Priests-Prefects’Association operated in Poland in the years 1919–1939. Their members were priests who were teaching religious education and did the pastoral work in the school environment. Articles presented in Catechetical and Educational Monthly Magazine show the work of priests in the Association. The aim of the activity of the Association was to introduce the idea of the catholic upbringing and to exchange experiences. The Lviv Circle of Priests-Prefects was one of the biggest in the country and the work of the priests was a guiding light for the others. The priests met on weekly meetings where they read their papers out. The main issue of them was their pastoral work at school. In the Circle there were three sections. Their members in detail discussed issues concerning state primary and secondary schools and Marian Sodalities.

This article gives an outline of the Domenican parish ministry in the Roman-Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv in 1918-1939, where 9 Dominican monasteries and the same parishes were located. Three parishes was incorporated into the monastery of Lviv. Polish Province of Dominican Order had got the most of the parish in the archdiocese of Lviv. Two parishes were transferred to the diocesan clergy in the second half of the 30 of the twentieth century. An important element in the pastoral care of the parish was parish catechesis in schools and outside them. Parish work was also accompanied by a variety of special pastoral care. Here I discussed only Marian shrines that worked at the Dominican parishes through which parishes are better developed. Other forms of pastoral special (brotherhoods and religious associations and work among students and intellectuals) has been omitted here, because they require separate studies. The pastoral activity intermingled typical folk devotions, the cult of relics and saints and more complex intellectual formation, aiming to deepen their religious knowledge. In all these activities preaching was essential. The article revealed research capabilities, as well as the state mainly from sources preserved in the collections of the Archives of the Polish Province of the Dominican Order in Cracow.

1655 bezogen die Franziskaner–Reformaten aus Gleiwitz (polnische Ordensprovinz) das vom Grafen Melchior Ferdinand von Gaschin neu gegründete Kloster am St. Annaberg. 1662 wollte derselbe auch ein Kloster in Rosenberg bauen. Er wendete sich an den Vorstand der Böhmischen Provinz das künftige Kloster zu übernehmen. Verlangte aber, dass die Patres sowohl der deutschen, wie auch der polnischen Sprache mächtig sind um auch den polnisch sprechenden Einwohnern den Gottesdienst zu verrichten. Die Antwort des Provinzials ist nicht bekannt, das Kloster wurde nicht gegründet.

The article shows various expressions of patriotism and its relationship to nationalism in historical terms. There are two non-competing definitions of patriotism issued in Polish public discourse. The first one presupposes accompanying and even participation in military resistance against an outside enemy, the second consist in organic work – that is in grass-root activities. The Polish Catholic Clergy actively participated in both national uprisings and in organic work. Nowadays the Polish Catholic Clergy plays a role of a memory organizer within a framework of unifying Europe and its tendency to forget or even blot out its history.

Evangelization is a challenge for the whole Church. In this work priests participate in a special way. Bishops and presbyters by the sacrament of Holy Orders are capable and obliged to preach crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He possesses words of life which are answers to our existential questions. Young presbyters taking responsibility for church communities have to continue their formation through permanent formation. It should deepen theological and philosophical knowledge. Thanks to that young priests are able to transfer God teaching to contemporary men.

The author of the article points to a hagiographic key for interpretation of a programme for a new evangelism. An analysis of the idea ‘communion of saints’ has aided in his discovery, focusing attention on a new approach (hagiographic) in the interpretation of the Bible and centering on the saints as icons of the new evangelism. The saints show the way for effective realisation of the program for a new evangelism, for which confirmation we have no further to look than the statements of Benedict XVI and Francis. The saints become the real protagonists of the new evangelism and challenge us to follow their lives and mission in the Church. This appeal is a challenge for contemporary pastors, catechists and teachers to reach for the personal examples of the saints and the blessed of the Church in teaching and their intercession for the realisation of sharing the faith.

The main theme: Jesus Christ The Primogenital as it appeares in the gospel of St. Luke touches the historical and theological problem. As it stands in the Gospels, history is a servant of theology. Very often talking about the history of Jesus’ childhood it is treated as the Gospel of childhood. In the childhood story of St. Luke’s Gospel 1–2 an importent role plays the title Prototokos-Primogenital. It brings to our attention, who Jesus was at hist childhood, shows His place in the history of salvation, shows His relation to God and people. St. Luke presents it in two childhood stories: in chapter 2.1-7 about the birth of Jesus in Betlehem, and in chapter 2.22-24 at the presentation in Jerusalem. In the presentation of this theme firstly was stressed the theological point in the Gospel of St. Luke. The historical facts in the childhood stories are: the census, the place of birth of Jesus, His jewish identity- the circumcision, the giving of the name, the offering at the temple and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Further on the narrative goes to the birth in Betlehem, the presentatio at the Temple as a First-Born in the context of verses Luke 1–2. Then follows the christological title Prototokos. This title has been presented as well in the tradition of the Apostolic teaching in the New Testament (Rom. 8.29; Col. 1.15, 18; Rev.1.5 and Heb. 1.6) where this title more than others characterises Jesus Christ as posessing the unity of intentional salvific God’s Will and He posesses it from the beginning of His incarnation, throughout Hist birth, His offering in the Temple, He is indeed the Primogenital of all creation, permanently subordinate to His Fathers Will. In reality and historically He entered our human world.

