and I was touched by the local cult of her person and the common belief in her holiness in Brzezie. I also saw numerous testimonies of graces and healings through her intercession.
At that time, in our family, we had a nervous period of waiting for the surgery to be scheduled for the damaged ulnar nerve of our eldest daughter, Mary. When I saw the intent box on the dulcissima.pl website, I immediately put a prayer request there for a quick appointment of the operation date and its successful course. A thought crossed my mind that maybe something deeper was that I was the one who received this topic in the editorial office … Brzezie included their daughter in their novena through the intercession of Sr. Dulcissima. On the second day after the afternoon, information about the scheduled surgery was delivered from the hospital. I informed Sr. Margaret about it immediately, because I had no doubts that Sr. Dulcissima had her part in it. We and the Sisters continued to pray through the intercession of Sr. Dulcissima for Mary’s health. I printed a large photo of Sr. Dulcissima from the time she was a postulant, I put it on the table so that the Sister would accompany us at that time as well. I personally clung to Sister Dulcissima hard and intrusively, because the thought came back to me that it was a gift from heaven, that I received a request for an article about her at this very moment…..
Four days after the surgery was scheduled for us, Sr. Margaret sent me photos of Sr. Dulcissima to be used in the newspaper, and referring to Mary’s health in the e-mail, she wrote: “A thought has appeared in me several times> I would not be surprised if Mary did not need an operation. May God lead and Dulcissima … ask for whatever is necessary … ”. I did not pay much attention to these words, except that I thought that Sister Margaret’s faith was great … I continued praying the novena with zeal and faith, but the intention was only good fruits of the operation …
Then the events happened very quickly. I received an e-mail from Sr. Margaret with the remark that the operation may not be needed on Monday, on Tuesday we were with my daughter at a new physiotherapist, who at one point asked her to show what exercises she had previously performed on her hand, because due to nerve damage she was not able to bring, lead away and straighten IV and V fingers. Imagine my surprise when Mary freely spread all the fingers of her hand, which were almost completely straight. In addition, I was touched by the fact that the physiotherapist at that moment remarked: “It’s not so bad with your hand, Someone is watching over you, because after such accidents it is often worse”. Before the operation, I looked at my daughter’s hand almost every day, I asked her to show me how to straighten and withdraw my fingers, because I was afraid of a deterioration before the operation. Mary was unable to make such easy movements.
After leaving the physiotherapist, I examined my daughter’s hand and confirmed that there was a clear improvement, which would also indicate an improvement in the condition of the nerve itself. But considering that both my daughter and I had already seen things – sometimes we saw some progress and then research didn’t confirm it, I approached the whole event with caution. I decided to wait another day or two and then repeat the nerve examination with the neurologist. Mary herself was not convinced whether to repeat this test, because as she said – probably nothing has changed, and I am not supposed to talk about the fact that perhaps an operation will not be needed, because the operation will certainly be.
On Thursday, we registered for another EMG examination by a neurologist. I entered the office with the proverbial “soul on my shoulder” because I was afraid of the disappointment associated with an unfavorable diagnosis. However, to our great luck, the examination showed a significant improvement in the condition of the damaged nerve, so large and quick enough (only a month has passed since the previous examination, which was an indication for surgery), that the doctor immediately said that he advised against surgery, because the nerve had started successfully regenerate. Also, the consultation with the neurosurgeon who was supposed to operate on the daughter confirmed that in this situation the operation is absolutely inadvisable, and the nerve should be given time for further regeneration.
Actually, all the time we do not fully understand not so much the improvement of the damaged nerve, but the circumstances in which it happened. We have already visited the grave of Sr. Dulcissima with the whole family to thank for the favors received and we also share with others a little “our” beloved Sr. Dulcissima. She herself came to us, ignited our hearts with great sympathy for herself and the faith that she could help us and in a few days changed our lives by 180 degrees. Thank you Sr. Dulcissima!
