The Guardian Angel: Eucharistic Miracle of Krakow, Poland, 1345

Mary it the Ark for us to climb aboard, So climb on and let your family be saved. Love and prayers in Christ, GregoryMary

MARY OFFERS SUBLIME MODEL OF SERVICE Pope John Paul II

1. Mary's words at the Annunciation "I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38), indicate an attitude characteristic of Jewish piety. At the beginning of the Old Covenant, Moses, in response to the Lord's call, proclaims himself his servant (cf. Ex 4:10; 14:31). With the coming of the New Covenant, Mary also responds to God with an act of free submission and conscious abandonment to his will, showing her complete availability to be the "handmaid of the Lord".

In the Old Testament, the qualification "servant" of God links all those who are called to exercise a mission for the sake of the Chosen People: Abraham (Gn 26:24), Isaac (Gn 24:14) Jacob (Ex 32:13; Ez 37:25), Joshua (Jos 24:29), David (2 Sam 7, 8, etc.). Prophets and priests, who have been entrusted with the task of forming the people in the faithful service of the Lord, are also servants. The Book of the Prophet Isaiah exalts, in the docility of the "suffering Servant", a model of fidelity to God in the hope of redemption for the sins of the many (cf. Is 42:53). Some women also offer examples of fidelity, such as Queen Esther who, before interceding for the salvation of the Jews, addresses a prayer to God, calling herself many times "your servant" (Est 4:17).

Mary's 'fiat' expresses total obedience

2. Mary, "full of grace", by proclaiming herself "handmaid of the Lord" intends to commit herself to fulfil personally and in a perfect manner the service God expects of all his people. The words: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord", foretell the One who will say of himself: "The Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45: cf. Mt 20:28). Thus the Holy Spirit brings about a harmony of intimate dispositions between the Mother and the Son which will allow Mary to assume fully her maternal role to Jesus, as she accompanies him in his mission as Servant. In Jesus' life the will to serve is constant and surprising: as Son of God, he could rightly have demanded to be served. Attributing to himself the title "Son of Man", whom, according to the Book of Daniel, "all peoples, nations, and languages should serve" (Dn 7:14), he could have claimed mastery over others. Instead, combating the mentality of the time which was expressed in the disciples' ambition for the first places (cf. Mk 9:34) and in Peter's protest during the washing of the feet (cf. Jn 13:6), Jesus does not want to be served, but desires to serve to the point of totally giving his life in the work of redemption.

3. Furthermore, Mary, although aware of the lofty dignity conferred upon her at the angel's announcement spontaneously declares herself "the handmaid of the Lord". In this commitment of service she also includes the intention to serve her neighbor, as the link between the episodes of the Annunciation and the Visitation show: informed by the angel of Elizabeth's pregnancy, Mary sets out "with haste" (Lk 1:39) for Judah, with total availability to help her relative prepare for the birth. She thus offers Christians of all times a sublime model of service.

The words: "Let it be to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38), show in her who declared herself handmaid of the Lord, a total obedience to God's will. The optative genoito, "let it be done", used by Luke, expresses not only acceptance but staunch assumption of the divine plan, making it her own with the involvement of all her personal resources.

By conforming to God's will, Mary anticipates attitude of Christ

4. By conforming to the divine will, Mary anticipates and makes her own the attitude of Christ who, according to the Letter to the Hebrews, coming into the world, says: "Sacrifice and offerings you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me ... Then I said ... 'Behold I come to do your will, O God'" (Heb 10:5-7; Ps 40 [39]: 7-9).

Mary's docility likewise announces and prefigures that expressed by Jesus in the course of his public life until Calvary. Christ would say: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work" (Jn 4:34). On these same lines, Mary makes the Father's will the inspiring principle of her whole life, seeking in it the necessary strength to fulfill the mission entrusted to her.

If at the moment of the Annunciation, Mary does not yet know of the sacrifice which will mark Christ's mission, Simeon's prophecy will enable her to glimpse her Son's tragic destiny (cf. Lk 3:34-35). The Virgin will be associated with him in intimate sharing. With her total obedience to God's will, Mary is ready to live all that divine love may plan for her life, even to the "sword" that will pierce her soul.

Eucharistic Miracle of Krakow, Poland, 1345

The Eucharistic miracle of Krakow relates to consecrated Hosts that emitted an unusual bright light when they were hidden by thieves in a muddy marsh. The thieves had stolen a monstrance containing consecrated Hosts from a church in the village of Wawel (outside of modern-day Krakow). They ultimately abandoned the monstrance and Hosts in a marsh outside of the village, where the miracle took place. The Church of Corpus Christi in Krakow, Poland contains paintings depicting the miracle as well as documents and depositions relating to the matter.

In the year 1345, King Casimar III the Great of Poland gave orders to build a church named Corpus Christi in honor of the Eucharistic miracle that was verified that same year. It had taken place in the village of Wawel, near Krakow. Some thieves broke into a little church (The Collegiate Church of All Saints), which was a short distance from Krakow. They forced their way into the tabernacle and stole the monstrance, which contained consecrated Hosts. They got away, but when they figured out that the monstrance was not made of real gold, they threw it (including the Hosts) into the muddy marshland that was prevalent in the area.

Priests from the church began a search, but they did not hold out much hope. When darkness fell, however, a mysterious light emanated from the spot where the treasure had been abandoned. Bright flashes of light were visible for several kilometers. Frightened villagers approached the area and reported back to the Bishop of Krakow. The bishop called for three days of fasting and prayer. On the third day, he led a procession out to the marsh. There, they found the monstrance, and within it they found the Hosts, which were unbroken and were the source of the unusual lights. The people began to pray and to celebrate the miracle. Annually on the occasion of the feast of Corpus Christi, the miracle is celebrated in the church of Corpus Christi in Krakow.

We are called to evangelize, and some have taken this seriously, Thank God, because there is nothing more important than souls. To bring others to the Truth that exists in the Catholic Church because of the Paraclete given by Jesus Himself, is one of the greatest gifts we can give them for their walk to eternity. Pray and be strong in your faith, because as a friend of mine has repeated a few times, “the truth is hate, to those who hate the truth.” Jesus experienced this first hand and he was taken to the Cross as a result. In the early part of America’s history, Dresden James states this about truth, “A truth’s initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed…when a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over the generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic.” Jesus made a statement to Pilate, “the reason I came is to bear witness to the truth.” How the elite and those in authority feel about this, can be summed up by the quote of a 20th century man, George Orwell, “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.”