Some nice photos etc. from my home Parish, Holy Name and from Transfiguration Parish in Wallington, NJ which was invited to St. Michael’s Byzantine Catholic Cathedral in Passaic, NJ.
O merciful God, Father of the Crucified Christ! In every sorrow which awaits us may we look up to Thee without doubt or fear, persuaded that Thy mercy is ever sure. Thou cannot fail us. There is no place or time where Thou art not. Uphold us in our grief and sorrow, and in our darkness visit us with Thy light. We are Thine; help us, we beseech Thee, in life and in death to feel that we are Thine. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. — A Prayer In Time of Sorrow from A Book of Devotions and Prayers According to the Use of the Polish National Catholic Church.
Per the Young Fogey: the R.C. Bishop of Port-au-Prince along with many priests and seminarians were killed in the earthquake. There are many opportunities for charity available. Please give to help those in need. A full list of reputable organizations providing relief can be found at the Huffington Post.
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
he has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”
Translation according to the Revised standard Version of the Holy Bible
"Wielbi dusza moja Pana,
i raduje się duch mój w Bogu, moim Zbawcy.
Bo wejrzał na uniżenie Służebnicy swojej.
Oto bowiem błogosławić mnie będą odtąd wszystkie pokolenia,
gdyż wielkie rzeczy uczynił mi Wszechmocny.
Święte jest Jego imię –
a swoje miłosierdzie na pokolenia i pokolenia [zachowuje] dla tych, co się Go boją.
On przejawia moc ramienia swego,
rozprasza [ludzi] pyszniących się zamysłami serc swoich.
Strąca władców z tronu, a wywyższa pokornych.
Głodnych nasyca dobrami, a bogatych z niczym odprawia.
Ujął się za sługą swoim, Izraelem,
pomny na miłosierdzie swoje –
jak przyobiecał naszym ojcom –
na rzecz Abrahama i jego potomstwa na wieki».
Take my memory,
Mother of the Redeemer,
To that holy place,
To you,
and afford me in saying your rosary
the mysteries of happiness
pain,
hope.
Give my words the light of faith
and make my hands confident.
Translation by Dcn. Jim
Weź moją pamięć,
Matko Zbawiciela,
do miejsca świętego,
do Ciebie,
pozwól mi mówić z Tobą różaniec
tajemnic szczęścia,
bólu,
nadziei.
Daj moim słowo światło wiary
i ufność złożonym dłoniom.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Traditional translation
Seigneur, faites de moi un instrument de votre paix.
Là où il y a de la haine, que je mette l’amour.
Là où il y a l’offense, que je mette le pardon.
Là où il y a la discorde, que je mette l’union.
Là où il y a l’erreur, que je mette la vérité.
Là où il y a le doute, que je mette la foi.
Là où il y a le désespoir, que je mette l’espérance.
Là où il y a les ténèbres, que je mette votre lumière.
Là où il y a la tristesse, que je mette la joie.
Ô Maître, que je ne cherche pas tant à être consolé qu’à consoler,
à être compris qu’à comprendre,
à être aimé qu’à aimer,
car c’est en donnant qu’on reçoit,
c’est en s’oubliant qu’on trouve, c’est en pardonnant qu’on est pardonné,
c’est en mourant qu’on ressuscite à l’éternelle vie.
From hunger,
From marches,
From rain,
From lice,
From strong wind that slashes your face,
From fire’s warmth—”when at night they order you to leave it,
From marshlike taiga that you sink in up to your knees,
From torn-off shoe soles,
From stolen breadbag
Save us, Lord!
From tundra lying on its back facing the sky,
From nightmare of white nights,
From swarms of mosquitoes,
From sudden and unexpected night marches,
From leaden dawns to sooty dusks,
Holy God!
Holy Almighty!
Holy and Immortal,
save us, oh Lord!
We the sinners,
We the tired,
We the ones given up to vast expanses,
We the ones cast out to be eaten alive by the frozen wastes,
We the ones deprived of humanity and legal rights,
Trampled like grass,
Hounded down and rounded up—”
We the louse-infested beggars,
We the ones stupefied by hunger,
We the nameless multitude
Poisoned by wrongdoings,
We the filthy,
We the ragged,
We at times the ludicrous,
We the consoled,
We the sinners,
You Lord God we beg,
The Living and True,
The One and Indivisible,
Holy God!
