THE FIRST NATIONWIDE PILGRIMAGE OF A LIVING ROSARY
LIVING IN THE RHYTHM OF ROSARY PRAYERS
Father Stanisław Tomoń OSPPE, Spokesman of Jasna Góra
On Saturday 1 June, the First Nationwide Pilgrimage of a Living Rosary, under the motto: ‘Living Rosary is Mary’s School of Faith’, was held at Jasna Góra, with the attendance of a dozen thousand people. The pilgrimage was presided over by archbishop Wacław Depo, being a delegate of the Conference of the polish Episcopate for a Live Rosary for a year. Welcoming pilgrims of rosary, he stated that they are not only a phenomenon, a sociological phenomenon, but also a treasure of the Church. The Holy Mass for members of the Living Rosary was celebrated by about 200 priests. This big meeting of a prayer was an occasion for supplication about awakening the love among Poles to the rosary prayer.
In his given sermon, Archbishop Depo helped pilgrims realize the fact that the gift of the Living Rosary is a real Mary’s School of Faith, comprising life events of each of us. – Therefore we ask Mary to make the rhythm of our prayers measure the time of our life, and also our unity and faithfulness to God’s plans - he emphasized. It is the faith of the Church on the Polish land and the riches of the Holy Spirit from which the mission of the renewal of the image of the Polish family, through the rosary prayer was born– said archbishop Depo.
He noted hot issues of the contemporary times and many dangers attacking the natural order of the world. He warned against the sin of self-sufficiency, which pretends to be the good and the freedom outside God. We are endangered by a lie, which pretends to be the truth and opposes to God’s laws – he said. As an example, he pointed to the gender ideology, blurring the borders of sexes, and also destroying the family and separating Europe from Christian roots and the fundaments of life civilization. – One does not have to be a scientist, only the common sense and the sense of responsibility are sufficient in order to recognize dangers being in this ideology – said archbishop Depo. He quoted the statement of Prof. Gabriele Kuba, who, in April 2013, warned during the conference in the headquarter of the Polish Sciences Academy, concerning the standards of sexual education in Europe, elaborated by the German Federal Office for Health Education: - Indeed in the primary school and from the kindergarten, children start learning that all sexual practices are all right, the border between the good and the bad is blurred. The authority of gender ideologists is gigantic, this is the political and financial authority for the sake of deregulation, that is, untying sexual norms. Our wonderful culture grew out of the Christian tradition of the notion of the family and not it is being deliberately destroyed. This is new totalitarianism which is dangerous, especially that it is sold in the clothes of freedom and peace. Therefore, it is necessary to take actions defending values of Christianity, family, marriage and life. It is our duty to oppose it. The gender ideology must collapse due to the opposition, because we have heart and the common sense, which force us to act. But the longer we keep silent, the higher price we will pay for it.
The national moderator of the Living Rosary is Fr. Szymon Mucha. In his opinion, the pilgrimage is always an occasion for strengthening rosary roses. He reminded that they were initiated by Paulina Jaricot. He announced that in the Missionary Week, which is celebrated every October, in every parish in Poland, the Living Rosary gathers for the common rosary prayer to thank for graces, to ask for the development of the work of the Living Rosary in Poland and to pray for the beatification of God’s servant Paulina Jaricot. He also informed that the ceremony of the Living Rosary is being prepared and the monthly ‘Rosary’ is going to be a formative magazine, published by the Loreto Sisters in Warsaw. At present the Living Rosary exists nearly in every Polish parish.
The pilgrimage was attended by among the others: Father Stanisław Przepierski - a moderator of the circles of the Living Rosary of the Warsaw archdiocese, Fr. Jacek Gancarek - a moderator of the Living Rosary of Częstochowa archdiocese, representatives of the editorial team of the monthly ‘Rosary’ of Sisters of Loreto from Warsaw and Papal Missionary Works. The pilgrimage was accompanied by the hymn of the Rosary Circles in Poland, with the text written by bishop Józef Zawitkowski from Łowicz and music of Fr. Prof. Wiesław Kądziela. The singing for the Eucharist was provided by the choir from the parish church of St. Andrew in Łęczyca (diocese of Łowicz).
One of the pilgrimages points was the verbal-musical program about God’s servant Paulina Jaricot. The program was prepared by the Living Rosary from the parish church of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Queen of the Holy Rosary in Wysokie Koło (diocese of Radom), and there was a performance given by the family team of Aneta and Dariusz Kosmowscy with their 5-year-old daughter Natalia.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 24/2013