Feb 7, 2021 | FORUM
I am happy to meet you here in our senior citizen center in Cochem on the Klosterberg, our employees. Yes, and today I happened to meet “our” Agatha while cleaning and just said to her:
“Nice that you are here and keep order:”
Her answer: Sister Agnes taught us how to make order 50 years ago.
I came to the Klosterberg in 1972 for a housekeeping year and then stayed with Sister Agnes for 25 years.
It was not always easy to get along with her and to please her … but for my personal life I have – learned a lot from her and I’m proud of that now.
Next year I will retire – then I was with the Sisters of Mary for a total of 50 years and I can only be amazed where the time has gone.
It was and is a precious time. I like to look back on the past few years – even now I like coming into the house and am always happy when I do.
“My Sisters of Mary” meet – they always have a good word for us employees and we know that they pray for us … that feels so good !!!
Yes, what would have become of me – if the sisters hadn’t accompanied me on my journey through life.
I am very grateful to everyone and I will continue to be loyal to the sisters. The sisters have now grown old and maybe I can at least give them back some of the good things I got from them ”.
Ms. Agatha works as an employee in all housekeeping areas in Klosterberg. She ensures order in the whole house, even in the places that are otherwise easily overlooked.
We thank her and wish her continued God’s blessings.
Sister M. Felicitas
Feb 4, 2021 | FORUM
I got to know the congregation through my older sisters who worked in Fridrichstahl (Zagwiździe), where I lived. The sisters looked after children and the elderly there, and they also visited the sick. There was one older sister Gerwazja who loved me very much, and I loved her also. This acquaintance drew me to the monastery (“I drew them with human bonds, and they were bonds of love” Hosea 11: 4).
Unfortunately, in January 1943, the Russians (Russians) shot Sister Gerwzia. That day she came from the sick, and there was a Rusek who hurt her and then led her out into the yard. She knelt beside a lilac bush, and he killed her with a shot to the side of the head. The sisters took her home and after 3 days she was buried without a priest who was also afraid that they would shoot him. Ultimately, it also happened. My father broke the coffin, dug a grave and laid Sr. Gerwazja in the ground, without any funeral ceremonies. She is lying there in the cemetery to this day.
From the age of 15 I had been working for sisters as a help with the care of elderly women and children. I was washing and cleaning. At that time I thought that God specially educates and stores in some special place girls who want to become religious sisters, and then sends them to a monastery. I wanted to enter a monastery, I didn’t care what it was. I also knew the Noterdam sisters, but they kept their distance from me, they were unavailable, and I wanted more and more to join and be one of the sisters, so I came to the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, because they embraced me, showed a lot of warmth and interest. I wrote a letter to Sister Agreda in German, because I did not speak Polish yet. I wanted to join on October 1st. She wrote back to me to come in early to go to school from September 1st. And that’s how it happened. Together with other candidates, we rejoiced to be together in the convent, there were 14 of us. We were very close, we loved each other.
In my candidacy, for the first time I had a dream about the Founding Father, i.e. his tomb. On both sides stood two little beautiful angels, they held the light in their hands and said: “come here to the Founder and pray, he always listens to you.” At that time, I did not know the Founder, at first I was just glad to be in the monastery. After this dream, I began to get to know our Founder more, I began to pray for his intercession and feel a bond with him.
Later in 1953, while already being deported to Otorowo, I had a dream again of Founder. I only saw him then. He was supposed to be a bishop, but he came in plain clothes, he had black trouser and a white shirt, he was tall, slim and dignified. We were curious how long we would stay there, we waited for him to tell us. We knew it comes from heaven. He raised his hand, looked right, left and said, “Hold on, sisters, hold on.” Behind him was an Angel who talked to the sisters and gave us black wool. We followed Father Founder, but only we could get to the border of the house, then not, because he started to ascend to heaven. We were like disciples who looked at the Ascension of the Lord Jesus. This dream gave me more joy, a willingness to pray and to life in general.
On March 25, at the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 10 sisters and myself made their perpetual vows in Otorowo. It was very modest, but joyful. We got wedding rings (I don’t know where from) and sleeves as a gift.
I was very happy. I was one of the youngest, I was 23 years old. They took a picture of us.
