It Was A Wonderful Sunday

It was a wonderful Sunday yesterday. Reconnecting with my very first parish after my priestly ordination where I spent one and a half years 1988-1990. Great community, great memories, great reunions. It makes such a huge difference when the parish priest is a former missionary in Africa himself. He understands the situation of diocesan priests in the missions. He went through the same experience. He did the same rough road, left alone in the battle for too many times. I am happy that I met Fr. Edward there. He is such a fine man, gentle, understanding and caring in his unique subtle ways. Another factor - my friends in Sułkowice, in particular the family of Wojtek Bargieł. They have been such a great help to me for a few years now. I cannot thank them enough. With people like them, the life of a missionary has its sunny side. Thank you, Lord!

Back Home

I have just returned safely from Rome. Loads of thoughts and emotions going through my heart and mind. What a wonderful four days pilgrimage to the heart of Christianity it was! How amazing people I was blessed to meet. It was just fantastic. Very busy, very tight schedule, lots of things that went throughout those four days, but all in all I am happy and satisfied. Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Blessed John Paul II! Thank you all at Casa Polacca di Giovanni Paolo II in Via Cassia 1200! So grateful to all of you! One remark in the aftermath of the trip to Rome. Ironic that the flight time from Rome Ciampino to Katowice Pyrzowice takes less time than the bus trip from the airport to Krakow. Anyway, I am home now and already back in full swing business. Meeting with the prospective volunteer coming to Kiabakari underway this afternoon, then a late birthday and Patron Saint feast day dinner for the closest ring of my friends in one of my favorite restaurants in Krakow. With a casual walk around in the city center. Tomorrow there is another to-do list. And a mission awareness homilies in Sułkowice, my first love - my first parish after my ordination. A very emotional comeback after years. Prayers appreciated for the success of the visit and reunion with my favorite parochial community. Looking forward so much to this experience. God bless us all!

Thank You

I feel honored and special today. So many relatives, friends, loved ones prayed for me today and wished me well on my birthday and Patron Saint feast day. Thank you all from the bottom of my grateful heart! May God bless us all!

Week Long Snippets

It was a pretty busy week. I am glad I end it on a positive and high spirits note. Returning on Monday from Janów Lubelski, driving my Dad's old car in rain was not a good experience. It left me stressed as the traffic was heavy and many people drive their cars as if in Playstation game. Rested a bit in the afternoon, talked briefly with my Foundation's members. On Tuesday I traveled by train to Warsaw. It was meant to be three days trip, but luckily, I was able to finish the whole to-do list in 24 hours, so I was able to travel back to Kraków on Wednesday afternoon. The train was late one hours, and I felt down a bit, as the exhaustion and weariness kicked in. Nevertheless, next day, on Thursday I felt recharged and able to continue with the agenda. Yesterday was a preparation day for today's trip to Mucharz parish, where this evening I will start my mission awareness weekend in the parish, where my classmate is a parish priest. He invited me for the Patron Saint parochial feast - St. Wojciech, bishop, missionary and martyr. It is my Patron Saint as well, and I feel honored to be invited as the main celebrant and preacher for the occasion. It coincides also with my birthday tomorrow, April 22. It is the last birthday in the range of 40+ as tomorrow I will turn 49 and will start my fiftieth year of my life and the 25th year of my priesthood. I am genuinely surprised that years passed by so quickly! When I was a teenager and a seminarian, looking at guys in their fifties I was thinking - gosh, they are soooooo old! And, tara! I am right here. The only difference is that I feel great, consider my forties the best period of my life and look ahead for so more years to come in my active service of God, the Church and the society. Still, I ask humbly for your kind prayers for me and for all those I serve and for my parents, relatives, formators, teachers and all people God placed on my path who made an impact on my life and the way I am now. I am  deeply grateful to all of them and while celebrating in prayerful and reflective mode my birthday and Patron Saint feast day, I immerse all of them in the Ocean of Divine Mercy. Thank you!

On A Thin Rope

Sitting in the compartment of express train back to Krakow from Warsaw, delayed eventually a full hour, I felt as if I realized that I have been walking on a thin rope recently, struggling to balance between my schedule and duties I imposed on myself during this short trip home - and a growing weariness and tiredness. I was falling asleep on the train, not really sleeping but rather finding myself in between and trying to recompose myself. The trip to Warsaw was shorter than I planned, but I have finished all agendas I wanted so I felt no need to stay any longer there. Still, traveling back to Krakow, I could not find happiness and satisfaction in me. Everything went well, so I should be beaming and glowing. Not the case though. I felt as a beaten up soldier who barely survived yet another battle and does not care anymore what happens next. I know I will go to bed in a short while and tomorrow I will wake up in a better shape, will go for the Mass to sisters' chapel, then the usual long to-do list will follow, with a building up sense and urgency that my time is running out and there are still important things to do, so my conscience does not accuse me on my way back to Tanzania that I backed up, relented and took it easy, thus jeopardizing the progress and future of the vision of Kiabakari. Well, this evening I do not know what I could have done better in Warsaw, I don't find any reason to accuse myself. Yet I am not happy, only tired and my evening prayer is - I commend everything that happened in Warsaw up to you, o Lord! Your will be done... Good night, folks...

