In recent days, I have been horrified by what I read in the comments about this attack, written by many priests and people publicly declared as Catholics. Calls for revenge, for collective responsibility, for lynching the person who committed this evil. Our Polish Gospel is often stripped of... the Gospel. Of its essence, of the love in which there is forgiveness. Above all, that which God offers to man. Yesterday, Adrian - a priest wounded in this attack stood at the altar, offered the Sacrifice, and earlier gave a sermon. Please read it, because I haven't read a text so saturated with the Gospel for a long time. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ "Dear brothers, dear sisters. I will not hide that this sermon is difficult for me. I will not hide that this time we are experiencing is particularly hard for me. But I know one thing, that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am a disciple of my Master, I am a disciple of my Lord. And Christ teaches me love. The love that allowed itself to be crucified. The love that gave its life for its enemies. Such is my Lord and Master. And you all know that in many situations we, the priests here at the abbey, have always tried to serve with all our might. As best we could, so that those who come to us could leave here consoled, could receive help, could receive human kindness, could receive support. And from this place, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I desire to say very clearly, in my name, in the name of Father Marek and in the name of Father Stanisław, that we forgive! And we ask for prayer for us. For prayer for Father Stanisław, for the peace of his soul, for health for Father Marek, who is still fighting for his life in the hospital, and for me, that I may return to my full duties as soon as possible and be able to continue serving you here. But in a special way, I ask you for prayer for our tormentor and for the grace of conversion for him. The words I speak come from the depth of my heart. This prayer is most needed for him. Because no matter what happened. The evil that occurred here, in our abbey, we must overcome with good, love, and forgiveness. Therefore, I ask you to forgive as well, because it has also affected all of you. And from this place, I also want to ask you not to blame the nation from which the tormentor came, because evil was committed by a specific person, an evil deed was done by a specific individual who has a name, a life, and who is responsible for their actions. It was not done by other people. It was one single person. Therefore, I ask you not to respond to evil with evil, but with love, support, understanding, and care. I ask you to respect the people who live in our abbey, in our city, in our province, and in our country. I ask you to respect and support each other as two brotherly nations. When the war in Ukraine broke out, you well remember what was happening in our abbey. That we were open to people who came here. People who needed help, support, care, love, sometimes just ordinary human kindness. And you well know that no one here was left without help. We worked with all our might, often even at night, not sleeping for many hours. Therefore, I ask you that our work, our effort, and our toil do not go to waste. Because I think that this is what we are teaching you here, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple who loves, who supports, who cares for others. So brothers, dear sisters, and all of you who hear this, let us be disciples of Christ, disciples who, with love, care, respect, help, and kindness, assist others. It does not matter who they are, what nation they come from, what religion they are, what color their skin is, but they are human beings. They have their dignity, and we must not deprive anyone of dignity. Therefore, I ask you, let us pray for each other. Let us take care of each other and love all those we meet on the journey of our lives. And when we see injustice, when we see someone being persecuted, let us not remain silent, but admonish, because everyone should feel at home with us. Not just in our abbey, but in our entire nation. Amen." (translated)
