Fake Drugs Kills

Today is World Malaria Day. Please, visit the website of Fake Drugs Kill campaign http://www.fakedrugskill.org/, read important info on this initiative and sign Juma Petition to help us to stop this appaling and criminal business of selling fake drugs in Africa and in the world.

Fake drugs are sad reality in Kiabakari and Tanzania as well. Children and adults alike die because of it.

I am very proud to be part of the team which produced the video on fake drugs as the official video of the campaign. The video was shot entirely in Kiabakari in March 2012 with the support of Foundation Kiabakari and with all actors being members of local community in Kiabakari and today was launched officially on the website of Fake Drugs Kill campaign.

Watch the video right here below.



Together we can make a difference!

50

Thank you, Lord and my parents, for the gift of life and half century of enjoying it. As I head to the church for the morning Mass which I will offer in a spirit of immense gratitude to Almighty and Merciful God for the priceless gift of life and continuous support and blessings from the Lord, I have a great opportunity to meditate upon the mystery of life and what I have done with this gift. What was good and what was wrong? How much God worked to keep me alive and safe in various trials and dangers... At the end of the day I know what will be left is silence filled with humble realization how much I owe to Him...

The Question

On this Fourth Sunday of Easter a.k.a Good Shepherd Sunday a.k.a Sunday of Prayers for Vocations the valid question for each one of us is:

Whom are you following in your life?

Life is too short and we have no chance to relive days which have passed already. There is no time for experiments. If I want to pass safely in this valley of shadows, and reach safely Father's House, I should look for those who have done that before me and know the way, know dangers lurking ahead and know how to reach the goal of our earthly journey successfully.

There are people who did exactly this. We call them Saints. And each one of us baptized has his personal Patron Saint chosen at Baptism. This is our most intimate companion in our journey of life, along with Guardian Angel given to each one of us by God Himself.

There is no need to look elsewhere for answers, there is no need to try to find the way on our own. There is no need to experiment. Prudence and wisdom tells me to invite consciously our Patron Saints and Guardian Angel to accompany us. They have always their gaze fixed on Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the Truth, the Way, the Life. Holding their hands it is simply impossible to go astray and get lost. We may stumble and fall, many times indeed, yet we will not lose focus and direction.

As we celebrate today our common vocation to Christian life through faith and Baptism, answering the invitation of Jesus - 'Follow me!', and our personal vocations as priests, religious, catechists, husbands, wives, single lay persons and so forth, let us ask ourselves - at this point of my life whom am I following actually in my life? Who is my leader, my guide, my guru? Whom am I listening to? Whom am I obedient to?

If I find out that in fact I am following someone or something else in my life, and that person or thing leads me in wrong direction away from Father's House, let me wake up and go back to Jesus and to my companions from Heaven.

No time for experiments.

Cards On The Table

Time for chats, emails, communications of all sorts has come to an end. The preparatory period of development project is more or less over. Things are now ready on the operational and organizational end. Time to lay down all cards on the table, roll up sleeves and get down to work. Although I get ready to fly to Poland at the beginning of May for my jubilee celebrations and other responsibilities, this does not mean that the work will have to wait. Quite to the contrary. My task force will get fully involved in the first stage of the construction works, so not to waste any minute while I am away. We have done everything that is humanely possible to make sure everything will go as smoothly as it can be here. I pray for God's blessings for us, and ask you all, my esteemed readers, to support us with your positive thoughts and prayers. Especially I ask you for prayers for those benefactors who pledged their support in Dar es Salaam during the fundraiser on March 9 and have not fulfilled their promises yet.  Nothing is impossible to God.

Finale

The last day of surveying the potential suppliers offers and the local market for the needs of our development projects in Kiabakari for this year. Tomorrow morning back to Kiabakari for the last ten days before I fly to Poland for my silver jubilee celebrations in my home parish and with my ordination class. As much as I look forward to this unique and joyful experience, I feel a bit apprehensive as the time remaining is very short and lots of things to do and to set properly before I go. Anyway, I will do whatever I can, and the rest I will leave up to the Lord and His Merciful Providence guidance. Fiat voluntas Tua!

Hunting For Goodies

Second full day in Dar es Salaam. Armed with my special projects book, I criss-cross the city hunting for proforma invoices for medical and hospital equipment as well as the furniture for our pre- and primary schools, playgrounds equipment, vertical blinds and so forth.

So far so good. The preliminary survey almost complete. Awaiting now replies fom the reputable suppliers to work on them further and finally - to pick up what we need for the projects.

As Tanzania is catching up very fast on the business front, there is a lot of quality stuff to choose from.

This surely makes my life less stressful.

Registration Of Our Schools In Kiabakari

Just a quick note. Went this morning to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training with the complete documentation from Mara Region for the registration of our pre- and primary schools. Met nice people there. Hopefully, Hon. Minister will find time to sign approval of the docs, so we can process with the full registration. Fingers crossed and prayers, please!

