Hey everybody!
Sorry I haven't written in a while, there has been a lot of stuff going on between midterms and travelling but I'll start with the Poland trip and then I'll go from there.
What can I say about Poland? I was not actually planning on going on the Poland trip with the school, but at the last minute I decided to go, which ended up being one of the best decisions I have made since being here in Austria. We arrived the first day in the city of Częstochowska,which is famous for the painting of Mary that is told to have been painted by Saint Luke, on a piece of a table that Jesus had made for his Mother. The icon is a painting of the Madonna and Child, also known as the Black Madonna. In 1430, Hussite warriors invaded a Pauline monastary where the icon was being held, and inflicted two sword slash marks on the face of the Virgin Mary,which still remain today, even after artists have tried to restore the paintings. The shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowska was so beautiful, and I was actually able to see the unveiling of the icon with many other of my fellow Franciscan students. After a few hours at the shrine we then travelled to Auschwitz, the most infamous concentration camps during World War II. Being at Auschwitz taught me more than any history class could have. When you enter the camp the words "Arbeit Macht Frei", translated, "Work Will Make You Free" are written in iron across the front gate. The immediate surrounding area is completely covered in barbed wire. There were several buildings that were used for different purposes. Some were used as toruture chambers, or starvation cells, others were gas chambers where thousands of Jews were murdered each day. Block 11 which I also saw was well known as the "Shooting Wall "where Jews and other political prioners were convicted of crimes and excecuted. I was also able to see the cell where St. Maxilimilan Kolbe was kept and the very same cell in which he died in. Being at Auschwitz truly made me realize the horrors of the concentration camps. I read about these camps in my history classes back at home, but being physically there was an entirely different learning experience. The most moving and emotion part of being at Auschwitz for me was when my tour group entered the gas chambers. I could'nt help but think of the thousands of people who walked into the gas chambers who would never walk out, as I was able to do. After viewing the first camp at Auschwitz, we then travelled to the second camp, or the work camp where many Jews were transported to from around Europe by train. It was in this camp where the Jews were foced to do heavy labor and essentially where they came to die. There were also the remains of a crematory, or a gas chamber that Nazis Secret Service had tried to destroy at the end of World War II. After Auschwitz, we were able to go to the Divine Mercy Shrine, which was definately a beautiful experience where we had Mass and were able to see where Sr. Faustina was given the message of Divine Mercy. We then went to Krakow and hung around the city. We listened to the bugle charge that sounded every hour on the hour and we had cappucino a small restaurant that was in the town square. Then we went to dinner at an authentic Polish restaurant and we ate perogis which were delicious! After dinner, we went to a club in Krakow that night that was packed with Franciscan kids and it was so much fun being there with all of them. The next day we headed out to Wadowice, which is the hometown of Pope John Paul II. Although it was a small town, it was still very beautiful and my friend Leann and I enjoyed Pope cake, which was also very good ( it had powdered sugar and it tasted something like a croissant) and walked around. I got to go into the church where JPII made his first communion and made his final vows as a priest. I was definately pleasantly surprised by Poland and was amazed by the beauty and culture that the Polish people have. Even through all of the hardships and difficulties, their culture is very much alive and they have survived so much and emereged thtough tragedy even stronger than before.
