The family home of Fr. John Schneider

The family home of Fr. John Schneider

Jan 10, 2021 | HISTORY

The small village of Mieszkowice (Ditmannsdorf), where the Servant of God, Fr. John Schneider’s house house was located in Upper Silesia. In the period of his life, this territory was part of the Kingdom of Prussia. This state, in turn, was part of the German Confederation in the years 1815-1866. From 1871 country of the German Empire. Already in 1464, the parish church of St. George. After the Reformation, it was assigned to the neighboring, 3 km away. parish church in Rudziczka and from that time until now it has been a subsidiary church. In 1819, the village of Mieszkowice had only 812 inhabitants. Within 25 years, the town grew in terms of the number of inhabitants - in 1845 there were 218 houses with 1,246 inhabitants in Mieszkowice, including 480 Catholics. Catholics were therefore a minority among the Evangelicals. Rudziczka, where the parish church was located, was inhabited mainly by Catholics. From 1821, the priest of the Roman Catholic parish in Rudziczka was Fr. Antoni Hoffmann, who until his death was a dean and a zealous priest who took care of the spiritual life of parishioners. He also cared for social issues and education in his parish. Undoubtedly, it had an impact on the lives of the parish inhabitants of that time, including the Servant of God, Fr. John Schneider. The population in the village made a living mainly from agriculture. Most of the land in these areas were concentrated in the hands of large landowners. Usually, a peasant farm of several plots, usually built on barren soil, could not feed a peasant family. The benefits to the nobility, the state and the Church were so great that they drove the peasant into a debt trap. Therefore, first of all, the poorest class of peasants, to which the family of the Servant of God belonged, recruited hired workers or earning extra money in another profession. Father of the Servant of God, Johannes Georg Schneider, born in 1797 in Mieszkowice. At the age of 24, on September 30, 1821, he married Katharina Krämer, who was four years older, from the village of Łąka, 10 km south of Rudziczka. They received this sacrament in the church in Mieszkowice. The mother of the Servant of God, Katharina Krämer, worked as a servant before her wedding. They both came from poor farmers' families. At the time of concluding the sacrament of marriage, Johannes's father and the grandfather of the Servant of God were already dead. The young couple lived in Mieszkowice in an initially rented small house, covered with thatched roofs, standing by the road to Szybowice. They had no land of their own. Thanks to hard work and a frugal lifestyle, the Schneider family managed to buy the house in which they lived. Their first child (Servant of God Fr. John) was born in January 1824, his mother Katharina was then 31 years old. Two more daughters were born in 1827 and 1832. The father of the Servant of God initially worked as a butcher, but his earnings were insufficient to support a family of five. Later he was employed as a laborer on the parish farm in Rudziczka and in winter he went to the spinning farms. Mother was also a model of diligence. Apart from many household and upbringing duties, she worked in various households where possible, supporting a modest home budget. In the discussed period, the earnings of a farm worker were shaped, depending on the season and local conditions, from 4 to 7 silver groszy a day for men and from 2 to 3 for women. Thus, the weekly earnings of a man - a mercenary in the farm were around 1 thaler. The total income of the Schneider’s family should be estimated at 80-120 thalers per year, which is approximately 16-20 thalers per person on average. It was a modest sum, from which it was not easy to meet even the basic needs of the family. The price of rye was 2 thalers for half a bushel (1 bushel is about 54 liters), and for 1 pound of bread (1 pound is about 400 grams) you had to pay 1 thaler or more. If we assume that the daily portion of bread per person was 1 pound, then it was impossible to support a family of five from the income obtained by the hired labor in the farm. Potatoes were a bit cheaper and they were the basis of food for the Schneider family and people with a similar social status in Upper Silesia. To support the family, both parents and children had to apply for various additional jobs. It turned out to be especially difficult for Katharina's mother. Running a house, raising children and working hard to pay were often beyond her strength. Servant of God Fr. Johannes Schneider was born on January 11, 1824. He was the first child of Johannes George and Katharina Schneider. Already on January 13, in the octave of the Epiphany feast, the priest from Rudziczka Antoni Hoffmann baptized him in the church in Rudziczka and gave him the names - Johannes George. This double name, Hansjörg, was very common in that area - it was also used by the father and grandfather of the Servant of God. Still, he called himself not just John. The godparents were Johann George Hoheisel (according to a friend of the Father's Servant of God), and Katharina Nitsche, both from Mieszkowice, and as the third Maria Eichner, from a village called Łąka, two hours back, from which the baptized mother also came . God's servant had two younger sisters. In 1827, Anna Rosalia (Rosina) Schneider was born, who was baptized on March 5 of the same year. from the hands of Fr. Antoni Hoffmann. On February 3, 1846, she married Johann George Sauer in her hometown village Mieszkowice and moved from her father's house. Her son, one of four siblings, became a teacher in Upper Silesia, her granddaughter entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate in 1934. The second sister of the Servant of God, Maria Johana Schneider, was born on June 27, 1832, and a day later she was baptized in the parish church in Rudziczka. On February 8, 1847, she married George Graber, a laborer in a large parish farm in Rudziczka, and moved from her family home to her husband. At the time of marriage, Maria Johana was only 15 years old. Such an early marriage was certainly influenced by the premature death of the mother. The widower Johannes Schneider remained with two daughters, ages 17 and 12. He married the older one two years after his wife's death, and the younger one the following year. The marriage of Maria and George had four sons and one daughter. Out of five siblings, as Fr. Josef Schweter emphasizes, a historian and chronicler dealing with the life and activity of the Servant of God, in 1934, only one son, Augusto Graber, lived in Rudziczka, who was 76 years old at the time. The Servant of God Johannes Schneider was not closely associated with his siblings. He did not have the opportunity to spend his childhood with his sisters. Both were younger than him by 3 and 8 years, which in the case of the youngest Maria Johana was a big age difference. The relations between them were certainly also determined by the sex of their siblings, and thus the interests and duties that they had to perform as children. Moreover, young Johannes left his family home at the age of 13 to study in Nysa, and with this event the shared childhood of the Schneider siblings ended. The servant of God Johannes, far from being overly attached to his relatives, however, always had a tender heart for them, supporting them when needed. From an early age, little Janek had the features of a prudent and mature child for his age. He imitated his hard-working parents with great love and respect. Their trustful devotion was imprinted deeply in the child's disposition. Fulfilling the commandment to honor father and mother in the Schneider’s family was not only the children's duty, but it flowed from natural relationships based on love and responsibility. Deep respect and gratitude always accompanied Father John for those who surrounded him with care and love in their childhood. Never either was he ever ashamed of their poverty and deprivation. From his family home he brought out a deep religiousness that distinguished him also in his adult life. The Schneider family was regarded as zealous Catholics who were involved in the life of the parish. This is evidenced by, among others good contact between the Father of the Servant of God and the parish priest at the time. The example of authentic faith and prayer at home influenced Father Schneider's religious attitude from an early age and was certainly a support in his adolescence, when, away from his relatives, he gained knowledge in a gymnasium in Nysa, and then during his studies in Wrocław. S.M. Sybilla Kołtan See also: https://generalato.com/en/duplicated-duchowosc-i-charyzmat-wiernosc/  
Prayer calls through the servant of God Fr. John Schneider

