Święci męczennicy, Tymoteuszu i Maruo którzy wielkie męki cierpliwie dla Chrystusa znieśliście, wyjednajcie nam u Boga tę łaskę, abyśmy nigdy o miłosierdziu bożem nie wątpili, lecz coprędzej za grzechy swe żałowali i poprawili swe życie. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
Wysłuchaj nas, Boże Zbawicielu nasz, aby, jako cieszymy się z uroczystości błogosławionej Olimpji, tak też ćwiczyli się w zamiłowaniu pokory cierpliwości i pobożności. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
—Teacher, what should we do?—
Advent is a time of preparation, but did it ever strike you as odd in that we are preparing for something that has already happened?
That is one of the mysteries of the Christian faith. Jesus’ coming, His birth, death, burial, and resurrection, have ushered in the Kingdom of God. Yet the Kingdom has not arrived in its fullness.
So here we are; left with choices. The preeminent choice is whether we will faithfully follow Christ, join ourselves to His work, follow His way, and build up His kingdom.
Deciding to faithfully follow Christ, to join ourselves to His work, and to follow His way requires preparation. It requires a constant re-evaluation of our priorities and a desire to bring the Kingdom one step closer.
We prepare again. We prepare and struggle throughout our lives; lives that without hope would go on year after year, through the cycle of time, with no purpose other than death.
But for us God is our hope. As Christians we know that God created a world of cycles and times and that the Church faithfully follows these. We know that as we walk through time, through the seasons and cycles ordained for our lives, these repetitive cycles will end with the joy of heaven. As we walk through the cycle of times and seasons Jesus’ words are ever fresh; they speak anew to us, prompting us on to preparation and reparation.
Paul reminds us:
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
The first among those requests is that we be prepared, prepared to do what we are called to do. We pray and petition God, asking Him to wash us and renew us. We ask Him to take charge of our growth, our change, and our work. We need His grace to assist us in our work for the kingdom. God help us to bring Your heavenly Kingdom one step closer to its fulfillment.
My brothers and sisters,
This time of preparation gives us the opportunity to engage in reparation.
Our lives are constantly changing, and as I noted, that change makes Jesus’ message ever new.
How has His message spoken to you? Prepare and repair.
This past year made us different in some way, both for the better and for the worse. Our ability to change, to work toward the kingdom is a constant challenge. Our ability to overcome our faults and our our sins, as they take on a new character to challenge us, is a never ending battle.
Perhaps our anger changed, our desires and lusts took a slightly different direction. Perhaps we found a new way to fall, to deny Christ, to be more cynical or sarcastic about our partners, our friends, our family, the Church, or God.
The times and seasons and God’s everlasting grace are the antidote to those new challenges; the time of preparation and reparation punctuated by the great joy of Christmas is the cure we so desperately need.
You remember that joy. You remember it – that morning when you caught mom or dad secretly smile because you were happy. That joy you felt when you learned that giving was more than spending money. That feeling of warmth, when you were surrounded by family, when you ate, sang, and walked or drove off to church together. That day you held new life in your hands for the first time and knew the meaning of hope. We return to that joy year after year because of Christ, because He affords us the opportunity to prepare and repair, through the seasons and throughout time.
Today we celebrated an expanded Sacrament of Penance, the very same sacrament you receive at the beginning of every Holy Mass. Prayer, petition, and thanksgiving —“ God make me a new man, a new woman. Get me back on the road, the work lies before me, the kingdom needs to be built. Here are my hands, here is my heart. I am sorry I wasted them in any way.
You are washed anew in the sacrament of penance. Through the penance you have been given, a means to reflection, recompense, and prayer, and through the words of the priest you are absolved of sin. Your sin is no more. You have entered back into full communion with your brothers and sisters, with the Holy Church, and with God.
So onward. Preparation and reparation… By these mystical means God builds you, prepares you, and sets you to work for His kingdom.
The sinful came to John in the Jordan and asked:
—And what is it that we should do?—
He told them: preparation, reparation, and amendment of life…
Now the people were filled with expectation
They were ready to move forward, at John’s words eagerly awaiting the Messiah.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn
Come Lord Jesus! Gather us in.
