Let Mary's arms carry you

Polish priest walks a unique retreat path

By RENATO GANDIA
WCR Staff Writer
Stony Plain

This is what a visiting Polish priest told the members of Families of Nazareth Movement in Alberta during a weekend retreat at Ephphatha House, July 11-13.

"It's not that we can manage to reach God. It's the opposite. He comes down to us," Father Krzystof Jarosz told the WCR.

He said we should follow St. Therese of Lisieux's concept of spiritual childhood. She said we have to remain like a child in front of the Lord.

Spirituality is not a question of becoming perfect in a human way, Jarosz said. "It's (neither) a question of my human perfection or my human action in prayer, but the action of God in my life."

But he cautioned that one is not supposed to be totally passive. "There is a lot of effort here. It does not mean we have to sit down and wait."

People interested in deepening their spirituality should do something, but their efforts are not targeted at building themselves up.

What the journey to a deeper spirituality entails is finding the truth, said Jarosz. "If you discover the truth and you bring the truth to the Lord then he can save you, then he can work."

"Our effort is the hard spiritual work of discovering the truth, bringing that to him and remaining in (that) truth."

Jarosz, a priest from Warsaw Diocese, said, "This retreat is about evangelization - (one) that can really come from within."

Jarosz stressed that Christ is the one evangelizing. "He works within people through us, that's why our cause is to be as close to him as possible. The more you are filled with God, the more he can go through you.

"So when my words are not mine but the Lord's, then they work. This, I think, is how the pope understands when he said we really need this new fire of sanctity."

Families of Nazareth responds to this call by deepening their spiritual lives. It is an international movement of Catholic faithful who recognize the pre-eminence of God in all their activities.

In conformity with teachings of the Church Fathers, the spirituality of the movement emphasizes God is more concerned with "who we are" than with "what we do."

Allowing Christ to grow in us enables our activities to conform more fully to the working of the Holy Spirit.

The 33-year old priest used a book at the retreat that has a lot of following in Poland, called In the Arms of Mary, written by Slawomir Biela.

Jarosz explained, "One of the concepts is that the shortest way of the Lord towards us is through Mary. So if we remain with her, in her arms, let her carry us to him, then we will really receive him."

If a person is feeling weak, that person should go to Mary, said Jarosz.

"Our effort is the hard spiritual work of discovering the truth, bringing that to him and remaining in (that) truth." - Fr. Krzystof Jarosz

"Normally we would say, 'I am too weak.' But when I'm in her arms then she is using this to be with God. Someone who is weak will expect everything from God and then God can come."

St. Paul makes the same point in one of his epistles: "When I am weak then I am strong." He saw his weakness as a place for God's action.

This idea is really quite opposite to our normal human thinking, the priest said. "We want to grow, we want to get better, we want to be perfect and then more and more we think that God expects this from us. But he doesn't."

"What he expects is that he can come so he can give his life to us - live in us."

Mary, our mother, is given to us from the cross. Those who discover our mother are open to special help that through her faith, through her love, she carries us, the priest said.

"We are sharing in her life of faith so then our spiritual life shares with her spiritual life which is of course the life of union with Christ."

Jarosz stressed, "It is sharing Christ who lives in her fully. We understand that she's the one who is full of grace, full of Christ. So when we turn to her, we of course are turning to him because she is in union in him."

This way of thinking is changing our concept of retreat because if we want God to work within us, we do not really try to do as much as possible, the priest added.

Calgary's Zbigniew Topor said, "The retreat is something very special for the movement."

Families of Nazareth holds a retreat once a year, usually with a priest who comes from outside Canada.

At their retreats, they expect the facilitator will show them some aspect of spirituality which is a little different from what they are exposed to every day.

Topor said, "This retreat was kind of a revelation."

In the movement for eight years, he thinks through his own effort he has become much closer to God.

"I thought I was on the right path. After listening to the conference and talking to Father Krystof personally, I just realized that maybe I am missing (something). Maybe my effort is not what it is supposed to be."

Topor realized what he must do is be open to God's mercy. "I have to really stay in truth and really expect everything from God."

Adam Kozakiewicz said the retreat gave him the opportunity to reflect on his own experiences and the small miracles that happen in his every day life and how God is leading him. "All we have to do is trust him."

Until he discovered spirituality, he didn't see it is important in his life. "Now I couldn't live without it. It's a major part of my life. It gives me peace of mind to have God in my life."

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