Polish MPs before the Picture of Our Lady
Fr Ireneusz Skubis
In Poland it is customary that our MPs make a pilgrimage to Jasna Gora on 2 February, the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. Several dozen MPs and senators usually come to Our Lady on that day. They participate in Mass, pray and ask God to bless their work for Poland and make it successful. I remember several participants of that pilgrimage visiting our editorial board last year. They included Grazyna Gesicka, Aleksandra Natalli-Swiat, Stanislaw Zajac – I recollect those who died in the Smolensk crash. But there were also other MPs. I think of them with sorrow. They were wonderful Poles belonging to the Law and Justice Party… As we know the Church invites all those who want to participate in common prayer. The Church does not look at political parties but at people who come with good intentions, people who know the value of community prayer, who examine their consciences and analyse their faithfulness to Lord God and the Gospel and whether their work in the Parliament serves the homeland and her citizens. All MPs bring with them the heritage of their homes, political parties and environments. They consider what is good and offer it to Lord God – may he accept it all and turns it into his glory and peoples’ advantages. We would like the pilgrimage of the Polish MPs to develop and see more and more people having influence on governing come to Jasna Gora. The Mother of God does not certainly teach anything wrong. She can enlighten politicians’ consciences, can show bad and good sides of their lives and point to her Son like she did in Cana of Galilee, ‘Do whatever he tells you’ (cf. John 2:5). And Lord Jesus will explain God’s plan of good life and remind people to fulfil the commandments, to pray and be good to one another. The activities of MPs are very wide and aim at doing good for their fellow countrymen and homeland. People cannot become MPs only for egoistic motives, e.g. to become rich, to gain prominent posts. It would be pitiful. People strive for public functions with the intention to serve their people and country, to discern the most urgent needs of people and society. They should also be able to have a long-term thinking. Preparing bills and taking important decisions and certain solutions must be prudent, taking into account the present and future generations in this land. MPs are obliged to assume really enormous responsibility. Therefore, we must demand activities of those who are responsible, showing high moral standards; those for whom Poland is a big common good. Thus one should look with respect at those MPs who come to the Queen of Poland with deep, responsible reflections. They know that Mary will teach them wisdom, including the public and political wisdom; she will teach them sensitivity to people who want to serve.
Therefore, it was with joy that we welcomed our MPs in Czestochowa, wishing them many God’s graces needed to fulfil their difficult social functions. Our Homeland is a great matter; it is our country’s today and tomorrow; it is the matter of our identity, our presence in Europe and the world, etc. Being aware of that the MPs who come to Our Lady of Jasna Gora every year must speak about it to her, imploring graces for their work for the Homeland.
"Niedziela" 7/2011