Ironic

Mormons claim that Jesus came to teach among the people of North and South America after His resurrection. Notice the nice pagan pyramids in the background!

So, at the main train station in Krakow today, I ran into a bunch of Mormon missionaries, from, of all places....Utah! I was walking away, when I saw a group of four people, two men with the title of "starszy," (elder), and to women with "siostra," (sister). Kind of ironic, since I am a Catholic from Utah, and the Mormons are even here in Krakow (I have seen them before). I decided to stop and talk with them for a while, and they were happy to meet another fellow American. It turned out that I have a mutual friend with one of them. Perhaps we will meet again to talk about their faith...I wonder what it must be like for them here in Krakow, where about 99% of the people are Catholic, and most of them practicing, at that...

Pope in Poland

Summer seems to be in full swing here in Krakow, until the Holy Father came, and the weather decided to turn cold and ugly. However, that did not dampen the Polish spirit here during the historic visit of our Holy Father.

Though it has been a week and a half since the visit of Pope Benedict, happily, people are still talking about the importance of his visit, as well as the lasting effect that it will have on the country as a whole, and on him as well. The visit was amazing, and even trying to describe it in anything less than book-length format is quite impossible. From the profound clarity and simplicity of his messages, to the amazing turnout of 700,000 youth from around the world at the “mini-World Youth Day” on Saturday night, to the rainbow at Auschwitz, to the profound and radiating joy from the face of Pope Benedict, it is impossible to capture the entire visit in a single phrase, or with a single description. One that may perhaps be adequate is “venit, vidit, vincit.”

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, the Vicar of Christ and the “Peter of our times” came to Poland, in the “footsteps of his beloved predecessor.” Here, in the heart of ancient Slavic culture, the German pope experienced the profound movement of the Holy Spirit in the fresh faith of a European country surrounded by neighbors who are withering away in their rationalistic secular humanism. Here, in the city of John Paul II, Pope Benedict’s faith and hope were strengthened. This phenomenon was amazing and visible, since the Holy Father began his visit quite awkwardly and uncomfortably. By the time he arrived in Krakow, however, and especially at the youth rally, he was clearly moved by the energy and the rapport he had with the youth on Blonia Krakowskie, the gigantic meadow in the middle of the city. Here, on this ancient marshland and grazing pasture, now turned into a city park (the largest open meadow in any major European city), the Holy Father met with the young people of Eastern Europe and of the world, where he encouraged them to “build their life on the rock,” with the strength and hope of their faith, which requires them to not be afraid to be unpopular. In an age of moral relativism and of secular humanism, so many people think that their faith somehow prevents them or inhibits them from experiencing the fullness of their human condition. Yet, repeating his inaugural homily, the Holy Father reiterated that, “Christ takes nothing away.” It is only in Christ that man experiences the fullness of his humanity.

Himself encouraging the youth to “remain strong in the faith,” the Holy Father was encouraged by their zeal and their spirit. Now, as a person who attended both World Youth Days in Toronto and in Cologne, I can say that I have never seen this much energy and excitement in a crowd with the Holy Father. The Holy Spirit was definitely present, as was the communion that makes up the Church. Present were Ukrainian Catholics, Catholics from Belarus, Slovakia, Croatia, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Russia, Sweden, Chicago, as well as some Chaldeans from Iraq! Here, not only the “future of the Church” was present, but also the “present of the Church.” For we know that Pope Benedict reminded us, also in his inaugural homily from April last year, that “the Church is young…the Church is alive.” And it was with these words in my mind that I took in all that was happening before me. I was, once again, blessed to be able to be part of a historic event, an event in which the Vicar of Christ, Christ Himself, asked the Polish Church to “be an example” and to “share the gift of its faith” with the rest of Europe and with the world.

Of course, the focus of the pilgrimage was the life of John Paul II, who was present with Pope Benedict throughout the trip, in his visits to places important in the life of the beloved pope, such as Wadowice, Czestochowa, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, and the “papal window” in the Metropolitan Curia. It was at this window that we greeted the Holy Father when he arrived in Krakow on Friday, where thousands of youth gathered and awaited the “unplanned” and “spontaneous” appearance that everybody knew would occur. This, of course, was simply a continuation of the tradition that was set by Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who would greet pilgrims from this window, a tradition that he continued later as Pope John Paul the Great. The growing impatience of the crowd prompted the chanting of, “Cardinal, let the pope out,” as well as “Come to the window, come to the window!” The minute the Holy Father stepped out, we were able to see that this was already a different Benedict, much more at-ease, and clearly excited to be with this crowd in Krakow. These feelings of mutual attraction and sympathy continued throughout the visit.

Thus, Pope Benedict, came, but he also saw. He saw the faith of the young “Generation JPII.” He saw that there is a growing number of movements within the Polish Church which are seeking to be attached sentimentally to John Paul, but are also trying to incorporate the beauty of his teachings into their daily lives. This was evident in the fact that many, many young married couples with large families were invited to give their testimonies both before the Vigil on Saturday, as well as the Mass on Sunday. In a country where simply surviving economically is becoming very difficult, where the gap between the very rich and “the rest” (who are basically poor) is widening, and where various consumerist and western materialist mentalities have taken hold, the married couples encouraged young Poles to “not be afraid,” and to give their lives over completely over to the Divine Mercy, and to pray, “Jesus, I trust in you.” Young priests were also invited to give their testimonies about the beauties of the celibate life. Ironically, these were less important, since there is surely no vocational crisis to the priesthood or religious life in Poland. Rather, there is an increasing attack on the dignity of marriage, both through the media, as well as from an economic standpoint, which often makes it impossible for young couples to get married and raise a family.

Yet, the Holy Father was able to see the rising number of young people who refuse to give into the mentality that has taken hold of the West, and is causing an increased dissatisfaction with life and leading young people to grapple with the question of the meaning of life. Fortunately, the faith remains strong in the young generation here, though not without its own problems. Yet, the witness of these young people gave great encouragement and much hope to others, and showed that Poland does not need to go the way of the West. The Holy Father himself reminded the Polish youth that their faith is a great treasure, and that they need to “build their house on a firm foundation,” refusing to give into the relativism of the modern world, which creates a shaky foundation and only leads to destruction and despair. John Paul II so often taught about the meaning of true freedom, which can only come through love, which requires great sacrifice. Freedom without sacrifice, freedom without love, is not true freedom, and leads to a confusion of the very meaning of freedom itself. Man seeks to liberate himself by casting off Christ and the moral natural law, thus cutting himself off from the very source of that freedom which only Christ and His law can give.

While the Church in the West struggles through a lack of vocations, deep interior problems which will require much purification and healing, the Church in Poland is alive—and now the young Catholics in Poland can live out their faith in order to build a just society, that their faith in Christ may become a fountain of life and a source of Truth in a modern society that often seeks to cast off the existence of truth itself. Thus, Pope Benedict saw the problems that the young face here, and was encouraged in his own faith. The Holy Spirit is alive here in Poland, in a very unique and unimaginable way, and the Church has to respond with an open heart and be prepared for the struggle ahead, yet the “JPII Generation” has received all that it needs in order to build a just society, based on truth and on love.

Having come and seen the faith of the Poles, Pope Benedict also conquered. He was won over by the faith of the Poles, but he also conquered the initial uneasiness and shyness on the part of the Poles. Many Poles wondered what the visit would be like. Would he speak Polish? Would he try to imitate John Paul II? What was he going to say, as a German pope visiting the Polish nation? Would he understand the cultural situation? Yet, as the newspapers said, this pope “won over the hearts of the Poles” in a way that nobody had expected.

When the Holy Father returned to his residence at the Curia after the evening vigil on Saturday, he mentioned to Cardinal Dziwisz that he was “amazed by and infatuated with” with Polish youth, and the warmth with which he was received. He realized that the love that they showed him was the same love that they showed to “their” John Paul, but in reality, it was a love for the Petrine Ministry, for the Vicar of Christ. Their love and joy at seeing the Holy Father does not stem from the fact that they are seeing Pope John Paul, or Pope Benedict, but rather, Peter himself, who was given the task to “tend Christ’s sheep."

Not only was Pope Benedict inspired and won over by the enthusiasm of the crowd, but he also won over the crowd, in a mutual exchange of love and of joy. Of course, the most exciting were the “unplanned” visits at the papal window, where on one night, the pilgrims remained until at least 1:00 a.m., singing and chanting. At the end of the Sunday Mass, Pope Benedict was to walk off and turn right, to enter the popemobile and exit the field. Instead, he caught his security off guard, and turning left, he descended the steps of the stage and walked down among the crowd of pilgrims, meeting with them and blessing them. To me, this was an amazing moment, because I recalled the Holy Father’s wish to “come down, and to look into every person’s eyes and to meet them.” This was not some sort of sentimental wish of an elderly man, but rather, a genuine desire to meet the people among whom the faith of John Paul II ripened, matured, and flourished. Clearly moved by the beautiful Liturgy, Pope Benedict broke protocol and came down to be among his flock. Only a few minutes later, after walking a considerable distance, did he enter the popemobile and leave “his beloved Krakow.” Later, at his farewell from the papal window, he wished thanked everybody for the wonderful reception in Krakow, and left with the words, “see you in Rome, and if God allows, again in Krakow.” Clearly, he intends to come back and to teach and strengthen the faith of one of the few remaining Catholic countries in Europe.

