27th Anniversary Of My Ordination To Priesthood

On the day like today, 27 years ago, His Eminence Franciszek Cardinal Macharski, ordained sixty six new priests for the Archdiocese of Kraków, Poland. One of them was me. Please, join me in a celebration of this special anniversary to our ordination class of 1988. The recollection day, the Holy Mass, silent adoration of the Eucharist. A day of gratitude and penitence. A day of joy and meditation. A day of opening up anew to the Holy Spirit and inviting Him anew in my life. A day of reflecting upon the motto of my ordination card (souvenir) -

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn." (Is 61:1-2)

Please, visit the the following links to read more about that day, to see the pictures and sing with us the song we sung in the ordination Mass on May 22, 1988 in Wawel cathedral, Kraków, Poland.

http://kiabakarisnippets.blogspot.com/2010/05/catch-22.html
http://kiabakarisnippets.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-wonderful-day-today.html

Please, pray for us to the Holy Spirit!

Request

Our deacons, Augustino Mapambano and William Bahitwa who will be ordained in their home parishes on July 11 (William in Musoma Cathedral) and July 18 (Augustino in Kiabakari), asked me yesterday - as they were heading to Effeta Retreat Center in Makoko, Musoma in the evening to begin their retreat before the priestly ordination - for our prayers for them and for guidance of the Holy Spirit throughout the retreat. So I ask all of you, my esteemed readers, to keep an eye on them in your kind prayers and liturgical celebrations. May Christ, the Good Shepherd, form them in His liking through the power of His Spirit. Thank you in advance for your generous response.

Special Message To Someone Close to My Heart

A Special Message to You, my Relatives and Friends, on the occasion of my Silver Jubilee.

Almighty God in His Divine Providence has planned that I will celebrate 25 years of priesthood - in the Year of Faith. This is a privilege, a great challenge but also a wonderful opportunity to thank God with living faith for His countless blessings, in particular - for the priceless gift of YOU in my life. By the grace of God’s Providence, you have helped me to become what I am today. I am deeply honored. You are - and always will remain - a very important person to me, close to my grateful heart.

That is why, as my jubilee is approaching fast, I come to you with this special message, asking you to join me in the celebrations, not only through prayer, liturgical celebration and sharing the festive food, but most of all through our living faith, as Apostle James, teaches us: “Faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead...for just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” (James 2:16.26)

Since my priestly ordination on May 22, 1988, I have always stood firmly by and worked hard for the holistic (spiritual, corporal and intellectual) development of communities I served, trying to live my faith among people through works. I wish my jubilee celebrations to be a clear example of this lifelong attitude, thus benefitting directly the community I serve in Kiabakari.

I do not wish any personal gifts for myself on the occasion of my jubilee. Yet I dream of a different, special gift from my friends instead. I humbly ask you to think about the development of Kiabakari community i serve. Your gift will make a difference in rekindling our faith, improving our medical facilities and services and broadening access to a quality education for young generations of Kiabakari people.

Thank you for being there for me throughout all these past years! I invite you cordially to my jubilee celebration in my home parish in Kraków. I will be preaching in all Masses on that day. The main jubilee Mass will be at 12.30PM. God bless you much and see you soon at the celebrations!

Fr. Wojciech

Holy Thursday

My silver and golden jubilees logo. Created by Mr. Florian Kaija Ludovick

Holy Thursday of this year carries in itself a special meaning to me.

In four weeks time I will turn fifty. Half a century of life behind me. God only knows how long I will live more. I am not worried at all and I do not give this thought much attention. What is important is to live my life to the fullest and continue to be a tool, though poor and insufficient, but still a tools in God's hands.

Apart from the golden jubilee of my birthday, in two months time I will celebrate golden jubilee of my Baptism and then together with my classmates - our silver jubilee of priestly ordination in Wawel cathedral in Kraków. Twenty five years have already passed and I do not know how? Out of these twenty five, twenty three served in Tanzania - in Kiabakari and in Musoma cathedral a bit as well.

This evening I will The Holy Mass of the Last Supper of our Lord with my heart and soul filled to the brim with infinite gratitude to Almighty and Merciful God for the gift of life, Baptism, faith, priesthood and missionary all; gratitude of my Parents who not only gave me earthly life but also brought me to the Baptismal font and raised in Catholic faith and morals and taught life with their wisdom and love; gratitude to so many wonderful people I met in the course of my life - relatives, friends, colleagues, who shaped me and my life in many ways.

I will offer this evening Holy Mass for all of us, immersing us anew in the Ocean of Divine Mercy. Thank you for all you have been to me throughout these past fifty years of Christian life and twenty five years of priesthood! May Good and Infinitely Merciful God be your reward here and in heaven!

Dziękuje! Asanteni! Thank you!

Second version of the jubilees logo. Can you find number 25 in the picture?

