Here You can find the presentation in downloadable format in English and Polish as PPT or PDF. Also, you can view it at Slideshare.net online:

(Woodrow Wilson)

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, granting the 13 colonies their freedom as a sovereign nation. We remember in prayer those who founded our country so that we can live with honor, dignity, and the freedom to freely give glory to God our Creator.
On this Independence Day we pray to God in thanksgiving for our basic freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We especially remember on this day the words of our forefathers, words to live by, “In God we Trust”. So as we celebrate this day which is considered the birthday of the United States of America with barbecues, ceremonies, fireworks and family gatherings, let us remember the Lord our God who has bestowed upon this country countless blessings.

In response to the call of Christ,
who invites me
to follow Him
and to be a witness to His charity
to the poor,
I…renew the promises of my Baptism
and vow to God,
for one year,
chastity, poverty, and obedience
to my legitimate Superiors,
and to devote myself
to the corporal and spiritual service of the poor,
our true Masters,
in the Company of the Daughters of Charity,
in accordance with
our Constitutions and Statutes.
Grant me,
O Lord,
the grace of fidelity,
through your Son Jesus Christ crucified,
and through the intercession of
the Immaculate Virgin.

Constitutions of the Daughter of Charity explain the vows, they are renewing each year in this way:

In order to serve Christ in persons who are poor, the Daughters of Charity commit themselves to live their baptismal consecration through the practice of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience, which receive from this service their specific character. (C.27)
The Daughters of Charity make four vows: service of those who are poor, chastity, poverty, and obedience. To make them validly they must, in addition to fulfilling the requirements of universal law, be authorized to do so by the Superior General. These vows are “non-religious”, annual, and always renewable, according to the Constitutions and Statutes. The Church recognizes them as they are understood in the Company, in fidelity to its Founders.(C.28)

On this special Day of the Renewal of their commitment to the Lord in persons who are Poor we congratulate Daughters of Charity all over the world their decision, perseverance and fidelity to the Legacy of the Founders, and we wish them continues strength and zeal in the service of Christ in the persons of the Poor through another year.

In his three volume book “The Life of the Venerable Servant of God Vincent de Paul, Founder and First Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission” Louis Abelly, Bishop of Rodez quotes his story of what happened in Folleville: “Monsieur Vincent said: It was January 1617, when all this happened, on the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the twenty-fifth of the month. This lady asked me to preach in the church of Folleville to persuade the local people to make a general confession. I did this, pointing out the importance and usefulness of this practice. I showed them how to do so worthily. God had such regard for the confidence and faith of this good lady (for the great number and enormity of my sins stood in the way of my effecting any fruit) that he blessed this sermon. All those present were moved by God, and came to make their general confession. I continued my instruction, disposing them to receive the sacrament well, and then began to hear their confessions. Even with the help of another priest who was with me, however, the press of those waiting to receive the sacrament was too great. Madame sent to request the Jesuit Fathers of Amiens to come help us. She wrote to the rector, who came himself, but not having enough time available he sent another Jesuit, Father Fourche, to help us in hearing confessions, preaching and catechizing. By the grace of God, these occupations kept us busy.
We next went to other villages in the vicinity which also belonged to Madame, to do the same as we had done in the first. We had large crowds, and God gave us his full blessing. This is how the first mission was accomplished. That it took place on the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul was due solely to God’s design.” Read the whole chapter eight of book one

These two slideshows based on Theodore Maynard’s book “Apostle of charity:the life of St. Vincent de Paul” present the primary goals of the Congregation of Mission. Slideshows  are available in Polish, too. Find more documents on the origins and spirituality of the Vincentian Family at  Vinformation.famvin.org website.

“This mission in Folleville was the first given by Monsieur Vincent and has always been considered as the seed for all the others to follow. Every year, on the twenty-fifth of January, he and his Congregation thanked God for all the graces given in his infinite bounty to this first preaching. He always wanted this feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul to be regarded as the founding date of the Congregation of the Mission, although it was to be eight more years before this first seed grew and multiplied. He never thought that this tiny mustard plant would serve as the basis for the establishment of a new Congregation in the Church, as later came about. This is why the missionaries of the Congregation celebrate the feast of the Conversion of the Apostle, in memory of the way this new Paul, their father and founder, happily completed on this day his first mission.” (cf. Abelly, Book One, Chapter Eight)

