Advent is a time of joyful waiting for Christmas. Joyful but not idle waiting. That is why Advent retreats are being preached in our Polish parishes to help us prepare spiritually for Christmas. As every year, they are preached by our missionaries from different parts of the world. This year in Ontario we are hosting Fr. Krzysztof Machelski OMI who has been ministering in Ukraine for the past 6 years. This is his first time in Canada. What are his impressions and experiences of our Polish parishes? “Preaching the Word of God among the Polish community here in Canada is a pleasure for me. Canada seems like a huge country to me. Huge distances, big trucks, nature. And on the other hand, it is a multicultural country. This is noticeable almost everywhere. The people are very friendly. I like that everyone speaks Polish here. On the other hand, I was surprised that at the beginning before the retreat starts, people welcome me with applause.”

We are grateful to Father Krzysztof for this year’s retreat, and we assure him of our prayers and wish him blessings and peace in his ministry!

(TJ/DJ)