Jan Balicki

Jan Wojciech Balicki was born on 25 January 1869 in Staromieście (now part of Rzeszów), Poland, into a poor and deeply religious family. His father Mikołaj (Nicetas), a railway trackman of the Greek-Catholic rite, and his mother Katarzyna (née Saterlack), a Roman Catholic, raised their children in both traditions yet had Jan baptized the day after his birth in the Latin rite; his godparents laid him before the altar and offered him to God for the priesthood. He had three brothers and three sisters. From childhood he was known for diligence, purity, and a serious love of truth.

After schooling in Rzeszów he entered the diocesan seminary of Przemyśl in September 1888. Having obtained the necessary permission from the Holy See regarding the rite of his ordination, he was ordained priest on 20 July 1892. He celebrated his first Mass in Świlcza and was sent as curate to the parish of Polna, where for fifteen months he gained renown as a gifted preacher and confessor; crowds came from far and near, and parishioners later testified that he penetrated hearts so deeply that people wept and hurried to church with joy.

In 1893 he was sent to Rome for higher studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University. There he earned degrees in philosophy and canon law and a doctorate in theology, immersing himself especially in the thought of St Thomas Aquinas. In his free time he visited the churches of the saints and apostles and discovered that true learning leads the soul to God. Returning to the diocese in 1897, he was appointed professor of dogmatic theology in the seminary of Przemyśl. His teaching was marked by profound faith and love for the Truth; he sought wisdom and the light of the Holy Spirit above all in prayer. He served as prefect of studies (1897–1900), later as vice-rector, and from 1928 to 1934 as rector. Ill health forced him to resign his offices in 1934, yet he continued to live at the seminary as confessor and spiritual director to the seminarians. Among those he formed were Blessed Władysław Findysz and the Servant of God Stanisław Kołodziej.

Beyond the seminary he was a sought-after preacher of missions and retreats, confessor at the cathedral and to the Discalced Carmelite nuns, hospital chaplain, and visitor of the sick in their homes. He founded a house of refuge for prostitutes and was called "the apostle of the poor." He spent himself without reserve, uniting contemplative prayer with apostolic charity, seeking out those who had strayed from Christ's flock and helping neighbors in both material and spiritual need.

In the second half of February 1948 he was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and advanced tuberculosis. He died in hospital in Przemyśl on 15 March 1948 in the odor of sanctity. Crowds came to honor him; after the funeral on 18 March he was buried in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist, where his remains still rest. Already in 1975 Cardinal Karol Wojtyła wrote to Pope Paul VI asking that Balicki be proposed as a model for priests of the modern age. Declared Venerable in 1994, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Kraków on 18 August 2002.

May Blessed Jan Balicki obtain for us the grace to unite prayer and apostolic charity, and let us imitate today his humble love of truth and mercy toward every soul.

BEATIFICATION OF 4 SERVANTS OF GOD: Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński Jan Balicki Jan Beyzym Sancja Szymkowiak

HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II

Błonie Park, Kraków Sunday, 18 August 2002

"This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 15:12).

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. The words of the Lord Jesus, which we have just heard, are inscribed in a particular way in the theme of today's liturgical assembly in the Błonia of Kraków: "God, rich in mercy". This motto sums up in a certain way the whole truth about God's love, which has redeemed humanity. "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ" (Eph 2:4-5). The fullness of this love was revealed in the sacrifice of the Cross. For: "No one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (Jn 15:13). This is the measure of God's love! This is the measure of God's mercy!

When we are conscious of this truth, we realise that Christ's invitation to love others as he has loved us proposes this same measure to all of us. We feel in a certain way impelled to offer our life day after day, showing mercy to our brothers and sisters, availing ourselves of the gift of God's merciful love. We realise that God, by granting us mercy, expects us to be witnesses of mercy in the world today.

2. The invitation to bear witness to mercy resounds with singular eloquence here, in beloved Kraków, dominated by the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki and by the new temple, which yesterday I had the joy of consecrating. Here this invitation resounds as something familiar, because it recalls the centuries-old tradition of the City, whose distinctive mark has always been a readiness to help those in need. One cannot forget that this tradition includes numerous Saints and Blesseds - priests, consecrated persons and laity - who devoted their lives to works of mercy. From Bishop Stanislaus, Queen Jadwiga, John of Kęty and Piotr Skarga, to Brother Albert, Angela Salawa and Cardinal Sapieha, the generations of the faithful of this City have handed down the heritage of mercy through the centuries. Today this heritage has been entrusted to our hands and it must not fall into oblivion.

I thank Cardinal Franciszek Macharski who, with his words of greeting, wished to remind us of this tradition. I am grateful for the invitation to visit my Kraków and for the hospitality offered to me. I greet all those present, beginning with the Cardinals and Bishops, as well as those who are participating in this Eucharist through radio and television.