The Road Map

Last evening we had a very constructive and fruitful meeting of the Parochial Executive Council. Planning the Year of the Faith and highlights of this time of grace. For us, in Kiabakari, this special period of the history of mankind means a lot as it coincides with a few events of heavy caliber which need careful and thorough planning and execution...

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...

30 Years

It's been thirty years since the Lord called me to priesthood in an unexpected turn of events. Never crossed my mind that I would be a priest someday, needless to say - a missionary priest! But the Lord's ways are mysterious and He only knows why me, why then, why...

Auguri!

Our Hoy Father Benedict XVI celebrates today (and all of us with him) his 60th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him, immersing him and his Petrine service to the Universal Church and the world in the Divine Mercy Ocean... Tanti auguri, Santo Padre!

No Tap

Celebrating Holy Mass on Thursdays, though every Mass in a pilgrimage in time and space to the Upper Room in Jerusalem, gives a special meaning as it is the same day on which Jesus Himself celebrated His first Mass with the Apostles and instituted the Eucharist and the vehicle to bring Him to people in three sacraments of His unique love and mercy...

In The Lord I'll Be Ever Thankful...

The Fifth Sunday of Easter. For me and for sixty five of my classmates from major seminary in Kraków - also  a 23rd anniversary of priestly ordination in Kraków's cathedral. Please, join us in thanksgiving today as we sing - the same way we sung on that day after ordination in the cathedral on Wawel Hill - 'In the Lord I'll be ever thankful'...

Signature

Job well done. What is left is to put signatures on payment vouchers for all involved in the renovation and refurbishment of St. Martha and St. Robert Bellarmin Houses i.e. the guest/volunteers house and the rectory. I'm positively happy and satisfied with the outcome of the works. Truly, my task force stood up to my expectations and standards set for this job...

Streams Of Water

The First Thursday of the month. As on every thursday, todays as well, and indeed - more so, more intensely, our thoughts and heart travel to the Upper Room in Jerusalem, where Jesus, the King of Mercy, instituted two Sacraments of Mercy and the third one which makes sure that the first two sacraments never run dry and are always available to us...

Intention

It gives me immense pleasure and warms my heart to be asked by my relatives, loved ones and friends - from all over the world - to offer a Holy Mass for the intentions dear to their hearts. This noble and holy task entrusted to me - raising to the Lord their worries and hopes, their persons and families, the matters of their lives - is a holy duty I gladly accept. It is a pure honor to do so and I feel privileged, through the power vested on me by the sacred order of priesthood, to be able to elevate them and their intentions in my hands and in my heart up to the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, in this most sublime and the most powerful prayer the world of faith knows...

So Sweet

I simply could not withhold a broad smile, when I sat for the first reading of this morning's Holy Mass in Our Lady of Perpetual Help chapel in the shrine. Sister who read the first reading has still some pronunciation issues, as she is Zambian and sometimes swahili gives her troubles and sometimes she simply mixes swahili with her native ki-Bemba vernacular language...

Personal Ur

On the day of the Feast of the Birth of Our Lady, my thoughts always set on a pilgrimage to the little shrine of Our Lady of Graces in a small town of Janów Lubelski in eastern Poland, the area where most of my family from the maternal side, hails from...This unassuming place holds the same importance to me as the Wawel Cathedral where I received my diaconate and priestly ordination in 1988. That little shrine in Janów Lubelski is my personal Ur of Chaldeans...

Greatest Gift

I have just come back home from Tarime, one of the largest towns in our Mara Region, ‘capital city’ of Tarime district. Located just 16 kilometers from Tanzanian/Kenyan border along the main highway from Mombasa via Nairobi and further on to the junction of Musoma-Mwanza highway (Kiabakari is just 20 kilometers to the south of this junction on the same highway to Mwanza). From Kiabakari to Tarime is 87 kilometers and today it took me one and a half hours of moderate driving to Tarime and back home.

Good bye, the Year for Priests!

 

Tomorrow is the official closing ceremony of the Year for Priests. How fitting the date! The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And who, if not us, priests, are suppose to strive with all our strength, resolve, hope and love to ask Jesus, The Most High Priest of the New Covenant: "Jesus, meek and humble of Heart... make our hearts like unto Thine!"

What a wonderful day today...So grateful to God and people who surround me. It was all about celebrating love and friendship, as I am so much aware how much I owe to all of you, who God put on purpose, and by no means - by chance - on my path of life. You continue to teach me, formate me, shape me and make me so much more than I am. Thank you for being there with me when I needed you and always...I salute you! I embrace with love, affection and gratitude. May God reward you thousandfold for all you've been to me. Without you I would never be who I am now and would never be able to do what God was able to do through me in those past twenty years of priesthood...