Clearly, Pope Benedict XVI came to the land of John Paul II, saw the vibrancy and freshness of the faith, and conquered the hearts of the Poles, through faith, hope, and love. This historic visit was, of course, marked by many amazing “miracles,” such as the appearance of a rainbow at the moment when the Holy Father was praying in Auschwitz, asking for forgiveness for the crimes which took place there. In order that there would be no confusion, God sent a rainbow, as “a sign of his eternal covenant,” showing the people in a dramatic way that the prayers of his faithful servant were heard. All that remains now, after the visit, are the muddy fields, were the feet of one and a half million pilgrims trampled the grass, the occasional papal flags (which seem to be appearing more often in recent days, and are put up permanently, even in such places as the public university), and the memories and photos which adorn shops and streets. Yet, the task that has been assigned by this Holy Father is that the nation learns to love, that people learn to love one another and contribute, together, to the building of a just society, a “civilization of love,” based on charity, as Pope Benedict reminds us in Deus Caritas Est. The memories may last, the exciting time has come and gone, but the Holy Father has reminded us that “being a Christian is a beautiful thing,” and there is not a moment in the life of the Christian that is not exciting. Now the plant that has been further nourished by this apostolic visit must grow and mature, in order to produce an abundance of fruit. A great task lies ahead, and we must pray that Poland will be ready and willing to complete it.

Venit, Vidit, Vincit

Need I say more?

Miracle Picture

The Holy Father's prayer in Auschwitz-Birkenau is already being hailed as a miracle. Immediately upon praying for reconciliation forgiveness for sins against humanity, the sun came out after a cold and rainy day, and the sky looked like this:











Genesis 9:9-17:

"See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you
and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark.
I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."
God added: "This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you:
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds,
I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings.
As the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and recall the everlasting covenant that I have established between God and all living beings--all mortal creatures that are on earth."
God told Noah: "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all mortal creatures that are on earth."

Amazing.

Welcome to the Papal City

The Holy Father arrived here in Krakow last night, and addressed the thousands of youth who gathered under the "papal wondow" at the Archbishop's Palace.

At this very moment, the Holy Father is in Wadowice, and has just visited the home and parich church of the young Karol Wojtyla.

What greater confirmation of the holiness of John Paul the Great, than the Holy Father himself coming to visit and "follow in his footsteps."

The official sign on the market square in Wadowice says, "John Paul II the Great." Unbelievable.

I think any long reflection will have to wait, but I will keep you all updated. Pictures are forthcoming!

Witamy Ocja Swietego

Polish President Lech Kaczynski greets Pope Benedict XVI

More pictures here.

WELCOME POPE BENEDICT! NIECH ZYJE PAPIEZ (LONG LIVE THE POPE)!

The Holy Father is finally here, and has arrived to remind Poles to "remain strong in the faith," a motto that refers to a famous speech by John Paul II, which he gave in 1979, and instructed Poles to "be strong with the strength of faith.

The German pope has to come to the most Catholic nation, his neighboring nation, to encourage reconciliation and to light the fire anew in the souls of Poles, who "have not been afraid, throughout history, to publicly proclaim their faith as a nation."

I will be trying to keep updates as current as possible, but for understandable reasons, I will be out and about, at the meetings with the Holy Father! More news to come...

Pictures from Procession

Hello, Your Eminence (Cardinal Macharski)















The street better be shut down for these guys!















Primate Glemp looks a bit confused.















Although I can't complain about his stole!

Saint Stanislaw Procession

Lots of Bishops and Cardinals...yay!

I cannot believe that time is passing by so fast here. It seems as if I was just in Rome for Easter, and then was with George Weigel here in Krakow, but those events were almost a month ago. In fact, the Church celebrated the Resurrection a month ago, tomorrow!

Time seems to really be flying by—especially with the end of Notre Dame’s school year, and graduation only a few days away, for all of my friends back home, “under the Dome.” To those seniors who will be graduating, know that you’re all in my prayers and in my thoughts, as I myself am nearing final exams, which linger in the future deceptively distant future!
In his famous poem, Stanislaw, the poet Karol Wojtyla writes:

Stanislaw may have thought: my word will hurt and convert you,
You will come as a penitent to the cathedral gate,
Emaciated by fasting, enlightened by a voice within,
To join the Lord’s table like the prodigal son.
The Word did not convert, the blood will:

Perhaps the bishop had no time to think,
Let this cup pass from me.

Reflecting here deeply on the martyrdom of St. Stanislaw, Karol Wojtyla reflected upon the deep and painful reality of the sufferings of Poland throughout the ages. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Krakow reflects on the legacy of his predecessor, the main patron of Poland, and a foundation of Polish Catholicism throughout the ages.

A sword falls on the soil of our freedom;
Blood pours onto the soil of our freedom;
And which weighs more?

Known for his deep devotion to St.Stanislaw, whose place of martyrdom our archbishop and poet would visit quite often, it was here that he deepened his understanding of the meaning and the price of freedom. Each year, he led the St. Stanislaw Procession through the streets of Krakow to Skalka, the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, where the ancient Bishop of Krakow was martyred by Boleslaw the Bold, while saying Mass. It was on the feast day of his holy predecessor that Karol Wojtyla would preach homilies against the regime’s persecution and squelching of human rights. Just as the bishop of old had paid with his life for his faith, and for the true freedom that living the divine moral law brings, so he encouraged the modern Poles to “not be afraid” to stand up for the Truth, for true freedom can only be found in the Truth.

Yesterday, I had the blessed opportunity to attend this year’s St. Stanislaw Procession, which was moved from the feast of the bishop, to the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Arriving at the foot of Wawel Hill around 9:00 a.m., I was surprised by the number of people already processing by—representatives of schools, traditional guilds, government representatives, and parishes. Life-size, and larger-than-life size statues of Mary and the saints made their way past me, as I gazed with awe and wonder at some of the traditional and official costumes. The Order of the Holy Sepulcher processed by in its traditional capes, accompanied with representatives of various Krakow brotherhoods, some which donned traditional Cracovian dress-the long blue overcoat, the white blouse, and feathered-hats, which are very good representations of the traditional Polish noble dress of the 17th century. After the procession of guilds and associations, a virtual “parade of nuns” processed by (our famous “nun parade” at Notre Dame during last year’s Eucharistic Procession pales in comparison)! There were Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, and many other sisters—close to a thousand, by my estimates! Following them, were representatives of the various male orders in Krakow, such as the Dominicans, Franciscans, Benedictines, Carmelites, Bernardines, Capuchins, Jesuits, etc. You name the order, they were there! After this procession of the Church militant, there came the Church Triumphant—huge gold and silver reliquaries of the patron saints of Poland and Krakow. Various orders carried their patron saints. Taking part in the procession were St. Hyacinth, the friend of St. Dominic, who brought the Dominicans to Poland; Saint Jadwiga, the Queen of Poland and wife of Grand Duke Jagiello; Saint Brother Albert, a nineteenth century Polish saints, and founder of the Albertine sisters and brothers; St. John Cantius, the professor and saint of the Academy of Krakow; St. Jozef Bilczewski, the professor of the Jagiellonian University, and archbishop of Lwow, who was canonized in October 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI. At the end of the procession, of course, were the relics of St. Stanislaw, the Cracovian “proto-martyr.”

At the end of the procession of the Church Triumphant, finally came the priests, bishops, archbishops, and cardinals of Poland! In attendance were Cardinal Dziwisz of Krakow, Cardinal Macharski of Krakow, Primate Jozef Glemp, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Warsaw-Gniezno, and Primate of Poland, Cardinal Gulbinkiewicz, the Archbishop of Wroclaw, and Cardinal Marian Jaworski, himself a good friend of Karol Wojytla, the former President of the Pontifical Academy in Krakow, and now the Metropolitan Archbishop of Lwow. Not to even mention Archbishop Kowalczyk, the papal nuncio, and a host of other Polish bishops, from throughout the entire country!

The procession followed the ancient “path of King Boleslaw,” retracing his steps from Wawel Hill to the Church where St. Stanislaw was martyred. Walking in the procession was an awesome and overwhelming experience. This was the very same procession that Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, Cardinal Adam Sapieha, and the many other famous bishops of Krakow had walked throughout the centuries. Walking the path was like walking through time, recollecting the death and life of the saints. Nova et vetera, ever ancient, ever new, I think, may be the only way to describe my experience. I will go down into the chronicles of time as one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have come together to worship and celebrate the death and glorious witness to the faith of such a great saint. Here, the laity came together with the princes of the Church—making the communion of saints so much more tangible.