Wszechmogący wieczny Boże, dopomóż nam naśladować św. Adelajdę w znoszenim cierpień, ucisków i dolegliwości, abyśmy przez nie zasłużyli sobie towarzystwo z nią w niebie. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
O Emmanuel,
Rex et legifer noster,
expectatio gentium,
et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos,
Domine, Deus noster.O Emmanuel,
our King and Lawgiver,
the one awaited by the gentiles,
and their Savior:
come to save us,
Lord our God.O Emmanuelu,
nasz Królu i Prawodawco,
oczekiwany zbawicielu narodów,
przyjdź, aby nas wybawić
nasz Panie i Boże
Come thou long expected Jesus! Come, O come, Emmanuel —“ God with us.
You are with us indeed, ever present on the altar and in the tabernacle. You are present in our coming together and in our work. You are present in our solitude and in our pain.
Lord, you are with us. Not just as a man, or as a spirit, but as the God-man. You are the perfection to which we are drawn. Yours is the kingdom which is now, but not yet. We are part of it, still striving toward it, and fully acknowledging that which is unfulfilled. Our thirst remains.
The vision of You is what we long for, not in the accidents of bread, but You in all Your reality and power, face to face. You, as Moses saw You. You, who swept across the waters and breathed life into the nostrils of the first man. You, for Whom we are sorely unprepared.
Lord, our God, Emmanuel, we cannot quench our thirst. We know we can only be complete in You, in Your totality and your reality.
Come to save us. Come Lord Jesus come!
Św. Krystyno, jaśniejąca anielską czystością, a wśród ucisków wierna Chrystusowi! Wyproś nam u Boga tę łaskę, abyśmy zwyciężali wszelakie pokusy do grzechu, a w miłości Bożej wzrastając, wysłużyli sobie oglądanie Boga w niebiosach. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
O all-praised and wonderful equal of the Apostles Nina. truly great adornment of the Orthodox Church and great boast of the people of Iberia, thou who didst enlighten the whole land of Georgia with the divine teachings, and with apostolic deeds didst defeat the enemy of our salvation, by labour and prayer thou didst plant there a vineyard of Christ and increase its fruit many-fold Celebrating thy holy memory, we approach thy holy image and with reverence kiss the miracle-working cross, the highly praised gift to thee from the Mother of God, which thou hast encircled with thy clear hair, and tenderly ask thee, as our constant intercessor: protect us from all evil and sorrows, and from the opponent of piety guard thy flock which hath been saved by thee, and beseech our all-good God and Saviour, before Whom thou art now standing, that He may grant us peace and many years, and that the Lord may bring us into His kingdom, where all the saints praise His holy name, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
It appears that the Episcopal Church in New Jersey is reaching out to and proselytizing Roman Catholics (and other Catholics). The simple message: Be and believe whatever you judge to be right. You decide what is best for you.
Of course if you are looking for a church that lets you do your thing I would agree, TEC is the way to go. You don’t believe the whole creed but do like saying it —“ no problem, just cross your fingers during the parts you don’t believe. Believe in the Eucharist – kind of (or not at all) – no problem. No such thing as sin, but the U.N. has identified all of the world’s problems – you’ll fit right in.
The message from Grace Church in Newark (Episcopal) states in part:
A Message to Disaffected Roman Catholics From the Clergy and People of Grace Church in Newark (Episcopal)
Some Roman Catholics whose spiritual lives are grounded in the Mass and in the sacraments are, nevertheless, unable to concur with the Vatican’s position on issues such as the role of women in the church, contraception, remarriage of divorced person, homosexual relationships, or abortion. They have become increasingly disaffected as the hierarchy’s response to dissent has grown more strident and authoritarian.
If you are among them, you may find a comfortable spiritual home at Grace Church in Newark…
They then blather on about how they are really Catholic not Protestant and how their Church rests on the shoulders of St. Augustine of Canterbury.
Uh, yeah.
It looks like the Episcopalians of Newark are so desperate (because the entire Church’s membership has dropped precipitously) that they’ve turned into vagantes, going on and on about how they are really Catholic with valid orders and bishops and all. But we are Catholic, we are, see… we have bishops and music and mass.
