When I am hiking through the Polish land, from the Baltic Sea, through Wielkopolska, Mazowsze, Warmia and Mazury, the other eastern lands from Białystok to Zamość, west and east of the San River, along the mountain ranges of the Bieszczady Mountains to the south, along the river valleys towards the north, and contemplate the beauty of this native land, I become aware of this particular dimension of the salvific mission of the Son of God. Here, the blue of the sky, the green of forests and fields, the silver of lakes and rivers seem to speak with exceptional power. Here, the singing of birds sounds particularly familiar, like in Polish language. And, everything testifies to the love of the Creator, to the life-giving power of His Spirit and to the Redemption which the Son accomplished for man and for the world. (…) It is not easy to give up returning to Homeland, ‘to these fields painted with various grains, gilded with wheat, silvered with rye’ – as Mickiewicz wrote, to these mountains and valleys and lakes and rivers, to these beloved people (…) – but since this is the will of Christ, it must be accepted. So, I accept. I only ask you not to forget me in your prayers; at Jasna Góra and in our entire Homeland. May this Pope, who is blood of your blood and heart of your hearts, serve the Church and the world well…
And, I must admit that it is very difficult for me to part with Polish nature and with mountains and lakes. I don’t know how it will be!
John Paul II “The Autobiography”
Polish Publishing House – Literary Press – 2005
