After breakfast the groups went to churches to attend the mass with parishoners. At that place they listened to religious instruction introducing the topic of the day. They spent the morning in a warm and relaxed atmosphere.
In the Cathedral Andrzej Siemieniewski, the suffragan bishop, delivered the homily for the Italian group. He evoked the figure of Edith Stein and encouraged the listeners to follow in her footsteps and seek the truth. One of the Italians impressed all the people present with playing the cathedral organ. After the mass all the participants listened to religious teaching with great concentration.
“I am happy to be here,” said Cristina Barbieri, who was moved by the content of the teaching, “Mercy means big love for me.”
At 9 a.m. at the Church of St. Hedwig in Kozanów Gregory Bittman, the bishop of Edmonton, gave religious teaching for the pilgrims from Canada. It revolved around the topic of mercy. First he asked the listeners to ask themselves the questions: “What does mercy mean for me? How do I experience mercy?” He emphasized the fact that for a Catholic mercy is something more than a release from punishment. He presented many meanings of the word – faithfulness, goodness, loyalty, and love of a child for their mother. “Mercy is all that and more,” he said.
At first glance it seems that the Old Testament says little on mercy. However, Bittman quoted the fragments contradicting this assertion, for example from The Book of Ruth and The Book of Daniel. He also mentioned King David, who asked God for mercy and was granted it. Then the bishop allowed the listeners to reflect for a few minutes on the question posed at the beginning “How do I experience mercy?” and then share their reflections. Right in the middle of the talks the bishop stated “You must experience a lot of mercy as you are talking so much. And so is the truth. We, Catholics, experience that each time in the sacrament of reconciliation.”
Teresa Grabiec
See the gallery: https://www.mlodzimlodym.wroclaw.pl/en/2016/07/21/21-07-the-mornign-in-parish
