Over a 1000 people, including hundreds of families, crossed the streets of Białystok in the Podlaskie March for Life. Under St. Roch's Basilica, full families along with children and representatives of various communities and movements of Catholic archdiocese went to the Bialystok archaeology. On the way, city residents joined the march. He was preceded by Mass led by Bishop Henryk Ciereszko, and just after the end of the march, in the square next to the cathedral, the Podlaski household Picnic was held.
The Holy Mass in St. Roch's Basilica, chaired by Bishop Henryk Ciereszko, was concelebrated by priests associated with the archdiocese pastoral ministry of families.
In the homily, Fr Łukasz Kisielewski, an archdiocese minister of families, emphasized that a man asks himself many questions, but to any of them he cannot go indifferently. 1 of them is the question of the religion that Jesus put to his disciples in today’s Gospel.
“It is easy to witness erstwhile you are in a faith-friendly environment. erstwhile a individual is surrounded by people who have akin values, there is no problem giving a witness. But erstwhile circumstances change, erstwhile the environment becomes not so much religiously indifferent as hostile Christianity, the confession of religion does not become comfortable either," he said, adding that in specified circumstances, as a substitute, it is easy to talk of the religion and views of another people.
This was besides the case erstwhile Jesus asked his disciples the key question, “Who am I to you?” The priest explained that this question could have a different sound, confessing that in his life it was a question of the deepest sense of his priesthood, which sounded in a hard time for him personally sickness and suffering, erstwhile in all duties he was replaced, in addition to individual prayer.
He emphasized that there are no people irreplaceable in the workplace, in their passions, in everyday activities: “No 1 else can be a husband to your wife and no 1 can be a wife to your husband. No 1 can replace you as your parent and father for your children. No 1 will become a brother or sister to your siblings," he pointed out, encouraging us to hear this Jesus question present in the context of our own vocation.
Referring one more time to individual experience, he noted that each and all vocation touches the cross of helplessness. “It comes unexpectedly, uninvited, and always bad timing. Then we ask helplessly: what to do? What can we do erstwhile there's nothing humanly possible? You gotta be! Just be. alternatively of moving distant from each other, take hands and whisper the rosary on your fingers. Believing that God will grasp his hands, that is all that has slipped out of our hands," he said.
The way of the march led from the basilica of St. Roch to the basilica of the Archatedal presumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Participants carried flags with the inscriptions “I Love You” or the banner “Life Is Sacred” or “Every kid with the gift of heaven”; many had colorful balloons in their hands, and generations of children, parents and grandparents, people of mediate and old age.
The participants of the joyful colorful march prayed and sang, and 3 children carried the relics of St. Joanna Beretta Molli, Blessed Karolina Kozkowny and Saints of the Fatima Children, Francis and Jacinta Marto.
The household of Agnieszka and Thomas came with 3 children. "People present forget that household is sacred. all day, we strive to be holy like a household from Nazareth," they explained.
"The March for Life is for us a manifestation of attachment to religion and household values. As you can see, he is primarily a joyful and colorful vacation for families, an chance to publically express his joy of having a family, to meet people with whom we share the same values and infect others with our happiness," says Jacek, who came to march with his wife and 2 children.
The organizers were pleasantly amazed to see so many, more many than last year's participation in the event, although, as they claim, they did not mean the quantity, but the content, course and expression of the march.
“This truly cannot be counted: a sea of smiling faces, a sea of joyful hearts. They all came here to witness that the life that is born in the household is of large value. We inactive have a real feast for the ear and for the heart" – said Wojciech Grodzki, co-organizer. "We wanted to show the value of life, a affirmative image of a household that bears witness that 1 can live together and be together with God; that this event would be full of joy and give families the chance to spend together, creatively, time," he said about the thought of meeting.
Fr Karol Kondracikowski, manager of the Department of the Ministry of Metropolitan Curia of Białystok, stressed: “Our primary task, as people of faith, is to bear witness to the values we live by. And this is just a wonderful chance to number ourselves, see each another and witness how we make this household life: there are children, parents, grandparents. What is worth noting – this event is not against someone, it is for something. It is our most interest that we want to be together for the life that is born in a household that is from conception to natural death. But this is not our thought either – neither mine nor Wojtek's, but it is simply the Gospel."
"The Catholic household is not only the 1 who goes to church all week, but besides the 1 who can spend time together and enjoy it," he added.
During the march and during the picnic there was a charity fundraising at the home of the Lone parent and kid in Supraśl, a facility run by Caritas Archdiocese of Białystok.
The Podlaskie March for Life is an initiative that brought together many communities in efforts to defend the value of human life and respect the function and natural nature of household in Polish society.
Source: KAI