I greet the whole of Poland. In my mind I travel the luminous itinerary by which Saint Faustina Kowalska prepared herself to welcome the message of mercy - from Łódź, through Warsaw, Płock, Vilnius, to Kraków - remembering also those who along this itinerary cooperated with the Apostle of Mercy. I wish to greet our guests. I address words of greeting to the President of the Republic of Poland, to the Prime Minister, as well as to the representatives of the state and local authorities. I embrace with my heart my fellow Countrymen, and particularly those afflicted by suffering and infirmity; those tried by many difficulties, the unemployed, the homeless, the elderly and those who are lonely, families with many children. I assure them that I am spiritually close to them and constantly accompany them with my prayer. My greeting extends to my fellow Countrymen scattered throughout the world. I also cordially greet the pilgrims gathered here from various countries of Europe and the world. I address a special greeting to the Presidents of Lithuania and Slovakia present here.

3. From the beginning of its existence the Church, by appealing to the mystery of the Cross and the Resurrection, has preached God's mercy, the pledge of hope and the source of salvation for man. It seems, however, that today it is particularly called to proclaim this message to the world. It cannot neglect this mission, if God himself calls it to it with the witness of Saint Faustina.

God has chosen our times for this. Perhaps because the twentieth century, despite indisputable successes in many fields, was marked, in a particular way, by the "mystery of iniquity". With this heritage of good but also of evil, we have entered the new millennium. New prospects for development open up before humanity and, at the same time, hitherto unknown dangers. Man often lives as if God did not exist, and even puts himself in the place of God. He claims for himself the right of the Creator to interfere in the mystery of human life. He wants to decide, by means of genetic manipulations, the life of man and to determine the limit of death. By rejecting the divine laws and moral principles, he openly attacks the family. In various ways he tries to silence the voice of God in the hearts of men; he wants to make God the "great absentee" in the culture and in the conscience of peoples. The "mystery of iniquity" continues to mark the reality of the world.

Experiencing this mystery, man lives in fear of the future, of emptiness, of suffering, of annihilation. Perhaps precisely for this reason it is as if Christ, through the witness of a humble nun, had entered our times to indicate clearly the source of relief and hope that is found in the eternal mercy of God.

The message of merciful love must resound with new vigour. The world needs this love. The hour has come to bring the message of Christ to all: especially to those whose humanity and dignity seem to be lost in the mysterium iniquitatis. The hour has come for the message of Divine Mercy to pour hope into hearts and to become the spark of a new civilization: the civilization of love.

4. The Church desires to proclaim this message tirelessly, not only with fervent words, but with a solicitous practice of mercy. For this reason she unceasingly points to splendid examples of persons who, in the name of the love of God and of man, "have gone and have borne fruit". Today she adds four new Blesseds to them. The times in which they lived are different, their personal histories are different. What unites them, however, is that particular feature of holiness which is dedication to the cause of mercy.

Blessed Sigismund Felix Felinski, Archbishop of Warsaw, in a difficult period marked by the lack of national freedom, invited perseverance in generously serving the poor, in opening educational institutions and charitable structures. He himself founded an orphanage and a school in the Capital, which he entrusted to the care of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, which he had founded in 1857.

After the fall of the 1863 uprising, guided by sentiments of mercy towards his brothers, he openly defended the persecuted. The price paid for this fidelity was deportation into the interior of Russia, which lasted twenty years. Even there he continued to remember the poor and lost people, showing them great love, patience and understanding. It has been written of him that, "during his exile, oppressed on all sides, in the poverty of prayer, he always remained alone at the foot of the Cross, commending himself to the Divine Mercy".

He is an example of pastoral ministry, which today in a special way I wish to entrust to my Brothers in the Episcopate. Dearest ones, Archbishop Felinski supports your efforts to create and implement a pastoral programme of mercy. May this programme constitute your commitment, first of all in the life of the Church and then, as necessary and appropriate, in the social and political life of the Nation, of Europe and of the world.

Moved by this spirit of social charity, Archbishop Felinski engaged himself deeply in the defence of national freedom. This is necessary even today, when various forces, often guided by a false ideology of freedom, seek to appropriate this ground. When a noisy propaganda of liberalism, of freedom without truth and responsibility, intensifies also in our Country, the Pastors of the Church cannot fail to proclaim the one and infallible philosophy of freedom which is the truth of the Cross of Christ. Such a philosophy of freedom is structurally linked to the history of our nation.

5. The desire to bring mercy to the most needy led Blessed John Beyzym - a Jesuit and great missionary - to distant Madagascar, where for the love of Christ he dedicated his life to lepers. He served day and night those who lived marginalized and excluded from the life of society. With his works of mercy in favour of abandoned and despised people, he gave extraordinary witness. Witness that first resounded in Krakow, then in Poland and then among Poles abroad. Funds were collected to build the hospital dedicated to the Madonna of Czestochowa, which still exists today. One of the promoters of this aid was Saint Brother Albert.

