Poland Pilgrimage

The journey to Poland was long, and there was not much sleep to be had...but we got there safely, and got to watch the movie "Karol: the Man Who Became Pope" along the way.  This is my favorite movie about the life of John Paul II before he was pope, and I had been anxious to see it since my class on Divine Mercy and the Pontificate of John Paul II started going through a biography of the soon-to-be-saint.

Our first destination was Czechehowa, where the icon of the "Black Madonna", or Our Lady of Czechehowa, is kept and revered.  Every morning at 6:30 a.m, the icon is unveiled with a great fanfare.  :)  The history of the icon is very interesting, as well: tradition holds that it was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist on the top of a table built by Jesus.  The image was kept by monks at Czechehowa for some time.  Once when it was carried into battle against the Muslims, or the Turks (I don't remember), the image was struck with an arrow.  At another time, when the place where it was being kept was invaded, the image was slashed with a sword and left in the mud.  When the monks went to rescue it, a miraculous spring arose for them to wash off the painting.  Our Lady's "battle scars" still remain on the image.

Walking to Jasna Gora Basilica in Czechehowa. 

 The unveiling is a tremendous event to behold.  There is a tympani drumroll, followed by a great fanfare of trumpets as the curtain is lifted and Our Lady is unveiled for all to see.  :) After the unveiling, we had breakfast in a hotel, and then returned to the church for Mass.

We had Mass in one of the side churches, which had seats that were more like movie theatre seating than pews. That was a bit strange.  But Mass is Mass! :) 

After Mass, we had some time to look around the basilica, and to check out the market in town where there were a lot of religious articles for sale.  Then we had to get back to the buses to go out to Auschwitz.  

The drive to Auschwitz took about half an hour.  Auschwitz was a difficult experience for all of us, I think.  Yet somewhat surreal...I think it escaped us sometimes that such horrors really happened in these places.  These weren't replicas or memorials.  This was the real thing.  And that people could do such terrible things to other people was awful to think about.  

The entrance to the camp.  It reads: "Work makes man free."  But this was and is a lie.  The Nazis lied to the prisoners throughout the camp experience.  This gate made the prisoners believe that if they worked hard they would be released.  That would never happen.

The death wall.

We also visited Birkenau, the death camp just a short drive away from Auschwitz, the concentration camp.

At Birkenau, we prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  

The camps were a difficult experience for all of us; but the shambles of the gas chambers reminded me that the horrors did not win out.  The camp lies in ruins.  The mercy of God has conquered.  

We got into Krakow that evening and settled into the hotel.  The hotel restaurant wasn't quite big enough to serve all of us at once, however, so about 12 of us had to wait until others cleared out so we could eat.  One of the friars accompanying us on the journey was kind enough to go across the street and buy a couple bags of chips that he shared with all of us who were waiting.  :) After dinner, I went out to explore the city with some of my friends. :)  

Krakow is a beautiful city! We enjoyed walking around and seeing the buildings and churches all over the place.  We also popped into a little shop where the storekeeper spoke some English and gave us Holy Cards of John Paul II.  :)  He also suggested to us a place where we could go get some ice cream.  :) 

Proffiterole. :) Basically a cream puff filled with chocolate ice cream. YUM!!

The next day was quite a contrast to our first day in Poland.  We had seen the horrors the country had endured, now we saw the glory of the country that had survived.  The Nazi regime fell and their death camps lie in ruins, but the churches still stand and thrive.  

Our tour of Krakow began at Wawel Castle.  This was the fortress occupied by Hans Franck (the Nazi general from "Karol: A Man Who Became Pope") when Poland was taken by the Germans in World War II.  But the church is still here, and in great condition.  It was really neat to me to be able to recognize some of these places from the movie.  The roadway up to the cathedral is the one that the general's car is driven up before he goes into the Wawel cathedral and kicks out the priest and the people who are there praying.  