The Mass was celebrated outside, in front of the quaint, Baroque church that is now built on the spot of the martyrdom. The altar had as a backdrop a huge Polish flag, in which was hung an image of Our Lady of Czestochowa—the very same one which adorned the altar during the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Stanislaw, during his first pilgrimage here in 1979, as Pope John Paul II. “Remain strong in the faith,” the motto on the backdrop reminded us, referring to both the witness of St. Stanislaw and St. Archbishop Bilczewski, and alluding to the theme of the upcoming pilgrimage of the Holy Father to Poland. Primate Glemp gave an amazing and powerful, direct homily about the dangers of the modern ideologies of secularism and consumerism. “Was this just a conflict between two personalities?” asked the cardinal, “between a stubborn bishop and a prideful king? Or is there something deeper here? Was it just about the conflict and tensions between the Church and the State? No, because we see that the two can co-exist side-by-side, and work for the common good.” Then, there must be something more behind the bloody murder of the bishop by the king, the cardinal reminded us. “This conflict was a conflict about the Truth, and the painful reality that the Truth requires action and needs to be defended.” Throughout the history of Poland, there were numerous examples of unjust regimes and people who persecuted the Truth—the Swedes during the “deluge” of the 17th century, Hitler and Stalin in the not-so-distant past. “But who is the enemy now? Can the enemy only be a person, or a group of people? Or can it also be an ideology—an ideology which appears positive on the outside, but is in its deepest core an ideology of an anti-Truth?” The cardinal blasted the modern and often-heard (and often debated) terms of “freedom, tolerance, and justice.” It is precisely behind such terms that evil can lurk, presenting itself as good, and taking many people along with it. Now, more than ever, Poland must stand true to her Christian past, and to live with the bravery and courage of St. Stanislaw, who was willing to put his life on the line by reminding the king about the immorality of his actions.

After the incredible Mass and homily, the procession began its way back to the seat of the Polish kings and bishops, Wawel Cathedral—only to be interrupted by a German-accented voice, speaking in Polish, “I greet all of the Poles gathered here today. Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the assassination attempt on our beloved John Paul II, who was saved by the guiding hand of Mary…” Yes, Pope Benedict once again showed his proficiency and newly-learned skill of speaking Polish, by addressing the Poles on St. Peter’s square, and linking to Krakow via satellite, encouraging Poles to remain faithful to the same Mother that had protected this nation throughout the ages of history. I don’t know how this happened, but somehow I ended up in the front of the procession, right BEHIND the cardinals—and when I mean right, I mean about three feet away. All of the cardinals, but particularly Cardinal Macharski and Cardinal Dziwisz kept walking over to bless little children, the sick and the elderly. Seizing my chance, when he was coming back to file in the procession, I grabbed Cardinal Dziwisz and asked him for a blessing. I think my heart about stopped, since I was here, touching and being touched by a man who had held the Holy Father in his hands, during his dying moments. I was being blessed by the man who himself had lived under the same roof for over forty years with the greatest man and saint of our times. I felt the same way that I did in the cathedral during Cardinal Dziwisz’s ingress—my heart was pounding, I was completely overtaken with excitement and joy, and struck by the interior humility and magnanimity of the cardinal. I was most especially moved when he stopped to accept some flowers from a girl in her first communion dress, who had just received first communion, and who was able to get her picture with the cardinal.

Wow. I have come from Utah, a Mormon state, currently without even a bishop, to a city that has three cardinals, and which regularly attracts many more for events such as this one. I am truly learning what it means to be catholic—to be surrounded by a culture that is bigger than the mere addition of all of the churches and sacred places in town. It is a culture that is shaped and formed by the people who have come in the past, who are here now, and who will be here in the future. Being Catholic means being part of one great family, called to participate in the final and eternal communion with the saints, who accompany us on the journey, like they did in the procession. Being Catholic means being part of the family, the communion, in which all are children of God, and in which cardinals, children, the sick, and the young, are all journeying on a different road to the same place. The dock is the same, but some arrive by motorboat, some by sailboat, and some by swimming against the tide, until they are picked up and towed to shore. As Wojtyla expresses in the above-mentioned poem, we are all part of the Church where “the hidden breath of the Spirit will unify us all.” This Holy Spirit was present yesterday in the procession, through the witness of the saints, the participation and piety of the people from all ages and walks of life, and in the presence of the People of God (not to mention the windy, gusty day, which held off the rain until the minute I stepped into the trolley after the procession!

The witness of St. Stanislaw teaches us that we need not ever fear professing the Truth, with our words and with our actions. We may offend some people, but this has happened in the past. We may pay for it, maybe even with our lives. Countless saints have already traveled this path. For this is the nature of the Church. The Polish Church has learned this particularly well, expressed by Fr. Popieluszko’s famous saying, “If you were to take a handful of Polish soil and squeeze it, it would drip with the blood of the martyrs.” For the Church is not an authoritarian dictator, but rather, the guardian of the Truth. And it is for this Truth that many people fear taking a stand. Yet, the saints have shown us that it is worth it. For my Church is a Church which is my

Root which I thrust
Into the past and future alike,
The sacrament of my being in God,
Who is the Father.

Let us never forget that it is in the Church that we learn to stand up for freedom. It is only in the Truth that we are set free. A sacrament is a sign, and this Church points us to our “being in the Father,” Who we cannot and will not fear. St. Stanislaw knew this, and he paid with his life. Are we ready to follow in his steps?

Planned Parenthood

Margaret Sanger: eugenist, feminist, racist, and founder of Planned Parenthood

I originally wrote this piece for a campus newspaper about three years ago, hence all of the Notre Dame references, but I think it still pertains. Just thought that I would re-post it, since Planned Parenthood is still a formiddable force, and the battle for Notre Dame still continues.


Sex. From MTV to Hollywood, from books to magazines, relationships and human sexuality dominate today’s culture. In fact, they are a part of human nature and have dominated every civilization in the past as well. All one has to do is to look in the Bible, or in the Greek epics to see teachings and attitudes about sex.

Recently, many events at this university have sparked people’s dialogue and discussion on the topic. Last year, controversy surrounded the performance of the “Vagina Monologues” on Ash Wednesday on this campus. (Various groups are once again scheduling to perform this offensive show on campus this year). Recently, two topics of the new “Theology on Tap” series held at Legends on Wednesday nights have been “Relationships” and “How Far is Too Far?” A short time ago, during National Respect Life Week, the Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s Right to Life club displayed a Cemetery for the Innocents on South Quad. This display graphically showed the sheer reality of the three thousand and six hundred children killed in abortion every day in the United States. In fact, 43,350,000 babies have been surgically aborted in the past thirty years. This is one third of our generation. A reason for widespread abortion our society is due to the support it receives from prominent organizations that are intent on promoting a cultural mentality aimed at eliminating the poor and the minorities in the name of “woman’s choice.”

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), contrary to popular belief, is the nation’s single largest abortion provider. This is not surprising however, when one looks at the origins of this evil organization. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was a racist, a eugenist, and like Hitler, she was on a quest to create a perfect human race.

Margaret Higgins Sanger was born the sixth of eleven children into a large Irish family. Her mother died of tuberculosis at the age of fifty. Margaret blamed her mother’s death on the large number of pregnancies that her mother underwent. Later in her life, Margaret married and became the mother of three children that, according to her own writings, she should have killed. “The most merciful thing that the large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill it” (Woman and the New Race, 1920).

While she was studying to become a nurse, a career path that she never finished, she came to the conclusion that there are two parts to the human race, “fit” and “unfit.”

Free maternity care to the poor will encourage the healthier and more normal sections of the world to shoulder the burden of the unthinkable and indiscriminate fecundity of others…a dead and human waste. (Margaret Sanger, Pivot of Civilization, p. 177). [Emphasis added.]

The attentive reader would notice that Sanger seems to place herself in the “normal” sector of society, even though she came from a poor peasant family. The same reader cannot help but feel sorry for Sanger, who must “shoulder the burden” of the “unfit” people, clearly the “human waste” of society (the same people in which Blessed Mother Teresa saw the face of Christ).

In 1920, Margaret Sanger founded the American Birth Control League (ABCL). To promote this organization, she used such ingenious slogans as, “Birth Control: To Create a Race of Thoroughbreds” (“Birth Control Review,” November, 1921, vol. V, no. 11; p. 2). This slogan surely attracted a large following!

In 1930, Sanger changed the name of the ABCL to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. This organization promoted, held to, and taught Sanger’s philosophy of the human race, which she developed in 1932 in a work entitled “Plan for Peace.” She presented seven points and methods that she believed would bring about communal peace and create a unified and “fit” human race. Among these points were ideas to close immigration to aliens who were “feebleminded” and “idiots.” She also promoted a policy of sterilization and segregation to those whose traits might be deficient. Apportioning land to segregated persons under “competent instructors” was another on of her brilliant ideas to create the perfect human race. (See the sidebar for her complete policies).

