Mechernich/Krakau/Tschenstochau – At the end of July, a delegation from Mechernich spent five days on pilgrimage in Krakow and Częstochowa with 65 Polish members of the Communio and sympathisers. The faithful visited the legendary "Black Madonna" on the holy mountain Jasna Gora in Częstochowa and the shrine of Sister Maria Faustyna Kowalska at the Congregation of the Mother of God of Mercy in Krakow.
A sermon by the Superior General of Mechernich, Jaison Thazhathil, was read during the Holy Mass at both places of pilgrimage, in which he focused on charity as an instrument of spirituality and the search for God: "Both are important: to be open to the experience of God and to be prepared to share this experience with others and pass it on. Every act of Christian love is an expression of the experience of God. John's letter says: "He who does not love has not known God, for God is love". This profound truth is the basis for the vows of love in the Communion in Christ."
Doctorate with Urbanski
In both services, the Ugandan priest Patrick Mwanguhya (37) and Deacon Manfred Lang (65) concelebrated and assisted with the Polish Communio priest Prelate Dr Jozef Zielonka (78), who completed his doctorate in 2009 on Mother Marie Therese, the Mechernich foundress of the Ordo Communionis in Christo, under Professor Dr Stanislaw Urbanski in Warsaw.
The meeting of Polish and German Communion followers centred on a conference in the Częstochowa seminary, where the pilgrims, most of whom came from the European twin towns of Skarszewy (Pomerania) and Mechernich (Eifel), were also accommodated.
Deacon Lang, the deputy of Superior General Jaison Thazhathil, presented awards to Teresa Swieca, the tirelessly committed head of the Communio group in Skarszewy, who is also involved in the local Skarszewy-Mechernich twinning committee, and to Prelate Dr Jozef Zielonka, the veteran Communio priest from Częstochowa. On Sunday, the people of Mechernich were then invited to visit Senator Ryszard Majer from Częstochowa, who is also a member of Communio in Christo.
At the conference in Częstochowa, the Deputy Superior General said that Communio in Christo is ‘a way for all’, without exception and beyond denominational and religious boundaries, because God loves all people ‘unconditionally and without conditions and we should love one another as we are able. That is his most important commandment - and the decisive one that counts.’
"You don't have to go to a monastery"
Manfred Lang continued: "Anyone and everyone can become a member of our community around Christ. Everyone is invited to walk the path of life with him and with us. You don't have to join a monastery or leave your family, your job or your place of work. Wherever life has placed us, we can take and fulfil the vow of love for our neighbour - and be loving towards the people who surround us in the place in the world where we live."
"Love for our neighbour is life in God," is Mother Marie Therese's motto for everyone: "By turning to people, we meet God." Travelling with Lang to Poland were the Communio sisters Lidwina and Theresia as well as Pastor Patrick Mwanguhya, the married couple Angelika Juwick and Gottfried Völl and the Ugandan Superior General of the Good Samaritan Sisters, Mother John Evangelist.
In addition to Teresa Swieca, Bozena Oelrich and Dorota Grzywacz from the local Mechernich-Skarszewy twinning committee were also present at the meeting. The three women are not only involved in the Catholic Church, but also in the European town twinning with Mechernich. Sister Lidwina invited the Poles to visit Mechernich on Sunday 8 December to commemorate the founding of the Communio.
The mystic and charismatic Josephina Theresia Linssen (1927-1994), a native of the Netherlands, founded the Ordo Communionis in Christo in Mechernich 40 years ago to the day. The diocesan bishop of Aachen, Dr Helmut Dieser, who recognised the community as a church in 2018, will celebrate the anniversary mass at 2 pm in the parish church of Johannes Baptist in Mechernich.
The programme will be concelebrated by Superior General Jaison Thazhathil and the Mechernich parish priest and GdG leader Erik Pühringer, with Deacon Manfred Lang assisting. Numerous clergy and faithful as well as official representatives are also expected to attend.
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