Trust: A Simple Word

Trust. A simple word— a lifetime of struggle. This is one of the main messages that St. Faustina received as a nun living in Krakow, Poland. Three bus loads of students made their way to Poland February 12^th and stayed for several days visiting the Marian Shrine of Czestichowa, Auschwitz, the Divine Mercy Shrine and touring downtown Krakow and Wadowice, the Pope’s home town. It was an emotional weekend full of God’s graces that many of us will still be processing for years to come.

Visiting the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestichowa was many students’ first encounter with Poland. There, a centuries old image of Our Lady is venerated with masses and prayers by the many pilgrims who seek her intercession. We celebrated Mass in English in front of the miraculous image. The time spent here was life changing for one student who had their first real connection with Our Lady. The devotion and faith of others inspired students in their own walk of faith.

Next, we took the busses to Auschwitz. A very empty feeling washed over me as I walked over the same soil where over a million people lost their lives. I had a very hard time believing the words our tour guide was saying. The buildings were normal enough- there was no apparent warning of the evil that permeated the place. I could not envision the events that took place here, nor did I want to. The same difficulty of imaging the horrors was experienced with many other students… until a certain exhibit in one of the blocks. The Nazis were efficient at creating a profit off of their prisoners- to the last detail. A large bin the length of a long wall displayed an extremely small percentage of the braided human hair collected from prisoners. The Nazi’s goal was to package this hair to sell to a local textile company to make hair cloth. For some students, it was various other material items that reminded them of family members- a thermos, eyeglasses, shoes, the list is long. I walked away convicted of the very real, sanctifying suffering that occurred on that ground. And as Lent is just around the corner, the small sacrifices I attempt will be nothing like the suffering of the victims at Auschwitz.

The next day, we visited the Divine Mercy Shrine where Saint Faustina walked her path toward sainthood. We arrived in time for a chaplet of Divine Mercy prayed in Polish and English, followed by a talk by Sr. Guadia on trust. She pointed out that in the Bible, Jesus never asked us to understand. When questioned, His simple response is to trust: “follow Me”. In a world where Auschwitz can exist, where many concentration camps still do, where pain and suffering can be found everywhere, it can be terribly easy to look out only for one’s own good- to trust in one’s own strength. While I am still tackling the significance of what happened at Auschwitz and many other places before and during the Second World War, I find comfort in the words of Our Lord. I don’t believe I will ever understand suffering, but the good news is that I don’t have to understand. Jesus only asks us to trust- and to follow Him.

Some free time in Krakow let students explore centuries old architecture, walk in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II, and experience local fare. Pierogies were high on many students’ lists of things to try. We were pleased to be surprised at how large the serving portions were at restaurants, for a relatively cheap price. A few students stumbled upon one of the best jazz bars in the city and enjoyed visiting with a native Polish man who lives in Australia and was visiting his home town.

A brief excursion to Wadowice before the long, eight hour bus ride back to Gaming proved to be one of the highlights of my trip. The plan was to tour John Paul II’s birth house and a museum. When both of these were closed, most of the students stepped into the church next door where Karol Wojtyla was baptized. About fifty people from the local community were praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament. While they were praying in Polish, we could tell they were praying the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet or the Litany of the Sacred Heart. It was refreshing to sit in the presence of Our Lord, to soak up His rays and to thank God for His mercy.

Poland is all too familiar with suffering. Yet from this suffering, many saints have emerged. While the Lord’s ways are all too mysterious for me to ever understand, I am grateful to know that I don’t have to. And while it is completely contradictory to many modern ways of thinking, and while suffering may be used to help me grow, I pray that I may always have the courage to say: Jesus, I trust in You.

Post written by Monica Rust, Spring 2010