This article, analysing the Book of Genesis 4:6-7, describes the process of growth of the human weakness to sin. Earlier, objectionable behaviour prepares the ground for temptation to heavy sin. It is a process that takes on its intensity and strength and which gradually shows the Man the way to evil. Sin, and more precisely the temptation to sin is patient and as in the description of conversation between God and Cain, it stands by the door to person’s heart (will). In attribution of Man is the decision of opening the door (acceptance on evil).
The text Gen 4:6-7 that can be an (later?) attempt to solve this tragic ending of the story about Cain and Abel (Gen 4:1-16), was given to a contextual analysis. Next, there was made a syntactic and semantic study over the formula #bero taJ'x;, being the example of connecting the grammatical anomaly with an unusual as for the Old Testament terminology. The last part of the article is the discussion the theological and psychological meaning of Gen 4:6-7.

A human existence is inevitably inscribed in experiencing time. „For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Historicity of man and awareness of this historicity makes him special among the creation. The same applies to human morality.
Human morality, as the author assumes after Saint Augustine, is conditioned by the past, present but also the future of man (Confessions XI, 14,17). Experiencing a historic time can be seen in the so called cirmunstantiae vitae. They are decisive when it comes to quality of each „moral deed”. What is also at stake here, is the fact, that experiencing a historic time decides upon moral quality of human thoughts, deeds and lifestyles. There is no man outside time and history. The same applies to human morality. Moral „biographies” are always historic. It means that „times are as morality of men is like”: good or evil. This calls for responsibility for the gift of time.
A man is mortal (homo viator), but his earthly existence is a „preparation” and „introduction” to eternity. Hence responsibility for eternal salvation is the most important moral responsibility of every man.
In the second part of the paper the author claims, following Maurice Blondel, that „times in each generation are hard...”. Human morality therefore can be found „between heroism and bestiality...”.
It is not insignificant that history „may flow against the current of human conscience...”. This is the truth derived from poetry of young Karol Wojtyła by Karl Dedecius.
A man, each in his own way, experiences his time. One can live through one’s time in various ways: chaotically, confusedly and randomly, or very responsibly. „Time perspective” is another important factor for human consciousness. In „long -time perspective” for example one can see more clearly „quality” of human life. One has a better view on bygone phenomena and experience, since they are viewed as continuity „towards eternity”. Among multiplicity of historical phenomena one of the most pivotal ones are experience of failures, catastrophes, but also heroic deeds. It is said that „history is a teacher of life”, but it is also true that „there is few, who are able and willing to learn these lessons...”.
There is no human biographies „outside history”. This allows us to discover specific „strings of events”, but also lines of evangelical development, in spite of numerous weaknesses. Ultimately eternity awaits all of us. May God grant us all a happy one.

The main point of the article is the aspectual attempt at answering the question of how defining the aim of the canon law (theological justification of ius Ecclesiae) can result in its substantial and adequate use. The background of the scholarly contemplation are Benedict XVI’s addresses to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota of 2006 and 2011. The cognition of enunciations contained in those addresses gives the basis for the exploration of some crucial matters: What does such a firmly articulated magisterial indication that the ecclesiology of the Lumen Gentium Dogmatic Constitution on the Church plays an irreplaceable role in the appropriate interpretation and application of law mean? What intention does that firm, as for the Post-Second Vatican Council time, emphasis on the pastoral dimension of the canon law by the church legislator entail? Authentic pastoral sensibility, which the mentioned-above Pope’s addresses authoritatively treat about, reveals itself in the pastoral solicitude to prevent nullity of a marriage at the time such a marriage contract is approved of, as well as in judicial defense and promotion of the truth about the human person and marital/family-oriented communio personarum. The clou of those issues is well reflected in the words of Benedict XVI: „it is necessary to encourage in all sectors, and in a particular way in the field of marriage and of the family, a positive dynamic, sign of profound harmony between the pastoral and the juridical which will certainly prove fruitful in the service rendered to those who are approaching marriage” (Address to the Roman Rota, Jan. 22, 2011).