This is a song we sang together as newly ordained priests on that day, May 22, 1988 in Kraków's cathedral church, right after the ordination rite. As I continue to rejoice in the Lord, immensely grateful for His love and mercy to us, who were ordained on that memrable day, please, join me in reliving that magic moment again, singing (in English or in Polish, your choice) along with the video clips of this song I found on internet...





English lyrics:

In the Lord I'll be ever thankful,
In the Lord I will rejoice!
Look to God, do not be afraid...
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near...
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near...

Polish lyrics:


Pan jest Mocą swojego Ludu, Pieśnią moją jest Pan!
Moja Tarcza i moja Moc,
On jest mym Bogiem, nie jestem sam...
W Nim moja siła, nie jestem sam...

Catch 22

This Saturday, May 22nd, 2010, I will celebrate 22nd Anniversary of my priesthood I received through the hands of His Eminence Franciszek Cardinal Macharski, Archbishop of Kraków, Poland, on Sunday of the Solemnity of Pentecost in Kraków's cathedral. My ordination class 1988 is the largest in the 1000 years long history of Archdiocese of Kraków, as far as the number of deacons ordained for the diocese the same year - we were almost seventy who were ordained that day....

Twenty two years passed since that day. In retrospective, I must say, all mysteries of rosary have been revealed and relived in my life - joyful, luminous, sorrowful and glorious as well...The Lord led me through various situations and made me to experience the full spectrum of human feelings and emotions - from elation and euphoria down to despair and darkness. I am immensely grateful to Him for giving me such a wonderful life. I could not ask for more.

At the same time my heart is filled with emotions, gratitude, joy, pride, satisfaction but also - sorrow, disappointment, pity and contrition for all mistakes and falls I went through in my priestly life.

I will celebrate a special Holy Mass of the Anniversary on Pentecost Vigil, on Saturday afternoon at 5pm in Divine Mercy Shrine in Kiabakari, in spiritual union with my classmates, praying for those who are strong and pressing ahead, for those who are feeble and weak, for those who passed away and for those who left...May God have mercy on us all! And Saint Francis of Assisi, our Saint Patron of the class, may protect us and pray for us always till we arrive safely to the House of the Father in heaven.

Your prayers for us, dear reader, are appreciated very much!

Here are twenty two pictures for the twenty second Anniversary of our priesthood we were consecrated to on May 22nd, 1988...

My ordination class 1988 (can you find me?)

 With my Mum (in the middle) and Godparents right after Ordination Mass on May 22nd. 1988

With secondary and university students on our way from Sułkowice (my first parish) to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska in 1989

Spring 1990 - with my students from my second parish - Jaworzno-Osiedle Stałe

Portiuncula in Assisi - 5 January 1990 - a personal pilgrimage to Patron of my ordination class right before flying out to Tanzania to begin my missionary apostolate

Our Lady of Lourdes church in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland - my personal 'missionary formation center' - wonderful three months among wonderful people, unforgettable experience!

St. Peter's parochial church in Drogheda - the main church in my parish (We had two churches in Drogheda parish and there are still two as far as I know)

Hospitalized in Medical Missionary of Mary hospital in Drogheda, had some health problems, but I was okey soon after

Makoko Language School in Musoma, Tanzania - my class - May 1991

Rookie times - my first Palm Sunday in Kiabakari - 1991

1991 - on my way to the outstation with Zanaki parish choir

Holy Thursday 1991 - in Bukabwa outstation of Zanaki parish

Sacrament of Reconciliation in Kyawazaru outstation

1994 - during construction of Divine Mercy Shrine in Kiabakari

November 1997 - my private thanksgiving pilgrimage to Fatima after successful completion of the construction of Divine Mercy Shrine and its dedication on July 3, 1997 in Kiabakari

August 17, 2001 - Apostolic Nuncio in Tanzania raises the parochial church in Kiabakari to the dignity of Diocesan Shrine of Divine Mercy

2003 - in Musoma Cathedral Parish with fellow priests, Fr. John Chacha and Fr. Kazimierz Króżel

February 26, 2003 - closing of the Jubilee Door after Golden Jubilee of Musoma Cathedral Parish

January 26, 2006, Butiama, Tanzania - sworn in as a postulator of beatification process of the Servant of God, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere

2007 - during one of the pilgrimages to Divine Mercy Shrine in Kiabakari

2008 - Baptisms in the shrine

"What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.

I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people. 

I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving,and will call upon the name of the LORD.

I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.

In the courts of the LORD's house, in the midst of thee,O Jerusalem. 

Praise ye the LORD."

(Psalm 116)

In Te, Domine, speravi...non confundar in aeternum!

Year of Priests

As it draws near to its end next month, I would like to share with you one of the best summaries of the mystery of priesthood I found on youtube, thanks to Fr. Benedict Croell OP who posted links to these two short videos on facebook. Here they are. Enjoy!

Fishers of Men Part 1 of 2

Fishers of Men Part 2 of 2