The Ursuline Sisters, who lived 10 km away, visited us, and for holidays and celebrations – they made us surprises to make us happy.
Initially, I worked in the field for 3 months. We were collecting potatoes, beetroots, it was harvest. Later, I sewed shirts and sheets on the machine, ironed them (75 shirts a day, but I ironed more), sewed buttons. There was matins every morning, then Holy Mass, noon prayers at noon, and vespers in the afternoon. We prayed the Latin breviary, I presided often. In summer, when it was hot, we prayed outside, sitting on benches made of wooden boards.
The following year, in January, they let us out.
The stay in Otorowo strengthened my vocation, I was not discouraged by this experience. Only one sister left after her first vows because her mother had come for her. There were 120 sisters there, but only one went. If my mother had come to pick me up, I wouldn’t have gone.
I am proud that I am in the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate and that Mary watches over us, because she is closest to the Lord Jesus, she is our Protector and Help of Christians. She is ours and we are her children.
In the most difficult moments, I was supported by mutual love and the joy of being in the community. I experienced that being together gives strength.
Now I am 84 years old and I am waiting for one more dream, when the Founder will come to me. I want to hear what he tells me.
Nysa, 03/11/2014
(She listened and wrote down Sr. Rachela Wąsowicz)
Jan 26, 2021 | FORUM, NEWS
“And Enoch lived in intimacy with God. Then he disappeared because God took him. ” (Genesis 5:24).
The literal translation of this text is: “Enoch walked with God, and then he was gone, because God took him.” “… walked with God …” that’s right. But what does that actually mean to me?
Well, recently this short phrase has become the basis of my relationship with Jesus, because I discover the beauty of being constantly in His presence. It seems to be obvious for a nun, but I must honestly admit that it was not always like that for me. I mean, of course, the awareness of his constant presence, not on the basis of fear and the feeling of being trapped. On the contrary – on the basis of freedom and an awakened desire to “live abundantly”. This “walking with God” is characterized by simplicity of expression, simple gestures. For me, staying in His presence means, for example, not dividing my time during the day into pieces such as: now it’s time for work, now for prayer, and now “for myself”, etc. If my life were to be cut, I risked that I would not want to invite Him everywhere … Because I find that some part of my world is not “holy” enough to accept His presence. But it is He who sanctifies with His PRESENCE. And I don’t want to share this anymore. And most of all, I am aware that He does not want it. He, on the other hand, wants to share every time with me… literally.
On this occasion, I will reveal my, maybe a little funny, habit of drinking tea. When the circumstance causes me to do it myself (which I generally dislike), I put two mugs on top and invite Jesus. Sometimes we drink in silence, but most of the time He just listens… and that’s enough. It may be strange or banal, but such a gesture helps me a lot to remind myself that time belongs to Him. And if I would spare 15 minutes for Him now over a cup of tea, what will I do with Him for all eternity?
The feeling of being constantly before God’s face helps when temptations come. It is easier and faster to reflect then and ask Jesus: “Do you like what I did?”
“Walking with God” is also the basis of a mindful and simple life, living in the present. If I walk “by the hand” with God, I am focused on the signs of His presence in my life, in the world around me. Then I don’t need a lot of things, experiences, crowds of people around me. On the contrary – I can “settle for little”, because I have HIM with me… so I have everything (I do not try to feed myself with just anything when I have SENS with me). And I live in the present, because God is in it (not in dwelling on the past and not in worrying about tomorrow).
Every now and then I ask myself a question that verifies and sets me up spiritually: do you see that my heart is really already occupied? (i.e. am I really the bride? Is it known that I am already “walking” with Someone? Is there a recognizable sign of being a “woman of God” in me apart from my habit?). My answers are painful, but they help us return to the trodden path with Him.
“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he would not see death, and he was not found because God had taken him. Before he was taken away, however, he received a testimony that he was pleasing to God. ” (Hebrews 11: 5)
Oh, how much I would like to receive such a testimony from God …
Sr. Franciszka Jarnot
Jan 17, 2021 | FORUM
The inhabitants of Brzezie stand with great trust at the tomb of Sr. Dulcissima, praying for intentions that, humanly speaking, cannot be resolved. The belief that Sister Dulcissima continues to help (as she promised) is still alive and gives spiritual wings to those who ask God through her intercession.
