-- Romans 2:1 –

 -- Romans 2:1 =E2=80=93=20

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else,
for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning
yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Whenever we find ourselves feeling justifiably angry about someone's
sin, we should be careful. We need to speak out against sin, but we
must do so in a spirit of humility. Often the sins we notice most
clearly in others are the ones that have taken root in us. If we look
closely at ourselves, we may find that we are committing the same sins
in more socially acceptable forms. For example, a person who gossips
may be very critical of others who gossip about him or her.

<<>><<>><<>>
23 August =E2=80=93 Blessed Ladislaus Findysz

Priest, Martyr, Confessor, apostle of charity--born on 13 December
1907 in Kroscienko Nizne, near Krosno, Poland and died on the morning
of 21 August 1964 of cancer of the esophagus in the presbytery of Nowy
Zmigr=C3=B3d, Poland. He was imprisoned under the Communist regime in 1963
until not too long before his death on the charges of sending
religious newsletters to his parishioners.

Ladislaus Findysz was born on 13th December 1907 in Kro=C5=9Bcienko Ni=C5=
=BCne,
near Krosno (Poland) to Stanislaus Findysz and Apollonia Rachwa=C5=82,
peasants of long-standing Catholic tradition. The following day, 14th
December 1907, he was baptised in the parish church of the Holy
Trinity in Krosno and so began for him the life of grace.

In 1919, on concluding four years of study in the elementary school
run by Felician Sisters (CSSF) in Kro=C5=9Bcienko Ni=C5=BCne, he entered th=
e
state-run grammar school. As a young pupil, Ladislaus joined the
Marian Solidality. In May 1927 he sat the school leaving exams and
joined in a retreat organised for school leavers. In the autumn of
that year he moved to Przemy=C5=9Bl and entered the major seminary,
beginning studies in philosophy and theology at the Institute there.
His preparation for the priesthood was guided by the Rector, Blessed
Father John Balicki. The high point of this formative period was
priestly ordination, which Monsignor Anatol Nowak, Bishop of Przemy=C5=9Bl,
conferred on Ladislaus on 19th June 1932, in his cathedral. After a
month=E2=80=99s leave, on 1st August, Father Findysz took up his posting as
assistant curate in the parish of Borys=C5=82aw (today in the Ukraine). On
17th September 1935 he was appointed curate in the parish of Drohobycz
(also in the Ukraine) and on 1st August 1937 he was transferred to the
parish of Strzy=C5=BC=C3=B3w, again as curate, where on 22nd September 1939=
, he
was appointed as parish administrator. Following this, on 10th October
1940, Ladislaus was appointed as curate in Jas=C5=82o and then on 8th July
of the following year as administrator of the Parish of Sts Peter and
Paul Apostles in Nowy =C5=BBmigr=C3=B3d. A year later, on 13th August 1942,=
 he
became parish priest of this same parish.

Three years as pastor of Nowy =C5=BBmigr=C3=B3d were marked by unfailing
commitment to pastoral work and the painful experiences of the War. On
3rd October 1944, along with the rest of the town=E2=80=99s inhabitants,
Father Ladislaus was expelled by the Germans. On his return, on 23rd
January 1945, he committed himself to reorganising the parish.

Father Ladislaus=E2=80=99 service continued after the War through the hard
times of the communist regime. Father Findysz continued with the work
of moral and religious renewal in the parish, giving his all to
protect the faithful--especially the young--from the systematic and
intensive atheism imposed by Communism. He also helped the inhabitants
of the parish with material aid, regardless of their nationality or
denomination. He saved numerous (Greek Catholic) families who were
severely persecuted by the communist authorities and threatened with
expulsion from their place of residence without the slightest chance
of reprieve, from =C5=81emki. Father Findysz=E2=80=99s pastoral work proved=
 most
discomforting for the communist authorities. From 1946 onwards he was
placed under surveillance by the secret service. In 1952 academic
authorities suspended him from teaching the Catechism in the secondary
school. He was prevented from continuing his activity throughout the
parish because, on two occasions (in 1952 and 1954), the district
authorities rejected his request for permission to live within the
border area where part of the parish was situated.

As far as the ecclesiastical authorities were concerned, Father
Ladislaus was considered a zealous parish priest, receiving
recognition as an honorary canon in 1946 and subsequently being
accorded the privilege of the rochet and mantelletta in 1957. In the
same year he was appointed as vice-dean of the Nowy =C5=BBmigr=C3=B3d deane=
ry,
being appointed dean in 1962.

In 1963 he began the pastoral activity of the =E2=80=9CConciliar Works of
Charity=E2=80=9D (a sort of Vatican Council spiritual support). He sent
letters of exhortation to parishioners living in irregular religious
and moral situations, encouraging them to reorder their Christian
lives. The communist authorities reacted very severely to this
activity and accused him of forcing the faithful to participate in
religious rites and practices. On 25th November 1963, after being
interrogated by the Procurator of the Voivodeship of Rzesz=C3=B3w, he was
arrested and imprisoned in Rzesz=C3=B3w Castle.

