Experiencing Poland in Pilgrimage

Dear Friends in Christ,

Last month, I had the privilege of going on an eight-day pilgrimage in Poland with eleven other persons including Fr. Tom Loomis, pastor of Holy Spirit. Poland has been a predominantly Roman Catholic country for perhaps over a thousand years, so there were many places to visit and much to learn about the country’s people, history, and culture.

My favorite part of the pilgrimage was twice visiting a chapel bearing a very special Marian icon. It is known variously as Our Lady of Jasna Góra, after the Pauline monastery where the chapel is located; Our Lady of Częstochowa, after the city in which the monastery is located; and the Black Madonna, after the icon’s complexion which is darker than most depictions with which we may be familiar.

The origins of the icon are debatable. One tradition holds that it was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist from life. Art historians, however, tend to identify it as early- medieval Byzantine in origin. In either case, its presence in the monastery has been well attested since the fourteenth century. The veneration of this icon has been linked to countless graces as well as extraordinary miracles: the blind have seen, the lame have walked, and even the dead have risen because of the intercession of Our Lady of Jasna Góra.

It is interesting that Our Lord’s mother has been referred to by so many different titles (another example: Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patron saint of our own country). Why not simply St. Mary? That title is not inaccurate, but it seems most fitting to refer to this greatest of saints by a plethora of titles to match the plethora of graces she brings to the faithful. I am confident that the personal intention for which I prayed at the chapel has been heard and will be satisfied at the proper time. Her intercession is very powerful and very real. I hope that you, too, can learn to trust in her intercession.

In Christ,

Luke Miksanek
Bookkeeper