Regina, as she says herself, is still in a very close relationship with God’s servant. Sister Dulcissima never let her down and one night she dreamed of asking her not to stop praying.
Among the many favors she tells about, there is also a childhood experience that poignantly tells about the healing of her mother Lucia. This testimony confirms the fact that prayer has great power.
Certificate
In November 1956, my mother, Lucia became seriously ill. She was then 35 years old. At that time, there were five children at home, the youngest sister was 1 year old. Doctors gave no hope. The operation revealed a rupture and spilling of the gallbladder. Mom was all yellow, very quickly she had a very high fever of 40 degrees. She was taken to surgery. Despite the fact that her condition was really very serious, the doctor immediately decided that she needed an operation. Those were the years when there was no good medical equipment yet, it was difficult to diagnose what it was, but after surgery it turned out that my mother’s gallbladder ruptured with the first attack. It was very serious, my mother did not walk, but she remembered one moment when something or someone shook her, grabbed her and shook her. It was a breakthrough in this disease. After six months of hospital treatment, very emaciated, she was discharged from the hospital. We were counting on the fact that my mother might die.
At that time, the parish priest in Brzezie was Fr. Rudolf Adamczyk, who saw my father praying fervently in the church, approached him and told him: “Mr. Stawinoga, your wife is not going to die. We pray to Sister Dulcissima all the time. ” The doctor wanted to send my mother to the hospital in Wrocław for diagnostic purposes, but my father did not agree and said “I’m taking my wife home” to which the doctor replied: “but there is no help, your wife is already leaving.” Dad took Mum home and continued praying. After all this, my mother recovered quite quickly, and after five years my younger sister Maria was born.
A year has passed and my mother felt completely well, she decided to go to the doctor who treated her at the hospital to thank him for everything. When the doctor saw her, he got to his feet and said: “Are you alive? It’s a miracle”.
We know that our prayers have been answered. Sister Maria Dulcissima is the greatest treasure in our parish.
Prayer continues
In all our monasteries, we sincerely pray for the gift of beatification of the handmaid of God, Sr. M. Dulcissima Hoffmann. On the 18th day – each month – in the community in Brzezie, during the novena prayer, we read the intentions entrusted to us, which are sent by e-mail or by post.
We invite all readers of generalato.com to pray together.
Detailed intentions can be sent to the address biuro@dulcissima.pl, or: Sisters of Mary Immaculate, ul. Archbishop Gawliny 5, 47-400 Racibórz Brzezie. Poland.
Sr Maria Małgorzata Cur
Jan 14, 2021 | FORUM, NEWS
God decided to go to Jaszkotle. Again, it was different than what I thought or planned. Namely, after working at our Nursing Home in Żerniki, I asked God to save the Nysa from a pandemic. It was a purely selfish thought because the DPS in Nysa is dear to me and I remember working there with joyful heart. However, I knew that when Samuel’s sister, the current Director of this House, called, I would not refuse to help and I already knew what this work was about. And it happened. Sister Samuel called … And because I was already a bit ready and prepared for such information, I knew what to do. I only agreed with My Superior Sister that I would go to the Sisters’ house in Nysa earlier, and then I would start working in the DPS. What a joy I met when I received information on the spot in Nysa that Sister Dominika is also packing and she will be with me. I was calm. There will be Dominika, there is Samuel’s sister, Anna’s sister, I know the house, I know the children, … I breathed even more when the next day, Samuel’s sister announced that they had made it, our help in working with sick boys was no longer needed. On the same day, in the evening, the phone rang. From the Provincial Sister … OOO my first thought: “where else do we have DPS?” Not DPS but ZOL in Jaszkotle. A short communication message only to sister Dominika – “Are we going?” “We drive”!
God wanted it … We were sure of that … But always for something … Why?
We went how we could do, we did and we came back. The space is only a dozen or so days … And so much has happened … Especially in me! In my heart, in my conscience, in my perception …
God wanted so, “chose …” so that I could “choose …” always for something, ultimately for me … I received a hundred times more.