From 16th to 17th December 1963 his trial took place in the
Voivodeship tribunal in Rzesz=C3=B3w and he was condemned and given a
custodial sentence of two years and six months. The motivation for the
investigation, the accusation and the subsequent condemnation of
Father Findysz was rooted in the Decree =E2=80=9CProtection of the Freedom =
of
Conscience and Denomination=E2=80=9D of 5th August, 1949. This, however, wa=
s
simply an instrument in the hands of the communist authorities to
restrict and ultimately eliminate =E2=80=9Cfaith=E2=80=9D and the Catholic =
Church from
public and private life in Poland. Father Findysz was also publicly
discredited, libeled and condemned through specially edited
publications in the press. He was kept in the Rzesz=C3=B3w Castle prison
where he suffered from malnutrition as well as being subjected to
physical, psychological and spiritual humiliation. On 25th January
1964 he was transferred to the central prison in Montelupich Street in
Cracow.

Just before being arrested in September 1963, Father Ladislaus
underwent a serious operation in Gorlice hospital to remove his
thyroid gland, the state of his health remained uncertain due to the
risk of complications. He convalesced under the care of the medics
whilst waiting for a second surgical intervention planned for December
of the same year--this time to remove a cancerous growth in the
oesophagus. Without doubt the interrogation, trial and imprisonment
had serious implications for the state of Father Findysz=E2=80=99s health a=
nd
he had to be cared for in the prison hospital. Due to a lack of proper
care and the requisite medical expertise, his health did not improve.
The planned surgery to remove the cancerous growth of the esophagus
and a blockage of the stomach was postponed. In reality, he was
condemned to a slow death. The illness ran its course as the results
of medical examinations undertaken in the prisons of Rzesz=C3=B3w and
Cracow attest. Indeed, the very first clinical examination undertaken
by the prison doctor on 9th December 1963 revealed an abscess in the
throat with a suspected tumour of the esophagus.

From the outset of Father Ladislaus=E2=80=99 condemnation, to a custodial
sentence, his lawyer and the diocesan curia of Przemy=C5=9Bl sought
recourse to the Procurator and the Tribunal of Rzesz=C3=B3w, petitioning
for the suspension of his arrest on the grounds of the precarious
state of his health and the risk of death. The requests were refused.
They were, however, accepted by the Supreme Court in Warsaw as late as
at the end of February 1964.

Given the serious state of his health, Father Ladislaus returned to
Nowy =C5=BBmigr=C3=B3d from prison on 29th February 1964. Manifesting great
patience and submission to God=E2=80=99s will he remained in the presbytery=
,
bearing the sufferings of his illness as well as exhaustion. In April
he was admitted to the specialist hospital in Wroc=C5=82aw. In spite of the
treatment clinical tests confirmed the diagnosis of a cancerous growth
between the esophagus and the stomach. Further medical examination
confirmed that Father Findysz=E2=80=99s tumour, given its advanced state of
growth, was no longer operable. Suffering with his pulmonary emphysema
and a relapse into severe anaemia which meant that death was close at
hand, he returned home.

During the summer months he took part in the spiritual retreat for
priests in the major seminary of Przemy=C5=9Bl. This was to be his last
retreat in preparation for death.

On the morning of 21st August 1964, after having received the
Sacraments, he died in the presbytery of Nowy =C5=BBmigr=C3=B3d and on 24th
August was buried in the parish cemetery. Monsignor Stanislaus Jakiel,
the Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Przemy=C5=9Bl, presided at the
funeral, together with 130 priests and many faithful.

On 27th June 2000, following numerous requests from the faithful,
Monsignor Kazimierz G=C3=B3rny, Bishop of Rzesz=C3=B3w, began the diocesan
process for the beatification of the Servant of God Ladislaus Findysz.
The acts of the diocesan inquest were sent to the Congregation for the
Causes of Saints in Rome on 18th October 2002.

During the Roman stage of the cause for beatification the theological
consulters and then the members of the Congregation--Cardinals,
Archbishops and Bishops--recognised that the Servant of God, Father
Ladislaus Findysz, was arrested and condemned by the authorities of
the Communist regime on account of his proclamation of the Gospel.
What=E2=80=99s more, his imprisonment and the physical and spiritual suffer=
ing
he endured, were directly responsible for his death. This being the
case, it is necessary to recognise Father Findysz as a Martyr for the
faith. This proposal was presented to the Holy Father and was duly
approved by him. Then on 20th December 2004, in the presence of His
Holiness St Pope John Paul II, the decree of the Congregation for the
Cause of Saints was promulgated, recognising Father Ladislaus Findysz
as a Martyr for the faith.

This is the first successful cause for beatification, based on the
martyrdom of a Servant of God who was the victim of the Communist
Regime in Poland. What=E2=80=99s more, this is the first cause for
beatification in the Diocese of Rzesz=C3=B3w=E2=80=A6. Vatican.va

https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/23/


Saint Quote:
There is no more evident sign that anyone is a saint and of the number
of the elect, than to see him leading a good life and at the same time
a prey to desolation, suffering, and trials.
-- Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

Bible Quote:
Holy Father, keep in Thy Name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they
may be one even as We are.=C2=A0 (John 17:11)


<><><><>
TO A MIRACULOUS MOTHER

Blessed Mother, be my guide!
Be here always at my side!
Take me through this world of sorrow,
Show me there=E2=80=99s a bright tomorrow!=20