The beginning of our trip to Poland was delayed for several hours due to a malfunctioning air conditioner on the plane. While we sat on the tarmac at JFK - perhaps a little hot, tired, and frustrated - a toddler began to cry. More accurately, this baby had an atomic breakdown. Poor kid! All I could do was laugh at our situation and remember not to take anything too seriously. Thanks be to God, our plane eventually took off (and our little friend fell asleep.)
We made it to Warsaw Airport and began our drive south to Krakow. The landscape of Poland is beautiful and reminded several of us of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Our group was fortunate enough to celebrate Mass in the Sanctuary of Mary, Mother of Mercy in Skarzysko-Kamienna. The pastor showed us extreme hospitality. This priest lived out the work of mercy, of welcoming the stranger. It was a wonderful way to begin our pilgrim journey in Poland.
Today, we traveled to the Auschwitz death camp where more than one million Jews, Poles, Roma, and Soviet POW's were put to death. The compound at Auschwitz-Birkenau was massive and systematically laid out. How could human beings cause such suffering?! I prayed that I may always be a person who espouses the way of peace. No more violence. No more hatred. Only love.
Our group then traveled to the Shrine of John Paul II and the Shrine of Divine Mercy. At Auschwitz we remembered the destruction that humankind is capable of. But at these holy places, we remembered that God's love and mercy is greater than any human evil or sin.
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