Father and Shepherd #14 | The victory came
fot. Instytut Prymasowski Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński the Primate of Poland has remained in the memory of Poles as a statesman, defender of faith and freedom of the homeland, advocate of unconditional human dignity.
The greatest victory of the faith of Cardinal Wyszyński was undoubtedly the election of the Holy Father John Paul II, who said: “Venerable and Beloved, my Reverand Primate! Let me just say what I think. There would not be this Polish Pope in the See of Peter, who today, full of fear of God, but also full of trust, would begin a new pontificate, if it were not for your faith, which would not retreat from imprisonment and suffering, your heroic hope, and your entrustment entirely to the Mother of the Church, if Jasna Góra was not there – and that whole period of the history of the Church in our homeland, which is related to your episcopal and primate ministry ”.
In many speeches that the Primate gave after returning home from the conclave, we find a reference to the mystery of the choice of the Holy Father John Paul II. On 23rd November 1978, he said at Jasna Góra:
“Believe that it was the work of God, the work of Christ in the Holy Spirit and the Bride of the Holy Spirit – the Mother of Christ! That’s how everyone understood it. Nobody was surprised by the choice of a foreigner, not even a Pole. He made everyone happy. It was such a joy that it was impossible to protect yourself from its signs. How many cardinals, old people, wept for joy! And tears are probably the best interpreter of feelings …
When I approached John Paul II with the first homage, our mouths opened almost simultaneously with the name of Our Lady of Jasna Gora: this is her work! We believed it strongly and we still believe in it.
From the moment the Holy Father John Paul II was elected, Cardinal Wyszyński prayed for him in every Holy Mass, in every Jasna Góra Appeal, in every Rosary. “For him to grow, to diminish me” – he repeated after St. John the Baptist. He rejoiced in every accomplishment of the Holy Father. He supported him with prayer and sacrifice of his life.
When on 13th May 1981, the Primate himself, seriously ill, learned about the attempted assassination of the Holy Father, he creased under the influence of this news, saying: “I was always afraid of it.” From then on, he offered everything for John Paul II. On 14th May 1981, in the last speech to the faithful of the capital, which was played from an audio tape during the Holy Mass in front of the Church of St. Anna, said: “And that is why I am asking you, that these heroic prayers that you offer for my intention at Jasna Góra and in Warsaw and diocesan churches, anywhere, that you would direct all of this with me to the Mother of Christ, begging for health and strength for the Holy Father. Let us make these small sacrifices so that our “widow’s penny” would obtain God’s mercy, that Christ would discern the great love we have for His representative on earth. ”
In the farewell speech to the Main Council on 22nd May, we find words that testify that Cardinal Wyszyński consciously offered his life and suffering for the intention of John Paul II.
“Holy Father! We don’t need to talk about our feelings for him and about these strange synchronicities of our lives, especially in recent years, up to this point. This synchronization obliges me personally to the Holy Father, and I accept this obligation consciously, with full understanding and docility ”.
Father and Shepherd #1 | Childhood >>>
Father and Shepherd #2 | Seminary and priestly ordination >>>
Father and Shepherd #3 | The beginning of priestly ministry >>>
Father and Shepherd #4 | Among the workers in Włocławek >>>
Father and Shepherd #5 | Wartime exile >>>
Father and Shepherd #6 | At the episcopal see in Lublin >>>
Father and Shepherd #7 | Shepherd of the Church in Poland >>>
Father and Shepherd #8 | Three years of imprisonment >>>
Father and Shepherd #9 | Mary, given to protect the nation, visits Poland >>>
Father and Shepherd #10 | Cardinal Wyszyński, the father of the Second Vatican Council >>>
Father and Shepherd #11 | The Primate in defence of human rights >>>
Father and Shepherd #12 | Man is most important on earth >>>
Father and Shepherd #13 | The condition of a just system – a new man >>>
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