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Poland - Polish - Polonia

Memorial Day

We remember

The verses from Czerwone Maki na Monte Cassino (Red Poppies on Monte Cassino).

poppey.jpg

Monte Cassino holds the monastery that is the cradle of Benedictine Order and one of the pillars of Christianity. It was built about 529 A.D. Monte Cassino is strategically located about eighty miles south of Rome.

This song commemorates the World War II Battle of Monte Cassino (actually a series of battles) in which Polish forces prevailed in the battle for the strategically placed monastery. Troops from each of the Allied powers attempted to take the fortified mountaintop position, but only the Poles were able to prevail. The battle was strategic in that it allowed Allied forces north of Monte Cassino, in the Anzio pocket, to link up with southern forces prior to the capture of Rome.

D`you see those ruins on the hill-top?
There your foe hides like a rat!
You must, you must, you must
Grab his neck and cast him from the clouds!
And they went, heedless of danger
And they went, to kill and avenge
And they went stubborn as ever,
As always – for honour – to fight.

Red poppies on Monte Cassino
Instead of dew, drank Polish blood.
As the soldier crushed them in falling,
For the anger was more potent than death.
Years will pass and ages will roll,
But traces of bygone days will stay,
And the poppies on Monte Cassino
Will be redder having quaffed Polish blood.

They charged through fire like madmen,
Countless were hit and fell,
Like the cavalry at Samosierra,
Like the men at Rokitno years ago.
They attacked with fury and fire,
And they got there. They climbed to the top,
And their white and scarlet standard
They placed on the ruins `midst clouds.

Red poppies on Monte Cassino
Instead of dew, drank Polish blood.
As the soldier crushed them in falling,
For the anger was more potent than death.
Years will pass and ages will roll,
But traces of bygone days will stay,
And the poppies on Monte Cassino
Will be redder having quaffed Polish blood.

D`you see this row of white crosses?
Polish soldiers did honour there wed.
The further you go, the higher,
The more of such crosses youl’l meet.
This soil was won for Poland,
Though Poland is far away,
For Freedom is measured in crosses
When history from justice does stray.

Red poppies on Monte Cassino
Instead of dew, drank Polish blood.
As the soldier crushed them in falling,
For the anger was more potent than death.
Years will pass and ages will roll,
But traces of bygone days will stay,
And the poppies on Monte Cassino
Will be redder having quaffed Polish blood.

Perspective, ,

Pontifically Ecumenical

I’m not really sure as to what happened to Fr. Al Kimel’s Ponifications Blog, but it appears to be gone. He had a temporary space at WordPress.com, and perhaps, that is where he’s going, but who knows.

I recall reading that he was planning on moving the blog – and he well may have, but I’m not going to perform an exhaustive search for it.

As one of my web design mentors, Dean, at Heal Your Church Website might say, mystery meat navigation is bad enough, but non-navigation is completely wrong. If you are going to move a site, at least leave clues (Col. Mustard in the library with a pipe 😉 ).

I searched a few of the usual suspects like Sacramentum Vitae, but no news. While there I did find a pointer to an argument Fr. Kimel and his Orthodox correspondents were engaged in (see: Not talking about God) which pointed to Not Yet Ecumenical from Energetic Procession.

It was the typical point and counter-point of the filioque, the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, etc. Nothing I want to cover in this post though. The PNCC and Orthodoxy are on the same page on these issues anyway.

The quote from Not Yet Ecumenical that struck me was as follows:

Third, Fr. Kimel’s —ecumenical— approach isn’t yet ecumenical. To be ecumenical he needs to recognize the legitimacy of the other in terms of the other. Orthodoxy has to be seen to be legitimate on its own terms. It cannot be ecumenically engaged by either reducing its teachings to some other Latin expression in a dismissive fashion or arguing contrary to fact that its distinctives don’t hold the weight of the teaching authority of the Orthodox Church. These are both strategies that Fr. Kimel has employed rather routinely.

Nor is it ecumenical to dismiss Orthodox commentators as —polemicists— who are only interested in seeing Rome as heterodox. It never enters Fr. Kimel’s mind that they might have some measure of rational justification for thinking so. And yet the Orthodox are supposed to take seriously the dogmatic claim by Rome that the Orthodox are at least materially heterodox. What Fr. Kimel’s whine amounts to is the old canard that the Orthodox are just instrinisically [sic] sinful and schismatic. To even speak of the same common faith that we are to work towards presupposes the Catholic view of things, that we do in fact have a common faith. That has to be demonstrated, from the Orthodox view, rather than assumed. And this I think picks out a major difference between us. Communion for the Orthodox will depend on a demonstration and not the judgment of a singular authority.

That’s it in a nutshell. That is why great care must be taken when speaking of dialog with the Roman Church.

The table you sit at, with the Roman Church, allows for the dialog – it is conducive to that. The table allows for on-going grievances and difficulties to be aired, but the table, regardless of its shape, still represents sides and positions.

The Roman Church, by its sheer size, weight, and attachment to certain stumbling block dogmas, while at the same time adhering to (albeit in an unspoken way) extra ecclesiam nulla salus is not in a position to bind up wounds and heal divisions. All of us, in the Catholic fold, excepting Rome, are inherently schismatic in their eyes, and anyone who lives apart from the Pope is not fully Catholic.

