Bl Jerzy Popieluszko (14th Sept 1947 - 19th Oct 1984)

Bl. Jerzy Popieluszko (1947-1984)

Priest and Martyr
The Eucharist sums up all the teaching, passion and death of Jesus. Luke's passion narrative is about the Lamb, who goes to his death rejecting violence, loving enemies, returning good for evil, praying for his persecutors. The Eucharist, therefore, is truly the sacrament of nonviolence. The way of Jesus to conquer evil and violence must be the Christian way: the way of nonviolence, of love and forgiveness. The nonviolent way of Jesus is historically at the heart of his teaching, and at the same time at the heart of his passion and death.

Man of the Eucharist and Martyr for the Truth
This Eucharistic reality was lived out in the life of a young Polish priest, Fr Jerzy Popieluszko (1947-1984) who will be beatified as a martyr on the feast of Corpus Christi, 6 June 2010, in Warsaw's Pilsudski Square. Jerzy Popieluszko was born on 14 September 1947 in the village of Okopy in Eastern Poland. He was from a strong Roman Catholic family. After secondary school, Jerzy entered the seminary in Warsaw, rather than the local seminary in Bialystok. His training was interrupted by two years of military service, during which he was beaten several times for living his Christian faith.


After ordination, the young priest, who never enjoyed good health, held several appointments before his final appointment to the parish of St Stanislas Kostka in Warsaw. He worked part-time in the parish, which enabled him to work as well with medical personnel. As a result of his close work with health care personnel, he was asked to organize the medical teams during Pope John Paul II's visits to Poland in 1979 and Warsaw in 1983.

Above article continued here:  EWTN - Bl. Jerzy Popieluszko

Priests and Martyrs Part 1 - Bl. Jerzy Popieluszko (Poland)

The above video is from various homilies given by Bl. Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko, one of which he gave to the Holy Father Pope John Paul II (whose feast we celebrate today 22nd October).  Subtitled in English. 

Fr Jerzy Popieluszko,  (Poland) now Blessed was neither a social nor a political activist, but a Catholic priest faithful to the Gospel. He wasn't a forceful speaker, but someone of deep conviction and integrity. His sanctity lay in fundamental righteousness that gave people hope even in horrendous situations. He knew that all totalitarian systems are based on terror and intimidation. The Communists saw him as an enemy because he freed people from fear of the system. He exposed the hypocrisy of the Communist regime and he taught believers how to confront totalitarianism. How often Jerzy made St Paul's words his own in his preaching: "Fight evil with good".

On October 19, 1984, the young priest was kidnapped by security agents on his way back to Warsaw after a visit to a parish in the neighboring town of Bydgoszcz. He was savagely beaten until he lost consciousness, and his body was tied up in such a way that he would strangle himself by moving. His weighted body was then thrown into a deep reservoir. His killers carried out their task with unprecedented brutality, which shows their hatred of the faith that the priest embodied. Jerzy's driver, who managed to escape, told what had happened to the press. On 30 October, Popieluszko's bound and gagged body was found in the freezing waters of a reservoir near Wloclawek. Fr Jerzy's brutal murder was widely believed to have hastened the collapse of communist rule in Poland.

He has been recognized as a martyr by the Catholic Church, and was beatified on June 6, 2010

Above two paragraphs from :  http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/jerzyp.HTM

For more on his life:  http://www.popieluszko.net.pl/english/xjerzy_en/biografia_en.php


We are now living in the most difficult times in our Church where we see so much sin, rebellion and dissent.  In this series, I now put forward the examples of great Priests who gave their lives for the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of Truth in a world where values are turned upside down and where evil is now seen as a good.  We do not know what the future holds but we too may be asked to give our lives for the sake of Christ and His Gospel.  That future is already there for many in some parts of the world where Christians are now being killed for simply being Christian.  We pray to God through the intercession of all the Martyrs for our Church and for courage to withstand whatever comes in the future and we ask for the gift of final perseverance in our faith.  

Eucharistic Miracle Glotowo, Poland 1290

In 1290, due to the invasion of the Lithuanians, a priest from the village of Glotowo buried in a field a silver ciborium plated in gold, with a consecrated Host still in it which he missed by mistake.  The Lithuanian’s troops destroyed the village and the church. None of the survivors knew about the hidden Host.  Only a number of years later, while plowing the field in the spring, a farmer found it by chance, thanks to the strange behavior of his oxen.  They had bowed to the ground in adoration of the Host which was emanating a very bright light.

The animals stopped as if frozen. At first the farmer scolded the beasts, yet paused surprised at the sudden change around him. The light on the field was as if it were noon and a very intense light was coming from the ground shining on the kneeling oxen. The farmer began to dig and noticed that the bright light was coming from a little ciborium covered with dirt. It contained a perfect Host as white as snow.The most ancient documents describe how the miracle happened. The oxen were pulling the plow, behind which the farmer was walking. The sun was setting at the horizon, creating long shadows. The man lifted his eyes and prodded the animals which were going slowly up the hill. All of sudden, the plow got stuck, the oxen pulled harder and on the side they turned over a big clod of earth. 

 

The news of the extraordinary event spread rapidly among the people, who rushed immediately to the site. The local authorities organized a solemn procession to bring the Host to the church of Dobre Miasto, though according to an ancient chronicle, inexplicably, the Host disappeared and was found at the same spot as the first time. The event was interpreted as a sign from above and a little church dedicated to the Corpus Christi was built on that location. The popularity of Glotowo grew through the centuries and in the eighteenth century the old medieval church was enlarged and consecrated by the bishop Krzysztof Potocki, on July 24, 1726. Even today, every year, the shrine of Glotowo attracts numerous pilgrims who come to venerate the relic

Eucharistic Miracle 1345 - Poland

 

In the year 1345, King Casimir III the Great of Poland gave orders to build a church

named Corpus Christi in honor of the Eucharistic miracle that was verified that same

year.

It had taken place in the village of Wawel, near Krakow. Some thieves broke into a little church (The Collegiate Church of All Saints), which was a short distance from Krakow. They forced their way into the tabernacle and stole the monstrance, which contained consecrated Hosts. They got away, but when they figured out that the monstrance was not made of real gold, they threw it (including the Hosts) into the muddy marshland that was prevalent in the area.

Priests from the church began a search, but they did not hold out much hope. When darkness fell, however, a mysterious light emanated from the spot where the treasure had been abandoned.  Bright flashes of light were visible for several kilometers. Frightened villagers approached the area and reported back to the Bishop of Krakow. The bishop called for three days of fasting and prayer. On the third day, he led a procession out to the marsh. There, they found the monstrance, and within it they found the Hosts, which were unbroken and were the source of the unusual lights.

The people began to pray and to celebrate the miracle. Annually on the occasion of the feast of Corpus Christi, the miracle is celebrated in the church of Corpus Christi in Krakow.

Reference: http://www.therealpresence.org/