Mother, who knows us like no other, every year at the end of June, on the anniversary of the Coronation of the Image of Our Lady of Help calls several hundred people to make a pilgrimage. Three generations of pilgrims support each other and walk to Our Lady for three days.
This year, due to the pandemic of the coronavirus, the Różanystok’s Pilgrimage could not take place in its traditional form. However, those who wished, through their journey, to thank our Lady for their graces or to ask for prayers, had the opportunity to take the pilgrimage on their own, individually, as Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda encouraged.
Różanystok – a short history
The history begins when the Tyszkiewicz family gets possession of the estate of Krzywy Stok. In 1658, this place becomes a site of miracles for the cause of the image of Our Lady with a Child in Her hand, the image painted by a Grodno painter. In 1662, on the day of the offering of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the image of our Lady is solemnly consecrated. Already a year later, due to the numerous miracles behind the cause of the Miraculous Image, the name of the village is changed from Krzywy Stok to Różanystok. In 1811, the church was located under the Russian partition and was transferred to the Orthodox clergy, who converted the church into an Orthodox church. In 1915, Orthodox nuns from Różanystok flee to Russia, taking with them the miraculous picture. Three years later, the church is re-transferred to the Catholic Church. In 1919, Salesians Fathers came to Różanystok and engaged in educational activities. In 1929, a new image of the Mother of God was introduced to the church in Różanystok. In 1981, the image of Our Lady of Różanystok was crowned, and 6 years later the church of the Offering of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which it is located, becomes a smaller basilica.
As far as the history goes, people accompanied Our Lady of Różanystok. They want to be with Our Lady also today, which is why they come to sanctuary every year. This year, marks it for the 8th time that I made a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Różanystok and it was a unique family pilgrimage. On Sunday, June 28th, we set off by car in a five-person pilgrimage from our Wasilków hometown to Majew Kościelny. It is in Majew Kościelny, in the parish of Our Lady of Czestochowa and St. Casimir, where pilgrims going to Różanystok from Białystok and the surrounding areas have their second accommodation. For me personally, it is a unique place that delighted me with pervaded presence of God during my first pilgrimage to Różanystok. nce. On the way to Majew, we visited the Church of St. Antoni Padewski in Sokółka, where in 2008, a Eucharistic miracle took place. At this point, we sang the Hours in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and set out on our pilgrimage. After reaching Majew and a short prayer, we began our walking pilgrimage. We had approximately 20 km to walk, so we divided our walking pilgrimage into 5 stages. At the beginning of each stage, we read the pre-prepared words of St. Father Pio, which were supposed to lead us.
Here they are:
a) “Peace is the simplicity of the spirit, the weather of mind, the peace of the soul, the bond of love. Peace is order, harmony in all of us; it is a constant rejoicing, which is born of a witness of good conscience; is the sacred joy of the heart in which the Lord God reigns. Peace is the way to perfection, moreover – in peace lays perfection. And Satan, who knows everything well, makes every effort so we would lose peace.”
b) “In the likeness of a stream that brings with it to the depths of the seas all that it encounters, my soul which is immersed in the vast ocean of love of the Lord Jesus – without any merit from my side and without being able to know the cause of this – it entails all my treasures.”
c) When I think of the my myriad mercies received from this beloved Mother , I am ashamed of myself because I have not looked enough with love at Her heart and in Her hands, which with such kindness have bestowed me so much favors. But what bothers me very much, the continuous insulting Her, by which I repaid for the affectionate care of our Mother. How often I entrusted this Mother the painful anxieties of my heart! And, how often she comforted me! But what was my gratitude. In my greatest sufferings, it seemed to me many times, when my heart was calm, I forgot almost everything.”
d) “I would like to have such a strong and far-reaching voice that I can invite sinners all over the world to love Our Lady. Because this is impossible for me, I prayed and will pray to my Angel (Guardian Angel) to fulfill this task for me. “
e) “Our Lord appeared to me, who said to me, “My son, do not neglect to write what you hear from my mouth today, because you should not forget it. I am faithful, no creature will condemn without knowing it. Light is very different from darkness. The soul I used to speak to, I always turn to Myself. On the contrary, Satan’s tricks seek to distance it from Me; I never raise in my soul any fears that distance it from Me; If even the fears that the soul feels at certain times of its life in the matter of the eternal salvation it come from Me, they can be recognized by the peace that it will remain in the soul…”
During each stage of the pilgrimage, we prayed, meditating the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and singing Akatyst in honor of St. Joseph. To express our gratitude to God and the joy of the pilgrimage, we sang religious songs. Each of us has already had at least a few pilgrimages, but we all made the first pilgrimage in such an individual form. Thanks to our own organization, we had time to admire nature and see God in every wind-moving ear of grain, in every sound of nature, and we had the time and opportunity to seek Him in ourselves. Once again, we have made it clear that if we do not give ourselves to the Lord completely, we will die. Through prayer and conversation, we have strengthened family and friendly ties and have further established ourselves in the conviction that with a common goal not only of this pilgrimage, but above all of the way of life, we can rely on each other. Along the way, we met small groups, especially family or single pilgrims, heading to Różanystok on foot or on bicycles. The sight of people who are faithful to our Lady filled with joy that, despite difficult times, there are those for whom God is in the first place. Our pilgrimage ended with a solemn Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Różanystok.
God we are grateful to You that once again we were able to make the way to Mary. Our Lady of Różanystok, pray for us!
Anna and Mateusz Kruszewscy