Back To Where It All Began

Tomorrow morning, after the Holy Mass at Sisters' chapel (my apartment block is adjacent to Sisters' Provincial house), my journey to the place where it all began will commence...

Full Circle

Today is the seventh anniversary of the death of my classmate, Father Piotr Wrona. I will have honor to visit his parents in Krowodrza district of Kraków and present to them a special photo album of the pictures taken during the very first Mass celebrated in St. Gemma Galgani convent in Kiabakari on April 11 last year, the day after the official blessing of the convent, in which we used for the first time the chalice and patena which once belonged to Father Piotr and were offered to me by his parents. I wrote extensively on this topic in my previous posts (see here, here and here), so I won't repeat myself. It will certainly be an emotional moment later today and I am looking forward to it. The whole story will make the full circle, since the day I was presented the chalice, then the Holy Mass and now reconnecting with his parents to present this special album. I think Father Piotr in heaven and his parents in Krowodrza will be happy to see the way we honored him and commemorated that very special day. May his soul rest in peace!

Two Years

Two years have passed since the Smolensk tragedy, yet the questions unanswered are still there. Here is the list of those who perished on that fatal day (click here). May they rest in peace! I would like to refer you to my older post on this theme (click here). Please, pray for the victims, their families and our Nation.

Gratitude

Back home with my Dad. So overwhelmed and grateful to Fr. Antoni, the parish priest and the whole fantastic parochial community in Rokiciny Podhalańskie for the Holy Triduum I was blessed to participate together with them. Arguably the best Easter ever since many many years... I had ample time for my private prayer, meditation, thinking, adoration, planning... I feel at peace now with my inner spiritual batteries fully charged. Thank you, Lord!

This Is Not Hollywood

If the script for the Holy Week and Paschal Triduum was not written in the Heart of our loving God, but in Hollywood studios instead, today there would be not be a single soul wandering in the streets of Jerusalem. Jesus, a fallen hero, risen from the dead, would be on the killing rampage, seeking vendetta on all who put Him to death. And if the scenario followed the customary script of any decent action movie, He would not stop till the last villain was put to death. His honor would be satisfied, the justice would be fulfilled. And we would nod in approval saying - it was a honorary thing to do. But He did not choose this path, even if He knew that His vengeance would be totally successful as He was risen from the dead and no human force could touch Him again. He did not go this way. Instead, He chose to meet with His disciples and forgive Apostles for their betrayal. He had no interest in going after culprits, He had no time to meet any of the evil people. He was in the world of goodness to which the evil ones had no access. He went after the good people and revealed Himself to them. He passed from the world of sin and evil. He never looked back after His Resurrection. The question comes to mind - does the same process happened to me during the Holy Triduum? Did I leave the world of evil and entered the world of goodness? There is no looking back. Dying for the sin and the past and rising for the goodness and holiness. Perhaps Easter is the opportune time to revisit our old problems in our families and neighborhoods? Time of reconcilation and forgiveness? Time to let go old quarrels and resentments? Time to mend bridges and restore relationships within our families and neighboorhoods? If this not happens, our Easter will reveal that we are acute behavioral schizophrenics - celebrating Easter in our churches and going back to our past lives which remain the same, in the realm of sin, vendetta and old habits. Our Christian life does not follow Hollywood action movies scripts. This is not Hollywood - our daily Christian life. Think about it. And make sure your own life follows the script written by our Father in heaven. Do not go back to old ways! Move on with Risen Lord! Happy and blessed Easter to you all!

To The Mountains

Time to pack again and leave to the Tatra mountains, to the small rural parish where I will help pastorally during the Holy Triduum. I am very happy to be able to reconnect again with a friend of mine, the parish priest of that parish, who happened to work in my home parish years ago, when I was still a seminarian. Being able to visit him again and serve the local parochial community in this holy time is a really exciting prospect which I am looking forward to very much. As the parish is small in terms of statistics, but big in spirit and faith, I will immerse myself in this divine and human realm and draw from the fonts of loving waters in the liturgy and my private adoration, meditation and prayer. As always, I will take you all with me in my heart, continuing my prayer for all of you and all intentions dear to your hearts. God bless us all in this wonderful Holy time of Lord's Passion, Death and Resurrection.

Holy Triduum

is coming... Today is my last day in Ulmerfeld, with one of my closest friends and classmates, Father Wiesiek (we were ordained together in 1988), and his fantastic parochial community. To be honest, these were days of rest and of recomposing myself, as I arrived to Europe on Thursday mentally tired and burnt out completely. I feel better now and though acclimatization takes time longer than I expected, still - I feel more positive and ready to tackle th coming weeks, duties and challenges. So, upon my return to Krakow tomorrow, I will proceed to one of the parishes at the foothills of Tatra Mountains, to help a friend of mine, who once was a curate in my home parish of St. Kazimierz in Krakow, and now is the parish priest of this parish I am heading to. He is alone there so surely any pastoral assistance on my part will help him a bit. I am looking forward to this experience. Apart from liturgical services, I will have time for prayer and meditation, continuing the inner renewal of my self. Obviously, I will not pray for my intentions only, far from it! Rest assured, all of you will be deeply seeded in this prayer. Have a blessed Holy Week, genuine conversion to God and His Church and may the Holy Triduum bring you back to full life with Risen Lord! It will be thus a very happy Easter indeed.