Poetry

May 23 – untitled by Juozas Macevičius

Airports. Hotels.
Stations. Motels.
I’m sick of searching;
Like spinning tyres,
Repetition tires.
The night’s like a huge closed cage.
Insomnia saps my nerves.
     Crazy age!
Mad rhythms!
A desperate cry tears the world,
A desperate cry:
“Enough of this whirl!” –
Somewhere between the sky
And the earth by somebody hurled.
On my lips is the bitter, stale taste of steel.
Someone still begs for love
As if for bread – still!
That begging burns mind and soul –
What you used to have – you’ve given it all,
Though maybe not quite in time.
Maybe sometimes it was out of place.
You gave it away like small change,
Scattered through space.
You look at the night;
It doesn’t get light.
Something like bell-chimes around you sounds;
In the night something pounds and pounds and pounds.
Alas! The bell doesn’t yet chime for you.
Tortured, you’ll have to search,
To repeat it all anew.
Again hotels,
Airports, motels.

Translated by Dorian Rottenberg

St Louis Airport

VieŁ¡bučiai. Aerouostai.
Ir stotys.
Nusibodo ie١koti.
Nusibodo kartotis.
Naktis kaip didپiulis uپdaras narvas.
Nualino nemiga ١irdĝ ir nervus.
Beproti١kas amپius. Beproti١kas ritmas.
Plė١o pasaulĝ bevilti١kas riksmas:
– Tylos ir ramybÄ—s! –
Kaپkur tarp dangaus
Ir tarp پemÄ—s pakibęs.
Ant lŁ«pٳ sustingęs aitrus plieno skonis.
Kaپkas dar maldauja
MeilÄ—s kaip duonos.
Maldavimai degina Ł¡irdį ir protą, –
Tai, ką turÄ—jai – seniai atiduota.
Galb٫t ne laiku,
Gal kartais ne vietoj
Atidavei viską
Kaip smulkią monetą.
Spoksai į naktį.
Aplinkui ne١vinta.
Kaپkur tarsi varpo skambėjimas sklinda.
Nakty aidi d٫پiai skard٫s ir skvarb٫s.
Deja,
Tai ne tau dar skambina varpas.
Reikės vėl ie١koti,
Kankintis, kartotis.
VÄ—l vieŁ¡bučiai.
Aerouostai. Ir stotys.

Christian Witness, Perspective, Political, , , ,

Dr. Laurence Vance – Christianity and War, Other Aspects of the Warfare State

Dr. Laurence Vance will address the Institute On The Constitution as part of its First Friday program. The program will take place on Friday, June 5, 2009, at 7pm. As with past “First Friday” lectures, this one will be held at 8028 Ritchie Highway, Suite 315, Pasadena, Maryland 21122. Doors open at 6:30pm and the lecture will begin promptly at 7pm. The event is free but because of limited space please RSVP to 1-866-730-9796. Refreshments will be provided.

Dr. Vance’s address will be streamed live, at no cost, on the Internet, June 5 at 7pm (EST).

Dr. Laurence M. Vance is a Bible-believing Christian author, freelance writer, and book reviewer. He holds degrees in history, theology, accounting, and economics. He has written and published sixteen books on the diverse subjects of theology, biblical languages, Bible history, economics, politics, and war. Dr. Vance regularly contributes articles and book reviews to both secular and religious periodicals. He is a regular columnist for LewRockwell a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the editor of the Classic Reprints series, the director of the Francis Wayland Institute, and an adjunct scholar of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

The “Institute on the Constitution (IOTC)” is an educational effort sponsored by the Law Office of Peroutka and Peroutka of Pasadena, Maryland. It is neither an instrument of, nor an advocate for, any particular political party. Rather, it advocates the restoration of our Constitutional Republic by offering classes, lectures, and products designed to re- acquaint the American people with our history, our heritage, and our Constitution, which is the very foundation of our Republic. You will not find smoke, mirrors, or political correctness filters at our presentations — just real American history, the way it was, the way it ought to be taught.