According to Sanger, anybody who promotes sterilization and segregation should be seen as a hero. In fact, the Planned Parenthood website publishes a quote that praises her efforts, “There is a striking kinship between our movement and Margaret Sanger’s early efforts…Our sure beginning in the struggle for equality through nonviolent direct action may not have been so resolute without the tradition established by Margaret Sanger and people like her” (www.plannedparenthood.org/about/thisispp/sanger.html, October 27, 2003).
Surely, abortion is a direct action. The “nonviolent” aspect of it might be questioned however, when a human body is either ripped or crushed apart by the surgical forceps of the abortionist. Clearly, Sanger established a great tradition in which sterilization, racism, eugenics, contraception, and abortion should be promoted.

Not only did Sanger believe in the inferiority of the lower classes, as is clearly evident in her prior quotes, but she was also a racist. In the April 1933 issue of the “Birth Control Review,” Sanger stated that, “blacks, soldiers, and Jews are a menace to the race.” Knowing how unpopular her beliefs were, however, she stated that, “We do not want the word to get out that we want to exterminate the Negro Population” (Letter to Clarence J. Gamble, M.D., December 10, 1939).

Planned Parenthood clearly follows its founder’s principles, even today. As much as the organization would like to be seen as a benevolent organization dedicated to women’s care, it is a covert operation that is dedicated to genocide and racial and economic cleansing. Planned Parenthood tries to conceal Sanger’s real views and to justify them through “historical context,” yet to see the truth, all one has to do is read her books, Woman and the New Race or Pivot of Civilization, (which are available online at http://www.all.org/stopp/sanger.htm) to see for herself what kind of “benevolence” Sanger advocated.

Clearly, Margaret Sanger, the “heroic” champion of “women’s rights,” was not such a gallant figure after all. She was a hypocritical racist who was intent on purifying society and building a culture of “fit” people who would dominate the poor and the social outcasts. Perhaps what is even more disturbing is that the American taxpayer, whether or not he wants to support racism and murder, does so. The PPFA received $240.9 million in taxpayer money last year (http://www.all.org/stopp.htm, October 27th, 2003).

Isn’t it time that we start to stand up to face this behemoth? People are dying because of the dark agenda of Planned Parenthood. Isn’t it time that young people start to take a stand for their faith and their beliefs? We will not stand for racism, death, and social or economic discrimination. As Blessed Pier Giorgio Frasati, the patron of young people, stated so wisely not too long ago, “To live without faith, without a heritage to defend, without battling constantly for truth, is not to live, but to ‘get along;’ we must never just ‘get along.’” Aren’t we the Fightin’ Irish? Perhaps we should ask ourselves how this heritage applies to our lives, other than just football. Surely, the “Fightin” refers to more than just a game of football.Let us, “that American youth always so ready and eager to throw themselves wholeheartedly into every worth and noble venture and for whom obstacles are but a challenge to their courage, may [we] seize the torch of faith and carry it full-flaming to the ends of the earth until all men may see and know Jesus Christ!” These words from Pope Pius XII can certainly direct us today. Attend events like Theology on Tap. Become active in promoting a culture of life. The opportunities at Our Lady’s University are endless. It is time that faithful Christians unite and stand against the Planned Parenthoods of our society.

Heretics All

Since the recent trend in blog poems has turned to Hillaire Belloc, (see the Holy Whapping) here's one of his that I like!

Heretics all, whoever you may be,
In Tarbes or Nimes, or over the sea,
You never shall have good words from me.
Caritas non conturbat me.

But Catholic men that live upon wine
Are deep in the water, and frank, and fine;
Wherever I travel I find it so,
Benedicamus Domino.

On childing women that are forelorn,
And men that sweat in nothing but scorn:
That is on all that ever were born,
Miserere Domine.

To my poor self on my deathbed,
And all my dear companions dead,
Because of the love that I bore them,
Dona Eis Requiem.

Tischner Days

Fr. Jozef Tischner

This week, the 6th annual Tischner Days will be held in Krakow, celebrating the work of Fr. Jozef Tischner, the philosopher and friend of JPII. Though I couldn't find an English site for this year's events, here is some information on those of years past.

Work and Freedom

Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko Celebrates Mass in 1982

Today is the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, and also May Day. While the mandatory attendance at the communist party marches is now a thing of the past, the day is still a national holiday, turning into “Europe’s longest weekend.” May 3rd is also a national holiday, the anniversary of the passing of the historic Constitution of May 3, 1791. Mane people, especially in the United States, where knowledge of Polish and Central European history, in general, is at a miserable low, do not realize that this constitution was the second written constitution in the world, and the first in Europe. At the time, it was hailed by such people as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington as an amazing act of bravery and hope for the cause of freedom and democracy.
These days are a great time to reflect in the blessings of freedom, and to be thankful for what we have in the United States. Yesterday, I was in Warsaw, and visitied a place that I have come to be very attached to—the 1930’s, “Modernist Gothic” church of St. Stanislaw Kostka, in northern Warsaw’s Zoliborz neighborhood. Though the church is nestled into a block of apartments, and remains largely unnoticed by many people who pass by, it is perhaps on of the most important places in the Polish fight and struggle for freedom in the 1980’s, which led to the fall of communism throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
As one walks into the church yard, through the front gate, his sight is immediately drawn to the grave in the right hand side, which bears the name of “Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko: Murdered October 19th, 1984. Lived 37 years.” Here lie the mortal remains of one of the most beloved and widely hated priests in the Polish People’s Republic of the 1980’s. His body lies under a giant marble cross, which upon examination, one realizes that it is the cross of a Rosary, which surrounds it, made of stones that are connected by giant steel chain links. The grave steadily draws hundreds of people a day, both from Warsaw, and from outside of the city. John Paul II came to pray at the grave in 1987.
Born in 1947, at the height of some of the most turbulent times in the history of modern Poland, Adam Popieluszko was known to be a quiet and simple boy, born on a farm in a small Mazovian town. His parents instilled in him a sense of piety, and instructed him in his faith as a young boy. His contemplative nature soon led him to realize that he might have a vocation to the priesthood, and he joined the seminary at a fairly young age. In the 1950’s, the Polish Church was at the height of its persecution, as the communist authorities sought to dominate it by persecuting and arresting clergy. A dramatic moment came when Stefan Cardinal Wyszinski, the “Primate of the Millennium,” was placed under house arrest by the authorities, who tapped his phone lines and kept their eyes on him. Only by the end of the decade was there a “thaw,” when the Polish Church gained more rights, after the authorities realized that it would be impossible to battle with an institution that was the very soul and spiritual strength of the nation.
By the late 1970’s, Fr. Jerzy had been ordained, and was known for his quiet and simple ministry, both to the poor, and to young people. He always brought great joy to the sick in the hospital, where he was a chaplain. Never a very social person by nature, he enjoyed taking solitary kayaking, hiking, and skiing trips on his own, where he was able to experience the quiet majesty of the Lord in His Creation.
The 1980’s were marked by the now-famous rise of the Solidarity trade union, which was the beginning of a breath of freedom in the nation that had become accustomed to the iron grip and absurdity of a false ideology. The government realize that their ideology could not take hold in the hearts and souls of the Polish nation, so they sought to use any means necessary to suppress rebellions or movements for freedom. This fear if losing power, of course, was seen in the now-famous declaration of martial law by General Jaruzelski on December 13th, 1981.
It was during these difficult times that Fr. Popieluszko was inspired to begin saying a Mass for the Nation once a month, from the temporary altar that was set up on the balcony in front of the church. From this location, high above the thousands of Poles who would gather to pray for freedom and an end to violence against the dignity of the human person, Fr. Jerzy would preach firm, but peaceful, homilies, condemning the unjust actions and persecutions of the government. It was from this balcony that Poles could hear about the freedom that they longed for, and be inspired to pursue it. “Conquer evil with good,” Fr. Jerzy would repeat after St. Paul, always condemning the use of force against the injustice.
His homilies revealed the power of an idea. Never encouraging anybody to fight with violence, and always encouraging to act prudently, resolutely, and justly in resisting the government, the authorities grew nervous about the possible loss of power, and about this simple “priest” who darted to challenge the state. His preaching of the Truth made the communist government ever more nervous and determined to protect their lies and falsehoods.
Throughout 1984, Fr. Jerzy was faced with many troubles. Although he believed that he was truly called to say this Mass for the intention of freedom, he grew tired of the continuous pressure by the government, which threatened him with jail, and other forms of punishment. The constant psychological stress made him consider leaving to Rome to study and rest, but in the end, he decided to stay with his people, even though several attempts on his life had been made. On October 19th, 1984, Fr. Popieluszko was asked to participate in a Mass and Rosary in Bydgoszcz. His last words at the Rosary meditation were, “Let us pray to be free from fear and fright, but first of all, from the desire for revenge and violence.” These words are striking, and were lived out by the man who spoke them.
On his way to Torun, Polish SB (secret police) officials stopped his car, dressed up as regular traffic officers. They then forced him to hand over the car keys. The driver was taken out, and he was arrested and taken to a police car. He was then thrown into the trunk, after being stunned by beating over the head. However, one of the officers became afraid, and he jumped out of the moving car. Car malfunctions also began to plague the “kidnappers,” and they realizes that Fr. Jerzy was also trying to set himself free. Upon stopping the car, Fr. Jerzy jumped out of the trunk and began to run for help. The kidnappers caught up to him, and beat him to the point of unconsciousness, throwing him again into the trunk. Coming back to consciousness, Fr. Jerzy began trying to set himself free, once again. The officials parked the car near a forest, and began to beat him with sticks, threatening him with a gun. After he lost consciousness once again, they bound his arms and legs and proceeded to drive a few miles down the road again. Once again stopping, they beat him again, and tied a noose around his neck, connected to his legs, so that when he tried to move his legs, he would begin to choke himself. He was still alive, though not conscious.
Deliberating what to do next, they decided to stop at the Wloclawek Dam on the Vistula River, where the threw Fr. Jerzy into the river to drown him. It is not known whether he was still alive at this time or not.
The nest day, the official television report informed the country that Fr. Jerzy had been “kidnapped,” though nobody believes the report. Ten days later, his body was found in the river, and he was hailed a martyr and a true hero.
Fr. Jerzy’s process for beatification is moving forward, and he has been declared “venerable.” He is only one victim of a regime that sought to limit the freedom that man is called to. This freedom, as John Paul II stated, “is not only given as a gift, but also as a task and responsibility.”
So many people take the gift of freedom for granted, and do not appreciate the sacrifices that have been made in order to secure its blessings. How many times, do people take for granted their freedom to worship, to criticize a government, to speak about the Truth? There are many Catholics in the United States who take their faith for granted, and do not realize that people in the MODERN WORLD are dying for their faith!
These questions are all worthy questions to ponder and to reflect on as we celebrate this weekend in Poland, and as Memorial Day nears back in the United States. Perhaps we can all appreciate in a new way the faith that has been given us as the greatest gift, and which we so often take for granted!

