POLAND... A life-changing weekend in the footsteps of JPII

"Be Not Afraid" John Paul II's most infamous words.  After walking in his footsteps the pass several days, these words take on a new meaning in my life.  Our bus ride to Poland on Thursday night we watched Karol.  This is a movie portraying JP II's life before he was elected Pope.  It was an amazing movie and I highly recommend it.  This really started off the weekend with a bang.  We were taken back in time to see all that Poland has gone through since the initial invasion of the Nazis in World War II.  This was a great prep for the coming days but nothing really can prepare one's self for what laid ahead.
     At approximately 5:45 am friday morning our bus pulled into Czestochowa.  Some of us sprinted off the bus up to the church to watch the unveiling of the Black Madonna which happens every morning at 6 am.  The ceremony was gorgeous and I am glad that I ran up to see it.  We then head back to the busses to have breakfast.  After breakfast, one of the sisters gave the group a brief history of Czestochowa and the significance of the Black Madonna in Polish history.  At the shrine, pilgrims can make their way around the icon on their knees bringing their intentions to Madonna.  This was a very powerful experience and a blessing to follow so many other faithful people, who have been doing this for years, and I mean years the marble floor was worn away in spots.  It was truly amazing.  We also had Mass while we were there.  The Mass was absolutely perfect, the readings where just what I needed to here plus it was the feast of the stigmata of St. Francis!
      From Czestochowa, we headed to the toughest part of our journey in Poland, the Auschwitz and Birkenau camps.  No one can ever prepare to step foot on the ground where so many innocent souls lost their lives for no reason except for evil.  I have been reading and studying for most of my life about what happened in these camps and I thought I had a pretty good understanding of what happened there.  But being there really showed me how I don't have a good understanding and never will understand.  No matter how bad moments in my life have been nothing comes close to the hell on earth Auschwitz was.  Though at the same time when I felt so much despair for the fact that humans where able to do this to other humans, there was this sense of hope.  It was a sort of comfort to realize how many holy men and women had suffered in these camps and then on top of it to be able to see the cell where St. Maximilian Kolbe gave up his  life.  It gave me hope that I can get through what ever difficulties many come my way.  Right before we left the Birkenau camp, all the student on the trip gather around the end of the train tracks and prayed a Divine Mercy Chaplet, as we prayed our dreary day turned nice as the sun made its way out from behind the clouds.  It was beautiful!
      From Auschwitz, we headed from Krakow to our hotel.  That night I walked around the main square in Krakow and had some amazing hot chocolate.  It was basically like they took a bar of chocolate and melted it right in my cup.  They even had to give me a cup of water to drink with it because it was so thick!
      The next morning we had a walking tour of Krakow and then some free time within the city, where we needed to purchase lunch for ourselves.  The group I hung out with went and got pierogies.  I got potato and cottage cheese ones.  They were ok but we went back later for dinner and I got meat ones and they were much better.  In the afternoon we took a trip to the Divine Mercy Shrine.  It was beautiful! We arrive for the hour of mercy and were able to get to the chapel to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.  After the Chaplet we were lucky enough to have one of the sisters give us a talk about Divine Mercy and St. Faustina.  From the talk we hurried over to the Basilica to go to confession, if we wanted, and also to have Mass.  After Mass, we had a little time to explore and then it was time to get back on the bus to Krakow.  We then hung out in Krakow for the night.  That night included more hot chocolate this time, gingerbread hot chocolate which was basically Christmas in a cup!
     Sunday morning, we went to a latin Mass in the Catherdral in Krakow.  From there we had the opportunity to hang out some more in Krakow and also if we chose to go to Nova Huta.  Nova Huta was a comunist city right outside of Krakow that was created to be the workers city.  There was no religion allowed in this town and for over 15 years there was no church.  The people of the city revolted and placed a wooden cross in the town, the soviets killed many people over this cross.  It was mind blowing to be there and to see what a simple cross means to people who don't live in freedom.  If you have time I highly recommend looking up the history of Nova Huta.  Then in the afternoon we head to Wadowice, where Pope John Paul II grew up.  We were able to go to his church where he was an altar server and also we were able to get some Pope Cake, it is a pastry that is flaky on the top and bottom and filled with a cream.  It was John Paul II favorite dessert as a kid.    From there we got back on the bus and head back to Gaming.  It was an Amazing and blessed weekend.  I am so happy that I was finally able to make it to Poland and I will alway remember my time spent there.