The following is a presentation by Dr. Vance on Christianity and War at the 2008 Austrian Scholars Conference:

Christian Witness, PNCC, , ,

Actions Speak Louder Than Words! 

From the Rt. Rev. Thaddeus Peplowski from the May – June – July 2009 Issue of ACTS, a publication of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church:

We are all familiar with the saying: “Actions speak louder than words!” It reminds us that when positive things are being done, then the words that introduced the actions need not be repeated, since they are being manifested.

When Jesus spoke of His death and resurrection, they were mere words to the Apostles who did not even want to hear them; but when Christ died on the cross, that action stung the hearts of these men, who seemed to be completely lost in their sorrow. The resurrection from the dead of our Savior and His multiple appearances to His disciples, made them reassess everything that Jesus said during His three-year ministry in a new light of faith and truth. Before the resurrection, they were just ordinary men with ordinary fears, but after He rose from the dead and breathed upon them the gift of the Holy Spirit, they were transformed into superheroes, men who feared nothing, even death itself. The kind of faith that they professed as missionaries caused the fledging Church to grow by leaps and bounds – nothing could restrain the power of the Word that caused the spontaneous growth of the Church.

That is the kind of faith and spirit that needs to be revived in the Church today. The Holy Spirit is guiding us to a variety of groups of people, not only here in our country, but even in far-off Italy, who are seeking to create parishes modeled after the example of the Polish National Catholic Church. The so-called “hidden treasure” of our ecclesial structure is being sought after as the ideal form of establishing National Catholic Parishes that resemble early Christian communities. Yes, just speaking about our faith is not enough, we need to share it in outward form of helping others to establish congregations regardless of their ethnic, national or racial background, so that our words may produce actions.

Recently, we have been responding to the pleading of Catholic people who are desperately seeking to establish parishes within the PNCC. We are accepting their challenge and going forth to help them. Just like St. Paul accepted the call of the Macedonians, so we too must reach out and assist those who are seeking to become one with us in faith and service. If we fail to answer their call, we are also failing our Lord Jesus Christ who in the Great Commission delegated His Apostles to “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

We too, like the Apostles, are commissioned to continue the same missionary call of bringing those who are abandoned and lost back into the fold of the Church. It is wrong to proselytize members of other churches, but it is good to respond to the call of people who are seeking to become members of our Church, and come to us on their own. On Pentecost, when Peter converted over 3,000 Jewish men, he did so because they came to him, seeking the Word of Life and seeking conversion and baptism on their own. We need to do more than speak about the blessings that God has bestowed upon the National Catholic Movement; we need to open our hearts and minds to welcoming into our fold those who wish to be brothers and sisters with us in the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that the Polish National Catholic Church professes to be in doctrine and practice.

…Opportunities are always being presented to us, all we need to do is respond to the plea of people who are seeking to become National Catholics. We need to embrace them with the same welcoming love that each one of our parishes received when they were accepted into the Polish National Catholic Church.

Pray for the continued success of our Mission and Evangelism Program … that it may bring new members to our existing parishes, as well as inspiring groups of believers who are seeking to establish new PNCC congregations. It is only through the Words of encouragement that our Prayers and Words of faith precipitate the Actions of organizing new Parishes, proving that Actions do speak louder than Words.

Poetry

May 22 – To write poetry inspired by the poetry of Jan Rybowicz

To write poetry, to know how to cry.
Crying internally – no tears, no tears.
Without angry gestures, sighing.
To cry under your smile like a sad clown.

To write poetry, to know how to die.
Imperceptibly – no complaints, no complaints.
Without angry gestures, nobly like a tree.
To vanish like a smile as peaceful as God.

To write poetry, to rise again.
As every new day to constantly rise.
As every night to persistently rise.
To write poetry – to live without end.

To live here and now, before and after.
To live before life, and after life to live.
To live while dying, and to die living.
To cry under your smile, laughing between tears.

Translation by Dcn. Jim

Pisać poezję, to znaczy płakać.
Płakać wewnętrznie – bez łez, bez łez.
Bez gniewnych gestów, pociągania nosem.
Płakać z uśmiechem tak smutnym jak klown.