Revolutionary Scheming

Supporters of Gay Rights at the 2004 March in Krakow

And the corresponding reaction of Polish conservative youth.

April 28th in Krakow marks the celebration of the “Day of Democracy.” Who declared this day a holiday remains a mystery, and the use of the word “democracy” in relation to the planned events is questionable. Namely, for the second time in four years, there will be a protest march through the streets of the Old Town, which is being organized by the “Social Democratic Party” of Poland, self-advertised as the “new leftist party of a young Poland.” In reality, the party does not represent anything new, for it was formed by a few former members of SLD, the dominant post-communist party that had been in power until the last elections, when a young Polish anti-communist conservative party swept the elections.

The Law and Justice Party is headed by Lech Kaczynski as the president, even though many people claim that the real power lies in his twin brother, Jaroslaw, who is the head of the party. The party has taken upon itself to purge the government and all government institutions of former members of the PZPR, the Polish communist party, many of whom have high positions in the state-run media, and in the various branches of government. Naturally, a post-communist, liberal media has not been sympathetic to a conservative, anti-communist, pro-life, pro-marriage, Catholic president, whose Prime Minister wears a Rosary ring and is seen regularly at public Masses (I have been to four with him in the past few weeks). Perhaps they also fear that the purge is coming their way, with the passage of a new bill on media reform.

As in the United States, and in Western Europe, one of the major debates in Poland right now is the debate about the “persecution” of homosexuals. Three weeks ago, the Human Rights Watch, a New-York based group, declared that an official “homophobia” exists in Poland. Statements such as this, and extreme pressure from the pro-homosexual European Union, of course, only further encourage the Polish minority of homosexuals to “battle” with the Polish government, the Church, and with the traditionally Christian culture of this country. The most notorious “fighter” is Robert Biedron, the president of Poland’s Campaign Against Homophobia, who thinks that the Kaczynskis are “medieval conservatives.” Of course, he seems not to recall the fact that homosexuals would have been tortured or burned in the Middle Ages, while now they enjoy full rights as citizens, and nobody is harming them in any way. Kaczynski’s justification of banning a homosexual parade as president of Warsaw, when he stated, “sexual orientation is a private matter and should be kept as such,” has been perceived as, “homosexuals should be kept silent and denied their rights.” Either way, there is great pressure in small sectors of society to make Poland a place “safe for democracy,” a country of “tolerance,” because the Polish constitution gives equal rights to all people.

Tomorrow, the march of gays and lesbians, and their supporters, will begin at the Barbakan, the old gate to the city, and then proceed along the streets, ending on the market square. In an ironic and perverse reversal, the famous gate that led to the royal city and the capital of Catholic Poland, will now be the gathering place of anti-Catholic liberals and homosexuals. To make things even more exciting, at the same time, the city authorities have issued a permit to the “All-Polish Youth,” an ultraconservative group of young people, often misrepresented as fascists and homophobes, who will also be gathering tomorrow on the market square in support of traditional Polish values. While the group is not a fascist group, as they are widely called, the group is not exactly known for its “peaceful” demonstrations. It will be interesting to see what will happen when the two groups meet on the main market square. As one blogger, clearly fed up with the debate, wrote, “I hope all of those idiots from both sides beat each other up.”

On the one hand, I see the justification of such a comment, since the debate in Poland has been present in the media for a few years, with the Gazeta Wyborcza, a Polish paper similar in political outlook to the New York Times, publishing at least two or three articles daily about gays and their battle for rights in Poland. Nobody mentions the fact that, when in a country of forty million people, five hundred show up at a rally, it is a good turnout. I wonder how many will come tomorrow. From posters that hail “Krakow: City of Tolerance,” to newspaper announcements, the planned pro-gay “rights” protest has had a lot of media hype. Of course, there have also been posters calling for “STOP Deviations and Disorders.”

On the other hand, I think that the issue cannot be dismissed so cynically, and is very important to consider. This whole state of affairs reveals to us the workings of revolutionary groups, which seek to undermine established order. In his brilliant novels, and particularly in Demons, Dostoevsky’s characters give the reader much insight into the workings of revolutionary groups in Russia during the nineteenth century. Socialism, nihilism, rationalism, and other revolutionary philosophies were exported to Russia from the West, particularly France and Germany, and implanted into important and influential circles of the academic elites. Small groups of intellectuals gathered, having adopted these ideals, and planned to overthrow the existing social order by spreading the revolutionary ideals to the rabble, who would be responsible for carrying out the bloody changes.

Rather than seeking to dialogue with the established social order, and with the powerful Orthodox Church in Russia, the revolutionaries naturally saw religion and the traditions of their country as their number one enemy:

Firm the people stood,
For liberty, equality, brotherhood…
And when rebellion once was sparked…
To hold property as one,
And take their just revenge upon
Marriage, church, and family ties—
Evils in which the old world lies.

Here, Pyotr Stepanovich, in Demons, presents the plan of the revolutionaries. It seems that not much has changed in the modern culture war. In the name of “tolerance,” of “democracy,” and ultimately, in the name of “liberty, equality, and brotherhood,” the homosexual agenda is pushed. The Church, the family, and the marriage are all seen as “evils of the old world,” and are flatly rejected and undermined by radical activists. The people who actually struggle with homosexual tendencies, and feel the deep inner hurt and longing for love and fulfillment, have become victims of a few activists in a system which is proposed among the intellectual elites, based upon a faulty notion of “freedom” and human “rights.” This is evident in the invention of an entire discipline of studies to support their movements—studies in “gender” and in “queer theory.” These ideas are implanted into the ideas of young people, and then spur some, who may already have homosexual tendencies, on to live a homosexual lifestyle, while others are encouraged to fight with the traditional social order in order to make culture and society are more “welcoming” place, to create a pluralistic post-modern society of many individual truths.

The modern secular humanism that is prevalent in the West, and whose claws are tearing their way into Catholic Poland, does not differ much from the nineteenth century revolutions of which Dostoevsky speaks. There is an ingrained, unfounded, and prevalent suspicion of the Church and of traditional values. The homosexual movement in Poland argues its position by referring to the European Union. If the EU is progressive and enlightened, the guarantor of human rights, then Poland must be a country of the Dark Ages, a clerical theocracy in which the Church rules the state and tells people what they must do. Of course, the homosexual movement is not the only movement that insinuates distrust against the Church and misrepresents it. Other examples are the Da Vinci Code phenomenon, the rise of the New Age and interest in eastern religions, as well as the media bias. This of course, is no surprise. Four hundred years ago, Pascal observed, “Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid that it is true.”