Holy Almighty!
Holy and Everlasting,
have mercy on us!
Through the last,
posthumous
Wound of thy Son
through His Blood and Suffering
Amen —” Amen —” Amen
Translated by Halina Ablamowicz and Kevin Christianson.
Od głodu,
od pochodów,
od deszczu,
od wszy,
od powietrza na wichrze w skos prutego twarzą,
od ognia —“ kiedy nocą odejść ci go karzą,
od tajgi, co do kolan moczarem namaka,
od urwanej podeszwy,
od skradzionego chlebaka
wybaw nas, Panie!
Od tundry twarzą w niebo leżącej na wznak,
od zmory białych nocy,
od komarzych młak,
od nagłych a niespodzianych wymarszów ponocnych,
od świtów ołowianych
i zmroków popielnych
Święty Boże,
Święty Mocny,
Święty a Nieśmiertelny,
Wybaw nas, Panie!
My grzeszni,
my zmęczeni,
my obszarom wydani,
my zmarłej przestrzeni na żer żywcem rzuceni,
my wyjęci spod prawa,
z człowieczeństwa wyzuci,
my deptani jak trawa,
zaganiani i szczuci —“
my nędzarze zawszeni,
my co głód nas ogłupia,
my rzesza bezimienna
do dna krzywdą otruta,
my brudni,
my obdarci,
my aż śmieszni chwilami,
my pocieszni,
my grzeszni,
Ciebie Boga błagamy,
coś jest Wierny i Żywy
Jeden i Niepodzielny
Święty Boże,
Święty Mocny,
Święty a Nieśmiertelny,
zmiłuj się nad nami!
Przez ostatnią,
pośmiertną
Syna Twego ranę,
przez Jego Krew i Mękę
Amen —“ amen —“ amen.
Merciful and loving Father, Who knowest the misfortune of our nation, with eyes of mercy look Thou down upon us; pardon our sins, make straight our ways, watch over a guide us amid the confusion of the world, that serving Thee in truth and righteousness, we may behold at length Thine everlasting light. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. — A Prayer for the Polish Nation from A Book of Devotions and Prayers According to the Use of the Polish National Catholic Church.
Zakazane piosenki – Dnia pierwszego września
Forbidden songs – On the First of September
Dnia pierwszego września, roku pamiętnego
Wróg napadł na Polskę z kraju sąsiedniegoNajwięcej się uwziął na naszą Warszawę
Warszawo kochana tyś jest miasto krwaweKiedyś byłaś piękna bogata wspaniała
Teraz tylko kupa gruzów pozostałaDomy popalone, szpitale zburzone
Gdzie się mają podziać ludzie poranioneLecą bomby z nieba brak jest ludziom chleba
Nie tylko od bomby umrzeć będzie trzebaGdy biedna Warszawa w gruzach pozostała
To biedna Warszawa poddać się musiałaI tak się broniła całe trzy tygodnie
Jeszcze Pan Bóg pomści taką straszną zbrodnie.
From the Wikipedia list of events in September 1939:
- September 1 —“ World War II: At 0445 Central European Time, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opens bombardment on the Westerplatte, a Polish military base outside Danzig, firing what are, according to many sources, the first shots of World War II. At the same time, regular Wehrmacht troops begin crossing the border into Poland.
- September 15 —“ World War II: Diverse elements of the German Wehrmacht surround Warsaw and demand its surrender. The Poles refuse and the siege begins in earnest.
- September 17 —“ World War II: The Soviet Union invades Poland and then occupies eastern Polish territories.
- September 22 —“ World War II: Joint victory parade of the [German] Wehrmacht and [Russian] Red Army in Brest-Litovsk at the end of the Invasion of Poland.
- September 28 —“ World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland after their invasion.
- September 28 —“ World War II: Warsaw surrenders to Germany; Modlin surrenders a day later; the last Polish large operational unit surrenders near Kock 8 days later.
