Polska, Polska, Polska: Head Awake & Heart Ablaze

A blog post by Leanna Praetzel, Fall 2011

Skipping down the sidewalks of Czestachowa, Poland at 6:30 in the morning after an overnight bus ride, clapping and singing the only Polish song you know (Sto lat!) over and over again: that’s the best way to know who your true friends are.  At least… it is from my experiences, anyway.  Many students were suffering the effects of sleep deprivation—and rightfully so!  A bus is difficult enough to be comfortable on whilst passengers are awake, let alone asleep (or at least trying to be).  But with a mix of sufficient shut-eye (thanks to the semi-comfy sleeping spot I claimed on the bus’s floor) along with the Polish blood fervently pulsing through my veins, I found myself ecstatic on the streets of Czestachowa, head awake and heart ablaze.

I suppose the unveiling of the Black Madonna also contributed to my unusual alertness at such an early hour Friday morning.  A miraculous image of Mary and the infant Jesus painted by St. Luke on top of a table that Jesus built?  Yes please!  Of course I couldn’t pass up a tour given by a pleasant and quite comical German priest either; He took us around the fortress that housed the Black Madonna to see hidden chapels, statues, and even a treasure room containing the First Holy Communion veil of St. Thérèse.

From Czestachowa our bus turned its wheels toward the infamous Auschwitz—a place I was uneasy about going to.  Eighth grade history class had pounded the Holocaust into my sensitive self so forcefully, I felt sad and guilty very often.  I frequently wondered why we had to learn about the Holocaust in the first place.  Needless to say, Auschwitz was not on the top of my to-do list.  But I went anyway… and I’m glad I did.

The concentration camp existed.  It was there, where I stood, brick on brick.  It was the solid, enduring evidence of the terrible fate of many innocent people.  But the mounds of piled shoes, suitcases, and more were not placed on display to make us cry; on the contrary, they served, in my eyes, as a memorial to those who died.  Each picture and flower, building and stone had its place on the grounds of Auschwitz, reverently pointing towards the victims.  This helped me to see the Holocaust as not something that requires constant sorrow (although, as we are human, some sensitivity must indeed be felt), but rather as something that simply needs to be remembered.

Not to mention that in the dark tunnel of Auschwitz I found a surprise light—Maximilian Kolbe.  Talk about joy!  This saint took another man’s place in being sentenced to starvation, and still sang hearty praises to God.  I never imagined a concentration camp to contain a square inch of happiness, and yet, upon seeing St. Maximilian’s cell, I couldn’t help but smile.

Of course, nothing says a happy ending to our Poland trip quite like the Divine Mercy Shrine in Krakow.  One of the sisters from the shrine gave a wonderful talk reaffirming the outstanding joy that can come through suffering.  The talk also described the extreme power of Divine Mercy: during his final days of living, Nazi commander Rudolf Höss, convicted for ruthlessly murdering the lives of millions, made a 180-degree turn.  Upon finally realizing the gravity of his sin, Höss wrote Poland a profound apology letter and sincerely asked God for forgiveness.  Along with many people, I believe this man has been forgiven... What are the sands of sin in comparison to the vast ocean of God's mercy?

Our final stop, Blessed Pope John Paul II’s hometown of Wadowice, quite literally provided the icing on the cake.  Ever since he was a boy, JP II was absolutely crazy about the pastry “kremówka”.  Now, vendors in Wadowice market the delectable “Pope Cake” dessert to sweet-toothed tourists like me.  So, a plastic fork and a powdered sugar-covered scarf later, I was ready to once again roam the lovely streets of Polska, but this time the same ones that Karol Wojtyla himself roamed as a child.  I felt very fortunate, especially when I was able to touch his baptismal font!

Truthfully, I was saddened when boarding the Gaming-bound bus—Poland was so full of vibrant life!  But I knew that I will value my time spent there for decades to come.  

Life or Death: A Commentary on our Recent Pilgrimage to Poland

A blog post by Joe White, Fall 2011

  

“Before man are life and death, and whichever he chooses shall be given to him.”

