Praise the Lord

"I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High."
Psalm 7:17

A gift from a Friend

Wooden Altar

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord,
and he shall sustain thee:
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
Psalm 55:22

Do Good

"Trust in the Lord,
and do good;
so shalt thou dwell in the land,
and verily thou shalt be fed."
Psalm 37:3

 

Madonna

"If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul;
then shall thy light rise in obscurity."
Isaiah 58:10

If Anything Is

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."
Philippians 4:8

Our Lady of Lourdes

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."
Psalm 126:5

Another card from Priest Bronislaw Szymichowsk.

Priest Bronisław Szymichowski

"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me:

Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever."

Psalm 138:8

The holy card received from Priest Bronislaw Szymichowski during the annual Christmas visit/ Kolęda.

Bronisław Szymichowski was born on 27 April 1916 in Ręboszewo, northern Poland. Having graduated from high school he joined the Polish Army. Later, in 1938, he continued his education and studies in the Seminary in Pelplin.

During WW2, he was a member of a secret anti-Nazi organization called Kashubian Griffin and later Pomeranian Griffin. In 1942 he was arrested by Soviets and imprisoned in a Soviet lager.
When he came back to Poland, he studied in Pelplin again and was ordained to the priesthood in 1948.

Priest Bronisław passed on 6 March 1995 in Pomieczyno where he head served as a rector of the local parish.

Priest Józef Jany's Jubilee

The Most Painful Mother pray for us.

The card commemorates the 25th priesthood anniversary of Józef Jany, the rector of the Fara Poznan parish.

"On the day of the silver jubilee, I am asking the Almighty to gracefully bless my parishioners and the citizens of Poznań and give them the coveted peace and concord.

Priest Józef Jany

Rector of Poznań Fara 

1932    20 February 1957

Jesus, Mary, Saint Joseph
help us perpetually."

Note: Poznań is a city in Poland. In June 1956, massive workers protest against the communist government took place. Hundreds of people were injured then.

Lady of All Nations

Holy Mary pray for us and the entire world, may we live in peace now and always.

Our Lady - The Lady of All Nations - appeared many times (from 1945 to 1959) to Ida Peederman in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Our Lady of Lourdes

On February 11 in 1858, a little country girl of the name Bernarde-Marie Soubirous experienced the first appearance of Our Lady in the grotto of Lourdes. Later, seventeen more such appearances occurred. They were witnessed by citizens of Lourdes who were resting in the grotto. During one of them, a miraculous water spring appeared in the place as well.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and forever. Amen

Baptism of Poland

'For with God, nothing shall be impossible."

-Luke 1:37

This year, quite a special anniversary has been observed in Poland.

1050 years ago, on April 16, 966, king Mieszko I (the first king of Poland), most of his knights and the royal court were baptised. The event is known as the baptism of Poland as Christianity was introduced in the country then. Historians seem to agree that Mieszko accepted the religion because his wife Dobrawa was Christian.

I am not sure who I got these pictures from. It was in Poland, though, years ago.

John Paul II and Our Lady of Czestochowa

John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła) was born in Poland on May 18, 1920. He became Pope in 1978.

I remember the day when he was elected - a neighbor of ours came to our place to tell us the great news then, the lady also invited us to her place to watch the live TV transmission together. Well, we had a TV set of course, she just wanted to share the historical moment with us.

During his pontificate, John Paul II visited 129 countries, including Poland (8 times).  On June 11, 1987, he came to my city as well. That was a great day, when the Pope celebrated the service on the main city square. Mostly everybody, went there  - to see our Jan Paweł II (John Paul II) and participate in the mass. I can recall, the city center was so packed with people, I could not manage to get to the place where the mass was to be held. But I did find a spot on a street leading to Kosciuszko Square and saw the Pope's vehicle pass by. Furthermore, I remember the crowd, including myself, we all prayed ''Our Father" loudly. Frankly speaking, I found the moment quite unusual. I had never experienced anything like that - the solemn and joyful atmosphere and saying prayers standing among the crowd, on a pavement curb. I think I did not see the Pope himself, but it was once in a lifetime thing anyway.