Prayer calls through the servant of God Fr. John Schneider

Jan 8, 2021 | SPIRITUALITY

Kyrie eleison! Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison! Christ, hear us! Christ, graciously hear us! Heavenly God  the Father  - have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. Holy Spirit, God - have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us. Holy Mary, pray for us. Saint Joseph - pray for us.   Servant of God, Father John, intercede for us / 2x Faithful Servant of Christ - intercede for us, Father John, sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, Humble Son of the Virgin Mary, Brave Apostle of Mercy, Poor son of the Silesian land,   Through Mary's Heart, ask God for grace for us 2x The grace of a living faith, - ask for us, Father John, Faithful fulfillment of God's Will, Praying hearts and a desire to glorify God, Hearts sensitive to the lost, abandoned and in need, The gift of new vocations,   Servant of God, Father John, intercede for us / 2x Father, who entrusted everything to Mary Immaculate, pray for us, Father, whose heart was rich in prayer and trust, Father who loved poverty above all riches in the world, Father who called us to live in unity, harmony and love, Father, who dedicated your life to saving souls,   Servant of God, Father John, Schneider intercede  for us / 2x Promoter of prayer and entrustment, intercede for us, Priest calling to save souls, Guardian of morally lost souls, Father of abandoned, sick and wronged women, Founder of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate,   Through the Heart of Mary, ask God for grace for us 2x Desire to serve morally endangered women - ask for us, Father John, Perseverance in hardships and adversities, Consent, love and unity in our communities, Faithfulness to the charism that has been brought and given to us, Divine Mercy at the hour of death,   Servant of God, Father John, intercede for us / 2x Father, who gave your life to Christ the High Priest, pray for us, Father who encouraged us to be handmaids of servants, Father, who followed the path of God's humility and love, Father who called for our homes to become a family home for women in need, Father, who showed by your life example how to serve morally endangered women,   Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, Lord. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, hear us. Lord. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Let's pray God, who inflamed the heart of your priest, John Schneider, with your great love for the Eucharist and total entrustment to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, please make him an intercessor of our affairs before you. Lord, bring this servant to the altars, so that we may serve You better, and grant us the graces we trust with trust through His intercession. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. End You are the source of our faith - we praise you God. You are the source of our hope - we praise you God. You are the source of our love - we praise you God.   text: S.M. Małgorzata Cur SMI, S.M. Barbara Mroziak SMI   Imprimature For private recitation With the consent of the Wrocław Metropolitan Curia L.Dz. 1105/2020 Wrocław, November 17, 2020  
Tota Tua Mary!

