Monday, March 11, 2013

God's mercy...

...is poured out upon us in great generosity...all we need to do is seek it, claim it...

We went to the Divine Mercy shrine on the outskirts of Cracow today. Kneeling in the chapel where Sister Faustina prayed , and being led in prayer by a young nun, was all rather moving. This was my second pilgrimage here, and on a bitterly cold day the warm chapel and the glowing candles were comforting. The great - giant! - modern shrine alongside was rather too bleak and chilling on this grey day, although its tall tower like the mast of a great ship, with a statue of  dear Bl John Paul at the helm, is always impressive. From its viewing platform at the top, one can see the building works on a neighbouring hillside, where a vast conference centre dedicated to JPII is being built. It is all near the Solvay chemical plant where he worked as a labourer in WWII.  From the designs and plans and from what is now being constructed, it somehow seems very big and ambitious...one feels "nearer" to JPII in the streets of Krakow, its churches and cathedral where he served as Archbishop...

Long and fascinating discussions about philosophy with academics over coffee...thinking about Polish history as we hurry through icy but enchanting streets...TV screens with news reports where words like "Konclav" and "Kardinal" emerge from a puzzle of Polish...

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