So what could God give me for such a short stay among children? Children who are very sick and at the same time very happy. Suffering and yet smiling. Wounded, yet full of trust …
Sometimes, when I had a free time after work, I would take a child in my arms and walk with him, talking to them without much sense. But often, too, I would just hug these children and think about their parents. I thought differently … sometimes only with reproach … I looked into their eyes … How I would like to photograph them … keep in mind … leave it …
I got back home. I asked for a moment just for me. I wanted to rest… But it was not only about rest, as it turned out. I met myself. I heard it softly, and then loudly and louder and louder … Why do they not want them … I want Jaś, Mateusz … etc. I WANT! It’s not that God. They don’t want… for a million different reasons. And I…
Motherhood is one of the most wonderful Gifts of God … it is some form of Divinity in a fragile human being. I gave up… gave away… I chose… several years ago. What could I know about this when I was twenty. Theoretically only. The real choice did not come – just now. Choosing Life for Life … These sick little creatures are left for me today … They are my motherhood and prayer for me today. They are … like pearls for the world.
The house in Jaszkotle, the house in Żenikach, Nysa and all our other houses, where we have sick people, left behind and devoted to us, are enclaves of good in this world where “choice, not prohibition” sounds different to me.
S.M. Daniela Gumienna
Jan 5, 2021 | FORUM
The question asked by the handmaid of God, Sister Maria Dulcissima: “What does Christmas mean for the soul?” and to which she also responds, I was interested enough to see how she experienced Christmas. There are also interesting places, facts, people and events that had a real impact on the formation of the spiritual personality of the candidate for the altars. The prayer with psalms that we recite every day as consecrated persons helps us in this meditation. Psalms shape us, help us grow internally. May prayer with psalms lead us to celebrate the birth of Jesus, as Sister Maria Dulcissima did. This time we will learn about the Christmas surprise to increase the joy of Sr.M. Tobii for the sake of Jesus. It will be about the healing power of the sacrament of the sick, about its unearthly contacts with St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, about friendship, about longing for heaven, which made her feel permanently due to relapses of the disease.
“I always put the Lord before my eyes, I will not waver, because He is at my right hand. That is why my heart rejoices, my soul rejoices … ”(Ps 16: 8-9).
In 1920, the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate was established in the Parish of Saint Joseph on the Consensus. Helena Hoffmann eagerly visited the sisters who lived there, and because she was agile and skillful, she quickly integrated into the life of the religious community. The girl tried to make friends with the sisters, helped them, listened to their conversations, and watched the life of the new religious family. The Marian sisters in Zgoda ran the Metallurgical Health Center and a kindergarten; they worked in the parish church to which Helena was emotionally attached. Yes, Helena was interested in religious life, she devoted a lot of time to helping the sisters in their tasks, but everything she did, she tried to do for God’s glory. She has been helping in the parish for a long time because she felt obliged to help – also to priests. We can imagine her keen involvement in the decor of the parish church just before Christmas and how much she tried to meet the expectations of her parents. Her pure soul and trusting faith were admired by many who knew her. Helena had a good heart and crazy ideas. It happened that at Christmas in 1920 she wanted to surprise a kindergarten teacher, Sr. M. Tobii Kujeth SMI. Secretly from the sisters, together with her friend, she asked mothers who had brought their children to kindergarten to help her prepare a gift – a surprise for her sister. The women reacted positively to this idea and the girls collected money for which they bought shoes for Sister. They brought a gift to Sr.M. Tobii with great satisfaction and joy in her heart, which probably made the recipient smile as well. Helena lived in the presence of God, put the Lord before her eyes, and her heart intended to make Jesus happy. This girlish, pure soul of a child undoubtedly attracted the attention of Heavenly Father.
“And my soul will rejoice in the Lord, and delight in his salvation” (Ps 35: 9).
The first symptoms of a serious illness in candidate Helena Hoffmann appeared on Christmas Eve in 1928. At that time, she was at the religious house in Henryków, where she was referred due to malaise. S. M. Honorata Mazur SMI, Assistant General, mentions in her notes that the candidate Helena did not tolerate the climate of a big city, and therefore she was sent to the countryside. There, healthier air, rest and helping the sisters with housework were to help her regain her spiritual and physical balance. On January 3, 1929, she became seriously ill, and the doctor Krischke from Henryków diagnosed encephalitis in his patient. Helena lost consciousness, then regained her briefly the next day. Her state of health was very serious and the doctor did not give her a chance to recover, therefore her mother, Albina Hoffmann, was notified, who soon came to see her daughter. The mother cried at the condition of her child. Mrs. Albina was grateful to the sisters for the care over Helena, which consisted of keeping watch with her day and night.