– Sirach 15:17

            “Are you going to write about Poland?” my friend and co-blogger Leanna asked. “Yes. Definitely,” I responded. “I just don’t know where I would begin. How do you talk about that trip in a blog?” she asked. That is a mighty fine question. How do you write about a journey that included stops at the image of the Black Madonna, Auschwitz, Blessed John Paul II’s spot of ordination, Birkenau, the miraculous image of Divine Mercy, and JPII’s hometown? Better question: how do I write about it without making the post shallow, not giving respect to true gravity of what was experienced last weekend? I’m not totally sure, but here we go.

            The whole pilgrimage was, for me, a face-to-face encounter with reality. A while back on main campus Father Dominic gave a talk on faith and reality. “People like to use the Karl Marx quote, ‘religion is the opiate of the masses.’ And that quote is true if it’s bad religion. Real faith puts you in reality, in your world. It does not dull you to, but ought to spark you to live in and make it better.”[1] The talk had a very profound effect on me and ever since then I try to live in this reality with the faith

            Anyway, our first stop in the journey was in Czestochowa to venerate the Black Madonna, Our Lady of Czestochowa. To make a long story short, this miraculous image has saved the Polish people numerous times because of their faith. Reading the stories of her intercession in battles certainly fascinated me; however, it was the wall of canes, crutches, and other assorted tools for the disabled that hit me with the reality of prayer. These crutches were left behind by people who were healed by the Blessed Mother’s intercession—right there in the chapel before the image. As the apostles left their nets and followed the Christ, so too did the healed leave baggage behind to and step into their new found freedom. And who could discount these physical examples of the supernatural? This was a fifteen-foot wall adorned with crutches. Did the religious at the monastery hang them up to manipulate religious fervor? That many canes? There is no way. Were the people who hung them there faking it? There is no doubt in my mind that miracles happen at Czestochowa.

            On to Auschwitz: there I stood against the Death Wall, eyes fixed in front of me where hardly 70 years before hate-filled men fired away at victims who did not deserve what they received, listening to the same calm, creepy wind rustle the leaves in the trees behind me. What was once a multiple choice question on an exam, a black-and-white photo in a textbook, or an abridged non-fiction novel for my German III class, was now a glaring, draining reality. What we saw was hell. People were led in to work and die and treated so inhumanely. Few of us were gushing with emotion throughout the tour; rather, I felt flat and numb. Here I saw one side of the polarity of free will: we can choose death and exterminate one million human beings.

           

Or we can choose life. We can choose the love and mercy of Christ and transform ourselves and the world. In a free gift of self to the Lord and a free choice to love, our humanity is transformed. St. Faustina gave herself to Christ and for that reason was able to give to humanity an image and the chaplet of his Divine Mercy.[2] A meek and humble religious sister—cloistered at that—and yet she chose to allow Christ to transform her so that he could transform others—not only during her lifetime, but a century later and years beyond. With our free choice, indeed we can choose to love—to love as Karol Wojtyla did and the main saints before him.

 By far my favorite part of the trip was our two-and-a half hours in Wadowice, Wojtyla’s home town. It appeared to be just a quiet, small, unassuming town, a town where a boy grew up. The Catholic Church in the middle of town was not as splendid and ornate as the other churches we’ve visited. Nevertheless, having attended Latin mass that morning I reflected on how much I appreciate vernacular masses. And yet in this town, a child went to Latin mass in this (relatively) small church, faced with death and pain, and yet he became Blessed John Paul II, “the Great”.

I was hit with so much peace in this town that a boy was formed here. He wasn’t pope or priest—just a boy. And yet he loved and chose God and chose life. And as a sister told us this weekend, God’s secret is that he doesn’t want to give you little, he wants to give you much. Karol Wojtyla chose to let God do this for him—give him much. And through that choice, his humanity was transformed into a life-giving force—a force that continues to change lives.

           

Before man are life and death, and whichever he chooses shall be given to him. Which one do you want?

---

[1] Heavily paraphrased, he said it far better than I ever could.

[2] Twas truly a beautiful, beautiful experience to receive reconciliation in the Divine Mercy Chapel in Krakow and then do penance before the miraculous image of Divine Mercy. 

