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from Robert Tyrała

Repentance – as opening to the word of God who speaks do us and through us!

2009-02-25

The 5th Letter before the 35th International Congress of Pueri Cantores
Repentance – as opening to the word of God who speaks do us and through us!
Kraków, Ash Wednesday 25th February 2009

In today’s Liturgy of the Word of Ash Wednesday which initiates the great time of prayer, penitence and fasting, we hear God’s call from The Book of Joel: return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments! Return to the Lord, your God! (Joel 2:12), and in the responsory psalm we sing: Have mercy on us God for we are sinful (chorus, Ps 51). St. Paul, the Patron of the whole Jubilee Year, in his Letter to Corinthians encourages us be reconciled to God during this time of extreme prayer and meditation (2 Cor 5:20 – 6:3). Another Evangelist St. Matthew reminds us that we should beware of practicing our piety before men in order to be seen by them (Mt 6: 1-6) for truly the most important for us is what Our Father in Heaven sees and this is hidden. Are these God’s words not permeating us? Permeating our thoughts to get very deep to our hearts? Are they not working more strongly than in any other situation of our life? Dear Pueri Cantores, Jesus gives us important clues for our lives. When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret for every prayer is our personal and intimate matter. When you fast, do not look dismal (…) when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father (Mt 6). And our Father in Heaven who looks at our hearts and sees in secret will reward each of us for these efforts of faith. This is the model of how we should live, pray and act. What is external should be hidden in our hearts. Never the other way around! It may happen at times that when we sing during liturgical celebrations we may fall into self-admiration adoring what we do, how beautifully we perform music, and it should be quite opposite for we are to be the tools and instruments in God’s hands. All what is important happens in our hearts where the hidden God acts in ourselves and through ourselves. Ash Wednesday is a good moment to remind us of it so that we would change our thinking, acting and behaving, and convert to God who sees everything in secret. And quite opportunely, it is a good time for preparing ourselves for God’s acting in us also through our ecumenical prayer in Stockholm. The season of Lent which is just beginning brings the moments of our intent listening to God’s Word to be permeating and filling us. In this Word He Himself – our God - is earnestly present. Have you not had this feeling sometimes that when we sing during the liturgy it seems that God could speak to us in a more special way through His Word if we read the Holy Bible on our own in secret? Perhaps we all have experienced this? Maybe we were even knocked down with this feeling? Or maybe this special experience reached our hearts and helped to deal with many problems? It is the authentic power of God’s Word! It fills us and transforms us, it leads to conversion and has a clear influence upon our life. And this God’s Word we hear during the Sunday Mass congregation, sometimes only one sentence, we feed ourselves upon for the whole following week or even longer. It is the true acting of God’s grace. It is the acting of God’s word in us. Let us open our hearts and minds, and may this word encompass us. Let us not be afraid of God’s acting in us! Let us open ourselves to listening and reading the Holy Scriptures for here there is truth which applies to our everyday life. If we consolidate our faith, if God is able to act through us, if we open ourselves to the grace of God’s Word, we will experience the unique thing, He will make us meet people who need us, He will make us love and understand more, and bring peace there where hatred conquers and joy where it is insufficient. Through our music we will reach people whom our Lord has chosen to convert by the power of His Word. We will be the emissaries of God for those who are close and far from Him! Then we will become, to our brothers in faith, though of different Christian denominations, the instruments in the Hands of God. We will become the authentic instruments of God’s peace. Lord, make our whole Pueri Cantores family the instruments of Your Peace… Open us for Your grace, convert us to Yourself and permeate us, every day, with Your Word.

Fr. Robert Tyrała, Ph.D.
Church Assistant of The International Federation of Pueri Cantores

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