Father
John
J. Lombardi
I recall
the majesty of the Icon itself: the entrancing black
Madonna holding the innocent-Baby Jesus. Enframed by
silver and gold, hanging behind a tall iron grill, over
a darkened altar, seemingly suspended--as a
"spiritual bridge" between Heaven and
Earth--simply motionless, timeless in the child-mother
embrace, we humans bustled about, on the threshing floor
of Earth, competing to be near them
I remember venerating
the icon like the Poles themselves: getting on our knees
and gingerly approaching the Icon (the physical posture
elicited an instant humility I seldom felt before) and
proceeding-still kneeling--around it, one knee-movement
at a time, in rapt-silence, through a small darkened
"tunnel", while listening to rosaries ching
and small prayers sputter about: we humans were
spiritually circling Great Mother and Child.
A few years ago this
Chaplain took a whirlwind and inspiring pilgrimage--with
my jubilantly adventurous Mom-first, to France (where
her brother was killed in the Normandy D-Day invasion),
and then to Rome, to meet the Slavic Pope--John Paul II
(Mom enjoyed speaking Polish with him), and then,
lastly, to Krakow, where we saw an amazingly preserved
city flourishing anew (our first meal there was not
Polish-kielbasa-- but Chinese noodles--yum!).
Our pilgrimage
continued to the countryside of southern Poland (similar
to Emmitsburg-and as beautiful) to the infamous
"concentration camp" of Auschwitz-it was grey
outside, and inside our hearts, too. Then we went to my
grandmother's birthplace and hometown of Wadowice
(pronounce the "w's" in Polish as "v's")
--where her and the Pope were born, and baptized in the
lovely church of Our Lady of the Presentation, and where
they both grew up. We eventually made it to the
"Shining Mountain" ( Jasna Gora), where the
famous Icon is located and protected within a beautiful
monastery.
We finally made it to
the actual place, where millions each year visit and
pray, finding hope and respite amidst the world's
sorrows. Our visit there brought us peace, and a
"tasting" of our ancestral roots, and a
spiritual connection to a great intercessor--the Black
Madonna.
The Madonna is not
Pollyanna (a trite, tinsel character). It is not
"Christianity lite". It is for souls who find
this pilgrimage through life as a form of exile who need
both the sober truth about life and the serenity of
Heaven--the Icon offers both. It has been worn by time,
shadowed by endless wars, abducted by intruders, cast
away as trash, and disfigured, scarred, lanced and
bruised by life-by soldiers, sinners and satraps; it has
been darkened by sorrows, weighed down with dust and
tears from myriad pilgrims…I speak both of the Icon
itself and the Madonna and Child.
We, at the Grotto, now
have, thanks to the generosity of two Grotto Friends, a
print of Our Lady of Czestochowa, in front of the altar
in the Glass Chapel-timely for Lent.
Just what is the
history of this Icon, before which young Karol Wojtyla
quarryman, pilgrim, seminarian and then Bishop Wojtyla,
and finally, Pope John Paul, has prayed?
From, Fr.John Hardon, A
Catholic Dictionary: "A History, from Czestochowa.
There is a legend that the picture of Our Lady and her
Son at the shrine was painted by St. Luke on a tabletop
made by Jesus Himself when He was an apprentice
carpenter to St. Joseph. Hidden during the early
persecutions, it was brought by St. Helena (255-330) to
Constantinople. In the troubled eighth century it was
stealthily taken from that city to a forest in Eastern
Poland. From there it was removed to Czestochowa.
In 1430 a great Gothic
cathedral was built around the precious relic, but in
the war with the Hussites they stole the picture. When
their horses refused to move their cargo beyond the
village boundaries, they threw the picture by the
roadside, where it lay broken. All attempts to repair
the damage have failed. In the next three hundred years
the Polish people believed that their welfare was
identified with this miraculous picture.
When the Turks were at
the gates of Vienna, Sobieski (1624-96), the Polish
king, dedicated his crusade to Mary, and the West was
saved. Under Adolph Hitler (1889-1945) the people came
secretly on their pilgrimages to Czestochowa, and in
1945, at the end of World War II, they came 500,000
strong to thank Mary for their liberation. In 1947 over
1,500,000 came there to beg Mary to save them from
Communism. "
Further, spiritual
meditations
SUBDUED SERENITY: The
Virgin and Child are depicted in a sober, yet peaceful
way. There is a sadness-indicating to us, that, yes,
life is hard, but if we hold on to Jesus and Mary in a
similar intimacy, we can overcome anything, and accept
life's difficulties in a more peaceful, spiritual way.
HOPE: Millions of
Polish people have pilgrimage to, and venerated, this
image, as a channel of spiritual aspirations and
longings inherent to searching souls who want a deeper
connection to God and His power, through the love of the
Virgin. This Icon has helped Poles and countless others,
to live on amidst and through various wars, pillaging
and weeping (both on the national and personal levels)
moving on, renewed with heavenly intercession -precisely
because Jesus and Mary themselves moved on-together, and
thus help us along in our trials.
MOTHERLY LOVE: We can
detect a silent love of Mom and Child, inviting us into
the same intimacy if we cultivate prayers and frequent
conversations to Jesus and Mary-as real, live beings who
love us (the "Hail Mary", or aspiration,
"Jesus, Mary, I Love you", etc.). By this Icon
we notice how much Mary went through-what she did to
bring us Jesus: the piercings in the Icon, on her right
cheek, from a soldier who threw a lance at it in a
battle (the Icon apparently emitted tears, and changed
the course of the battle in favor of the Poles),
epitomizes her great love of us and Jesus, and, while
the scars are still present today, they communicate a
still-current sadness-a solidarity with us, while yet
not cloaking her maternal beauty.
This Icon helps us to
experience life in its fullness-without flinching. There
is a beauty here, a "terrible beauty"-as the
poet Rilke once said-which displays a rich, earthy, and
yet lovingly elevating wisdom of how life is-as a
sadness since we are, really, "outside the Garden
(of Eden)-but not leading us to despair: because, if we
keep our eyes and hearts on the Virgin and Child-as
great Poles have done-we will prevail through this world…God
can bring us to full humanity-as in the Virgin; and the
Woman can bring us to true Divinity-Jesus the King.
MEDITATION on
Suffering: "He's never been more beautiful,"
said Jean Vanier, founder of the international network
of L'Arche (The Ark) communities in which volunteers
live fill-time with the mentally handicapped. He was
speaking of Pope John Paul II. "It is a blessing to
have someone so fragile---he is an incredible sign for
the world," added Vanier. "He is teaching an
incredible lesson in assuming his disability, his
fragility and trusting in St. Paul's words: 'My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness.'"-Ntl.Catholic Register: Feb. 2002.
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other Sermons by Father John J. Lombardi