INTRODUCTION
TO THE
REFLECTIONS ON THE EUCHARIST
SUGGESTED FOR HOLY WEEK
Talks given by the Sisters during the
2020 Lenten Weekend Internet Retreat for Polish People
Shrine of Divine Mercy, Kraków-Łagiewniki
a
Dearly Beloved,
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Just last week here at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow, we here at the Faustinum held our annual Lenten Weekend Retreat for Polish people. We conducted it in quite a different manner: we had it online. This was because existing restrictions (in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus) did not make public gatherings and exercise of public worship possible.
Still, aware that there’s so much uncertainty and great fear among the people, we decided to still go ahead with the retreat but hold it, “online”. We put up the schedule on our Faustinum.pl website, recorded and uploaded the talks, thus making them available to those making the retreat in their homes. Live streaming from our Chapel, made it possible for people (from their own homes) to join us here at Mass at the Hour of Mercy and at adoration. That retreat ended last Sunday, the 5th Sunday of Lent.
Now, a week later, Holy Week begins—a week steeped in grace to assist us in entering more deeply into Our Lord’s passion, death and resurrection. We believe meditation on the Eucharist helps us to do this. And so since (a) theme of our recent Lenten retreat was on the Eucharist, and (b) the Eucharist makes present the paschal mystery of Christ, we thought that it would be beneficial to make available, in English, the Polish talks of our Sisters.
And so to the Polish video and sound recording of the conferences, we added an English translation audio track. We would like to offer to you, our dear English-speaking friends, Faustinum volunteers and members, these talks as material to help, God willing, your reflection on the mercy of God revealed in the passion, death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus.
The title of the retreat is: Jesus, Eucharist, life of my soul.
The first talk is: Eucharist as a Feast – given by Sr. M. Eliana Chmielewska, OLM
The second: Eucharist as Presence – given by Sr. M. Emanuela Gemza, OLM
The third: Eucharist as Sacrifice – given by Sr. Miriam Janiec, OLM
The fourth: Eucharist as Mercy – given by Sr. M. Diana Kuczek, OLM
We suggest, if you wish, that you take one of the talks for each day of Holy Week. The first talk will be uploaded on our website Faustinum.pl on Holy Monday, the second on Holy Tuesday, and the third and fourth on Holy Wednesday.
For the Sacred Triduum, we invite you (as you for sure already do) to take your Bible and Missal and pray over the texts of Scripture and of the liturgy for the day and watch the live broadcasts of liturgical celebrations available in your part of the world. If you have the office, or breviary, we also encourage you to also take time to pray this beautiful prayer of the Church.
And so we wish you a most beautiful Holy Week and Triduum. Remember these days are nearest the summit of the whole liturgical year—the summit, which is the Easter Triduum of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord, the paschal mystery of Jesus in which is contained the fullest, most complete revelation of the Lord’s mercy.
As we approach this summit, an image comes to mind from St. Faustina. She wrote in her Diary: “My wings were spread for flight; I soared into the very heat of the sun, and I will not descend until I rest in Him” 142.
This Holy Week approaching the Easter Triduum, may your spirit’s wings be spread for flight. My your heart soar, into the very heat of the Eternal Son, to the immense heat of his love. And with St. Faustina, may you, also, personally know and experience the “nature of the fire of love with which Jesus burns for us and of how He is an Ocean of Mercy.” 1142 God bless you. You are in our prayers.
