An Unexpected Appointment
Mirek Simacek
Prichovice is a small village in Czechoslovakia which has become popular among young people. Whenever they think about it their faces light up because it is a place where many have found a new relationship with God and have discovered an ideal that placed their life in a new direction: the spirituality of unity. This experience began with the forced transfer of a young priest by the regime, but what emerged throws light perhaps on a new form of evangelisation.
Like many others, I was "kindly invited" eleven years ago, to go to a mountain village bordering on Poland. I understood immediately what was happening: my pastoral activity was too successful and so I had to be punished by the political authorities. As I was accustomed to accepting that everything is permitted by God, it was not difficult for me to say yes at once to this invitation. I also knew that I was living this new phase of my life together with other priests with whom I shared an adventure of unity.
It had all started about ten years previously. I was among a group of young people who helped me to discover God as Love. Our life together started in a small church dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Sorrows. We were still young and we did not yet understand the divine adventure in which we were immersed and guided by Our Lady.
Some years later, many of us met and got to know the Focolare Movement. We were struck by its spirituality and by the fact that we had been prepared for it by our previous experience - like a little stream flowing into a big river. A wonderful period followed and it seemed to us that we were experiencing Paradise. Today, after the recent events in the life of our country, some of us are also actively involved at a high level in the political and social life of our country. But this does not stop us from living the Gospel which had attracted us so much. For myself, I took up another way, that of the priesthood.
Everyone knows the particular political situation through which we were living: persecution, open and hidden terrorism, oppression by the secret police, active priests being transferred to other places, atheistic brainwashing of society in the schools and through the mass media. But thinking back on those years and the events that I have witnessed, I am convinced that my transfer by the political authorities was really part of a plan of God for me. A whole book would not be enough to tell all my experience which shows the power and beauty of a spirituality like that of unity in the conditions of our country. I will try to recount some of the numerous episodes, although the core of my whole experience can be summarised in something a fellow priest told me as I was leaving for my new destination: go and love everyone you meet.
Everything started with a renewed choice of Jesus Crucified and Forsaken.
The beginning was not easy because the religious situation in the region did not encourage any pastoral activity. For example, on Holy Thursday the only people present for the liturgy were the organist and myself. It may appear strange but at the same time this was a grace for me. During the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, I could feel within me the presence of Jesus Crucified and Forsaken. He had been both priest and victim. I understood something more of His mystery and I felt him near as never before. It was a moment of challenge that brought me to make a particular decision - to start again by imitating him in everything. Now I see that this was the beginning of all that was to follow.
I tried to build up the community and create a family spirit by welcoming everyone whom I met with love. To begin with, the only people who came to see me were people from the places where I used to work before, or else the friends from the group with whom I grew up. To my great surprise after these visits an ever increasing number of young people began to come to the Parish House where I lived. At first they only called in during the holidays; later they began calling at the week-ends and, as time went on, during the week as well.
Our life began to take on its own rhythm. Every day after breakfast, we meditated on the Word of Life (one phrase from the Gospel) which we took as a motto for the day, in order to conform as much as possible to the mentality of Jesus. Motivated by this reality, we organised spiritual talks, meetings in small groups, nature-treks in the forests, sports events, repairs to house, etc.
The serious risk in all of this was that the police could have swooped at any moment and these young people could have found themselves in trouble at work, expelled from school, or even could have run into problems at home because, of course, in most cases their parents were non-believers. But, in spite of all this, the young people continued to come in even bigger numbers.
A flourishing of vocations and conversions
Our first New Year's Day celebration was marked by the announcement of the young man's decision, after a long period of reflection, that he was going to become a priest. Around this time too, there were lots of conversions. Lada, for example, joined us for one or two days. When it emerged that he was an atheist, we just continued as before: praying, welcoming whoever came, cooking ... Lada extended his stay among us from a few days to two weeks. One evening he spontaneously said a prayer and then at the end he asked to be baptised.
Other similar situations like the one mentioned began to occur more often, almost normally. Over a week-end three or four people would tell me that they had discovered the faith, wanted to know God more and be baptised.
As time passed by many others found in this simple way of living what they had always sought and their lives took on a new direction. This is evident from the sincere impressions they told us when they were leaving: "I am searching for truth and you have helped me find the way. I want to return here soon; it was the first time that I stayed here and I was impressed by the sincerity and the Christian love. This gives me a lot of encouragment for the future".
