of everything that is created on the Creator, on the other hand, it in a particular way expresses and actualises the relationship of the gift, the giving of oneself, which is special to the human being as a person. This relation is ‘introduced’ by Christ into the Trinitarian, that is ultimate, dimension.
6 July
Lauds; Holy Mass; Daytime prayers; Rosary
Meditation: The Little Ways of Jesus1 – in relation to yesterday’s primary reflection, a meditation on the matters pro praeteritio et pro futuro [relating to the past and future] connected to the petitionary prayer for these issues.
The Way of the Cross; Litany of the Saints; Penitential psalms; Adoration
(Reading: Prof. G. Labuda, ‘Factum Św. Stanisława’ [The Factum of St Stanislaus]2 – remarks)
9–12 August 1973 Retreat at Bachledówka1 Topic: SS-ma Trinitas[The Holy Trinity]
9 August
Vespers from 3.00 p.m.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Xtus praesens nobis in Patre, Xtus dans nobis cum Patre Spiritum SS-um. – Homo – ager expectans [Christ is present for us in the Father, Christ together with the Father gives us the Holy Spirit – Man – an expectant field].
Rosary (III); Petitionary prayer
Reading various texts: the Letter of the Bishops’ Conference for 26 August; Information on the Holy Year: Reconciliation.2
Inde post Viam Crucis, in qua mysterium Cordis Xti praecipue contemplabatur, fit [Then, the Way of the Cross, in which the mystery of Christ’s Heart was contemplated, was followed by]:
Evening meditation: Retreats grow out of the entire network of problems and tasks of the universal Church and the Polish Church. Retreats also have to be somehow rooted in these matters. They cannot lead away from the episcopal mission, but have to lead ever deeper into it. Among those tasks the one that has priority in our region is Catholic upbringing. Due to the present threats, one needs a stronger affirmation (statement). This affirmation takes shape in both the Holy Year’s theme, ‘Reconciliatio’ [‘Reconciliation’], announced by Pope Paul VI, and even more in the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the theme of ‘Evangelisatio’ [‘Evangelisation’]. These topics mutually explain and direct each other. A plan outlining them for the Church in Poland and in the Archdiocese needs to be prepared.
This matter has to be connected with the general issue of Catholic culture in Poland, especially the contribution of Catholic scholarship (and church scholarship: theology) to Polish scholarship (the feast day of St John Cantius: 500th anniversary of his death).
Rosary (I)
(Reading a chapter from the book): Maryja nasz wzór [Mary: Our Role Model] by Fr F. Ziebura3
Supper, followed by: Matins for the Feast of St Lawrence
Holy Hour: contemplatio Xti in Monte Oliveti sec. misteria ros. cor. II: ubi veritas iustificationis invenitur sub diversis aspectibus [contemplation of Christ on the Mount of Olives according to the Sorrowful Mysteries: where the truth of justification is revealed in diverse ways]
Compline
Finally, reading the article: ‘Sumienie a autorytet’ [Conscience and Authority] by Fr Dr S. Rosik (Studia theol. varsav.)4
10 August: Feast of St Lawrence, deacon and martyr
Getting up about 6.00 a.m. and first prayers according to the morning intention; (Short) meditation before the Holy Mass on the readings on St Lawrence from the breviary and preparation for the Mass; Holy Mass for the Feast of St Lawrence (ad peccata remittenda et conversionem semper pleniorem obtinendam infra haec exercitia [for the forgiveness of sins and for an experience of an ever-fuller conversion during this retreat]); Afterwards: thanksgiving; Lauds; Rosary (I) (petitionary prayers); Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Reading: ‘Die Mitte der Botschaft. Jesu Tod und Auferstehung’ [The Centre of the Good News: Jesus’ Death and Resurrection] by Jacques Guillet in ephem. [in the journal] Communio (Inter. Theol. Zeitschrift).5
Meditation: De mysterio Patris [On the mystery of the Father]: (cf. Mystère du Père [The mystery of the Father] by Fr Guillou read over the holiday).6 The analogy of fatherhood/father that is given to us in the created world is simultaneously rich and multidimensional, and limited and disproportionate in relation to the reality of the ‘Father’ in God. God to some extent identifies with the Father, but at the same time He exceeds everything that we can conceive of ‘fatherhood’ in created reality, especially in human reality. The father is the one who gives life, who passes on humanity and allows it to develop, the one who is the point of reference for the child, the equivalent of the certainty of existence and goodness.
And yet Jesus did not hesitate to speak of God as the ‘Father’
Father–God is essentially impermeable in terms of the world and creation. He is the mystery that lies beyond everything and that determines everything. This mystery is illuminated in relation to one point of reference: This point of reference is Christ – ‘no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him’.7 Thanks to Christ, we also ‘know’ the Father to some extent and have access to Him. In Christ’s consciousness, as well as in His mission and words, the Father completely overshadows the ‘Absolute’, even though at the same time He in a sense absorbs it. The Father is also the Creator and the Lord (‘I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that …’).8 He is the fullness of existence and goodness, the beginning, the ultimate support, the certainty and fulfilment of all fulfilments. If man can think of Him in any meaningful way, it can be only on the condition that, following Christ, he accepts the truth about love. The Father is the fullness of being, truth and good, who in His own special way accepts the world – from the very reality of creation, the giving of life, to the human being, whom He creates ‘in His image, after His likeness’ to let him partake in His own divinity.9 In all this, He is constantly – being at the very heart of the created world, especially the human being – beyond the reach of our created imagination and thoughts. Yet at the same time
He is the only anchor of certainty and the condition of the development of everything, especially the human being (cf. upbringing). Outside ‘the mystery of the Father’ there is no evolution of man in truth and love (cf. Guillou’s thesis).
The Way of the Cross (Friday) which develops the contemplation of the Passion of Christ: He is constantly turned towards the Father and the basis of this relationship informs the diverse ways in which He relates to different people and groups He meets on His way.
Daytime prayers; After lunch – a break; Reading; Rosary (II); Rosary ad Vulnera Redemptoris [to the Wounds of the Redeemer]; Adoration in the spirit of Christ’s final words; Vespers
Reading the decree of the Synod of Bishops: ‘De evangelizatione in mundo hodierno’ [On Evangelisation in
