Our Lady of Częstochowa
One
We are at the bright mountain, Jasna Gora, in Czestochowa Poland where the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa is kept.
This icon was painted by Saint Luke himself, sitting in a room with Mary, painting the icon of her holding the child Jesus. He painted it on a table. This icon was in Jerusalem until Queen Helena, the mother of Constantine, came to Jerusalem in the year 325. She then took the icon back to Constantinople and from Constantinople, it was given as a gift to a prince of Ruthenia. A descendant of this prince wanted to take it to Silesia in Germany. But when the horses drawing the cart carrying the icon reached the bright mountain, Jasna Gora, they refused to go any further. So the prince got down on his knees and asked the blessed virgin what to do. He knew there and then that the icon was supposed to stay here in Częstochowa. So he built a monastery fortress.
This Sunday evening we were just in a packed basilica, spilling over with local people who come to be in the presence of their mother, the Queen of Poland, and entrust themselves to Mary. You could feel the presence of the mother of God palpably at this gathering this evening. It should be a reminder that because of the deep connection between Mary and the Holy Spirit, Mary our mother is present with us at all times, but we tend to forget. Tonight was a powerful reminder to us that our mother is always present. So let’s try to cultivate an awareness of her presence in our lives at all times.
Two
In the year 1430, Hussites attacked this monastery fortress wanting to steal all of the religious items of great value.
They stole the icon of the Black Madonna and as they were carrying it away it became so heavy that the four of them couldn’t carry it. They dropped it and they were so infuriated that they began to slash it with their swords. And then a violent thunderstorm broke out right at that moment and the attackers were struck dead.
The monks that were trailing after them found the icon and when they lifted it up a spring came forth out of the ground that has given healing waters ever since. We drank from that spring today.
They tried to repair the icon and remove the slash marks on her face but no matter how many times they painted over it, the slash marks from the swords reappeared. It was impossible for them to cover or remove. And why is this? Because Mary is the mother of sorrows. She accompanied Jesus on the Way of the Cross. She stood by Him at the cross, but she continues to be the sorrowful mother of all people in the world because many people reject her Son and are on the path to Hell. This makes Our Lady very sad. And so she invites us to help her win souls to Christ by our prayer, the Rosary, by our sacrifices, but even more so, our mother wants us to win souls back to her Son through friendship. So let's do our part and console the Sorrowful Heart of Our Mother.
Three
In 1656, The Swedish Lutheran Army attacked Poland and made it all the way to the center of the country, to Częstochowa. The King of Poland fled in fear, but the peasants, the monks, and a few heavily armored knights of Poland stopped the invading force here at the bright mountain of Częstochowa and the Swedish general at that point laid siege to this basilica fortress. He said, “We shall crush this place in three days.” (He actually said, “We will bring down this hen house, this chicken coop in three days.”) Then he experienced something he could never imagine. The Swedish general and the Swedish protestant army actually saw with their own eyes the Blessed Virgin Mary hovering over the basilica and directing the canon fire. The Swedish army was completely routed.
When the victory comes, it will come through Mary. If there is anything in your life that you cannot overcome, you cannot endure, entrust yourself to Mary. For when the victory comes, it will come through Mary.
Four
By 1683, the Muslim Ottoman Empire had made its way all the way to the gates of Vienna, halfway through Europe with the intent of waging Jihad, a holy war to destroy Christianity in Europe. The Pope appealed to King Jan Sobieski of Poland who had his capital in Warsaw. When Sobieski got the word from the Pope, he gathered his cavalry, called the Winged Hussars because they had sewn eagle wings to the back of their armor so that when they rode they looked like eagles flying. They immediately rode to Częstochowa. They consecrated themselves to Mary and they said, “In the name of Mary, we will conquer.” Then they rode nonstop three hundred miles to Vienna. And they reached Vienna on the evening of September 11th, 1683 and on the morning of September 12th they attacked the significantly larger Muslim army, completely destroying them.
When it was all over, Sobieski sent a message to The Pope. “We conquered in the name of Mary.”
Ever since, September 12th has been The Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. Whenever you find yourself in some suffering you cannot endure, some cross you can’t carry, some trials you can’t deal with, cry out to Mary. Call upon Mary, the Holy Name of Mary.
Five
At the end of World War II when the Nazis pulled out of Poland, destroying everything as they left, the Soviet Communists came in and took over Poland. The Soviets arrested their top cardinal Wyszyński and put him in solitary confinement. There he reflected on the history of his country, how in every dire situation, when things looked hopeless, the country turned to Mary and she set them free miraculously when there seemed to be no hope. So somehow Wyszyński came up with a plan to clandestinely get word to all the people in the country.
It took three years, but at the end of three years, in 1956, one million Poles gathered at the bright mountain, Częstochowa, and there they consecrated themselves to Mary. With every stanza of the consecration one million Poles cried out, “Queen of Poland, we promise!” an unconditional gift of themselves to Our Lady. Wyszyński was then released and it set in motion what would ultimately result in the fall of Communism in Poland.