We say 'no' to hostile forces that threaten our faith

By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami

Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Aug. 27, 2023, on the feast of Poland's patroness, Our Lady of Czestochowa. 

For us Poles, the feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa is a special day in our calendar. We celebrate this day as if it were our Mother's name day - the blue, beloved, Polish one. We come here before a miraculous image, because here we are one nation, scattered all over the world, on every continent and in almost every country. But today, wherever we are, we stand before it as one state, one nation and one family.

We stand here in times that are not easy, full of wars, discord and anxiety. The enemy, whether from within or without, is trying to reach out and take from us what is sacred, what is precious, what holds us together: our faith, our Christian beliefs, our heroes.

In March this year, Cardinal Krajewski, while celebrating the Holy Mass at the grave of Saint John Paul II, asked very important questions:

• Why did they want to kill Jesus?
• Why was there an attempt to shoot the Polish Pope in 1981?
• Why was Jerzy Popieluszko murdered?
• Why was Father Blachnicki killed?

These important questions were addressed by the Cardinal to his listeners, bearing in mind the recent campaign against Saint John Paul II and false accusations directed against him. He asked again:

Why did they try to shoot our Polish Pope? Because he preached the Gospel. Because he called to open the door to Christ. Because he reminded us that it is impossible to understand a man without Christ. Because he reminded us of the right to life from conception to natural death.

These sacred ideals come from God and are the way for man. But the world does not accept them. The world constantly proposes new ideologies that destroy man and the image of God in man. Ideologies that lie, harm and want to dismantle the institution of the family so that it is easy to destroy the nation, patriotism, unity - and our treasure: faith.

Today we stand together before our Mother of Czestochowa, who leads us before the throne of God. It is she who shows us and reminds us of the examples of those who in their time fought against the ideologies of their time. Saint John Paul II, Cardinal Wyszyński, Father Popieluszko, Father Blachnicki, are just a small handful of thousands of Polish women and men for whom the motto "God, honor, fatherland" were not empty words. They entrusted their lives to God through the hands of Mary. It was from God and from the throne of Our Lady of Jasna Góra that they drew their strength and inspiration. It was in Częstochowa that they found the spiritual capital of our country, at a time when world maps forgot about Poland.

Today we say "NO" to these hostile forces. This is our time to claim the truth of the Gospel, our faith and Christian ideals. It is time for us to defend the good name of the Church and her saints. It is up to us to defend the good name of our countryman, Saint John Paul II, especially when we are preparing for the celebration of the forty-fifth anniversary of his election to the See of Peter. It is up to our Polish parents, grandparents, godparents to teach children and youth how to pray, how to live well, how to act, how to reject bad ideologies and models of the world. Only strong Polish families will be able to keep our traditions, values and religion.

That is why we stand today before the Lady of Częstochowa, entrusting our Church, our country, our families and our future into her hands.

(Prayer):

O Lady of Jasna Gora
Who has been watching over our nation for centuries;
Keep us in your care;
Give us and our neighbors peace and prosperity;
Defend against enemies;
And let us never stray from God.

AMEN.