A link to memories of the beginning of the war and the mass deportation of Poles to Russian slave labor camps from three Roman Catholic sisters courtesy of the Young Fogey.
From the Guardian, a video of the dawn memorial service at Westerplatte where the first shots of the war were fired.
Dr. John Guzlowski will be speaking on Saturday, September 5, 2009 between 10 and 11:30am at Michigan’s commemoration service held in conjunction with the Polish Roman Catholic Mission at the Orchard Lake Schools.
Russian revisionist history, setting the stage for the next conflict by excusing the crimes of the past: “…but it wasn’t all our fault that we deported 1.7 million Poles to Siberia, killing 1.3 million in the process including the 25,000 unarmed Polish military officers, police and intellectuals we shot to death in Katyn over a few days.”
Sion, lift up thy voice and sing:
Praise thy Savior and thy King,
Praise with hymns thy shepherd true.All thou canst, do thou endeavour:
Yet thy praise can equal never
Such as merits thy great King.See today before us laid
The living and life-giving Bread,
Theme for praise and joy profound.The same which at the sacred board
Was, by our incarnate Lord,
Giv’n to His Apostles round.Let the praise be loud and high:
Sweet and tranquil be the joy
Felt today in every breast.On this festival divine
Which records the origin
Of the glorious Eucharist.On this table of the King,
Our new Paschal offering
Brings to end the olden rite.Here, for empty shadows fled,
Is reality instead,
Here, instead of darkness, light.His own act, at supper seated
Christ ordain’d to be repeated
In His memory divine;Wherefore now, with adoration,
We, the host of our salvation,
Consecrate from bread and wine.Hear, what holy Church maintaineth,
That the bread its substance changeth
Into Flesh, the wine to Blood.Doth it pass thy comprehending?
Faith, the law of sight transcending
Leaps to things not understood.Here beneath these signs are hidden
Priceless things, to sense forbidden,
Signs, not things, are all we see.Flesh from bread, and Blood from wine,
Yet is Christ in either sign,
All entire, confessed to be.They, who of Him here partake,
Sever not, nor rend, nor break:
But, entire, their Lord receive.Whether one or thousands eat:
All receive the self-same meat:
Nor the less for others leave.Both the wicked and the good
Eat of this celestial Food:
But with ends how opposite!Here ‘t is life: and there ‘t is death:
The same, yet issuing to each
In a difference infinite.Nor a single doubt retain,
When they break the Host in twain,
But that in each part remains
What was in the whole before.Since the simple sign alone
Suffers change in state or form:
The signified remaining one
And the same for evermore.Lo! bread of the Angels broken,
For us pilgrims food, and token
Of the promise by Christ spoken,
Children’s meat, to dogs denied.Shewn in Isaac’s dedication,
In the manna’s preparation:
In the Paschal immolation,
In old types pre-signified.Jesu, shepherd of the sheep:
Thou thy flock in safety keep,
Living bread, thy life supply:
Strengthen us, or else we die,
Fill us with celestial grace.Thou, who feedest us below:
Source of all we have or know:
Grant that with Thy Saints above,
Sitting at the feast of love,
We may see Thee face to face.
Amen. Alleluia.
