The word of God has no lockdown

Jan 24, 2021 | SPIRITUALITY

On the occasion of the “Day of the Word of God”, which Pope Francis introduced in 2019 and set for the 3rd Sunday of the annual cycle (this year it is January 24th), I would like to tell you how we have been in our convent, for some time Design Bible meetings.

We meet once every week and in Advent 2020 we started a new form of Bible sharing, which at first seemed a bit strange to us, but increasingly we like it more and, above all, is spiritually enriched. The special thing about these meetings is that the sister who takes over the leadership (each time a different sister is on it) does not have to prepare especially for it and read comments on the chosen Bible text. She only leads the sisters through the meeting step by step and, like everyone else, lets herself be guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

When we first met this new method, we decided to work through the Gospel of Matthew section by section so that each sister knows where to go next. And it is already clear to us, although we are still in the initial phase of this form of work, that through this we better and more deeply understand the fullness of the intention of Matthew, who wrote his Gospel primarily for Jewish Christians and therefore refers a lot to the Old Testament teaching. We sense something of God’s plan of salvation with us humans.

The steps of this method are simple:

1. As with any Bible sharing, we begin with prayer
2. 2. Reading the text

We can decide whether the text should be read aloud by a sister or whether each  reads it silently.

3. I would like to explain this third step in more detail, as it is a little unfamiliar. The participants are invited to ask questions about the text. It can be questions of understanding, but above all questions that seem simple-minded or not very useful at first glance. For example, during the Christmas story in Mathew we asked ourselves: What did Mary think when Joseph was told in a dream to flee to Egypt. Didn’t their faith in the love and providence of God waver? Or what did Joseph feel when the angel told him to take the pregnant Mary as a wife. Wasn’t that an imposition to a young, unmarried man? Or: What did Mary and Joseph do with the gifts of the three wise men …

As you continue to study the Bible, you will notice that these questions broaden your horizons for the selected passage, that you understand more deeply the biblical texts that you think you know well and that the characters who are so distant, holy and to appear unapproachable, people like us, with feelings, many questions and struggles with the will of God. It is also not necessary to answer the individual questions in this step. In some cases they will be answered in the further course or they are no longer relevant.

4. Division of the text into sections of meaning – This step also requires some explanations. You can divide the chosen section according to chronological order, for example in the case of Joseph’s dream that he should take Mary to himself, the division into what happened before, during and after the dream would be possible. But you can also use the people involved as a classification criterion or other criteria …

The task of the group leader here is to receive suggestions for the division and then to decide with the group which suggestion will be used.

5. In this step, the individual text sections are processed. Here you will find that some of the questions you asked in step 3 are answered, while others have become unimportant. – I would like to use a picture here: The individual steps are like a ditch in the earth. You start on the surface and step by step you get more in depth and a personal encounter with the word of God.
6. 6. What does God mean to me today with this passage? – At this point we are able to experience that in the course of the meeting each sister becomes naturally clear where in this passage of the text the call of God is for her.
7. 7. The conclusion of the meeting develops naturally with a prayer formulated personally by each sister. This can be a thank you, a request for strength and help in the near future, a prize or something similar.

At all of these meetings, we made the experience that we are very active and active in conversation with one another and that our meetings last at least an hour each time and often longer. Often this text or the experiences that we were allowed to have accompanied us for a long time and we talk about it at meals.

Perhaps this short message has piqued your curiosity and we cordially invite you to just try it out. May the Holy Spirit inspire and accompany you.

Sr. M. Petra.

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

Another Christmas

Dec 24, 2020 | SPIRITUALITY

There are many elements and characters in the Christmas nativity scene, and the most important Character is always the smallest. This is a divine paradox, what seems small to God is great, what is weak for us has great power in God’s eyes.

If you did a survey among those celebrating Christmas, what is needed for the holiday to be successful, many important answers would come up: family atmosphere, cultivating traditions, good weather, etc. All these can certainly help in the celebration. On the other hand, the answer is quite rarely answered that during Christmas, the most important thing is Christmas – Baby Jesus who comes to us. He is so little, when He comes, sometimes we get lost in the multitude of all these traditions, dishes and holiday pleasures.

This year it is said that the holidays will be different. Due to the pandemic, there are many prohibitions and restrictions. Not everywhere will be possible to celebrate all traditions, meet with loved ones, trips or even outings are not possible everywhere, many holiday attractions are closed. But it is precisely for this reason that we have a chance to make this Christmas the most normal. Maybe this year there will be fewer things for us to cover Little Jesus in the manger. Let us accept all these difficulties and look at them positively, seeing them as an opportunity to celebrate the great Mysteries of God more deeply. Let this little Baby, who is the Lord of this world, with all its problems and concerns be at the center of our holiday. God wants to remind us that He is born in us regardless of external conditions, it is enough to be attentive and accept Him with faith and trust. If we cannot travel or go outside during the holidays, let’s remain inside.