I’m not saying these things because of Fr. Kimel’s positions. He is certainly a top notch apologist and polemicist. He has personal axes to grind with the folks in TEC that let him down. He found solace in the strictures and rule books of Roman Catholicism, which is fine for him. At some point the hurt will lessen, the polemics and staunchness will wear down, and faith, the core element of hope will come out on top.

As to the general theme of dialog, the final quote from the Not Yet Ecumenical post sums up the problem of ecumenical dialog with Rome:

And to even ask when Orthodoxy dogmatized this question is to measure Orthodoxy by [Roman] Catholic standards. It didn’t and doesn’t need too because it is in the Fathers and the Liturgy. It’s called Tradition, not a dictionary.

Indeed the Roman Church’s sine qua non for unity is adherence to its terms, conditions, and definitions.

When the PNCC, or Orthodoxy for that matter, are admitted in the door as full living Churches with their own character and practices, which are at heart fully Catholic, then I’ll believe it is otherwise. Else wise we must continue to pray and talk.

Homilies,

The Solemnity of Pentecost

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven
staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

Welcome to the Polish National Catholic Church. Whenever Father Andrew or I go somewhere people inquire about our parish. When we tell them we are from the Blessed Virgin Mary of Czestochowa Parish they say: ‘Oh, the Polish church.” Then they typically start asking us about various Roman Catholic prelates and priests. We gently tell them we are clergy of the Polish National Catholic Church. The typical response we receive: ‘Oh, do you have to be Polish to belong to that Church?’

Some are annoyed at having to explain that the Polish National Catholic Church is truly catholic, that is, universal. Personally I appreciate the opportunity to engage folks in a dialog. Each question is an opening and an opportunity to talk about our faith and beliefs.

The Polish National Catholic Church was established over 110 years ago to do one thing, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. At its inception it certainly ministered to Polish immigrants, in a language they could understand. It spoke to them in the same way the Apostles spoke to the gathered crowds in Jerusalem on Pentecost day. Those Polish immigrants proclaimed their joy. Like the inhabitants and visitors to Jerusalem they said:

“…yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.—

While ethnic identity played a significant role in the Church’s early life, more so did Bishop Hodur’s message of reform.

The heroes of the PNCC, Jerome Savonarola, whose commemoration we celebrated this past Wednesday, and Jan Hus, among others, are all marked by their efforts at Church reform. Savonarola and Hus are martyrs to reform. That message of reform and renewal is the same message people long to hear today. Our history provides us with an opportunity to take up that mantle.

Along with the message of reform, Bishop Hodur and his successors proclaimed the Holy Spirit’s action in our conscience. As Bishop Hodur said:

In the life of a free Christian the voice of conscience is important and is the only healthy standard of human actions. Our conscience, therefore, is our master, our judge and our chastiser. This voice cannot be muffled with impunity. Human conscience can only be influenced by good example, that means, that humanity should be educated in moral matters not by the threat of punishment in hell, not only anathemas or torture but only by the proper education of man. I strongly believe in Divine light, the light of man’s reason and the light of humanity.

Today we speak English, Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian, Norwegian, French, and many other languages. We work on three continents. We are alive solely by the power of the Holy Spirit who is active in each thing that we do.

Our charism and spirituality are something we bear before all people. As St. Paul reminds us:

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.

We are not brand A, B, or C. We are the PNCC, a strong catholic witness to the Catholic faith. A faith that cannot be restrained within the walls of a church, nor within charitable institutions. It is a living and breathing faith that must be proclaimed in what we say and do each day.

Jesus didn’t intend for us to sit in a comfortable place. He calls all to change, grow, and develop, holding true to what is true, and reforming what is broken. He calls all to the challenge of proclaiming the gospel. The challenge of bringing God’s light to the conscience of mankind.

Jesus said to them again, —Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.—
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
—Receive the Holy Spirit…”

Yes, each of us, when we reached sufficient age and education, received that gift. On our Confirmation Day the Bishop extended his hands over us and said those very same words: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit was breathed into us and we took up the commission: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.—

We have certainly tripped along the way, we have been weak, we have failed in our courage and conviction. Yet He waits. Yet the Holy Spirit continues to call us back and energizes us.

—Receive the Holy Spirit…”

…and do something powerful with what you have received.

Speak to the crowds with the languages you have been given. Speak to the people and make use of the gifts you have received. Speak truth and power, and proclaim the name of Jesus Christ.

Poland - Polish - Polonia

Best Polish beers

Tom, from the Polish American Forum on Yahoo advises us that All About Beer magazine, the bible of international beer connoisseurs, lists Okocim Porter as one of the world’s very best.

In the May 2007 issue, All About Beer announced that the Beverage Testing Institute has chosen Okocim Porter as the second best porter in the world for 2006! First place went to Samuel Adams Holiday Porter.

Okocim’s Palone, a dark Polish beer, was selected as the second best dark lager. Hirter Morchl from Austria won the first place prize.

Okocim Porter and Palone were the only Polish beers included in this list of the best 102 beers of the world.

I’ve been drinking Zywiec lately (the Polish beer with the ultra cool beer thermometer on the label – it turns red when the beer is cold enough to drink). It’s lighter than Okocim and most Okocim is more akin to a malt liquor.

While I haven’t had either yet, I understand that Hevelius Beer Named after Johannes Hevelius —“ a famous Polish astronomer (1611-1687). He has built his own observatory in Gdańsk and cataloged 1564 stars, discovered 4 comets, and was one of the first to observe the transit of Mercury. and well as Harnaś (from the highlands of the Tatra mountain range) are excellent.

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