Pisać poezję, to znaczy umierać.
Niepostrzeżenie – bez skarg, bez skarg.
Bez gniewnych gestów, dostojnie jak drzewo.
Niknąć z uśmiechem spokojnym jak Bóg.

Pisać poezję, to zmartwychwstawać.
Jak zmartwychwstaje nieustannie dzień.
Jak zmartwychwstaje uporczywie noc.
Pisać poezję – to bez końca żyć.

Żyć tu i teraz, i przedtem i potem.
Żyć już przed życiem, i po życiu żyć.
Żyć umierając, i umierać żyjąc.
Płakać z uśmiechem, śmiejąc się przez łzy.

Poetry

May 21 – Triolet by Tomasz Zan

XII

For whom do you wreathe the nuptial wreath
Of roses, lilies, and thyme?
Whose radiant brow shall lie beneath
The blossoms wreathed in this nuptial wreath,
Woven in Love’s warm clime?
Tears and blushes from them outbreathe.
For whom do you weave the nuptial wreath
Of roses, lilies, and thyme.

XIII

You can only bestow the wreath on one
Of roses, lilies, and thyme.
And what though another’s heart be won?
You can only bestow the wreath on one,
Can only give tears to the heart undone
That will throb to your marriage chime
When the wreath is given to the happier one
Of roses lilies and thyme.

XIV

We can love but once in life,
Once only and sincerely;
And but once feel Love’s sweet strife;
We can love but once in life.
No words with wisdom rife
Can change the matter; clearly
We can love but once in life,
Once only, and sincerely.

Translation from Poets and Poetry of Poland A Collection of Polish Verse, Including a Short Account of the History of Polish Poetry, with Sixty Biographical Sketches of Poland’s Poets and Specimens of Their Composition by Paul Soboleski

XII

Komu ślubny splatasz wieniec
Z róż, lilii i tymianka?
Ach, jak szczęśliwy młodzieniec,
Komu ślubny splatasz wieniec!
Pewnie dla twego kochanka?
Wydają łzy i rumieniec,
Komu ślubny splatasz wieniec
Z róż, lilii i tymianka.

XIII

Jednemu oddajesz wieniec
Z róż, lilii i tymianka;
Kocha cię drugi młodzieniec:
Ty jednemu oddasz wieniec;
Zostawże łzy i rumieniec
Dla nieszczęsnego kochanka,
Gdy szczęśliwy bierze wieniec
Z róż, lilii i tymianka.

XIV

Kto kocha, ten nic nie traci,
ٹle, kto się miłości wzbrania —”
Miłość słodko gorycz płaci;
Kto kocha, ten nic nie traci;
Miłość twój wdzięk ubogaci,
Będziesz godniejszą kochania —”
Kto kocha, ten nic nie traci,
ٹle, kto się miłości wzbrania.

Christian Witness, PNCC,

Year of the Laid-Off Workers Support Group

From the Toledo Blade: Optimist works to nix negativity

The first week, Chris Cremean sat all by himself. The second week, two people showed up and yesterday – week three – both returned.

With the local jobless rate hitting 12.6 percent in March, Mr. Cremean is pretty confident his new support group for the unemployed will expand soon enough.

Yesterday morning, at Resurrection Polish National Catholic Church in Temperance, he was joined by the same two middle-aged women from last week’s session.

“First they came and said, ‘Do you have answers?’ Of course, everybody’s looking for answers. And I said, ‘No, we’re going to talk about your questions.’ Sometimes, that’s all you need, to talk it out.”

Should we just go ahead now and designate 2009 as the Year of the Laid-Off Workers Support Group?

Or does that sound too negative?

Mr. Cremean may be a college-educated, 57-year-old man enduring the second layoff of his lifetime, but one thing this Toledo man is not is negative.

“What I find exciting is that old saying about how when one door closes, another one opens. But if you don’t take the lessons you learned, you’re gonna get depressed. You’re gonna withdraw, you’re gonna retire.”

Mr. Cremean dislikes the word.

“It should be [struck] from the language,” he insisted.

