More than 3,000 young people, accompanied by Krzysztof Wętkowski, the bishop of Włocławek, prayed today in the basilica of St. Of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Licheń during the pilgrimage of 8 primary school classes from the diocese of Włocławek. This year's pilgrimage was held under the slogan "Gathered at the Holy Supper" (September 24).
At. 11 in the Licheń basilica, evangelization began, which was led together by Fr. Michał Krygier and Fr. Piotr Stanny. The priests were accompanied by the music group "Jordan" from Zduńska Wola. Then the conference for young people was delivered by Fr Maciej Ziębiec, CSsR. During his speech, he spoke about his personal experience of meeting Jesus. "Whatever happens in your life, remember that God loves you," he said. He also pointed to the 5 most important words in the life of every human being: "God is love. He loves you.
“If you are living in sin, you cannot truly tell I love you. Then we neither see nor speak about love. Man who is in sin lives in solitude. He is afraid to talk to someone about it, and is even afraid to go to confession. While we are living in sin, Jesus comes and begins to show us the world from a love perspective. It's tough sometimes, but He can do anything. He will love us all the time, ”said the Redemptorist.
He encouraged young people to have courage and go to the sacrament of confession, not to be afraid because they were going to meet Jesus and not the priest. "No disease is as grave as sin," he emphasized.
Holy Mass was presided over by Bishop Krzysztof Wętkowski, ordinary of the diocese of Włocławek. At the beginning of the Eucharist, the people gathered in the Lichen temple were greeted by Fr. Janusz Kumala, MIC, custodian of the Lichen sanctuary. - "You come to this holy place to entrust yourself to Our Lady of Lichen."
He quoted the words of Bl. card. Stefan Wyszyński, who on the day of the coronation of the Miraculous Image said that Our Lady of Lichen is the patron saint of Polish youth. - “His words are fulfilled especially today, when our basilica is filled with young people. We are united with Mary to meet Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist, 'said Fr. Kumala welcoming young people to Licheń. They were also introduced by Fr. To the Bishop: "Bishop, here is the young face of the Church of Włocławek in front of you."
Holy Masses More than 60 priests who came to the Lichen pilgrimage with their pupils concelebrated. Among them were Fr. Michał Krygier, director of the General Pastoral Department of the Diocesan Curia in Włocławek, Fr. Przemysław Pilarski, diocesan youth chaplain.
In his homily, Fr. Ziębiec said that our faith is often like a dry bone, which means that there is no life in us, and thus Jesus is not in us. He referred to the Gospel read according to St. Luke about Zacchaeus who, wanting to see Jesus, climbed a sycamore tree.
- “No matter what happens, Jesus wants to come home. Each of us has two such houses: the first - where the parents are, the second is the church with the altar in it. We are "gathered together at the Holy Supper" to meet Christ. From the church we are to take Jesus to our family homes and say that God is love. But it all starts with a community of faith.
During the Holy Mass Traditionally, young people received dozens of rosaries, which were consecrated by the ordinary of Włocławek.
At the end of the liturgy, the bishop encouraged young people to take two decisions: first - that they should take care not only of the body, but also of the spirit. He wished that the joy and experience of the community and God would be brought to their parishes; secondly - that they remember that making important life decisions should be preceded by a prayer for the light of the Holy Spirit, because their choices will determine their future.
At the end, the representatives of the youth read the act of entrusting 8 classes of the Włocławek diocese to Our Lady of Licheń.
The musical setting for the liturgy was prepared by the Jordan band from Zduńska Wola. During the Holy Mass students from primary schools from Warta, Kłodawa, Kowal and the diocesan assistance of altar boys took an active part.
