Aug 31, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
Thursday of week 22 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 5:1-11
Jesus goes into the boat of Simon. Sits there and teaches. Then asks Simon to put out into deep water and pay out their nets for a catch. He comes, He stays and He asks. When we collaborate miracles happen! This is the relationship of God with us. He comes into our life. He becomes part of our life. He asks for initiatives in our life. May be the same initiatives which we tried. But with Him it is different. “…but if you say so, I will pay out the nets”. And the real miracle here is that they “left everything and followed him”. When we understand the role of God, His presence, in our life, we leave everything else and follow Him.
Aug 30, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
Wednesday of week 22 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 4:38-44
In the gospel we see a very busy Jesus moving from one activity to another activity. Seems like one of our days where we move from one activity to another activity. But in the midst Jesus find a lonely place to be with His heavenly Father. All His activities revolve around this. His unity with His heavenly Father. That is the central point. From there He goes forward and not go back. Many times we don’t go forward and stuck up somewhere because we miss this central point. The lonely place where we can pray. We are also busy with lots of activities and we forget to find the lonely space to have time with our heavenly Father. So the challenge the Gospel presents is to find in midst of all our activities, a space where we can be alone with our Father in heaven.
Aug 29, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of week 22 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 4:31-37
Teaching of Jesus impressed the listeners because His Words were Spirit and Truth. We also always want to impress people and we use all we can use for that. But what is actually needed is to be docile to the Holy Spirit. Then Holy Spirit speaks through you and your words become instruments of Grace. All human techniques are good but they have limitations. But when we become the instrument of Holy Spirit, the grace strengthens us. When the man possessed with the unclean spirit was rebelling, the words of Jesus soothed him and healed him. How am I dealing with the unpleasant reactions of people around me? Are my words soothing them or provoking them more? Rely not on our strength but on the strength of being the instrument of Holy Spirit.
Aug 29, 2022 | NEWS
On the 86th anniversary of the death of Sister Maria Dulcissima (Helena Joanna Hoffmann), 18. May, the faithful in Świętochłowice Zgodzie prayed during the Holy Mass for the gift of beatification of the Servant of God (the diocesan stage of the process of beatification has already been completed), and in the evening, in the house where Helena was born, in today’s Drzymały Street 5, the May devotion was celebrated by Fr. Bogusław Jonczyk, parish priest of the parish of St. Josef in Świętochłowice.
On Friday, May 20, the celebration of Dulcissima Days began with a prayer vigil in the beautiful, tranquil town of Brzezie (now a part of Racibórz), where Sister Dulcissima lived and died in the Religious House of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate. The celebration, organized on the initiative of the Sisters of Mary in Racibórz-Brzezie in collaboration with the municipal authorities, was not only for prayer. The celebration was also complemented by scientific reflections and activities for families. All in memory and honor of Sister Dulcissima.
On Saturday, May 21, His Excellency, Bishop Andrzej Czaja, celebrated Holy Mass at 9 am. Mass was held in the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Racibórz. The homily was delivered by His Excellency Bishop Jan Kopiec. At 10.30 a.m. in the Cultural Center “Strzecha” in Racibórz the symposium “Angels from Upper Silesia – timeless dimension of the charism of the Servant of God, Sr. Dulcissima” began. The guests were welcomed by the Superior General of the Congregation, Sr. Sybilla Kołtan SMI, who came to Racibórz from Rome for three days, and by the Mayor of Racibórz, Dariusz Polowy, who was the patron of the whole event. The event was attended by Halina Dudała, PhD – Prof. UP, Bernard Linek, PhD from the Silesian Institute, Jacek Kurek, PhD from the Museum of Metallurgy in Chorzów and Rev. Henryk Olszar, PhD – Prof. UŚ. The speech of Rev. Dr. Przemysław Krakowczyk SAC, who was absent for health reasons, was read by Sr. Małgorzata Cur, who also chaired the meeting together with Grzegorz Wawoczny.
The symposium was followed by a tour of Racibórz led by Grzegorz Wawoczny, a renowned expert on the history of the city. The day was crowned by a concert in the Sacred Heart Church in Racibórz – a concert by the choir of the Parish of St. Matthew and St. Matthias the Apostle in Brzezie, conducted by Aleksandra Gamrot. The symphony orchestra of the Ludomir Różycki Primary and Secondary School of Music in Gliwice conducted by Andrzej Rosoł played. The event was introduced by Sr. Dr. Elżbieta Cińcio SMI with the theme: “Sr. M. Dulcissima Hoffmann SMI – a beloved child of the Immaculate Mother of God”.
On Sunday, the solemn Holy Mass was presided by Archbishop Adrian Galbas SAC, who blessed a statue of Sister Dulcissima in front of the convent of the Sisters of Mary in Brzezie. A banner with photos of Dulcissima’s friends from Brzezie was placed there. In the “Widok” forest in Racibórz-Brzezie, an educational and contemplative path was opened, where one of the panels is dedicated to Sister Dulcissima – the Upper Silesian candidate for beatification. An Oak of Independence was also planted (it is a unique numbered tree consecrated by Pope Francis in 2018). The oak in the monastery garden was planted by the Archbishop Coadjutor, President Dariusz Polowy, foresters and the Superior General of the Congregation, Sr. Sybilla Koltan. There was also a family festival with attractions for children.
These were beautiful days in the May sun and light emanating from the memory of a wonderful person – Sister Dulcissima, who grew up in Zgodzie (a district of Świętochłowice). She is a daughter of the earth who brought forth goodness, she is a sign that I see not only on every walk that takes me from my house in Hajduk to the house where she grew up – it is a very short distance, but it encompasses all of eternity. Sister Dulcissima longed for this eternity and shaped her life, so to speak, in accordance with the name of the place from which she came, as “consent” to God’s will. Father Henryk Olszar wrote: “The Bride’s life path to holiness led through traditional Silesian diligence and frugality and deep Marian and Eucharistic devotion in the spirit of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus.”
Jacek Kurek
Aug 28, 2022 | DAILY BREAD, SPIRITUALITY
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
Gospel Mark 6:17-29
Our indifference is that shuts down the voice of truth in ourselves and around us. All the guests of the King did not speak a word against the injustice in the wish of the daughter of Herodias. Because they did not want to displease the king. How many times we kept silence against injustice to keep ourselves in our comfort zone? The beheading of St. John the Baptist is an example of our silent or active participation in the injustice among us. All the more, it’s important not to kill the voice of our own conscience with our own indifference. Respond to the grace of truth and fight injustice.