If he’s learned anything from his 34-year career working with older people – as a social worker, and a long-term and home-care administrator – it’s how to age successfully.

“I’ve watched how people get to be 100, and they were involved and active their whole life.

“They may have had a job for 20 or 30 years, but they were always involved and engaged in something else. ‘Retire,’ the word itself, means to detach, to give up. It’s all negative.”

Like many unemployed folks, Mr. Cremean (jobless since October) feels he has nothing to lose by launching his own business.

The company’s name – Caregiver Resources Group – is self-explanatory.

“I always read there’s a need for support of the caregivers, so … I’m going to go out on my own, take the bull by the horns and see if I can make this work.”

See? Nothing negative about him. If anything, he’s a man for our times.

Losing a job these days is “so widespread there’s less of the stigma. It’s almost like, ‘Oh, I lost mine, too! Join the club!'”

Sure, he said, there are already some support groups around Toledo for the newly jobless.

“But I’d encourage every church or organization to think about [starting one] – the more the merrier!”

Well, maybe not merrier.

Poetry

May 20 – An excerpt from Creation, Man and the Messiah by Henrik Wergeland

Heaven shall no more be split
after the quadrants of altars,
the earth no more be sundered and plundered
by tyrant’s sceptres.
Bloodstained crowns, executioner’s steel
torches of thralldom and pyres of sacrifice
no more shall gleam over earth.
Through the gloom of priests, through the thunder of kings,
the dawn of freedom,
bright day of truth
shines over the sky, now the roof of a temple,
and descends on earth,
who now turns into an altar
for brotherly love.
The spirits of the earth now glow
in freshened hearts.
Freedom is the heart of the spirit, Truth the spirit’s desire.
earthly spirits all
to the soil will fall
to the eternal call:
Each in own brow wears his heavenly throne.
Each in own heart wears his altar and sacrificial vessel.
Lords are all on earth, priests are all for God.

Translation from Wikipedia and unattributed.

Udvandrer over Jorden, at dyrke i Muld
     en Himmels fulde Grí¸de.
   Naar Jorden fí¸rst er í¸de, da Himmelen er fuld!
   Udvandrer over Jorden, thi Friheds Morgenrí¸de
     og Sandheds lyse Dag,
     et evigt Gjenskin af
     vor Frelsers sidste Vingeslag,
     udstrí¸mmer fra hans Grav,
   og straaler under Himlen, nu eet Tempeltag,
     neddaler over Jorden,
     nu eet, eet Altar vorden
     for Brí¸drekjærlighed.
     Aljordens Aander glí¸de
     i friske Hjerter nu:
   Frihed er Aandens Hjerte, Sandhed Aandens Hu.
     Jordens Aander alle
     ned i Stí¸vet falde,
     den Evige paakalde:
   “Hver sin Thronehimmel i egen Pande har;
   “Hver i eget Hjerte har Altar og Offerkar:
   “Drot er hver for Jorden, Præst er hver for Gud!”

Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , , , , ,

Polonian events in New York’s Capital Region

Parish Festival

St. Michael’s Parish Festival, 20 Page Ave, Cohoes, NY

Polish American Food, Games & Rides, Freckles’ the Clown, Children’s Activities, Vegas Games of Chance, Raffle, Chinese Auction, Dancing to the Rymanowski Brothers Orchestra and Tony’s Polka Band, Polish & American Craft Vendors, and Dance Groups

Friday, May 29th, 5pm-10pm
Saturday, May 30th, Noon – 10pm
Sunday, May 31st, Noon – 6pm

For more information please call 518-785-9002.

Screening of Andrzej Wajda’s Katyn

At Proctors Theater in Schenectady, Friday, May 22, 2009 at 2:30pm, 5:10pm & 7:45pm

This Oscar nominated film follows the story of four Polish families whose lives are torn apart when, at the outset of WWII, a great number of Polish soldiers fall into the hands of Soviet troops and later brutally become victims of Stalinism along with citizens in the Katyn forest in 1940.

This war drama is not rated. This film is in Polish, Russian and German with English subtitles. This film has a total running time of 121 minutes. Tickets are $6.