JPII Beautification Pictures & Comments

Attending the beatification of Pope John Paul II was a once in a lifetime experience. JPII had a great love for the youth of the Church so being in Rome to celebrate as he became Blessed JPII was an honor. We're so thankful for the opportunity and we're thankful the staff in Gaming made the trip a possibility in the midst of finals! -Maria Deuchar & Brie Lund

There was a glorious moment in realizing the universality of the Church: At Mass, people from all ends of the earth were praying and singing together in the same language to honor God and His servant, John Paul II. -Emily Rolla

The trip was amazing. I hope it continues to become more special to me

as I reflect and reaize the signicance of it. It really was a great

opportunity. -Joe Stallings

JPII Beautification Super Trip: Testimonial

Written by MaryKate Ruminski, Spring 2011

However the trip was more of a blessing than anything else. Despite one of our buses leaking fuel on the way there, we made it safely and with the help of our professors were able to navigate the city which ,at 6am, was already overflowing. As we made our way towards St. Peter’s what became the most evident was the love of the Church for JP II. Millions of people were cramming and pushing and literally packed themselves shoulder to shoulder throughout the streets, just to show their love and respect for him.

As mass began and Pope Benedict gave the title of ‘Blessed” to JP II and unveiled his picture, the streets erupted with pure joy. People were crying, singing and clapping and as the relic of John Paul II ,a vial of his blood, was brought to the Holy Father and then placed on a stand for the whole world to venerate the crowds began to chant and cheer. Nevertheless I believe the most touching moment was when the Holy Father was giving him homily and spoke of John Paul as his dear friend, and that he would always be loved and now he was blessed, and you could see the tears streaming from people’s eyes.

The only word that could truly describe the trip to Rome for the Beatification of JohnPaul II would be ‘Adventure’. Taking a break in the middle of finals, spending all night on a bus, literally fighting through the crowds just to get a peak of the Holy Father, and riding a bus all night again to get back just in enough time to study for finals the next day.

It was such an incredible experience to be surrounded by people who love him so much, and who with us had traveled thousands of miles to their spiritual home on earth to honor him. It was such a mind-blowing experience, and I would like to thank the Gaming staff for allowing us to make such a great pilgrimage during our final week in here. I hope future students who come here will have the chance to experience what we were privileged to. Blessed John Paul II, pray for us!

Forgiveness and the hand that never leaves

Austria has traditionally been thought of as the "crossroads of Europe" and indeed it is. So when the study abroad students come out to Austria, not only are they immersed in Austrian culture, but also the history, politics, traditions, culture, and ideas from all over Europe.

Moreover, each semester the students not only travel in Europe, but they also venture to other parts of Eastern Europe and former Soviet bloc countries. For example, each semester the students have the opportunity to participate on the school sponsored trip to Poland where they visit, the former Pope John Paul II's hometown, the concentration camps of Auschwitz, the famous Marian Shrine of Czestochowa, the city of Krakow, and the Shrine of Divine Mercy. On this pilgrimage, students have the opportunity to ponder and even touch, taste, and feel the life and work of the former Pope John Paul the Great.

In my readings about the life of John Paul II, I have always been fascinated by the story of his miraculous survival from the assassination attempt by Mehmet Ali Agca who short John Paul at 5 PM on May 13, 1981.

Why this time and date? 5 PM and May 13 seem insignificant when isolated, but if we travel to the other side of Europe, the puzzle becomes a little clearer. For this is the exact moment and day on which three shepherd children had first reported seeing the Virgin Mary in Fatima in 1917.

Agca's bullet missed John Paul's main abdominal artery by 1/10 an inch! Later Agca remarked that he was a good shot, he aimed true, and had his escape planned impeccably, and yet in the end, all was thwarted. What happened?

JPII said: "One hand fired the shot, and another guided the bullet." The other hand he said was the Virgin of Fatima, or Mother of Christ.

After the bullet was extracted from his body, he had it sent to Fatima where it was placed in the crown of Mary, the mother of God. Every semester, students go and pray in front of this statue where they recall God's Divine Providence, his tender loving hand, and the importance of forgiveness.

Ah yes, that fearful word, forgiveness.

JPII, in an example to the entire world, visited Agca in prison where he told him that he had forgiven him from his heart.

Many years later, in 2005 when he was hospitalized for difficult breathing JPII received many letters and notes. One was from Agca who wrote from the Rebibbia Prison wishing him good health and a quick recovery. Furthermore, when JPII died, one of the first requests to attend his funeral came from Agca. Naturally the prison officials turned him down, but it still a touching and moving story nonetheless.

As so you contemplate John Paul II (The Great), remember this story of forgiveness and of love, and of Divine Providence, it is good for us all to remember the hand and heart that never leaves you or any one of his beloved children.