It is quite astounding that the homosexual movement has so much media coverage, much to the credit of these minorities of people who often dedicate their whole energies to “fighting for the cause.” This is true at Notre Dame, where professors such as Gail Bederman can be found everywhere, questioning the traditional teachings of the Church, and seeking to fight for “equal rights,” with the full support and encouragement from the staff of the Observer and the liberal establishment. Professors such as Ed Manier correspond regularly with the Progressive Student Alliance, and ask advice of liberal students as to how best go about an issue on campus. In reality, then, we find ourselves in an absurd situation, where liberal students have a great say, and even Notre Dame Philosophy Professors take advice from the grassroots activists. In Poland, it is also a small group of radical activists who have the support of Gazeta Wyborcza, the largest newspaper in Poland, as well as the state-run television, which is headed by former communists. When a homosexual march took place in Krakow two years ago, EU member countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, sent homosexual activists to Poland to “educate” the Polish homosexuals about how to successfully create a lot of noise and attract a lot of attention.

What these people do not understand is that their movements have been proved wrong throughout the centuries. In fact, their fight for “equal rights” is not really anything new or progressive. Already two hundred fifty to three hundred years ago, the Enlightenment directed its attack against the Church, against marriage, and against the family. “Man was born free, but is everywhere in chains,” stated Rousseau, who fought against the “chains” of the Catholic Church and of the establishment. Voltaire hated the Catholic Church with a passion, and his one goal in life was to defeat it. Fundamental human institutions were also a target of his attack. “The teaching on the indissolubility of marriage is the most brutal and de-humanizing” form of limiting people’s freedom, wrote Voltaire.

Thus, what we see in this manifestation that is being organized by the party of the new “young Poland” is actually nothing new at all. The methods used by the homosexuals to push their agenda are not unfamiliar to us throughout at least the past three centuries. Dostoevsky noticed one hundred and fifty years ago:

We are assured the world is becoming more and more united, is being transformed into brotherly communion, by the shortening of distances, by the transmitting of thoughts in the air. Alas, do not believe in such a union of people…they distort their own nature, for they generate many meaningless and foolish desires, habits, and most absurd fancies in themselves. They live only for mutual envy, for pleasure seeking, and self-display.

In this world of the twenty-first century, we are confronted by arguments in favor of “equal rights,” of “brotherhood,” (Oops, forgive my non-inclusive word. Perhaps I should say, “solidarity,” a more “gender-neutral” word). Compassion is misunderstood, and becomes interpreted as something that gives one the responsibility to support any view whatsoever, as long as it is in the persecuted minority. “Love” is raped, and the idea of a self-giving sacrifice is violated by the concept of pleasure and fulfillment. Perhaps most ironically, in the name of “tolerance” for homosexuals, we must be intolerant of those who support traditional values. Dostoevsky warns that the more one gives into these revolutionary ideas, “the more he sinks into suicidal impotence.” Impotent or not, definitely not fruitful.

Fast Week

Once again, another week has flown by since the last time I wrote anything. It has been a week filled with a lot of work, after my return from Rome, but also with a lot of interesting and unique opportunities.

This past weekend, George Weigel was in Poland to receive the “Gratia Artis” award from the Polish Minster of Culture, Minister Ujazdowski. He is only the second non-Pole to receive this medal, which is given for a unique and significant contribution to the preservation of Polish history and culture. Norman Davies, the British scholar who is a Polish historian (and happens to live next door), is the other non-Polish recipient of the award.

After receiving the award in Warsaw, Mr. Weigel came to Krakow in order to be present at the awards ceremony for the Papal Knowledge Contest, which was organized by the Tertio Millennio Institute, and whose aim was to continue the interest in the study of the life of John Paul II. High school students from all over Poland were able to partcipate, and the winning student received a trip to Rome for two people. Many of the finalists received books about the life of John Paul II, and George Weigel was there to also autograph the new Polish edition of Witness to Hope. I was very blessed to have been able to meet him and to spend some time with him, talking about the American Church, as well as about Polish history. Of course, he will be here again in the summer, as one of the lecturers of the annual “Summer Seminar Tertio Millennio,” organized for students from around the world. Its lectures and seminars focus on the role of a civil society in the modern world, and discuss the ideas in Centissimus Annus.

My classes have been going well, and I am realizing that I have a lot of work ahead, since final exams will begin to take place in the first weeks of June. Of course, May will be a very busy month, and the time for exams will come sooner than I expect. Next week is another week free from classes, since the first of May and the third of May are both national holidays. May 3rd celebrates the anniversary of the Polish Constitution of 1791, the second written constitution in the world, and the first in Europe. May 1st, though established as a holiday by the communists, has remained traditionally, and the two holidays have been connected by a day free from classes on the 2nd, creating the “longest weekend in Europe.” I am looking forward to traveling a little bit, with some Notre Dame friends, who will be coming to Warsaw and Krakow.
I am still adjusting to the system of education here. Whereas in Notre Dame, and most American universities, the student has tests and papers throughout the course of the semester, here, the final exam is the only determining factor of one’s final grade. Some of my exams will be oral finals, and some will be written. Though it provides greater freedom in planning out one’s own work, it is also a danger, of course, that one will procrastinate until the very end. We will see what the exams will be like, and how I will be able to talk about theology in Polish in front of my professor!

This weekend, I hope to be able to tour the Warsaw Uprising Museum in Warsaw, which is one of the newest and best museums in Central Europe. Though it may currently be under expansion, I would recommend to anybody that ever travels to Warsaw to see it. It tells the tragic story of how a city fought for its freedom, with the promise that it would receive western aid, only to be betrayed by the Red Army, and destroyed by the Germans. It is a story of great valor and heroism, as well as of tragedy and of disgust. If anybody would like to familiarize themselves more with the Uprising, Norman Davies recently published a book, Uprising ’44, which tells the story in much detail. I have yet to read it.

The weather here I Krakow seems to have jumped from winter to summer. This week, within the course of three warm days, all of the leaves have sprung forth on the trees and bushes, and all of the flowers have begun to bloom, creating a very green, fresh, and colorful environment. Though I am sure that we can still expect some rain and cold weather, the weather has been a temptation to do anything other studying. After the short, gray days of a Polish winter, the sunny and long days of a Slavic Summer are here. Only, I wish I had the time to be outside and enjoy it like I should! With the above-mentioned friends, though, we may be going to the mountains next week, in order to enjoy some free time and rest, for them, after their exams, for me, before my exams.

I do have a few more thoughts on an event going on in Krakow tomorrow, but I will gather those thoughts and write a separate entry…

Divine Mercy Sunday

Happy Feast of Divine Mercy (at least over here in Europe)!

May our Merciful Lord watch over us and may we always rejoice in the great mercy that He has shown us, by suffering for us in order to reveal to us His glory, and the joy that we are called to!

Even though it's been over a year, let's pray for the quick and speedy canonization of Pope John Paul II, who passed away on the Vigil of this feast last year!

Blogger is having problems with images, so please be patient as I will put more up later.

Pictures

Click here to see some of my pictures from Rome. I will be updating them with time.

De Castitate

Forgive my long silence on this side of the Atlantic, but the past few weeks have been incredibly busy, as the longing of Lent changed into the Easter joy, when we celebrate the redemption of man, and the profound truth that “God is love.”

The week before Holy Week, I took part in a symposium at the Jagiellonian University, sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Theology, entitled “Man as the path of the Church: John Paul II’s Theological Anthropology.” I cannot even begin to explain how amazing the lectures were.

With introductory remarks by His Eminence Cardinal Dziwisz, and participation from famous Catholic priests, such as Fr. Jacek Salij, OP, Fr. Maciej Zięba, OP, as well as lay professors, such as Marian Grabowski, the symposium was a serious, scholarly attempt to discuss and continue the thought of John Paul II. Professor Grabowski, a nuclear physicist who, in the words of Fr. Kupczak, decided to “occupy himself with more important things” and become a theologian and philosopher, gave an amazing lecture entitled, “Between Excitement and Being Moved: The Originality of the Image of Marital Love in John Paul II’s Writings.” Here are some thoughts, both based on his lecture, and on my own reflections.

John Paul II’s view of chastity is truly revolutionary. In our culture and in our Church, too, chastity is so often seen as a denial, as a negative expression of the person’s sexual life. It involves a “saying no” to sex, a limitation of freedom, and an “imposition” of a rigid rule. Not many teenagers are eager to go to a “chastity talk.” Why is this so?

Wojtyla’s understanding of chastity focuses on an “account of tenderness,” or an account of “perceptiveness of emotion.” In Love and Responsibility, Wojtyla seeks to combine the traditional Thomistic understanding with his phenomenological account of the “entire man.” Traditionally, the understanding of chastity has been removed from the deepest and most authentic desires of the human person, providing only intellectual and rigid definitions. There has been a lack of definitions in which the worth and depth of the human person have been taken into account. One cannot talk about chastity, about its true and beautiful meaning, without taking into account the feelings and the tenderness of the human heart. There has been a lack of phenomena that take into account the inner worth of the human person, and the mere account or idea of chastity, as it is commonly understood, does not move a human person’s heart or emotions. There is a lack of the “tenderness” that every human being needs.