Nyerere Birthday

Ninety one years ago, on this day, April 13, 1922, Julius Kambarage Nyerere was born in Mwitongo, Butiama, just 13 kilometers from Kiabakari. The Father of the Nation, the first President of independent Tanzania and the Servant of God as his beatification process continues in Diocese of Musoma. I was blessed by knowing him in his last nine years of life. Celebrating Holy Mass in his private study in Butiama every day at 7.30am, arriving my motorcycle from Magorombe mission (HQ of Zanaki parish), some 13-14 kilometers from Butiama. Mwalimu was very welcoming and he prepared always everything for the Holy Mass himself. Sometimes he served for the Mass. These were the moments I will never forget. Sharing sometimes meals with him and the family.

Mwalimu came to Kiabakari four times on his private pilgrimages to pray to Divine Mercy. Last time when he came, he agreed to have lunch with us. The next day he was presented with the new house built for him by the grateful nation.

My father and the parish priest of my home parish were able to visit Mwalimu at his home in Butiama in 1995. We shared lunch together with the bishop  of Musoma and the parish priest of Butiama, Fr. Karol Szlachta.

When Mwalimu died on October 14, 1999 in London, and was brought back to Tanzania, I was charged with the preparations of his funeral at his house grounds, close to his parents graves - from Diocese of Musoma side, as I was a dean of Bunda/Serengeti deanery, to which Butiama then belonged, at that time.

Today, as I celebrated the Holy Mass in the morning in the shrine, I thought a lot about those past years, and prayed to the Servant of God for his intercession for Tanzania, for Kiabakari and for our plans of holistic development of our local communities in Butiama district.

Here are some pictures from those memorable moments shared with Mwalimu...

Rainy Season

Finally, the rainy season has arrived to our region in full majesty. It has been raining daily, sometimes heavily, sometimes drizzling for long spells of time. Everything is flourishing, green, fresh, air is crystal clear and it is a pleasure to breathe. My water tanks are full and spilling. I brought first batch of plants and trees to plant along the paths leading uphill to the shrine. On Monday my boys will bring two more truckloads of the same. Altogether 1000 plants. A part of the upgrade of the Divine Mercy Hill greens and gardens. After all, this is Year of Faith which must manifest itself in good deeds.

How I love times like these! Thanks be to God for the priceless gift of rain! Much more precious than gold!

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

What's Next?

With Divine Mercy Sunday over, grateful to Merciful Lord, relieved and happy to the last bone that everything went amazingly well, time has come to set my sights on what lies ahead. 

Next week I will go to Ministry of Education in Dar es Salaam to submit documents for the registration of our pre-school and primary school in Kiabakari, which were processed and positively opinionated by the relevant authorities in the District and the Region. Hopefully, in a not so distant future, our schools will be officially registered in the Ministry.

At the same my task force and myself will sit down to plan for the implementation of the funded projects - expansion of the health center, construction of the modern pre-school and the complex system of harvesting and storing of rain and ground water.

In two weeks time, I will turn fifty. What it means, I do not know. Probably nothing, really. I do not feel inside of me as someone of this age. Still, a good opportunity to thank the Lord for the gift of life, half a century of it.

In some three weeks time I will fly to Poland to celebrate my sliver jubilee of priesthood with my classmates and in my home parish. First, on May 12, it will be parochial celebration. I will be extremely happy and honored to celebrate the day with you, my esteemed readers! I invite all of you most heartedly!

Then on May 22, with my classmates at Wawel Cathedral where we were ordained priests 25 years ago. Then, starting from May 26, I will have a privilege to go with my home parish community to the spiritual desert for the Faith Awakening retreat.  Requesting your kind prayers for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the preparations and in the retreat itself.

Busy times ahead, quite interesting. I look forward to this new experience of celebrating the jubilee of this kind.

Divine Mercy Sunday

I woke up this morning at 5.30am. Surprised to say the least. It was 4pm yesterday when I went to bed to - as I told the housekeeper - to rest for a couple of hours after three days of celebrations. The all night vigil full of spiritual talks, liturgical services and few hours of confessions (five priests involved) was a great success and I managed to stay on my feet and fulfill my duties, but when everybody went home after the High Mass of the Solemnity, adrenaline dropped down - along with me.

I question myself today how the celebrations went and if we did what we were supposed to do and did we fulfill our duties and if what we did God was pleased with... I humbly reckon that we tried our best. We ask the Lord for forgiveness if what we did was not enough.

Today I feel totally tired but quietly happy in my heart. God was great to us and blessed us with a wonderful spiritual experience of the past three days. I continue to pray that His Will continues to to be done and fulfilled by all of us. He knows the way, the tempo, the outcome. Fiat voluntas Tua, Domine!