Translation from Wikipedia
Lauda Sion Salvatórem
Lauda ducem et pastórem
In hymnis et cánticis.Quantum potes, tantum aude:
Quia major omni laude,
Nec laudáre síºfficis.Laudis thema speciális,
Panis vivus et vitális,
Hódie propónitur.Quem in sacræ mensa cœnæ,
Turbæ fratrum duodénæ
Datum non ambígitur.Sit laus plena, sit sonóra,
Sit jucíºnda, sit decóra
Mentis jubilátio.Dies enim solémnis ágitur,
In qua mensæ prima recólitur
Hujus institíºtio.In hac mensa novi Regis,
Novum Pascha novæ legis,
Phase vetus términat.Vetustátem nóvitas,
Umbram fugat véritas,
Noctem lux elíminat.Quod in cœna Christus gessit,
Faciéndum hoc expréssit
In sui memóriam.Docti sacris institíºtis,
Panem, vinum, in salíºtis
Consecrámus hóstiam.Dogma datur Christiánis,
Quod in carnem transit panis,
Et vinum in sánguinem.Quod non capis, quod non vides,
Animósa firmat fides,
Præter rerum ordinem.Sub divérsis speciébus,
Signis tantum, et non rebus,
Latent res exímiæ.Caro cibus, sanguis potus:
Manet tamen Christus totus,
Sub utráque spécie.A suménte non concísus,
Non confráctus, non divísus:
Integer accípitur.Sumit unus, sumunt mille:
Quantum isti, tantum ille:
Nec sumptus consíºmitur.Sumunt boni, sumunt mali:
Sorte tamen inæquáli,
Vitæ vel intéritus.Mors est malis, vita bonis:
Vide paris sumptiónis
Quam sit dispar éxitus.Fracto demum Sacraménto,
Ne vacílles, sed memento,
Tantum esse sub fragménto,
Quantum toto tégitur.Nulla rei fit scissíºra:
Signi tantum fit fractíºra:
Qua nec status nec statíºra
Signáti miníºitur.Ecce panis Angelórum,
Factus cibus viatórum:
Vere panis fíliórum,
Non mittendus cánibus.In figíºris præsignátur,
Cum Isaac immolátur:
Agnus paschæ deputátur
Datur manna pátribus.Bone pastor, panis vere,
Jesu, nostri miserére:
Tu nos pasce, nos tuére:
Tu nos bona fac vidére
In terra vivéntium.Tu, qui cuncta scis et vales:
Qui nos pascis hic mortales:
Tuos ibi commensáles,
Cohærédes et sodales,
Fac sanctórum cívium.
Amen. Allelíºja.
The photo is from a photo essay by Danel J. Wood.
Heavenly Father, Whose care and guidance brought our forefathers to this great land, and led them through faith, courage and self-sacrifice to build the foundations of a great democratic nation, dedicated to Thy service and the rights of man, lead us, O God, in our day, as Thou didst lead our forefathers, and help us to be faithful stewards of the heritage which Thou hast entrusted to us.
Reverently, on this Memorial Day, in Thy holy presence, we pay our tribute of respect to the memory of those who gave their lives in the service of our country. We pray, that the souls of these, our heroic dead may have found perfect rest in Thee, and received the crown of an unfading life. O Thou, Eternal Lover of souls, cherish and bless them, we entreat Thee, and give unto us, the living, peace and hope as we think of them in this solemn hour.
Before Thee, O Lord God, we humbly acknowledge our debt to them, and beseech Thee to give us the strength, to go on towards the ideals for which they fought and died. Take, O Lord, the veil from their hearts, and join us in one communion with all Thy saints on earth, and in the life beyond.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. — From Memorial Day Prayers according to the Ritual of the Polish National Catholic Church
From the Stratford Star: Prayer vigil April 26 for Blue Star Families
The Blue Star Mothers and Families of Stratford Inc. will hold its fourth annual prayer vigil service honoring the men and women of the U.S. military Sunday, April 26, at 4 at St. Joseph’s of Stratford National Catholic Church, 1300 Stratford Road.
The theme for the vigil is —Wake Up the Pride,— and will include patriotic songs and religious hymns, interfaith prayers, a candlelight ceremony, and brief addresses by state and local officials.
The ceremony is open to the public.
Mothers and fathers, spouses and children of local military personnel will be recognized during the prayer vigil in the church, then will be received at a coffee and cake fellowship in the parish hall.
The Blue Star Mothers and Families of Stratford was founded in 2003 by mothers who had children serving overseas as a support group for the families of servicemen and servicewomen. It is not affiliated with the Blue Star Mothers of America.
Among its activities, the Blue Star Mothers and Families of Stratford Inc. collects goods to send to soldiers overseas. The organization also maintains an honor board on the green of the Stratford Town Hall that bears the names of those who are currently serving from the town and some nearby communities.
This is the third time this annual vigil has taken place at St. Joseph’s of Stratford National Catholic Church. Several mothers from the parish are active in the Blue Star Mothers and Families of Stratford.
More information may be obtained from Kathy M. Sullivan at (203) 377-0676.