In addition, I knew that as Catholics we all missed the point about Jesus’ message to the rich, to the Pharisees, and to all of us sinful folk. I knew that He was wrong when he talked about repentance, conversion, the narrow path, the tough choices, denying oneself, and the cross.
Thankfully Grace Episcopal has straightened it all out. It is really about being comfortable. Jesus’ real message was I’m ok, you’re ok (or was that Eric Berne?)
I also didn’t know that when St. Augustine went to England he was really there to tell the pagans that whatever they believed was ok. It was all a vacation for him and a chance to enjoy the comforts offered by King AEthelberht…
No, being a follower of Christ is demanding, painful, and not at all easy. It requires a complete conversion of heart —“ something we are outfitted to accomplish, but something that will not be easy nor ‘comfortable’.
You can take the wide and easy road. I, and no clergy, bishop, or pope can stop you, but before you do consider what the blogger over at Impassioned Imperfections asks in The Normal Christian Life:
Is It Possible?
It is easy to look at the book of Acts and remain in wonder at what the believers accomplished. It is another thing to truly ask oneself if such a life is possible, and something even deeper to ask if such a life is normal to the Christian. The book of Acts makes it apparent that there was no secret to such a life other than a genuine submission to the plan and purpose of God. The Holy Spirit was the driving force of the believers as recorded in the book of Acts. The Bible does not seem to imply that the experiences of the Early Church were just exclusively for them. Therefore we can conclude that such a life is allowed, possible, and even normal for the Christ-follower. The normal Christian life is an all-encompassing love relationship with the Master, and a principle-driven love relationship with the Church. The Christian life is all about dying to self and living for God, and learning to reach to others as we grow together in community.
Dead In Christ —“ A Revolutionary Approach To Living
—…We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. — Romans 6:2-4 (NIV)
Living for Christ is one thing, but dying to ourselves something that many of us would rather not do. For us to live the Christian life, and I mean truly live, we must learn the art of dying to ourselves. We need not look further than Christ Jesus Himself, who died willingly upon a cross that deserved Him not. Dying to yourself is a God thing…
If you need more check out Huw Raphael’s Viva La Difference! which begins:
A DEACON Once asked me if I thought I was “different” from him because of my self-identified gayness. I promptly and without hesitation replied “I don’t know.”
All of us struggle with issues – and all are called to conversion.
Fr. Martin Fox also makes a great and very ecumenical proposal in A Message to Episcopalians in Newark:
If you want to be part of the Church Jesus Christ founded, feel free to check out either the Catholic Church, in her various rites, or the Orthodox Church, in her various rites, or one of the Ancient Churches of the East [or the Polish National Catholic Church].
Come as you are, but don’t expect to stay that way…
Św. Alfredzie, naczynie wybrane cnoty wysokiej! Wyproś nam u Boga tę łaskę, abyśmy naśladując cię z grzechów naszych powstali, życie swe odmienili i postępując w doskonałości osiągnąć mogli zbawienie wieczne. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
On a cold and snowy Sunday morning on December 13, 1981 the Poles woke up to find their country under Martial Law (literally – The State of War or “stan wojenny”). The Martial Law was imposed by the Military Council for National Salvation lead by, then, prime minister Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski and consisting of 20 other high ranking military officers.
The WRON declared Martial Law to “defend socialism”. They felt threatened by the members of the first independent trade union behind the Iron Curtin – the Solidarity (Solidarnosc). The Solidarity had been founded only 18 months earlier, in August of 1980 after several weeks of strikes. The workers had gone on strike to protest poor living conditions and lack of independent representation. With the birth of the Solidarity hopes were high that the new trade union would help to pressure the government to introduce economical reforms and ease restrictions. The government quickly realized that the Solidarity was a threat to the system. Several road blocks were created to derail the Solidarity but the union seemed to grow stronger. The situation made the Soviets very worried and they, on he several occasions, pressured the Polish government and the Polish Communist Party (PZPR) to de-legalized the Solidarity. For the Polish government it soon became apparent that the union was too strong and far too popular to simply de-legalize it. A drastic action was need to oust the Solidarity, so martial law was imposed.
