the pilgrimage to Czestochowa

Obedience
That Allows Us to Walk
One hundred miles on foot from Krakow to the Shrine of Jasna Góra, and thousands of pilgrims on the march, as every year. Among them were 1,200 students of CLU and GS from all over the world. Here is a diary of the journey

by Lorenzo Margiotta

It is one of those images that remains fixed in your eyes, not only because of its regal beauty, or for the miraculous marriage that the forms, colors, and precious materials give the whole, leaving you speechless, but rather thanks to a strange correspondence that occurs, unexpectedly, from the first moment: something more, different from an aesthetic experience, like meeting a loved one after waiting a long time.
The picture of Our Lady expresses the whole of Christianity–her face is sad, but certain. Since she holds that Child in her arms, she needs nothing else.
Behind us, six days’ march, and now before our eyes is the Black Madonna–she whom you seemed to know better with every step, and with every prayer you pictured with a little more familiarity and affection. Now we see the definitive vision, in the chapel of the Shrine of Jasna Góra. Alongside each of us are the old friends, tired and weary pilgrims, dirty, too, and full of questions that the road has proved to be true.
This is the high point of the pilgrimage that, this year too, has brought thousands of pilgrims the hundred miles from Krakow to Czestochowa, through the roads and towns of Poland, a land so devoted to Mary.
More numerous than ever was the Communion and Liberation group, 1,200 young men and women from Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland itself, Hungary, and the United States, under the leadership of Fr. Andrea Barbero, priest of the St. Charles Fraternity and missionary in Prague, accompanied by Fr. Matteo Invernizzi, Fr. Gabriele Foti, Fr. Mariano Amato, Fr. Salvatore Gentile and Fr. Stefano Pasquero.

The Embrace of the Church
The departure from Milan was on August 3rd, when Italy was going into low gear for the ritual vacation time, a time of distraction and forgetfulness. For these youngsters, it’s different, as they are choosing memory rather than forgetfulness. This is the alternative.
After a day’s journey the train stops at Krakow, and there waiting for them, at the Divine Mercy Shrine, is Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwicz, the Archbishop of Krakow. In his words resound his nearness to the Movement, his friendship with Fr. Giussani and Fr. Carrón, and the clear perception of the embrace of the universal Church.
There is nothing ambiguous about the goal. Fr. Barbero is clear, as always; he doesn’t mince words: “What is life for, if not to be given? We are here to learn this. These days are an attempt to know ourselves better, to express the desire that we are. This is the finest adventure we can have.” And off we go.
The days begin early in the morning. We break camp and pack the tents at a speed worthy of senior scouts, although no one here has ever pitched one before. Mass is at seven in the local parish.
A long column forms and the march begins, accompanied by Morning Prayer and the Rosary, by traditional songs, and only the sound of feet is heard in the moments of silence.
It is an orderly but festive procession: “A man walks when he knows where he is going.” Claudio Chieffo’s words come to mind, and we never tire of singing them. Soon, we realize that we come from many different places, and many of us have never met before, yet we sense a kind of common expectation, we feel that we are “of one heart with everyone.”
After the pauses and a quick lunch, we are on the road again. The tarmac gives way to grass in the fields gold with grain, or to the sand in the woods, offering us a little shade and relief for our feet. Some fall back to the rear of the group, while others forge ahead to set up camp for the evening. The local people greet us warmly from the edge of the road. Some of them leave us a prayer intention, some pray with these strange Catholics, some share with us a little of what they have.
It is shortly before sunset, and another stage of the journey is behind us. The last effort is to set up the tent, wash, and prepare something for supper. Then to bed on a mattress that, after many miles, is as welcoming as our bed back home.
Amongst the many discoveries, some realize that even a cold shower is fine, that, after all, you can do without your mother’s cooking, and that you can wake up just as well without the usual coffee. Simple things, but not insignificant.
Before going to sleep, there is time for a few moments together: jokes, songs, announcements. Then Fr. Andrea speaks, saying things that none of us would be able to express alone. We make a simple judgment every evening–obedience, entreaty, forgiveness, desire–often beneath a starry sky that reminds us, more than any words, of the tenor of this companionship, the true longing in our being together.
There were many different moments, but one single experience. There is a secret, Fr. Barbero reveals: “Refer everything to Christ, let Him enter into every circumstance of life, like Our Lady did.”

Obedience and vocation
The most important fruit of the journey is to learn Mary’s look, always centered on her Son, the sign of a conversion that begins now. The final assembly bears this out. Margherita, a GS student from Milan, said, “Obedience is not submission, but a gesture of total freedom that allows us to walk.” And Matteo from Crema said, “I learned to pray.”
The idea of vocation is what all have in common–the pilgrimage is proposed to high school and university graduates at a crucial moment of their lives. Fr. Barbero sets us on guard against the risk of over simplification and automatism: “All the particular questions are fine, but allow the Lord to answer; be open.”
A long avenue lined with trees leads to the hill of Jasna Góra. Here, in front of the Shrine, we fall on our knees, singing Non Nobis, a gesture that encloses the whole sacrifice of the road traveled and our hope for the journey still ahead. We will soon be standing before the picture of the Black Madonna…
When we arrive, we stand in front of her for some minutes. Once you have seen it, you don’t want to forget her ever, because “looking at her reminds you at once of what is crucial for your life: the companionship of Jesus.”