Prayers of SVD
May the darkness of sin
and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word
and the Spirit of grace
and may the Heart of Jesus live
in the hearts of all people.
(Saint Arnold Janssen)
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Thanksgiving
The third year on the island of Flores is slowly coming to an end. So I’m going to give thanks to God for the time of my missionary experience, which I received as a blessing. The missionary work undertaken for over a hundred years by the missionaries of the Divine Word would not bear such visible fruit without the help and support of the benefactors and friends of the mission.
Good God sends his angels to guard us on our paths in life. He continues to bless us. That is why we are to give thanks for the good people we meet. In Poland, before leaving for Indonesia, I met many wonderful people who supported me wholeheartedly. After my arrival to Indonesia, I had the opportunity to make new friends with people with a great heart and love for the missionary activity of the Church.
Yet on Flores Island, I was able to meet the devoted missionary fathers - Czesław Osiecki and Tadeusz Gorgoń SVD. Thank God, fathers Tadeusz Gruca and Stefan Wrosz SVD also support me all the time. It's hard to underestimate their work and commitment here. In addition, there are many wonderful people who keep in touch and help us. We can always count on spiritual and material help through the Mission Office in Pieniężno. Of course, it is impossible to name them all. Our families, relatives, friends and parishioners also help and lift our spirits up when we experience crises, illness or loneliness.
My commitment to the missionary work as decided by Fr. General is mainly in the formation at the Major Seminary in Ledalero, Flores, Indonesia. Here I did a language course, here I celebrated the Eucharist for seminarians, sisters, lay people and students. The first year was devoted mainly to improving the Indonesian language. Then I taught Latin and also gave a lecture - Introduction to Theology. Moreover, I spent a lot of time with the clerics as a prefect. Together with the seminarians, we often went to the beach or on foot pilgrimages to the Nilo Hill which is dedicated to the Mother of God.
For Christmas and Easter, I usually went to the mission stations for pastoral care. In 2019, to the parish of Kisol, in the Mangarai region, western part of Flores. There, together with Fr. Stefan Wrosz, we helped in the preparation of the Easter. After the Covid-19 pandemic began, these trips were severely restricted. But last year, i.e. at Christmas 2020, together with Fr. Tadeusz Gruca, we went to his former parish Raja, in the central part of Flores. Both of the aforementioned fathers gave me support, explained what their missionary life was like several decades ago, and shared their stories with me.
Certainly, you can not put everything in a short text, so if you are interested in missions, please visit the website: www.werbista.com, where there are photos from each month of my stay in Indonesia.
Finally, I would like to thank our benefactors and friends of the mission for all their support. May the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you and give you good health.