Wojtyla argues that this impersonal understanding does not speak to the whole man, who is also made of feelings and emotions. He perceives that there needs to be an account of chastity that speaks not only to the mind, but also to the heart, which is the source of tenderness and emotions. It is in the heart that man can be fully convinced of the truth, about himself, and about the meaning of his sexuality. However, these emotions and tenderness cannot be a “soft tenderness,” but must also have a certain degree of firmness and steadfastness. A love that is full of “soft tenderness” is an immature love, a love that is inexperienced and out of touch with the human person. This is a love of emotions that are not tempered by the will. Rather, the model of tenderness is found in motherly tenderness. Paradoxically, this motherly tenderness is precisely the tenderness of fatherhood, of God the Father who loves his children as a “jealous lover,” and as a “bridegroom,” of which the Scriptures so often remind us.

Accompanying this emphasis on the human heart and the steadfast tenderness that is necessary when speaking of human love, Grabowski also focused on the distinction between “excitement (podniecenie),” and “being moved (wzruszenie),” the latter being a very difficult word to translate, due to the depth of the meaning it carries. It could be described as “being moved in the interior depths of the soul.” The difference between the two, as is seen in the very definition of the words, is that excitement is something shallow, something “sharp.” “Being moved,” on the other hand, describes a deep interior experience, a “tenderness” that is affected in the depths of the human being.

These two reactions can reveal to a person the state of his inner being, and allow him to understand the level of his own tenderness. Upon seeing a naked human body, a person can be both excited and moved. The difference in his reaction depends on the indescribable, interior dispositions of his heart. It seems that the common understanding of chastity, in the negative sense, seems to address this “excitement.” Rather, what is needed is an understanding of chastity whose subject is the tenderness that results from being moved. A person who truly lives chastity realizes that it is not about saying, “no,” but that it is about saying “yes,” to the entirety of the human person. In our culture, nakedness is not seen as something that individualizes the human person, but rather, sees him as an object. It is to this objective understanding of the human person that chastity in the negative sense can be applied. But in the positive sense, the chaste person sees another human being and is moved. Truly, how many things can evoke a feeling of tenderness in a man? Freckles on a female face, the weaknesses and fatigue a woman experiences at times, the reflection of the sun’s rays radiating from a woman’s hair--these are all situations that speak to the inner depths of a man, which stir up sympathy and tenderness in a man. The things move a man, and not merely excite him. They are evidence that there is an inner beauty hidden in each person, a beauty that cannot be explained through mere objective standards.

It is precisely in this concept of tenderness that Wojtyla can provide the answer to this deep mystery, the question of “What is it that moves me in these common situations?” The concept of tenderness is also the answer to the accusation, that ethics is simply a series of norms and rules that have to be blindly followed. How can one explain the “way it should be” without providing a concrete image or picture as an example? Wojtyla cannot provide the example, but points to the love of Christ as the example. In Him one can see Truth, Beauty, goodness, humility—but is there tenderness? It is hard to imagine a moment in the Bible where Jesus would exhibit the marital tenderness that husband and wife, lover and beloved, are called to. So where does this idea of tenderness come from?

Jesus is very intimate and tender, but He speaks the language of ordinary human gestures. He gives up the specific language of romantic love, and elevates every ordinary human gesture into an expression of love. His goodness speaks as a language in and of itself. How can one not see the tenderness of Jesus at the Wedding in Cana, when his mother comes to Him and asks Him to do something to help the bride and the groom, who risk embarrassment at their own wedding reception? Though it was not yet His time to perform miracles, Jesus is moved interiorly out of love for His mother, who places her entire trust and confidence in Him. He is moved because of the intimate confidence that His mother place in Him, which leads Him to fulfill His mother’s request.

How can one not see the language of tender love at the foot of the cross, when Jesus is moved by the presence of His mother? In the worst moment of his life, in the midst of his suffering and death, Jesus is excited and comforted, moved that His mother has come to share in the agony of His last moments on the earth. She who brought Him into the world will now accompany Him as He leaves to His Father’s house. His tender affection and his interior movement result in his entrusting his mother to his beloved and most intimate friend, and in giving His disciples to His mother. His suffering and death become an occasion to speak the language of love by entrusting to His mother the future of the entire Church, because he loves her tenderly.

One can also see this “firm tenderness” in the love that St. Joseph showed to his child. A father’s love for his son is not expressed through feminine tenderness, but rather, it is expressed through challenge. A man’s tenderness is apparent in his compassion for the weak and those in trouble. A father expresses his love to his sons by placing before them challenges, and thus enabling them to confront their weaknesses. Throughout these difficulties, when a child’s weaknesses are apparent, the father’s loving gaze rests upon his son, who tries to overcome the challenge on his own, all with the support and love of the father. Fatherly love helps the child to mature, and to gaze on the world with hope and with love, because of the confidence of love.

Perhaps one of the most moving moments in the Scriptures, which illustrates the tender love that moves the inner depths of the human person, is the gaze of Jesus upon Peter in the Gospel of St. Luke. In his First Letter, St. Peter describes the “patience of God.” This insight is no doubt the result of the heart-wrenching and self-revelatory look of Jesus, after Peter denied him three times. Jesus’ loving gaze revealed to Peter the true meaning of a patient love, and convinced him interiorly of the truth about Jesus, and about himself, which he already knew, but was too weak to live up to. Peter saw Christ and he remembered, he grieved for his denial, and became more convinced of his love.

Being convinced of love--this is the love and chastity that every man is called to. It is a love that is beyond mere excitement, but rather, it is a love that moves the very interior of a human person. This applies to all stages of one’s life, whether to a married couple or to a single person. Excitement, a natural human reaction, is only a shallow component of the true depth of the encounter between one human person and another. The language of tender love, spoken through ordinary human gestures, moves the person who is living chastity. Chastity sees the inner beauty, and moves one in the very depths of his being. For a chaste person, every encounter becomes a Petrine encounter, an encounter with the living God, Who convinces man of his highest and most noble calling, and “reveals man to himself.”

Roman Spring

Scott Hahn once wrote a widely read book, Rome Sweet Home. Well, I feel like I can say “home sweet home,” after coming back from Rome. This is obviously not to deny the fact that, as a Catholic, Rome is my spiritual “home,” but rather a sigh of relief that the crazy week of traveling and seeing the most amazing churches and museums that I have seen in my life has come to an end. Now, I will have some time to reflect upon and soak up all of the experiences of my Holy Week in Rome!

First of all, and most importantly, our trip was a pilgrimage, to spend the holiest week of the year with the Holy Father. And did we! I went with a group of guys from Poland to the UNIV conference, a conference that has been sponsored yearly since 1968, whose focus is to provide university students from around the world a chance to meet each other, and discuss important topics facing the Church. This year’s focus was on the “Role of the Mass Media in Shaping Catholic Culture,” and was very interesting. As part of the conference, the UNIV participants are traditionally granted a special audience with the Holy Father. Ok, so I won’t be falsely humble—I GOT TO TOUCH POPE BENEDICT! I only share this because it was an amazing experience. In fact, as it turned out, it was one of the three times that I would be within one or two feet of the Holy Father, but it was the only time that I was able to shake his hand. There was definitely an outward “radiation of sanctity” which emanated from Pope John Paul II, when I was able to be near him. This charismatic gift inspired many to go out and evangelize, to “not be afraid” to “open wide the doors to Christ,” and to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. This radiation of sanctity from John Paul was the Holy Spirit, the gift, who then led others to make gifts of themselves to the world. What struck me when I was near Pope Benedict was his simple humanity, and the silent, peaceful longing for interiority and contemplation. In a get-together with Bishop Javier Echevarria, the Prelate of Opus Dei, aware of the Pope Benedict’s character and personality, told us that he apologized to the Holy Father that so many people were trying to touch him, and that he understood if he felt overwhelmed. To this, Pope Benedict replied that he didn’t mind, because he know that the young people were reaching out, not to him, but to Christ, who is in their midst. How true—Christ is present in such a different way in this pope. One looks upon him, and having been sent on a mission by John Paul II, he is now reminded of the need for contemplation and prayer, which is the foundation of everything. It is only through prayer, and particularly in the Liturgy, that one can meet Christ in an ever-new way, and be refreshed to participate in the modern cultural dialogue the John Paul II called us to.

Of course, I refuse to play the game of “compare the popes,” and none of these reflections are meant to somehow say one pope is better than the other. They are simply personal reflections of the differences I have noticed in their personalities, and how their personalities both show us different aspects of the Christian life that must be emphasized.