I rejoice that this spirit of solidarity in mercy continues to be alive in the Polish Church; this is shown by the numerous works of assistance to communities hit by natural disasters in various regions of the world, as well as the recent initiative to acquire the overproduction of cereals to be given to those suffering from hunger in Africa. I hope that this noble idea can be realised.

The charitable work of Blessed John Beyzym was inscribed in his fundamental mission: to bring the Gospel to those who do not know it. Here is the greatest gift of mercy: to bring people to Christ and allow them to know and savour his love. Therefore I ask you: pray that missionary vocations may arise in the Church in Poland. Support the missionaries unceasingly with help and with prayer.

6. The life of Blessed John Balicki was marked by service to mercy. As a priest he always had an open heart for the needy. His ministry of mercy, besides help to the sick and the poor, was expressed with particular energy through the ministry of the confessional, full of patience and humility, always open to bringing the repentant sinner back to the throne of divine grace.

Recalling him, I would like to say to priests and seminarians: I beg you, Brothers, do not forget that, as dispensers of Divine Mercy, you have a great responsibility; remember also that Christ himself comforts you with the promise handed down through Saint Faustina: "Tell my priests that hardened sinners will soften at their words, when they speak of my boundless Mercy and of the compassion that I have for them in my Heart" (Diary, 1521 - Italian ed. 2001, p. 504).

7. The work of mercy marked the itinerary of the religious vocation of Blessed Sancja Giannina Szymkowiak, a "Seraphic" Sister. Already from her family she received a fervent love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and in this spirit she was full of goodness towards all, especially towards the poorest and most needy. She began to bring help to the poor first as a member of the Marian Sodality and of the Association of Mercy of Saint Vincent, then dedicating herself, having embraced religious life, to the service of others with greater fervour. She accepted the hard times of the Nazi occupation as an opportunity to consecrate herself completely to the needy. She considered her religious vocation a gift of Divine Mercy.

Greeting the Congregation of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Sorrows - the "Seraphic" Sisters - I address all religious and consecrated persons. Blessed Sancja be your example, your patroness. Make your own her spiritual testament condensed in a simple phrase: "If one dedicates oneself to God, one must give oneself until totally losing oneself".

8. Brothers and Sisters, contemplating the figures of these Blesseds, I wish to recall once again what I wrote in the Encyclical on Divine Mercy: "Man reaches the merciful love of God, his mercy, insofar as he himself is inwardly transformed in the spirit of such love towards the neighbour" (Dives in misericordia, 14). May we rediscover on this path, ever more deeply, the mystery of Divine Mercy, and live it daily!

Faced with the modern forms of poverty which, as I know, are not lacking in our Country, today there is a need - as I defined it in the Letter Novo millennio ineunte - for an "imagination of charity" in a spirit of solidarity towards one's neighbour, so that assistance may be a witness to "fraternal sharing" (cf. no. 50). May this "imagination" not be lacking among the inhabitants of Krakow and of our entire Homeland. May it outline the pastoral programme of the Church in Poland. May the message of God's mercy always be reflected in the works of human mercy!

There is a need for this loving gaze in order to notice the brother or sister next to us who, through the loss of work, of a home, of the possibility of supporting the family with dignity and of giving an education to their children, experiences a sense of abandonment, disorientation and distrust. There is a need for the "imagination of charity" in order to be able to help a child who is neglected materially and spiritually; in order not to turn one's back on the boy or girl entangled in the world of various addictions or of crime; in order to bring counsel, consolation, spiritual and moral support to those who are engaged in an interior struggle with evil. May this "imagination" not be lacking where a person in need begs: "Give us this day our daily bread". Thanks to fraternal love, may this bread never be lacking. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt 5:7).

9. During my first pilgrimage to the Homeland in 1979, here at Blonia I said that "when we are strong in the Spirit of God, we are also strong in faith in man - strong in faith, hope and charity - which are inseparable - and we are ready to bear witness to the cause of man before him to whom this cause is truly close to his heart". Therefore I asked you: "Never disdain Charity, which is the 'greatest' thing, which has been manifested through the Cross, and without which human life has neither roots nor meaning" (10.06.1979; Teachings of John Paul II, II, p. 1521-1522).

Brothers and Sisters, today I repeat this invitation: open yourselves to the greatest gift of God, to his love which, through the Cross of Christ, has been manifested to the world as merciful love. Today, as we live in different times, at the dawn of the new century and millennium, continue to be "ready to bear witness to the cause of man". Today, with all my strength, I pray the sons and daughters of the Church and people of good will never, ever to separate the "cause of man" from the love of God. Help modern man to experience the merciful love of God! May it, in its splendour and warmth, save his humanity!