Called to "Be Love"

by Anna Karczemska & Carolanne Kilichowski

Carolanne:  This past April, June Klins asked me if I would like to sponsor someone from Poland to get the newsletter. Being of Polish roots and loving the Polish people, I immediately said, "YES!" A few days passed and I received a thank you email from Ania Karczemska. Ania and I continued the correspondence almost daily as we seemed to "hit it off." Our love of Our Lady and oneness in spiritual matters bonded us together. It also seemed to me that we were similar in many ways.

Ania shared about family and friends and one day I asked her about her mother. Ania replied that her mom died on July 29th of 2002. My heart melted on reading this and I felt this was some kind of sign from above. I replied, "Ania, the 29th of July is my birthday! I know that you can never replace your own mother but if you want me to . . . I will adopt you as my daughter and I will always be here for you!" I felt that sometimes we need caring and love or advice that only a mother can give.

Ania:  It all started with belonging to the Medjugorje online prayer group. June Klins had posted a question about statues of Medjugorje in other countries. I replied to her and the next thing that I knew she asked me if I would like to receive, "The Spirit of Medjugorje" newsletter. June said she was starting a sponsorship program to spread the messages of Our Lady to the world. June felt that currencies could be a problem and that such a program could bring people together. Little did June know what a beautiful thing she was starting. Something very special was brewing in our hearts as I emailed Carolanne. I thank the Holy Spirit and Our Lady for bringing us together. It is so wonderful how Our Lady brings her children together and calls us to be love to one another. It amazes me how wonderful God is that He even works through the Internet putting his children together for His purpose. This is very special to us.

Carolanne:  This September for two weeks I attended a pilgrimage to Poland for the first time! Ania came to the airport and spent the frist day with my husband Danny and me and we met! What a wonderful, sweet day to meet someone you have loved through heart to heart communication and pictures! Now we were meeting face to face. My heart melted as we embraced and welcomed each other into our families. We could now pray in person together as we had prayed on the phone and in email. It is wonderful how your heart tells you when something is of God. We both know that God has put this relationship together for His purpose and we are truly enjoying each other in prayer and in friendship. Ania and her husband Bartek and three year old Natalka spent some days with us. It was wonderful praying in the mountains of Studzionki and walking where the Pope once hiked. We laughed, we cried, we prayed, we sang, we ate, we hugged, we kissed, we shopped, we cooked, we shared our lives together.

When Ania learned that I was coming to Poland she asked if I had any relatives there. I found a letter from Poland dated 1958 that my mother had so I asked Ania to translate it. It was written by my grandfather's niece asking what happened to him after he left Poland. With Ania's help we answered the letter and explained who I was. Imagine after 46 years Helena finally got an answer to her letter! Ania arranged for Helena and some of her family to meet us in Lichen. Lichen has a huge shrine of Our Lady of Lichen so we met there. It was quite emotional meeting family I did not realize I had! Isn't God wonderful how He works?

Carolanne and Ania:   We have both agreed that we both love God even more through our relationship. Feeling called to do God's work together we are interested in raising funds for Catholic schools in Poland. "Queen of Peace" schools are being built to provide spiritual and God-centered places of education to bring the "Spirit of Medjugorje" to all the children and to be free. Prayer and finances are needed to make this a reality. Many Poles are out of work. The school's main purpose is to save the poorest of children. On visiting one such school already in place in Lowicz, we were excited to see Our Lady's chapel in the center of the school and the students reciting the rosary on a daily basis. We pray that God will show us how we are to accomplish His Holy will to attain these regional schools in Poland that could serve as a model for Catholic education in the world.

We are both grateful for this blessing and we invite you to sponsor someone in another country to receive the newsletter. Also, along with our heavenly Mother, we invite you most of all, to "be love" for each other and share what God has put into your hearts. Let your love flow out to others to share that happiness of love and friendship that God desires of us. Please also pray for us that we will be successful in obtaining the much needed help for Catholic education through prayer as well as finances.

For more information on the "Queen of Peace" schools please email:

• Ania at annak@mail.p.lodz.pl or
• Carolanne at ckilichowski@msn.com

"Dear children! Also today, I call you to be love where there is hatred and food where there is hunger. Open your hearts, little children, and let your hands be extended and generous so that, through you, every creature may thank God the Creator. Pray, little children, and open your heart to God's love, but you cannot if you do not pray. Therefore, pray, pray, pray. Thank you for having responded to my call."

September 25, 2004

Our Lady of Lourdes

By Carolanne Kilichowski

WOW! It has been 151 years since Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette in France.  Our Lady came with a message, but do we all know what that message is? Do we live it?  So many of us are just so wrapped up in the awe of the apparition that we do not take the time to contemplate on the purpose.  Why was Our Lady permitted to come to earth? Did She have a mission?  Was it important?

“Penance, Penance, Penance, Pray for sinners!” was often said to St. Bernadette. Do I still have your attention?  Yes!  penance was the main message of Lourdes.  Why did Our Lady have Bernadette rub the mud on her face to find the spring?  Our Lady did not wish her to be ridiculed, but she was laughed at by the crowd. They laughed and said she looked like a pig!  The grotto is actually where pigs would hide while feeding in the area.  Actually a pig-sty!  A representation of the poverty of the human person. 

The messages of Lourdes are poverty, penance, prayer and church. Our Lady calls each of us to live a spiritual life of prayer and sacrifice for sins.  Have we listened to that message of Lourdes? 