What I never cease to be amazed by the mind of our Holy Father. Before the audience, we watched a video clip of his meeting with youth, on the Thursday before Pam Sunday. In this new tradition, the Holy Father met with youth and answered their personal questions about vocation, sexuality, and the crisis of culture. I was amazed by the Holy Father’s answers, which were not prepared before hand, but improvised on the spot. Or rather, they were the fruit of years of prayer and contemplation, as well as theological study. In his usual manner, he responded with flawless paragraphs of eloquent and deep prose, and left now question unanswered from a variety of different angles. We are so blessed to have a Holy Father who is a man of incredible prayer, deep reflection, and amazing intellect and wisdom!

In addition to the audience with the Holy Father, we were able to participate in all of the Papal Liturgies of the week—the Chrism Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, the Mass for the Institution of the Eucharist on Thursday Evening in St. John Lateran, the Good Friday Liturgy at St. Peter’s, the Papal Stations of the Cross, as well as the Easter Vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica. (Oh yeah, and the Urbi et Orbi on Sunday on St. Peter’s Square). Though we didn’t have tickets to get into anything besides the audience, thanks to my awesome Notre Dame architecture friends who just happen to “have to” study in Rome for this year, we were able to get into everything, and have great seats, as well.

The week was definitely a crazy time of commuting to and from Via Aurelia, comparable only to the Las Vegas Strip, except with the amount of Catholic hostels, instead of casinos. On every block, there are at least a few houses or hostels run by one order or another. We were able to visit all four of the major basilicas, as well as a number of the famous churches in Rome. I’m sure that I will forget some, but right now I can remember the Gesu, Santa Maria Ara Coeli, San Agostino, San Luigi Re Fracese, San Stanislao Kostka, Santa Croce in Gerusalemne, Santa Trinita dei Monte, San Andrea della Valle, Santa Magdalena, Santa Maria Sopre Minerva, the Pantheon, and many others. These are most of the churches that we visited that house the relics of great saints, such as St. Ignatius in the Gesu, Saint Catherine of Siena and Blessed Fra Angelico in Santa Maria Sopre Minerva, Saint Josemaria Escriva in Santa Maria Della Pace, and the relics of the True Cross and the cross-beam of the cross of Dismas the Good Thief in Santa Croce. I forgot to also mention Santa Presetta, the 8th century basilica that houses the pillar upon which Christ was scourged. Obviously, a lot of people argue that these relics are a fraud and that they are not the actual ones.

First of all, even if they are not “the real thing,” they are places of veneration of the Passion of Christ that have been sanctified by the prayers of pilgrims throughout the centuries. There are man miracles associated with them, so whether they are the actual relics or not, they are still places of special grace. Secondly, it is very likely that these are the actual relics from Jerusalem, since Jerusalem was under Roman control in the late period of antiquity. Thus, if an emperor, such as Constantine, who was a Christian, was in control of Jerusalem, he could have easily brought the remnants of the relics associated with the passion of Christ to Rome. Hence the reason for the existence of the Scala Santa, as well as the other “artifacts” associated with the death of Jesus.

In addition to seeing many of these famous churches, I was also able to see many cultural and historical masterpieces, both works of art and architecture. Of course, we saw the Fontana di Trevi, which shocked me with its size. I never imagined the fountain to be so huge—the figures in it were at least twice life-size. In the Villa Burghese, a museum in the former family mansion of the famous Roman aristocrat Burghese family, we saw the most famous and well-known statues by Bernini, as well as paintings by Raphael, Caravaggio, and other masters of the Italian Renaissance. Bernini’s expression was absolutely amazing, particularly in his Apollo and Daphne, and in his David. Having never seen Bernini’s David, before, I was extremely impressed, and decided that I like it better than Michelangelo’s masterpiece. Whereas Michelangelo focuses on the idealism and sheer strength of man, by portraying David as a muscular and towering force, Bernini is more focused on the tension of the moment. He captures David in the split-second before he releases the sling with which he will slay Goliath. This produces an incredible tension and expression that is visible in the tense muscles of a young man, slender and realistically built. He is about to exert all of his strength in the one chance that he has to either save his people or be killed. The strength of the human spirit, of perseverance, will, and determination are all captured in this block of marble, which has been chiseled into perfection.

Of course, the Musei Vaticani also made a huge impression on me, where I was able to stand face-to-face with pieces of art, sculptures, and masterpieces that I have been reading about in textbooks since at least high school. I realized that it is one thing to read about a sculpture, or a painting, and another thing to stand in front of something that is 2500 years old (here, I am referring to the Lacöon Group). I was struck by the way that people more than two millennia ago were already able to express their spirit by creating masterpieces of art, which have lasted until today. Perhaps modern artists could learn something from these ancient and beautiful masterpieces, which have lasted for ages and are still admired for the beauty, because of their ability to capture and explore the fundamental truths of human nature!

It was quite frustrating to see all of the “tourists” in the Vatican Museums who had absolutely no clue about history or the tradition of the Church. Until one learns the medium, or at least about the medium, through which to view these works of art, it is as if he were only looking at the tip of the iceberg. It was sad to see all of the people who had no clue about what was painted in the frescoes, such as in the room with the Triumph of Christianity (I forget the name of the room). The most frustrating thing that I encountered there, and which I also often encounter here in Krakow, is when an English tour guide who is clearly not Catholic, and really has no clue about the tradition of the Church, seeks to explain to Americans or British about the art they are looking at, and has the job simply because he can speak English. Art is a dangerous thing, and one can either leave a place, having been brainwashed and misled to believing the half-truths which are so popular these days in pop culture, or he can truly seek to learn about what a painting really portrays, and the depth and importance of its meaning. Of course, which is easier?

In addition to seeing all of the beautiful churches and the works of both ancient and Early Modern Art, I was fascinated and greatly moved by my visit to the places of importance to the Early Christians, namely, the Via Appia Antica, and the Catacombs of St. Priscilla, in northern Rome. Entering into the catacombs, I was filled with images from the book Quo Vadis, by Henryk Sienkiewicz, probably one of Poland’s best-known modern authors, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. In this novel, which I think every Christian should read, he provides a fascinating account of the life of the Christians during the reign of Nero. Though the story is fictional, the book and the situations described are historical, and essentially, he was the creator of the historical novel genre.

As we descended into down the spiral staircase from the sunny courtyard, I was filled with anticipation—I would be visiting the tombs and meeting places of those who preceded us in the Christian faith by 1700 years! In this huge complex of tunnels and various levels (more than 13 km of tunnels on all levels!), we stopped at the tombs of various wealthier Christians, as well as those of the poor, who were provide graves by the Christian community. The rich and ancient heritage of our faith was here before my eyes. We saw the oldest image of Mary in Christianity, holding the child Jesus, much like in the images of Our Lady that we see today. We also saw one of the oldest images of Christ, the Good Shepherd. Accompanying the images of Christ and of Mary, we saw many images of Susanna, from the Book of Daniel, who was a symbol of the early Church. Just as she was unjustly persecuted and accused of crime, so were the early Christians persecuted and accused of many false crimes. Often, there images of the three young men, Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, also from the Book of Daniel, who, though tried by fire by the pagan king, survived due to the protection of God, present in an angel in their midst. Likewise, the fires of the pagan Roman emperors tried the early Church, but the suffering Christ accompanied them in their trials.

One of the most interesting places in the catacombs was a large crypt, where the Christians would gather around the tombs of their relatives, and celebrate the Eucharist. Near it, there was a niche in the wall, with graffiti from US GI’s from the Second World War, who surely used the place as a hideout during the war. I was walking through history, but I was also touching the lives of thousands of people. Forty thousand people had once been buried in this cemetery, and thousands had come there before me, to be buried, to venerate the dead, or to seek shelter from dangers above.

In the same way, St. Peter once sought to leave the city of Rome, because of the persecution of the Christians. He believed that it would be safer for him to leave Rome and to guide his flock in safety, than to risk being killed and leave his flock abandoned. He decided to walk out of the city on the Via Appia, a seek shelter among the Christian outside the city. Here, in the midst of the green Mediterranean fields and the hot Roman sun, a bright light appeared, and Jesus stood before him—walking toward the city. “Domine, Quo Vadis?” (Lord, where are you going?), asked the shocked and dumbfounded Peter. “I am going to be with my flock,” replied Jesus, walking towards Rome. At this moment, Peter realized that he was not called to abandon his people, but that he was called to return to Rome, to suffer with them, and to die with them, should it come to this. To this day, the spot on which Jesus appeared is commemorated by the Capella Domine Quo Vadis on the Via Appia, near the catacombs of St. Sebastian. Inside, there is a rock in which are imprinted the footprints of Christ, to which faithful have come throughout the millennia, to venerate the spot which led Peter to his martyrdom for the glory of the cross.

I’ve been to this spot. It is true. This is the beauty of the antiquity of our faith. “The Church is alive,” Pope Benedict reminds us, and her liveliness comes from the centuries of Christians who have come before us, to witness to the faith and truth of Jesus Christ, and who have not been afraid to suffer and die for Him.

Krakow...From Above

Yes, Krakow has the largest market square in Europe. Pretty amazing, for not such a big city, especially when the population was around 20,000 in the Early Modern Period.