To evangelise or be evangelized
Faced with these many facts, it was clear to me that this happened not because of my organisational ability, but rather, because of Jesus in our midst; it was he who was working these miracles. Our "key" was the mutual love between us, that love which attracts the presence of the Risen Christ. He was the one who was evangelising us. The facts proved that we could only expect this new evangelisation, which we all hoped for, to come from Him.
It is amazing how everyone, even the younger ones, grasped the presence of God in their life through this experience . Two girls told us: "Thank you for your love. God is Love and we have been able to understand a little of what it is like to be in Paradise". Another girl, after spending some days with us, said: "I am very happy at getting to know Jesus more deeply. I feel that I can give Him everything, even if this seems difficult. He has come to visit me and He has come as Love. Shining like the sun, God as Love has enlightened all my life". Starting from this fundamental experience, the young people have come to understand the more profound mysteries of the Gospel right up to the paschal mystery. They have understood because they experienced that dying to oneself out of love, is meeting the Risen Christ. Hundreds and thousands of young people have experience this for the first time here.
Another characteristic experience is a new understanding of Mary: the young people slowly discovered that in order to let Christ shine in their nothingness, they had to be like Mary. It was no wonder that so many of our youth felt challenged to offer their lives to help establish and witness His presence through the radical living of the New Commandment as focolarini, gen and seminarians.
For every one of us, these years have seemed like passing from one great reality to another. I remember one particular event. It was a period when times were hard. It was during the holidays and there were 140 young people staying in our parish house. They wanted to remain for a whole week. They were living in difficult conditions. The young people slept on the floor - the boys in the attic and the girls in the rooms. But the family spirit which was built up and the atmosphere in our midst, grew stronger and stronger. The atmosphere and sense of security which prevailed seemed to be like a miracle we could never have dreamed possible. At that time even a small youth group meeting in a parish house with a priest was sufficient reason for the police to intervene. Now in our case, many of the young people used to come and go through the village but nothing happened. I was conscious of the fact that this was not normal and at times I used to feel tired and afraid. One Sunday morning as I was driving to another village to celebrate the Eucharist, I felt the need to ask for the protection of Our Lady, and I asked for a sign from her. At the end of the mass when I was leaving the Church, a young girl came to me and gave me a present. I opened the gift quickly and I found inside an image of Our Lady. "Do not be afraid, I am with you all" was what I felt Mary was telling me. I felt these words as a blessing and a particular protection for those young people. This way of living with the young people also attracted other priests to Prichovice who were always impressed by the life here. Some of them remained there for a few days and they felt encouraged to live similar experiences without being afraid to offer their own houses, by trusting and establishing with these young people a family relationship based on mutual love.
Conversions from Atheism or sects
In the last few months in our country, many things have changed. But even in these new circumstances our experience flourishes. At Easter in 1990 we welcomed about 350 young people. In the summer months over 1400 came in turns from all over Czechoslovakia to take part in our experience. As always, the results were very good. Many came back to the Church. Among them was one from the Hare Krishnas and one from the Jehovah's Witnesses. A team of young people, including a couple of seminarians together with some adults, all forming part of the Focolare Movement, are going ahead with this experience. Due to the help offered by this team, there are many formative themes in the programme like those on the economy, on marriage, on the role of parents, on alchoholism and on drugs. Then, during the week, half a day is dedicated to talking on the subject of relationships between boys and girls. The majority of the young people have joyfully accepted and understood the will of God for them on this subject which is very demanding but beautiful.
Our life goes ahead with up to 150 young people arriving each day. The Bishop has given us the necessary permission to build again, to enlarge the Parish house and create a Centre for young people who continue to flock in ever greater numbers. The young people feel in our simple and Marian life the very strong action of the Holy Spirit. They discover joy and peace, and find a light that transforms their whole life. Everyone understands the profound idea that sums up all that Chiara Lubich has expressed in these words: "We must look deep in our soul towards the one Father of so many sons and daughters and look at all creatures as sons and daughters of this only Father, God". Thousands of young people at Prichovice have lived this experience and have believed, confirming a truth that Chiara had spoken about: "If everyone, even if the smallest group, really tries to serve God in their neighbour, the world will soon belong to Christ".