The Constitution stated that martial law could be imposed for defense or national security reasons. The Constitution allowed the State Council (Rada Panstwa) to impose a martial law while the parliament (Sejm) was not in session. Although the parliament was in session, the State Council headed by Henryk Jablonski unconstitutionally passed the law under pressure from the military. Only one member of the Council, Ryszard Reiff, voted against the resolution. The vote took place in the early morning hours of December 13 while Martial Law was under way: people arrested, restriction imposed. The State Council merely rubber stamped the decision of the military that took over the control in the country.
Thousands of Solidarity leadership and activists were arrested and imprisoned without court sentence. Among those arrested was Lech Walesa, the legendary Solidarity leader. The WRON, in an obvious public relations stunt, also arrested some prominent figures from the previous government.
The borders were sealed, airports were closed and road access to main cities was restricted. Travel between cities required permission. Curfew was imposed between 10 pm and 6 am. Telephone lines were disconnected. Mail was subject to censorship. All trade union and other independent organizations were de-legalized. All TV and radio transmissions were suspended (except one government TV channel and one government radio station). Public administration, health services, power generation stations, coal mines, sea ports, train stations, and most of the key factories were placed under military management. The employees had to follow military orders or face a court martial. Classes in schools and at universities were suspended.
From the early morning hours the only TV channel and the only radio station transmitted Gen. Jaruzelski’s address . The anchors wore military uniforms. Only newspapers controlled by the Communist Party or the military were published.
The Poles actively resisted the Martial Law by organizing strikes and street marches, but any resistance to the Martial Law was brutally crushed. On December 16, 1981 the police killed 9 striking coal miners at the Wujek Coal Mine in Katowice. The Poles continued to oppose the WRON – many Solidarity members worked underground. They established, the so called, Revolutionary Solidarity and were involved in publishing independent newspapers, organization of street protests, broadcasting radio programs usually cut off by the government jammers). Thousands were arrested and prosecuted.
Martial Law was suspended on December 31, 1982 and terminated on July 22, 1983. Some of the restrictive legislation introduced during the martial law remained in force through the end of the eighties. The failure of the WRON and the ruling Communist Party became clear in 1989 when the Solidarity won by a land-slide in the first free election after World War II.
The story above from Martial Law in Poland, Videofact
My friends in Poland, young, newly married lived in the bloky (concrete apartment blocks built by the communists). The husbands were still conscripts and they didn’t come home that night. They weren’t on the street, they were locked in at their base. The government didn’t want the soldiers armed or out there. The Milicja (police actually) and the dreaded Zomo (convicts let loose) were on the street.
My friends recounted their stories to me, but it wasn’t until we knew each other quite well. The Poles are very open about their private lives. Nothing seems private in a friendly discussion, even among acquaintances. But this issue, this pain, required a different level of closeness. The fear and the pain is very real and lasting.
I pray for them today, for those injured, killed, or imprisoned then and now – including those jailed and tortured by our own government. Were our ideals fashioned solely for the fight against communism, or are they deeper than that? I don’t really know.
All I can say is that it is very important that we do not forget, that we do not loose sense of what we stood for and what we stand for. It can happen here, martial law, shortages, an inability to speak openly. It is happening subtly right now. God have mercy on us.
Other Resources:
A personal reflection on living these events in Remembering the martial law from Arthur Chrenkoff
A Brief History of Polish Underground Publishing During Solidarity by Wanda Wawro, Cornell University Library Slavic & East European Studies
Solidarity and Martial Law in Poland: 25 Years Later, The National Security Archive
Martial law in Poland, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wysłuchaj nas Boże Zbawicielu nasz, abyśmy ciesząc się z uroczystości błogosławionej Łucji, panny i męczenniczki Twojej, uczuć gorliwej pobożności nabywali. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
Saint Lucy, your beautiful name signifies light. By the light of faith which God bestowed upon you, increase and preserve this light in my soul so that I may avoid evil, be zealous in the performance of good works, and abhor nothing so much as the blindness and the darkness of evil and of sin.
By your intercession with God, obtain for me perfect vision for my bodily eyes and the grace to use them for God’s greater honor and glory and the salvation of all men.
Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr, hear my prayers and obtain my petitions. Amen.