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
Nov 23, 2022 | NEWS
On the liturgical commemoration of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, i.e. on 21 November, we made a pilgrimage to Our Lady Guardian of the Faith to Bardo.
Bardo, which is called the city of miracles and is also referred to as the Golden Gate to the Kłodzko Basin, hosted 65 Marian sisters on 21 November.
We made a pilgrimage to Mary, Guardian of the Holy Faith from many Polish missions and also from Germany. Spiritually, with the help of social media, sisters from Italy, Tanzania, the Philippines or sisters who remained at home were united with the Bard.
In front of Mary, we were together to give thanks to the Lady of Bardz for the salvation of our congregation on this day, the liturgical commemoration of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This Miraculous Statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus is situated in the central part of the basilica’s main altar and displayed in a glass case.
We saw Mary well and Mary saw us.
The prayer of the rosary began at 10.30.
We confidently whispered a Hail Mary as we gazed at the Smiling Madonna seated on a throne.
It is here in the Bardo Basilica that Mary has continued to be at our disposal for many years.
As it were, she is waiting for each of us.
The Eucharist began at 11.00 a.m. The parish priest, Father Mirosław Grakowicz CSsR, warmly welcomed and greeted all the participants in the service.
In her letter addressed to the sisters gathered in the Basilica of Bardo, the Mother General wrote, among other things:
“Continuing the beautiful tradition of our predecessors, this year too we want to give thanks for Mary’s constant protection of our congregation. For so many graces that each of us receives in the daily fulfilment of our vocation from God through her intercession.”
We gave thanks.
The sisters made sure to create community through the singing, music they performed. All for the greater glory of God
I will try to present some excerpts from the sermon preached that day by Fr. Mirosław Grakowicz.
And also to articulate the instructions that Father tried to give us.
In his homily, Father Miroslaw referred, among other things, to the teaching of Benedict XVI.
The preacher noted that we are currently living in troubled times, that it can and does worry us that in Europe people are turning away from God. He also stated that many times we ourselves experience difficult situations.
All this can fill us with anxiety.
And as we stand at the thanksgiving gathering,” the pastor said, “we are probably asking what to do? What should we do? What do we need to do?
Referring to the words of Pope Benedict XVI, Father Miroslaw stressed that, above all, under no circumstances must we ourselves be drawn into some kind of hatred or demand for revenge. This advice from the Holy Father is extremely valuable, the pastor stressed. The preacher also encouraged us to follow the logic of the Gospel.
We live in a time of criticism. This is often how we refer to any initiative, idea or action. This applies not only to people of the world, but also to us as persons of consecrated life. This is why today’s feast is to remind us that the natural reaction to any good that happens to us should be thanksgiving. Moreover, a person filled with the Holy Spirit gives thanks for everything that happens to him. An example of this is Fr Joseph Schweter CSsR, who was the spiritual director of Sr Dulcissima, your candidate for the altars. He was a man of thanksgiving. Whatever befell him, he gave thanks to God in a soaring act. Even though he often received nominations, documents concerning the future, he was full of thanksgiving”. – emphasised the Redemptorist.
He also encouraged us to look after the moral dignity of human beings, the moral dignity of ourselves, of another sister, of a superior…of another person, of people who may be a burden.”
He said – Look at this hint that Benedict XVI is giving. Look, in these great people of your congregation we find this attitude.
And some more precious thoughts from our preacher:
“Father John Schneider or Sister Dulcissima would not be who they are if they did not see the value of the other.
We can behave as barbarians in our communities or as disciples of Christ.
We are disciples of Christ when we unconditionally accept His commandments and live these commandments.”
Tips:
Not to be drawn into evil
To live the commandments
That we live in our communities the commandment of mutual love then we live the presence of God.
Father Founder’s thought “Do good and abide in unity”. This is the answer that the congregation can give to all the difficulties we face in today’s world,” encouraged the Redemptorist.
Encouraged by the custodian of the Bardo Basilica, we thanked God for the gift of vocation and charism.
At the end of the eucharist, Provincial Sister Magdalena Zablotna again entrusted to Mary the care of the congregation and within it the care of each sister. The Provincial Sister entrusted to Mary our present and future, every work carried out by our congregation and finally the whole community.
At the end of our liturgical meeting, each sister was able to kiss the statue of the Guardian of the Holy Faith, after which the pilgrims to Bard went to Dawn, our convent, where we were warmly welcomed and hosted by our sisters.
Virgin Mary, Guardian of the Holy Faith!
At Cana, you saw man’s distress and for him you turned to Jesus for help. Thus you witnessed the glory of your Son and saw His disciples believing in Him. O Virgin Immaculate, you expressed your faith in the power of the Most Holy Redeemer when you said, “Do whatever he tells you”. Now your words are a signpost to me. Intercede with Him for me, intercede for my loved ones so that we may grow in faith and in love for the Catholic Church.
O Faithful Virgin, thank you for the graces I receive daily through your intercession. I place all my hope – after God – in you. Regard me as your property and take me under the mantle of your protection.
My Mother, I beg you and earnestly implore you: be constantly by my side, do not abandon me, especially at my last moment on earth, so that I may praise God’s mercy together with you and with all the hosts of angels and saints in Heaven. Amen.
S.M. Małgorzata Cur
Nov 20, 2022 | NEWS
In his address to participants in the International Congress of Catechists on the 10th September 2022, Pope Francis affirmed that catechists and catechists are witnesses who put themselves at the service of the Christian community in order to encourage the growth of faith in the concrete of daily Life. They are those who persistently proclaim the Gospel of Mercy; those who are capable of establishing the essential connections of welcome and proximity that allow us to better taste God’s Word and experience the Eucharistic Mystery while presenting fruits of good actions. For the holy father, Catechesis is not a one-hour class, but rather a live experience of the Faith that each of us want to pass on to future generations. Certainly, we need to find the best ways to communicate our faith to people based on their age and level of understanding. However, the most important thing is the personal contact we have with each person. “Only personal contact,” the Pope said, “opens the heart to receive the first proclamation and to want to grow in the Christian life with the kind of dynamism that catechesis makes possible.”
It is in this Pope’s point of view that I was given 15 children from the Parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Monte Mario to prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation.I was prepaed them for two yeas, This is the Sacrament that allows the faithful to welcome the Holy Spirit into their hearts and receive his seven gifts: wisdom, intellect, counsel, fortitude, science, piety, and fear of God. Too often, people don’t realise how important it is. This is especially true for the youngest children, who don’t always have the right tools to follow Jesus’ path. In the course of the Preparation I realised how Parents and godparents are very important in this process. Because from their examples of life, the young Christian can understand what it means to get the sacrament of confirmation and show that he loves Jesus.
For all of us who participated in the process, it was a strong time of preparation, with a spiritual retreat, prayers, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and a seminar to help them to be strong in their Christian witness. 10 Out of 15 children were confirmed by Monsignor Paolo Selvadagi, an auxiliary bishop for the West sector of the Diocese of Rome, on November 13, 2022. I would like to thank my superiors and My entire my community for giving me this opportunity to serve Christ’s Church in this way.
Sr. Clementina SMI