Easter After Easter

As it has been a custom and tradition in Diocese of Musoma for many many years, Easter Tuesday is a special day where priests and religious in the diocese celebrate Easter together in their respective deaneries. Holy Week, Sacred Triduum and Easter is a hectic and busy time for us, serving people. So, after Easter we organize our own deanery Easter parties, kind of get-togethers, to meet, interact, rest and share a food we prepare for ourselves with our personal donations. Today it is a turn of Sisters of the Ressurection from Buturu to host the party and welcome us to their home. Our deanery is very small - only four parishes - Zanaki, Makutano, Butiama and Kiabakari, with four priests only, three women religious convents, that's it. So, it will be a small gathering, nevertheless - very nice and joyful. Happy Easter to all!

Novena Before The Solemnity Of Divine Mercy

Today is Good Friday. Apart from the profound Liturgy of the day of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for us who live the Message of Divine Mercy given to us by Jesus himself through Sister Faustina Kowalska, we remember that on this day we begin the Novena before the Divine Mercy Solemnity. I encourage each and every one of you, my dear readers, to join us in praying the Novena. What you need to od first is to sit down and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in preparation of intentions of the Novena you would like to pray for. Jesus promised us through Sister Faustina that He will fulfill those intentions if only they are not contrary to His Father's Will. 

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?

Wells Of Life Wisdom

Home visiting of sick and elderly in Kiabakari has been a pastoral experience I look forward to always. This morning I visited our seniors and sick parishioners in four out of six districts of Kiabakari township. Meeting those people i nothing less that drinking their living wisdom, shaped up and matured by life, suffering and experience. Came back overjoyed though sad that there are sick people in the parish. This is mystery of the Cross which teaches me humility and respect for life along with appreciation of whatever health I still enjoy. God bless our seniors and sick members of our parochial community! Happy Easter! Many of you we will see on Easter Sunday! Some pictures from today's visitation (random order).

Us And Them

Everybody seems to be celebrating these days forty years anniversary of Pink Floyd masterpiece album - The Dark Side of the Moon. One of my favorite songs in the album is - Us and Them. I found an appropriate illustration to this song. No pun intended :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My Mom, Maria Halina Kościelniak, is celebrating Diamond Jubilee of her Birthday today. Though not among us, here on Earth, but in Heaven, we join Her in joyful and hopeful celebration offering a special Mass for Her, praying for Her full happiness in Father's House. Happy Birthday, Mama!

Good Start to Demanding Week

As much as I love Holy Week, Paschal Triduum, Easter, with the Divine Mercy Novena and Divine Mercy Sunday itself, this blessed period still poses a huge challenge to any pastor who wishes to do everything in his powers to make sure that the celebrations are well prepared and rehearsed, parishioners prepared spiritually throughout the Lent spiritual and corporal exercises, in particular - parochial lenten retreat, meditations of the Stations of the way of the Cross and Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Palm Sunday we celebrated yesterday gave me solid reason to look forward to this year Holy Week and Easter celebrations. Father Godfried (from Makoko Seminary in Musoma) and myself were able to celebrate three Holy Masses each, with very good participation of the faithful. The weather was clement, though bit on a hot side, but no rain. Our vehicles did not break down, we came back in the afternoon to Kiabakari.

Today is Musoma safari day as always. Later this evening we will have a short meeting of chairpersons of districts in Kiabakari to finalize itinerary to visit the sick and elderly tomorrow and prepare them spiritually for Easter. On Holy Saturday they along with poor, sick and elderly who are not Catholics, will be presented with Easter gifts from our parochial community - money, clothes, shoes, food etc - donated by the parish and the faithful.

More news in coming posts. Have a blessed Holy Week!

United We Stand

As it has been a venerable tradition established years ago, today - one week before the Holy Thursday - the presbiterium (all priests working in the diocese) of Musoma Diocese will gather for their recollection day united with their bishop, followed by the evening Chrism Mass in the cathedral, in which not only holy oils will be blessed, but also they will renew their priestly vows and obedience to the bishop and the Church.

We do this one week in advance because the distances some of our colleagues have to cover to get to Musoma from their missions are considerable, thus rendering the idea of celebration of Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday practically impossible.

Every time I take part in this special day, I get a strong impression that the faithful feel very proud seeing us surrounding our bishop, pledging our committment to Christ and our priestly vocation, our allegiance to the bishop and to the Church.

It is so important and reassuring for the diocesan community to see us on this unique day standing in the heart of the diocese - Musoma cathedral - united, strong, committed to our vocation and apostolate.

It is also a very strong statement that in the face of the challenges of the modern world and Tanzania in particular, we do not run away, but to the contrary - we sort out our lives in prayer, penance and renewed resolve, close our ranks, stand firm and boldly with our Pastor and are ready to tend to the Lord's flock and defend it courageously.

So help us God!