Beata with her family
May 12, 2021 | NEWS
It allows me to see God’s providence at work in how I found myself in Pompeii.
Soon it will be 6 years since, thanks to the trust of the Mother General and the Provincial Sister of the time, I was able to undertake this nursing mission here in the world-famous Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary. Providence, thanks to Sr. Immakulata and the sisters from Jaszkotle and my friends from the ZOL where I worked, a few years earlier I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Over a year of hard work allowed me to apply for service in this sunny Italy, where a place awaited me at the dispensary of Our Lady of the Rosary.
To be here, however, the only thing that was missing was the administrative approval of the ministry in Italian. I did not know the Italian language. So I started my first steps in the center of the cradle of Christianity – in Rome with my mission of learning the language. Great emotions, but also fears – will I be able to learn the language, culture, and especially medical nomenclature within a few months. Permanent formation and mutual support as a sister allowed me to find myself in the international community, as well as to realize the meaning of the words of Creed: I believe in the One, Holy and Apostolic Church for which the martyrs shed their blood in the Colosseum arena.
Finding Sisterhood Unity in our small Polish-German-African community began with common prayer, Holy Mass, recreation, work and celebration of common meals. Our mutual trust made the gifts of the Holy Spirit bear fruit. Then I started learning the language in a “larger” international community at a language school. Also, going to Corsica and working with my sisters there helped me “polish” my acquired Italian language skills.
After 6 months of experience, the time has finally come to start the next and final stage of religious life, and to start nursing in Pompeii.
I started my work in the hospital with a 3-month volunteer work so that I could get to know everything. Unfortunately, after my arrival, it turned out that my language learning is obviously not enough and people speak fast and they have their own dialect. In fact, I started to learn from scratch, being among people, learning new professional vocabulary, often in the Neapolitan dialect. Fortunately, everyone was very nice and open, and responded to mine with great kindness linguistic mishaps or complete lack of words and incomprehension. I spent every free moment after volunteering learning all these professional names of equipment and tools, because I was waiting for an exam at the Nursing Chambers. I received great support from Sr. Goretti, who at that time was in surgery ward. She patiently tried to show me everything, explain what I am very grateful for. I remember the day of the ward exam, I was afraid, but I entrusted it to God through Mary. As the sisters could not come with me, Rosaria and Mario (friends from the hospital) accompanied me. Thanks to God’s help, I was able to pass it positively and from December I started working full-time.
People welcomed me very warmly. Their openness, willingness to help and cooperation built me up and uplifted me in the moments of total misunderstanding of the mentality and needs of the local type of patients. Despite all the cultural, linguistic and characterological differences, we all join in prayer for our families (sorrows and joys are intertwined everywhere) for our religious family.
Every day we experience kindness from the owners of the dispensary, openness from employees and patients, thanks to whom we bravely stay in the designated section of work – Sr. Goretti currently as a gynecology and obstetrics department, and I work in all departments depending on the needs: surgery, gynecology , nephrology, ophthalmology, endoscopy, geriatrics.
We start our day at 6:00 with common prayer in the hospital chapel: breviary, meditation and Holy Mass at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary. We start working at 8:00 am because I often have afternoon shifts. We also end the day with a common prayer at 8 pm. On Sunday we usually have a day off from work, which we can spend in permanent formation under the mantle of Our Lady and taking advantage of the spiritual care of the Franciscan Fathers.
I think that the most effective form of proclaiming the Good News is by giving witness with your own life. We can show the “practical” dimension of faith, which manifests itself mainly in serving the sick.
Despite the many difficulties related to the language barrier, cultural differences and mentality, I found myself in the reality of this country.
My mission is to meet a specific person, with his illness, with his life history, with everything that hurts him and what is important to him.
My mission is to stay close to man, it is an attempt to bestow on him a selfless love, the love of God.
I am very lucky that I can work and do what I really love, that I can be in a place where Mary is present in a special way and entrust myself to her and the people with whom I have come to work and serve.
S.M. Magdalena Delczyk
