Comments on: Polish piety

By: Joseph Fromm

Joseph Fromm — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:18:01 +0000

Dear Anthony,

Being a Polish-Catholic and now a fourth generation American. I concur and admire your thoughts on Polish Catholicism. Having visited Poland myself, I found a difference in the Jesuits of Poland compared to the Jesuits in the United States that mirrors your observation on Polish Catholic culture in general. It was my personal observation that the Jesuits were more pastoral, more Marian and more Sacramental in Poland. In the way that Fr. Kubicki, S.J. and Fr. Gawronski,S.J. have previously commented here has noted, a profound and uplifting experience in their Catholic-Polish experience. This spiritual enrichment that I received during my Pilgrimage to Poland is what I personally try to emulate in America, That is to be warm, hospitable, generous in my personal relationships, to include Our Lady in my prayer life and participate in my personal Sacraments more fully.

JMJ

Joseph Fromm

By: Shameless self-promotion « Whosoever Desires

Shameless self-promotion « Whosoever Desires — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:42:56 +0000

[...] formation, as I wrote in my last post, aims to prepare us to go anywhere, and this August marks a major step forward in that formation [...]

By: Qualis Rex

Qualis Rex — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:17:04 +0000

Thanks, Anthony. I just read it and commented. I’m glad the Archbishop is asking such questions. As I don’t live in his archdiocese, I’d be interested in how often and how widely the Tridentine liturgy is offered, how closely his parishes adhere to the norms of the GIRM (i.e. communion in the mouth), how often priests in his diocese are seen in public with Roman collars etc.

Qualis Rex, Talis Grex.

By: Anthony Lusvardi, SJ

Anthony Lusvardi, SJ — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:24:33 +0000

Archbishop Dolan raises some of the same issues in his column this week:

http://blog.archny.org/?p=1567

He mentions the English bishops’ decision to restore meatless Fridays, which I mentioned in a post a few months back:

http://whosoeverdesires.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/fish-chips-on-fridays/

By: Barb Gilman (@BarbInNebraska)

Barb Gilman (@BarbInNebraska) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:05:54 +0000

This was a beautiful reflection, thank you! I’m very proud of my Polish heritage and to know more about the people of Poland today makes me doubly proud.

By: Qualis Rex

Qualis Rex — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 18:38:24 +0000

Salve Anton, I’m assuming you are back from your travels, given the “spare” time to write such a wonderful post. I think Poland is indeed an example of how closely (for good or for bad) ethnic Catholicism and piety are coupled. I think it’s not such a bad thing when piety is reinforced (note: not forced) by society. I just came back from Mexico a couple days ago and have long taken for granted the churches with wide open doors and full of people entering and exiting at all hours of the day, and the rest crossing themselves as they quickly pass by on the sidewalk.Or the countless statues, monuments and portraits of the sacred on public streets and corners. When one returns to the US (and yes, I am back too : ) these things are very conspicuously absent…in and out of church.

I am firmly convinced that there is direct correlation between the Cranmerization of Catholicism in the US post-1970 and the absence of piety. I have been to several churches here that were huge cement-bloc monstrosities with bare walls (save a few burlap banners with crude abstract felt imagery) and NOTHING on the altar…least of all the tabarnacle. Does it surprise me that the throngs of congregants saunter up in shorts and tank-tops while chewing gum and chatting before they receive the sacred body of Our Lord from a eucharistic minister in a pant-suit? Hardly.

The outward expressions and manifestations of “ethnic Catholicism” such as you describe in Poland are like the stop-signs at an intersection; you know you should stop anyway, but it is always good to be reminded visually, with the added subconscious understanding of the penalty if you do not. I strongly believe that anything and everything we can do to visually reinforce our Catholic identitiy publically can only bring good in the long-run. While some will of course argue it is merely the imposition of Papal power on a helpless society who just all want to “get along”, it is in reality a call to prayer, piety and hopefully evangelization of the type St Paul and St Francis Xavier embodied.

Great post as always. And welcome home?

By: Fr. Raymond Gawronski, SJ

Fr. Raymond Gawronski, SJ — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:05:39 +0000

Thank you! I”m reading this at midnight at Klosterneuburg, outside Vienna, where our Polish tour bus has just brought 31 young Americans from Denver, mostly seminarians, and me, after beginning our pilgrimage to Madrid – in Krakow. Poland continues to have a living faith rarely encountered elsewhere – and it does translate in important ways, not least in piety, but also warmth and courtesy. Thank you for this good appreciation, and encouragement to us Americans to bring our faith with us when we leave the sanctuary – Bog zaplac! RG SJ

By: Tom Piatak

Tom Piatak — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:59:04 +0000

Thanks for this lovely reflection. Another great aspect of popular piety in that part of the world: all the village and roadside shrines, invariably displaying a fresh display of flowers.

By: James Kubicki, S.J.

James Kubicki, S.J. — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:40:38 +0000

An aspect of Polish piety is devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1765 the Polish Bishops and Nation were the first to receive permission to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Others followed until, in 1856, Pope Pius IX placed the Feast in the liturgical calendar for the entire Church. True devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not sentimental, a false piety. It’s deep, life-changing, and culture-changing. I’m glad you had such a grace-filled summer, Anthony, and I’m grateful for your sharing some of those graces with us.

By: willbearak

willbearak — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:22:02 +0000

Great article, If You read about St Pauls Jouneys, and then Francis Xaviers, One on one Xavier way out did his friend and inspiration St. Paul. After wandering thru Africa, Cairo to Cape town, thru Uganda and almost all of Arab countries from Jedda, Rihad, Baghdad, St Caterines, and on to Afganistan and Pakistan, one begins to appreciate the long hard walked and boated journeys of St. Paul and St. Xavier. If you enjoy jouneys of faith and brotherhood with these powerful apostolic folks, Just head out across Alaska or Souther Russia, or even a folksy journey down from Mexico to Chile (on foot) you will begin to encounter the Jesus guy who wanderd the Arab Persian lands back in year 0000′