16 Marian Helper • Winter 2022-23 • Marian.org To be a pilgrim, in Catholic Poland As Divine Mercy is manifested throughout the universal Church, the spotlight continues to shine on the nation of Poland. Today, the people of Poland are hosting millions of evacuees from their war-torn neighbor, Ukraine — caring for them in their own homes rather than depositing them in refugee camps. The people of Poland remember well their own suffering in the 20th century when they were assaulted fromNazi Germany from the west and oppressed by the communism of Russia from the east. But out of terrible suffering comes remarkable sanctity. During those dark decades arose the witness of great saints like Faustina Kowalska, Maximillian Kolbe, and Pope John Paul II. The trials of the Polish people throughout the 20th century made Poland the martyr of the nations, or in St. John Paul’s words, the “Golgotha of the modern world.”Yet, these sufferings have been transformed by God into a gift of mercy for the world. And it seems to be the special mission of the Polish Church to be a witness of that gift and the bearer of the grace of Divine Mercy for our times. Travel discoveries I’ve been leading pilgrimages for over 30 years, but only in the past decade have I discovered the holy land of Poland. My first trip to Poland was led by a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, the late Eva Mozes By Stephen J. Binz Pilgrims at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Płock, where St. Faustina saw Jesus. Visit ShopMercy.org/b56 to order The Way of Mercy: Pilgrimage in Catholic Poland (Product code B56-PPLM) by Stephen J. Binz. World of Mercy: Poland
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