This is the city's dragon statue.  It breathes fire!  It stands here as a memoir of the legend of the boy for whom the town is named.  There was a dragon who would come about and attack and eat the young women of the town.  So this boy came up with a plan.  He stuffed a sheep carcass full of sulfur and left it for the dragon to eat.  The dragon ate the carcass and became very thirsty, so he drank from the river; and he drank, and drank, and drank, and then...BOOM! He exploded, and the town was saved!  

If God is for us, who can be against us?

I couldn't take any pictures inside the cathedral, but it is indeed a very beautiful church.  It is the burial place of St. Stanislaus, a Catholic bishop who was not afraid to stand up to the king of Poland for his misdeeds.  He was martyred for this, but he was an example of courage in standing up for what is right to the Polish people and to us today.  The Eucharist was being exposed in the side chapel while we were there, and it was a great blessing to stop in for a moment to visit our Lord.  There is also a chapel to Blessed (soon SAINT!!) John Paul II, where a first class relic of his is kept.  I lit a candle for my friends of Polish heritage there and their intentions!  :)  

These are bones of a prehistoric animal that are hung outside the cathedral door.  I forget their purpose...but it was cool!

Outside the castle walls, there is a statue of one of the Polish generals who helped George Washington during the American Revolution.  I think this shot is just awesome!!  I love the statues of figures on horseback, and the fact that he has something to do with my homeland was pretty awesome.  

The seminary.

The John Paul II center in Krakow. 

I honestly believe this man has one of the greatest smiles I have ever seen and is one of the most beautiful people I've ever known of.  

Several places we've visited have had horses and carriages, but I have to say Poland's are the best so far!! The horses are gorgeous!!

Of course we visited the Church of St. Francis of Assisi.  This church was small, but very beautiful.

 This window in the following picture was the window of the apartment where Pope John Paul II stayed when he visited the young people of Poland during his papacy.  The night before he was to leave, the young people were begging him to stay.  He encouraged them and comforted them with his words and his presence, probably knowing at that time that he would not be coming back to his homeland.

Now this was awesome.  The people of Krakow have a countdown to the day of John Paul II's canonization!  To the minute!  Pretty fantastic if you ask me.  

Then we saw a little of the university in Krakow where John Paul II was studying while he lived there  as a young man with his father.  He was studying philosophy and literature, not having determined yet that God was calling him to the priesthood.  

After that, we went to the main square.  Our tour ended here.  After some pigeon-chasing, and browsing in the market, my friends and I went to find some pierogis for lunch!!  

I decided to try fruit-filled pierogis.  They were good!  But after a while I kind of wished I had gotten savory ones that would have been a bit more filling and satisfying.  But it was an experience.  :) 

We had quite a bit of fun in this place, as the pictures may imply.  The wait staff probably thought we were rather strange; but they'd be right about that on some accounts.  "All good things, all good things."  Haha!  

We went to the meeting point for being picked up by the buses to go out to the Shrine of Divine Mercy!  This was the best part of the day for me, if not of the whole trip.  :)  

This is the main shrine itself.  But we spent most of our time in the chapel of the convent.  That was where we prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy with the sisters, and reverenced the relic of St. Faustina, and had Mass that evening.  It was beautiful!  Again, I couldn't take pictures of the place, but it was a beautiful place of prayer.  When we first went in, before the chaplet, I had some time for prayer.  I opened my Bible at random to the end of Haggai; and then I wanted to turn to the Psalms.  God, in His perfection, led me to Psalm 51.  

Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love; in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.  Thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from my sin cleanse me.  For I know my transgressions; my sin is always before me.  Against you, you alone have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your eyes So that you are just in your word, and without reproach in your judgment...Behold, you desire true sincerity; and secretly you teach me wisdom.  Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.  You will let me hear gladness and joy; the bones you have crushed will rejoice.  

...A clean heart create for me God; renew within me a steadfast spirit.  Do not drive me from before your face, nor take from me your holy spirit.  Restore to me the gladness of your salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit.  ...Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God, and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.  Lord, you will open my lips; and my mouth will proclaim your praise.  For you do not desire sacrifice or I would give it; a burnt offering you would not accept.  My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn."  

