Dec 14, 2022 | NEWS
On December 6, on the eve of the 146th anniversary of the death of the Servant of God, Fr. John Schneider, our Father Founder, we persevered in prayer and thanksgiving in the place where his mortal remains rest. On that day, the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Piasek in Wrocław was gradually filling up. We rushed from various parts of Poland to Father’s grave to tell him how we live, what’s going on with us, what hopes we have, at the same time asking him for intercession for each of us.
We’ve all been here. Sisters whom remained at home in Poland and abroad made spiritual pilgrimages. There were sisters from Germany, the Philippines and Tanzania. None of us could be missing.
The prayer was started by S.M. Immaculata Kiepura, Provincial Councilor:
“Today we stand at the grave of our founder, Servant of God Father John Schneider, a son of the Silesian land, a great apostle of mercy, a good shepherd, a lover of the Immaculate and a defender of human dignity, to praise God for the great things he accomplished in the life of our Father Founder. We stand together to pray and thank God for his life full of goodness, mercy and concern for girls without work and shelter, to ask for graces and gifts through his intercession. We want to save souls with a simple prayer. Christ gives us his word about the Good Shepherd today, so let this God’s Word sink deeply into our hearts and speak to us with great power and love.
These words of introduction to our vigil gave direction to the prayerful presence of the religious family of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate at the tomb of the tireless Apostle of Mercy.
At the middle of our prayerful readiness of heart was the Eucharist celebrated for the beatification of the Servant of God, Fr. John Schneider. The Holy Mass was presided over by Fr. Piotr Rapacz, vicar of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Piasek. Thanks to the musical sensitivity of our sisters united in the choir, a liturgical community was created that glorified God with all their hearts through singing.
We returned to our communities bearing in mind the assurances of our Father Founder:
“I bless you with all my heart, I will always be with you.” What we strongly believe in. Amen
s.M. Małgorzata Cur
Dec 14, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
Saint John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor
on Wednesday of the 3rd week of Advent
Gospel – Luke 7:19-23
“Are you the one who is to come or have we to wait for someone else?” Our life should be the answer as we have the life of Christ in us. The life of Christ which we have received in the sacrament of Baptism. That presence of Jesus in us should do the miracles, should give sight in those moments in my life when I become blind with selfishness; should cleanse the leprosy in me, leprosy of racism; should let me hear in those moments of my life when I become deaf to the cry of the poor; should let the dead parts of my life with revenge be raised to life by forgiveness and pardon. This transformation in us and around us is the testimony of the presence of Jesus in us. Advent is the time to underline the presence of Jesus in us with our testimony.
Dec 13, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
Saint Lucy, Virgin, Martyr
on Tuesday of the 3rd week of Advent
Gospel – Matthew 21:28-32
“He answered, “I will not go,” but afterwards thought better of it and went”. Thinking better of what he said, and he decided to change what he said. This thinking better is facilitated by repentance and humility. When we think that what we think is right, there is no space for thinking better. We can think better only if we can perceive the effect of what we say and what we do in others. For this perception, humility is the only way. By being humble we perceive the effect of our actions and words on others. That will evoke repentance for those actions or words which hurt others or made them sad. There we think better of what we said, or we did, and correct ourselves. Advent is the time to repent and make things better.
Dec 12, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of the 3rd week of Advent
or Our Lady of Guadalupe
Gospel – Matthew 21:23-27
“So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know.’”. We deny the truth for our own convenience. Either we don’t want to accept the truth, or we don’t want to change the truth. Both start with this, “We do not know”. When we say this there is already in our mind, the picture of the fact which we want to create with our denial of the truth. The denial of the truth to create our own “truths”. Jesus completely goes away from this scene. “And he retorted, ‘Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this.’”. Jesus does not want to share His truth to this situation. When we deny the truth or when we don’t accept the truth, Jesus does not want to share His truth with us. We remain in the darkness. Advent is the time to accept to truth to be in the truth of Jesus.
Dec 11, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
3rd Sunday of Advent
Gospel – Matthew 11:2-11
“John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him”. Hearing about Jesus Christ evokes in him the desire to send disciples to ask him. Hearing and sending. Listening does not stop there. It moves to action. That is the Word of God. John is sending the disciples to Jesus to see the changes, to see the person of Jesus. The disciples of John saw, “the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor;”. Jesus said to them, “Go back and tell John what you hear and see”. They went back to John. This is again the Word of God. Hearing and going back. It starts with listening, then going out of oneself to see Jesus and then going back to interiorize what you have seen and heard. Going out and going back make the life complete. Going out hearing the Word of God to search for an experience of God and once you found that experience, you go back to make it part of your life. Advent is the time to go in search of Jesus by listening to the Word of God and then go back to one’s own life to interiorize that meeting with Jesus.