Program of the Heritage Pilgrimage

Independent Trade Union SOLIDARITY in Poland is celebrating 30th Anniversary this week. On this occasion the special concelebrated Mass in Polish was given at 11:30 AM, Sunday, August 29 in St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY. Fr. Marek Sobczak CM, pastor, presided and Fr. Jan Urbaniak CM was concelebrant. In this way the parish commemorated the events from 1980, when after over two weeks of nation wide strike and workers’ protest communist authority was forced to sign agreement with new workers organization. The agreement guaranteed creation of trade union, first such behind Iron Curtain not controlled by the communist party and government. This victory in peaceful battle ignited the light of freedom and change which lead Poland and other East European countries to get rid of the communist regime. Thanks to to this victory, after 30 years Poland is enjoying freedom, democracy and membership in European and world organization as strong and proud nation. August 31, 1980 was one of the most significant and important events in Polish history in at least 20th century.

The liturgy was a unique character and the church was decorated for the occasion. A commemorative wrath with white and red sashes and “SOLIDARNOŚĆ” (Solidarity) inscription on it, was laid in front of the altar. Various flag bearers and Solidarity representatives were lead to the church by priests and altar servers. As usual, members of the Sea League (Liga Morska) dressed in white uniformed bearing flags were present as well as few representatives of local Polish-American organizations and veterans.

Fr. Sobczak gave the homily during the Mass. At the beginning he reminded the moments from Pope’s John Paul II first visit to Poland in 1979 with the significant words which later often were reminded as encouragement for Poles to change their situation and struggle for freedom: “June 1979. A huge crowd of Poles gathered in Victory Square in Warsaw, and millions on television with bated breath, listening to the homily of Pope John Paul II, in which these important words were heard: ‘Let Thy Spirit descend and renew the face of the earth. This land.”

“Spirit descended and filled the hearts of Poles with hope”, he continued. “Wind of renewal blew, with the strength of Chinook from the Tatra Mountains to the Baltic Sea. And in August 1980, after years of sprouting will of independence, the “Solidarity”, which led to great changes in Poland and Europe was born. For years, Polish people bent under the burden of totalitarian, communist regime, now straightened out, matured, and got strong and learned how to live again. In fact, freedom, so longed, redeemed by blood and martyrdom, in prisons and through intimidation, was not given to us only – but as John Paul II taught us, both the Pope and Countryman, – but also the set point. We started fulfill this preset lesson of freedom.”

Fr. Marek has also reminded two other great Poles, Servant of God, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski and Blessed Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko. He recalled Cardinal Wyszynski’s words on foundation of SOLIDARNOŚĆ, “the present society wakes up from sleep and no-will, because it recalls responsibility for the Nation, looks for initiatives and solutions; in front of us we must see the whole Nation, the society, the country, we must save the Nation and the family…” and next other remarkable words of blessed martyr, Fr. Jerzy, “we cannot talk about building the common motherhouse, when human rights are not respected and human dignity is demeaned… planned authorization, battle against God and what was from God is the battle against human greatness and dignity; thus great is man for bearing the dignity of God’s child”.

At the end of homily, again he quoted John Paul II from his homily in Gdansk, “Solidarity means one and other; if it is a burden, it is a burden carried together, in community. And so, it is never one against the other.”
Finally, the Pastor of St. Stanislaus Kostka said, “may the passage from the significant work of Adam Mickiewicz, “Pan Tadeusz”, encourage us by the spirit to struggle for renewal in the nation… in book one the Chamberlain holds talk to the Judge:

Ah, I remember the times when on our fatherland
there first descended the fashion of imitating the French;
when suddenly brisk young gentlemen from foreign lands
swarmed in upon us in a horde worse than the Nogai Tatars,
abusing here, in our country, God, the faith of our fathers,
our law and customs, and even our ancient garments.
Pitiable was it to behold the yellow-faced puppies,
talking through their noses–and often without noses
–stuffed with brochures and newspapers of various sorts,
and proclaiming new faiths, laws, and toilets.
That rabble had a mighty power over minds,
for when the Lord God sends punishment on a nation
he first deprives its citizens of reason.
And so the wiser heads dared not resist the fops,
and the whole nation feared them as some pestilence,
for within itself it already felt the germs of disease.
They cried out against the dandies but took pattern by them;
they changed faith, speech, laws, and costumes.
That was a masquerade, the license of the Carnival season,
after which was soon to follow the Lent of slavery.

To read the whole homily text go to St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish website or click on the PDF link below:

Tekst homilii na Mszy św. z okazji 30 rocznicy NSZZ SOLIDARNOŚĆ