Albina Hoffmann witnessed the conversation of daughter with St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. She called the sisters so that they too could witness the extraordinary encounter between these two related souls. Interestingly, Helena could not speak during the day, and communicated with the surroundings only with the help of a tablet and a pencil, so her mother was very impressed by Helena’s call: “These …, These … Teresa, You’re coming!” During this great indisposition, Helena received the sacrament of anointing the sick. The danger of death was over, and she experienced spiritual strength in her infirmity. In the following days, she felt so well that her mother was able to return from Henryków to Zgody.
“… my soul will live for Him …” (Psalm 22:30).
A similar situation took place on Christmas 1932 in Zgoda. After midnight Mass in the church of st. Józefa, Helena Hoffmann fell ill again, and her condition deteriorated so much that on December 30, 1932, the local vicar, Fr. Ignacy Rembowski gave her the sacrament of the sick. He asked her for one last wish. In response, he heard: “If I could say again what I said with Sister Maria Lazaria.” Fr. Rembowski informed about the illness and the wish of the “Bride of the Cross” from the Motherhouse. In response to this telegram, Sr. M. Lazaria, who found her almost dying. During the meeting, both Sisters were happy that they could pray together. Sister Dulcissima suffered from a great headache and discomfort in the form of constant vomiting. Then she asked the Lord Jesus for death. This state lasted until January 5, 1933. On the Feast of the Epiphany, Sr.M. Lazarii about the event: “I saw the Child Jesus very beautiful, in long clothes, down to the ground, with curly hair, coming to me with light in hand: it was passed through many people in the chapel to my cell and said:” You should be light “. When I was enjoying the beautiful Child and I wanted to bring him a lantern made, he went away. ” Interestingly, from that day on, the health condition of the “Bride of the Cross” began to slowly improve. She still felt bad, but according to St. Teresa of the Child Jesus (whom she heard and saw in her dreams) was preparing for her journey from Wrocław to Brzezie on the Oder.
“… Like a weaned child with his mother, like a silent child, is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord now and forever ”(Ps 131: 2a-3).
Christmas in 1934 was for Sr. M. Sometimes we dulcissize with grace and specific reflections on the humility and love of the Child Jesus. The handmaid of God stood before God in prayer like a child and cried. At times, she was sad because she saw that the Child Jesus was abandoned. She was sorry that little Jesus “is coming to save the world, because there is still so much evil in it” (Christmas carol). She suffered because He had no place among the people. She also suffered because she noticed a lack of simplicity and childhood spirit in the religious community.
“I reach out to you; my soul thirsts for you like a dry land ”(Ps 143: 6).
The celebration of Christmas in 1935 became for Sr. M. Dulcissima a time of union with God. She suffered a lot. Her spiritual guide, Father Józef Schweter, CSsR, noted: “By becoming a completely child, [the“ Bride of God ”] could receive the favors of Christmas in its richest dimension, although externally immersed in bitter goblets. The heart of Sister [Maria] Dulcissima has now received a mystical wound.
“You are my God, I want to thank You, my God, I want to exalt You. Praise the Lord, for He is good; for his love endures forever ”(Ps 118: 28-29).
In the photo we can see the figure of the baby Jesus, which belonged to the “Bride of the Cross”. This figurine probably took its place in the room of God’s handmaid, and today it is a valuable memento placed in the Memorial Room of the monastery in Brzezie on the Oder. It is also worthwhile today, during the celebration of Christmas, to look with love at the Child Jesus and to give voice to the prayer of sister Dulcissima’s heart, and to ask:
Child Jesus, give little, give only one thing that can make our hearts happy, do not give riches that will not remain, do not give a glow that melts, give only one, Your love, O You sweet, dear Child!
What does Christmas mean to your soul? Christmas means: the coming, the rebirth of Jesus Christ in our souls. Your heart should also be adorned with the graces of Holy Communion, because He will also knock on you and ask for reception. What do we want to give him?
S.M. Małgorzata Cur SMI