Tota Tua Mary!

Jan 7, 2021 | NEWS

It all started at a community meeting before Advent. One sister said: "... let's do something for Mary", it somehow strongly corresponded with my desire to make a 33-day retreat in the community and surrender to Jesus through the hands of Mary, as proposed by St. Louis Maria Grignion de Montfort. And so it happened, as a community but individually, who also had such a desire, on November 29, began a retreat in which Fr. Marcin Modrzyński with his reflections (cf. One Heart 33 days with Mary to Jesus). We share a piece of today's service ... "Immaculate Mary, Bride of the Holy Spirit, we greet you and praise the fruit of your womb. We come to you, Mary, after 33 days of retreat, to tell you: Tota Tua, all yours. Ark of the Covenant, we want to hide in Your Heart, because It is the safest place where Satan has no access. Hide us in your womb, so that you may give birth to us anew, to a new life. Mary, by the act of giving ourselves to You, we want to say that we trust ... giving You everything, we believe that You, as the best Mother, will take care of our every need, and above all, that we may be like You and that we faithfully fulfill God's Will and they have not lost eternal life. Mary, Mother of beautiful and pure love, we want to do everything with You, through You and in You, so that You may be better known and loved, that Your Immaculate Heart may overcome! Mary, as a Community, but also, each individually wants to bring you the act of entrustment and accept from You a white rose, a symbol of purity and beauty, humility and fidelity, a symbol of the grace that you ask for us, so that we may persevere on the way we follow and today in a sense, which we are re-starting. Tota Tua Mary! All yours! S.M. Agnieszka Plasło
Three questions of Epiphany

Three questions of Epiphany

Jan 6, 2021 | POSITIVE IMPULSES

In Epiphany I have three questions to share What are you seeking? They are searching the truth. They are searching because they have seen the star. They saw the star because they were looking to the sky at night. In order to see the star, we have to look to sky at night. The nights of our life, nights of disappoitments, nights of difficulties, nights of sadness, nights of pain… We have to look to the sky, we have to look up… To see the star. That is what we read in the first reading. Arise, shine out, Jerusalem, for you light has come, the glory of the Lord is rising on you, though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples. Take note! The word of God says, “your light”. My light in my difficulties... This is what I search… It’s the Baby born in Bethlehem. Where are you seeking? There are two options. A way that leads to the place of Herod or a way that leads to Bethlehem. When we follow our interests, our wishes, our glory, our prejudices, our ego we will reach the palace of Herod. But when we follow the star, the star of love of the God, when we follow the way of faith, when we follow the Church, we will reach the manger in Bethlehem. To search our own interests and reaching in the palace could be interesting and dramatic. Consultations, Meetings, Discussion etc... But following the star in the darkness is divine and joyful. We read, “the sight of the star filled them with delight”. So, as we celebrate this feast, we have to analyse, Where are we seeking? Are we seeking our ego ora re we seeking in the path of the star? Why are you seeking? To pay homage. „going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh”. In adoration they give their gifts. The same, we in adoring the God, we seek to give our treasures. That means, first we must obtain the treasures, gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh – gift of thoughts pure like gold, gift of words pleasant like frankincense and gift of actions authentic like myrrh. When we have these gifts in the treasure box of our heart, we willbe able to pay real homage to the Baby Jesus. Let’s see what we have in our heart. Each time we come to the chapel is like the three kings entering the manger. Open up your heart and give Jesus the gifts of your thoughts, words and actions. Don Giorgio