 The following Psalms are also about God's mercy, as I saw just by glancing at the following passages.

"But I, like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God, I trust in God's mercy forever and ever.  I will thank you forever for what you have done.  I will put my hope in your name - for it is good, - in the presence of those devoted to you." -Psalm 52

The convent.

The window of the room where St. Faustina died.

Sister Gaudia speaks to us about the Divine Mercy image and message. :)

 After the Chaplet, Sister Gaudia spoke to us about the Divine Mercy image and the message of Divine Mercy given to St. Faustina.  It was wonderful!
After that, we had some time to ourselves; so I hit the souvenir shops!  I found a nice-sized copy of the image, which made me very happy since the Divine Mercy image is one of my very favorite images of Jesus.  As I left and hurried back to the church for Mass, I caught the sunset!!

After Mass, we returned to the buses, and then the hotel.  I went out with some friends to find a restaurant to get dinner at.  We found a nice little place suggested to us by one of the tour guides earlier in the day.  It was empty except for the cook and the waitress, but it was a nice place so we decided to try it.  The food was awesome!  I had a chicken dish.  It was prepared sort of like Viener schnitzel, but it was chicken, and fried with almonds I think.  Mmmm!  But even more amazing were the potato dumplings that came with it.  They were somewhat like tater-tots, but SO MUCH BETTER!  They were like mashed potatoes that had been fried so the outside was gold and crispy and the inside was light and fluffy and yum!!  As Leah put it, "I'll never eat a tater-tot the same way again."  Our waitress was very sweet.  She was Polish American, so she knew English pretty well.  She was nice enough to take our picture, so we decided we should get one with her in it as well. :)  

Such wonderful people!

We got some ice cream before we went back to the hotel and caught a good night's sleep.  

The next morning, Sunday, we returned to Wawel Cathedral for Mass in the extraordinary Latin form.  The choir sounded like angels!  

Afterwards, we took some fun photos. :)

For you, Piaskowskis! :)

We had free time to walk around Krakow after that, so we checked out the market again, visited a few shops, and grabbed pierogis at a small place.  They were delicious!!  I got a mixed plate of potato-filled, meat-filled, and cabbage-filled pierogis.  All of them were yummy!  We also got some ice cream after that.  I wanted to try paczski, but we couldn't find any. :( 

After eating, and a little more shopping, we made our way to the meeting point and got on the buses to Wadowice, the birthplace and hometown of Pope John Paul II.  

I spent most of our time in Wadowice in John Paul II's home parish, where he was baptized and confirmed.  He returned here as Pope and reverenced his baptismal font, saying: "This is where it all began."  

The church is beautiful!  The artwork, side chapels, side altars, and everything are all very beautiful and profound.  This was one of my favorite places, if not my most favorite, of the pilgrimage.  It's so peaceful and prayerful in this church.  We were able to reverence the great pope's baptismal font, as well as a first class relic of Padre Pio.  The church also has a chapel to John Paul II, and a first class relic of his there as well.  

Karol and his mother.

After some last-minute souvenir shopping in Wadowice and some great finds, I ran down the hill back to the buses.  I was already running later than I wanted to be, but so was everyone else apparently so it wasn't bad.  Heh heh.  Before we jumped on the buses for our long ride back to Gaming, though, we had a funny moment.  Many of the guys, and some of the girls, were wearing blue, and not just blue but relatively the same shade of blue.  It was too funny not to get a photo.  Haha!  

Photo credit to Mary Beth V.

It was great that we got back to Poland much earlier than we had expected.  We celebrated by going to bed.  Heehee!  

The pilgrimage was very powerful and very blessed!  Thank you all for praying for us.  Your prayers gave us strength to get through the difficulties, and the courage to seize the joy and power of the present moment.  May God bless you all!  I would ask your prayers for all of my friends who are currently traveling to (or present at depending on when your read this) Rome for the canonizations of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII.  

May the Lord bless and keep you and reign His graces and mercy upon you on this Divine Mercy Sunday!  

Love to all of my family and friends back home!  I miss you so much and I am counting down the days until we see each other again. :)