On that day, in Gdynia, John Paul II spoke about the new meaning of Solidarity for the first time. If you do not know, his teachings and political influence helped to overcome communism in Poland. It led to system changes in other Easter European countries and the fall of the Berlin wall. 

Whenever 'the Polish Pope'  came to Poland, it was a kind of holiday in the country. He was our fellow countryman, known for his great intelligence, kindness and a bland and benignant smile. Whoever he talked to, he treated the persons in a most considerate way, no matter if they were politicians or simple and uneducated people. As many Poles, we watched his visits on TV. Thanks to live programs, we could also take part in the masses the Pope celebrated during his pilgrimages.

John Paul II died in 2005. National mourning was announced in Poland then. Many people felt as it was their close friend or relative who had died, not the Pope.

Besides being priest and Pope, John Paul II was also a poet, play-writer and philosopher. Have you ever tried to read on of his books?

The bookmark - at the top: picture of Our Lady of Częstochowa (original painting - supposedly painted by St. Luke/ in Jerusalem in 66-67). The painting was brought to Poland in 14th century and placed in the monastery in Częstochowa.

Our Lady of Częstochowa (called 'Black Madonna') is also known as Patroness, Protectoress and Queen of Poland.

John Paull's II motto, regarding Holy Mary, was 'Totus Tuus' (All Yours). He visited the monastery in Częstochowa a few times when he was young. In 1979 he paid his first official papal call there.

John Paul II was canonized in 2014.
Feast day of Saint John Paul II: 22 November

Our Lady of Gietrzwald

Gietrzwałd is a village (founded in 1352) in northeastern Poland known for its Marian Sanctuary and the miraculous Painting of Our Lady.

The village became famous after the appearances of the Holy Mary: from 27 June to 16 September 1877, the manifestations of Our Lady were seen by two girls - Justyna Szafryńska and Barbara Samułowska. Mother of God spoke to them in Polish and asked them to pray the Rosary every day.

You need to know that Poland did not exist as a country then (Gietrzwałd and other places of the area were under Prussian rule at that time), and speaking Polish was forbidden. Furthermore, Holy Mary had always been worshiped by the Catholics of Poland. That was why the appearances experienced by the two villagers were a very meaningful message to Poles.

I have also visited the Sanctuary a few times. Many people arrive there daily (about a million pilgrims a year) - to pray and ask Our Lady for what they need, to visit the local church and also to get some water from the miraculous creek blessed by Virgin Mary. The water itself is supposed to have healing properties. That is why, wherever you come to the Sanctuary, you can see a long line of people holding plastic bottles and other containers, queuing to fill them up with the creek water.

Things to see in Gietrzwałd:

• The church - Basilica was built soon after the village was founded. Through the years, the church was redecorated and rebuilt many times. Some parts of its Gothic construction have been preserved. 
• The painting of Our Lady - created in the 16th century, author unknown. The painting has been decorated with silver layers and precious stones.
• The St. Joseph's Chapel, built in 1877.
• In the village: wooden house #13, built in 19th century, house #33 (1877), houses #16 and #31 (beginning of 20th century)

 Credits: Photos - postcards and bookmark from Gietrzwałd, bought at the Sanctuary.

Our Lady Patiently Listening in Rokitno

Theme: Our Lady Patiently Listening
From: Marian Sanctuary in Rokitno, Poland
Year: 2005

The town of Rokitno (Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland) is known for its Marian Sanctuary visited by many pilgrims who are willing to see the miraculous picture Our Lady Patiently Listening (painted at the beginning of 16th century on a piece of linden tree). The right ear of Holy Mary is uncovered which symbolically shows she is ready to hear the people's requests.

The construction of the church, which is a basilica also, started in 1705. Mum and myself visited the place in 2005 - both the architecture and the interior decorations of the basilica are really interesting and quite pretty and worth seeing.

You can watch the inside of the church here - just click on the digits below the first picture.

Credit: photo - bookmark bought at the Sanctuary.