Many are surprised to know that St. Bernadette has an incorrupt body ! Yes, her body is more beautiful than ever! It can be seen on the web pages from Lourdes. The face of St. Bernadette carries a message. Gaze at her face and notice the peace, the beauty! She was told by Our Lady that she would not be happy on earth but in the next life. That holy and beautiful face tells the story of happiness in eternal life for those who pray and do penance.

Lourdes, located in France, is a place of pilgrimage and wonder.  It is the site of many miracles where people come from all over the world in search of peace and of miracles. Yes, there have been many recorded miracles due to Lourdes.  For most, the real miracle appears in the heart. The miracle of conversion is a tremendous gift.  Although it is wonderful to go to these sites of apparitions, we can receive the gift of conversion by opening our hearts to God and asking Him for the graces that we need. He will give it to us no matter where we are.

Pope Benedict XVI  traveled  to Lourdes in September last year.  Our beloved John Paul II visited Lourdes before his death. It was his last pilgrimage on earth. We are so blessed to be living in such grace- filled  times. Most of all, let us take the message of Lourdes seriously and begin to live the holy message. 

For more information and to gaze at St. Bernadette’s Her Holy face can be found online.

Forgiveness

By Carolanne Kilichowski

What is forgiveness? The American Heritage College dictionary defines the word-- forgive: 1. to excuse for a fault or an offense 2. To renounce anger or resentment against. 3.-To absolve from payment or debt.

Every day, in prayer I pray with my heart, as Christ has taught us, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” I can remember being a child learning the Our Father and thinking about what this really means, and wondering if my heart could seriously forgive if someone really hurt me deeply. At times, this was not always an easy task. It sometimes takes much patience and prayer to overcome a heart that has been deeply hurt.

My latest test came on December 19, 2005 a few days before Christmas. As I walked out of work and got into my car, about to place the key in the ignition, which would lock my doors the minute that I put the car in reverse, my back door opened. I was startled and looked to see this young man beginning to sit himself in my back seat. I jumped out of my car, not knowing what he was doing, and having a sense of danger as this young man had a very sly smile on his face.

I saw that he was grabbing two bags from my back seat, so I realized he was robbing me. I yelled at him to give me back my bags, and asked him what he was doing. He looked surprised that I confronted him. He made some signal, and two very young kids came running to take the bags from him and they handed him a towel. In this towel was a gun which he pointed at my face and told me to “Shut up“…..and called me a nasty name. At this point I looked around to scream but no one was around. Where are people when you need them?

I began to shake as I felt my life was in jeopardy. I was never this close to a gun before. If he indeed made any motion to hurt me I would have done what I could to save my life. In my heart I prayed to Our Lady to help me.

The gun was to keep me quiet so they could get away. As they ran I took the cell phone out of my pocket to dial the police, but it was not working, as I was shaking, and somehow could not push the right button to make the call. He took the Christmas present I was just given and a bag of prayer books and a rosary with my checkbook and some receipts from bills. My purse was in the front seat and I thank God he did not notice. I was afraid they would run back when they discovered no money in the bag. I got into my car and went back to work to the security people for help. I felt strength from God at this time, a real grace!

I spent the next days praying for all these very young people who are leading a life of crime. I asked God to forgive them and to help them to feel His love. I was very surprised to find people asking me why I am praying for the guys who stole from me. It only made sense to me. The only way I could help them was to pray for them. Will I press charges if they are found? Yes, I will, to stop them from hurting others and hopefully help them to curtail a life of crime. In my heart I have truly forgiven them, as they do not know what they are doing.

A true example, most of us remember, is that of John Paul II. After being shot in the chest by his would- be assassin, he went to visit him in jail to forgive him and pray with him. Often I think what an impact this made on this man. To be truly forgiven by a man he wanted to kill!

I remember reading about the early days of Medjugorje and how Father Jozo challenged the people in church to forgive their brothers and to stand up and say,” I forgive you.” At that time there were many problems between the Croatians and the Serbians. It was heart-warming to know that the parishioners took his words to heart and stood up voicing forgiveness for their brothers and sisters.

In this season of Lent, it is time to examine all of our hearts. My prayer for all of you is that when you pray those words of forgiveness, your heart will feel free of hard feelings. My prayer is that your hearts of stone will change to a heart of flesh. Free yourself of hard feelings and forgive your transgressors. If you sincerely have a problem with this, ask God for the grace of forgiveness. You will find that your heart will be light and happy when you can give that to God and feel that your heart has let it go.

One practice I recall from a retreat, was to take a stone and carry it around for a week, or however long it takes you to let go. During this time take it with you everywhere, feeling the weight of the stone and feeling the rough edges. Imagine how the weight bears down in your own heart with these feelings of hardness. Imagine the rough edges being the hard times in your life when you were hurt by others.

Take this stone or rock to church to pray. Ask God to relieve you of this heavy burden. Go to confession and talk it over with a priest. The graces you will receive in confession will help you to overcome your heavy weight. Don’t be afraid to cry, for tears are cleansing and healing. Let us all pray for one another. We all have hurts and times in our lives where we need to forgive others. Let us throw those stones away and begin again with a new heart of flesh, filled with love…one that Jesus would want us to carry.

"Pray that God gives you true peace. Live peace in your hearts and you will understand, dear children, that peace is the gift of God. Dear children, without love you cannot live peace. The fruit of peace is love and the fruit of love is forgiveness. I am with you and I invite all of you, little children, that before all else forgive in the family and then you will be able to forgive others" -- Our Lady of Medjugorje, 1/25/96