– It is worth meeting with family and friends to share joy and discover in it that the risen Christ gives us a wonderful chance to start all over again, says Father Mirosław Ładniak, parish priest of St Andrew Bobola Parish in Lublin. We asked him, among other things, how to prepare well for Easter and how best to understand its essence.
How to live through the Lenten season well?
– First of all, one must ask oneself, for what purpose is Lent? Lent is not against mankind. It is a great opportunity for him, preparing him for Easter. The better we experience Lent, and the more effort we put in, with the awareness that we are giving something back to the Lord God and not just asking, the more we realise that it is all a great gift that cleanses our heart of all human beliefs, so that Easter becomes an extremely important event for us. In other words, it is impossible to understand Lent if we do not look at it in the light of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Just as we look at the Passion of the Lord Jesus, without this light of the Resurrection everything seems difficult to accept. Our renunciations and the inner struggle in which we follow Christ are meant to bring us to the light of the joy of the Resurrection. The more of this action of ours, of our inner mobilisation – it can be prayer, fasting, extreme Stations of the Cross – the better the experience to prepare for Easter.
Lent is a time of tranquillity, but also of renunciation. In today’s world, where everyone is busy and tired on a daily basis, is it still necessary to make sacrifices, to deny ourselves pleasures?
– Because we are so busy and overwhelmed by the situations in our lives, Lent is a gift. We need to see the world from a different perspective, we need a moment of quiet so that we don’t get lost in our busyness, which often leads us astray. This is why I am convinced that Lent is a time to finally gain an extra mobilisation so that the soul can find itself better. The heart returns to its normal rhythm, where it not only chases, but also experiences.
We spend a lot of time on the internet. Can we find content there to help us prepare for Easter?
– Yes, the Internet is the reality we live in, and this is a fact. There is no point in debating whether it is good or bad – it just exists. The Internet can be a place where you can find your spiritual life. As the parish priest of St Andrew Bobola, I have for many years recorded reflections for each Sunday made available on the website bobola.pl. These reflections are intended to prepare you to experience each Sunday in the liturgical year. We have many catechesis and reflections which, in this rush of daily life, give us the opportunity to reflect on our own lives. Therefore, on the Internet, in addition to entertainment, you can find space to develop your spiritual life.
The Feast of the Resurrection is the most important holidays for Christians. How do we get the essence of this holiday right – what to focus on, what to dedicate to?
– For a Christian, the Resurrection is the most important. The dilemma as to which holiday is more important – Easter or Christmas – falls by the wayside because Christ took human form and was born in Bethlehem first and foremost to redeem every human being on the cross. This is the price Jesus pays on the cross, giving his life for us so that each of us can attain eternal life. If God were guided by justice, no human being would have a chance of salvation, which is why on the cross Jesus pays the price so that love would be more important than justice. It is important to remember that in our earthly life we are on a pilgrimage towards eternal life, which is the most important thing for us. The Paschal Triduum – the passion, death and resurrection – represents our greatest hope for eternal life. It is important to remember that man is by nature a very weak and sinful being, and the passion that Jesus endures in the name of love for man is the hope for us to repent and find in his wounds the love and forgiveness to attain eternal life.
What would you wish for your parishioners, as well as for the students, staff and friends of Vincent Pol University?
– I wish the festive season to be a beautiful happy ending to Lent, in which we actually find time not only to chase another holiday dinner again, but also to live life. It is worth getting together with family and friends to share the joy and discover in it that the risen Christ gives us a wonderful chance to start all over again. It is a moment when we can stop for a moment and ask ourselves: what am I living for? I wish this Easter to be the consummation of that moment when, as human beings, we find the meaning of our lives.
Interviewed by: Edyta Pać