Sr. Sybilla Kołtan

Mary Immaculate

Dec 8, 2020 | SPIRITUALITY

In the middle of the Advent season, the Catholic Church celebrates a feast on which an important aspect of Christmas shows up. It is a feast that many people have little or nothing to do with:

the feast of Mary, the mother of God, conceived without original sin. If we have the dogma that Mary was conceived without original sin in view of Christ, translate it into our reality, then it is said that we too are without original sin in view of Christ. Where Christ is in us sin has no power. In the inner space within us where Christ dwells, sin and guilt have no entry; there sin is disempowered. In Mary we meditate on our own being, the mystery of our redemption through Jesus Christ. Just as we in Mary are pure people celebrate who is without intrigue and side intentions, who gets involved in God without ulterior motives, so we also believe that there is something pure and holy in us, is something Immaculate and intact. We shouldn’t feel like sinners all the time, but rather as people who God has transformed in Jesus Christ. It is an optimistic feast that the Church is celebrating. It corresponds to the shine of Christmas that goes out. It lets the light of Christmas into our brokenness to shine. Often enough, we don’t see ourselves as loud and flawless. Even if we do something good if we have secondary intentions, we want to be well received by others, we want to be seen. We know our tendency to present ourselves better than we are. Even in our Charity creeps in egotistical motives. In Mary we see the secret of our own salvation. In us there are not only defilements and falsifications, there is also a core in us pure and holy, something that is not infected by guilt and sin. The holy reading from the letter to the Ephesians expresses it in  this way: “In Christ God chose us before the creation of the World, so that we may live holy and blameless (Immaculate) before God ”(Eph 1,4). Where Christ is in is us, we are flawless. Even if we know about our lies and deceitful tricks, so we can trust that something in us is very pure and holy. There is something in us healed, is completely permeable to God’s love. Where Christ is in us, our Feelings have no admission to guilt with which we often enough tear ourselves. There they have Self-devaluation and self-accusation no chance to occur. There we are in Harmony with ourselves. … And where Christ is born in us, sin has no entrance, we are clean and holy.

P. Anselm Grün (OSB)

100 percent “yes”

Dec 4, 2020 | SPIRITUALITY

Advent is a season of preparation extending over four Sunday before Christmas. The word Advent comes from the Latin “advenio” means “to come to”, and refers to the coming of Christ. Thus, the term “the coming” includes three references: First of all to our celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas; Second, to the coming of Christ in our daily lives through Sacrament of the Eucharist; and finally, it refers to his second coming at the end of time. Therefore, our preparation during Advent should have all three comings in mind. We need to prepare our souls to welcome and receive Christ wholeheartedly.

What perfect example of receiving Jesus wholeheartedly, than Mary. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception just around the corner, stand as a reminder to us all, that Mary is truly the central figure of the Advent season. It reminds us all that God bestowed such favour on Mary, not for her sake, but for ours. She stands as the sinless one, the perfect disciple, the model of the church, and her assumption the promise of our resurrection. In fact, it through her “yes” consenting, that the Son of God was conceived and live among us in the flesh. It is through her “yes” that Jesus began his way along the road of humanity. Mary “yes” shows how complete and unconditional, her love for God without reservations. But more importantly, her saying “yes” tells the whole story of God saving Love; that “though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humble himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (Philip 2:6- 9).

Thus, our daily saying “yes” to God creates our own salvation stories. It tells of how God work in and with us through the Holy Spirit for our redemption. God offered life eternal and we say “yes” in complete favour of his eternal love, and as a result life everlasting follows. It sound straight forward and easy but in reality, it demands sacrifices by dying to self-daily. It demands faithfulness and the joy of carrying daily crosses with Jesus each day. It demands perseverance through the uncertain and unclear moments of everyday life.

Pope Francis remind us that “we are experts on the half-yes; we are good at pretending not to understand what God wants, and what our conscience prompts us to do. We are also smart, and never give a true no to God, and say: ‘I am not able’, ‘not today, but tomorrow’, ‘Tomorrow I will be better, tomorrow I will pray, tomorrow I will do good.” It is through these half-yes and delay responses we offered to God each day, which leads us to sin.

Nevertheless, this season of Advent is an opportunity for us to reflect on our saying “yes” to God. Indeed, God desire to see us and awaits our “yes” wholeheartedly. Like Mary, we should be completely open to the actions of God in our daily activities. We should be like Mary, presenting no obstacle to the transforming power of God’s love. Like Mary, we should be pondered of all that God graces us with.

The Immaculate Conception of Mary speaks to us of the reality which will helps us draw close to her son. May our hearts grow like Mary’s in trust of God the Father, and we offer thanks to the Father for the gift of Mary our Mother, and through her tender maternal intercession may we grow firm in our everyday “yes” witnessing to her Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

Fr. Sione Hamala