In the face of cultural, economic and social changes a question arises about the shape of the ministry of the word. The article presents a reflection on believers’ religious expectations. One of their expectations is a thorough and exhaustive explanation of the content of the Christian faith. A starting point for such reflection is understanding that Christianity is not ‚the religion of the Book’ but‚ the religion of the word of God’. It should be underlined that the central point of the Christian faith is the person of Triune God, who, in incarnated Christ revealed His mystery. This assumption requires conscious actions, which, on the one hand, will shape the believers’ correct image of God, and, on the other hand, will teach them how to use the sources of faith, which make this image clearer.
Another important factor is teaching believers how to use both natural cognition and religious cognition, which together help to discover that the centre of the Christian message is the prophecy of the Kingdom of God initiated in the person of Jesus Christ. Church actively promotes the message of salvation. Catechesis and religious upbringing play an especially important role in spreading this message, as they aim at shaping and upbringing a human being who respects the divine law.

The article raises the issue of the possible use of the marketing tools in the parish pastoral care. The first part of the paper is devoted to the nature of marketing and its application in promoting social ideas and values. The second part presents the Catholic parish and the parish pastoral care against the background of the non-governmental organizations. The emphasis was laid on the similarities and differences between a parish and a non-profit organization. The third part of the article presents the basic marketing tools and the suggestions for their application in the parish pastoral care. The analyses presented in the article lead to the conclusion that although a parish, according to the criteria of the Polish law, is not a non-governmental organization, it resembles one in some aspects. That is why the marketing tools used in the organization of the third sector can be used in the parish pastoral care and in the evangelization in its broad sense.

Trust, sociologically speaking, is a foundation of social order. Not only does it function to designate moral standards with reference to social relationships taking place between individuals, groupings and institutions, but it also organizes diversified constellations of interactions which relate particular actors to social groups or institutions. When defined as an ethical category originating from the shared, community-wide acceptance of values, trust is endowed with quantifiable consequences for the quality of social life. This article comprises a brief presentation and subsequent sociological interpretation aiming to deliver the results of the sociological survey research that are exclusively focused upon trust-related considerations observed with reference to selected institutions, as well as chosen representatives of ecclesiastical and secular spheres of social life. By way of conclusion, the paper postulates that social trust constitutes a moral dilemma which refers not only to the functioning of public authorities and the applied standards of governance. Likewise, it is also indicative of the Roman Catholic Church. Furthermore, it is argued that the significance of trust cannot be downplayed either by political or ecclesiastical authorities. Nevertheless, one is in a position to observe a significant difference between the two great social structures encompassing the Polish society. This discrepancy is discernible especially when the deficits of social trust are being measured. Poles, in the main, are willing to vest trust in the Church. Yet, at the same time, the respondents remain distanced with regard to public authorities, institutions, organizations, and individuals who fulfill the social role of leaders. 

A group of adults classified as Adult Children of Alcoholics is growing in our country. Also students belong to this group which causes significant pastoral challenge for academic chaplaincy. Students – Adult Children of Alcoholics – that undergo therapy should obtain special support by community of academic chaplaincy. First of all, in the community, they should experience God’s love and anchor their life changes in God’s unconditional love towards them. This experience of meeting God should be achieved by Eucharist, sacrament of penance and reconciliation and sacrament of the sick. Joint and individual reflection upon the Bible, as well as prayers within the community of academic chaplaincy, should also become a way of discovering unconditional love of God and His care about every man. Academic chaplaincy, offering community support to Adult Children of Alcoholics students, should also organize professional psychological and therapeutical support for them.

The way J. Ratzinger/Benedict XVI addresses the issues of communism and Nazism in his works leads to the very essence of the problem, which is shown as a bigger one and – unfortunately – more long-lasting than the 20th century faces of these two ideologies. He emphasises the fundamental, crucial relationship between these concepts (simultaneously constituting political systems) and atheism, negation of God, both in the spheres of faith and ethos. Metaphysical aspirations of men, distorted by absence of God, are diabolically deformed and, finally – in their mutated version, deluding by national-, social- and economic Utopia – assume the forms of cruel, totalitarian systems of power and violence, directed against men. Within the closed circle of history and matter driven by the power of mind independent of the objective (God’s) truth, today it also proves impossible to make the world better with no conversion, i.e. without ensuring the right place for God in individual and public life, unless God is perceived as the Lord of the whole history who can give future and hope to men.

The present article is concerned with a multi-dimensional analysis of the problems of friendship, which was conducted by Pope Benedict XVI at the initial stage of his papal teaching. Pope Ratzinger made numerous references to the ancient writer Sallust’s famous adage „Idem velle atque idem nolle”. The Pope bases his vision of amor amicitiae on the foundation of God (Christ), which leads to friendship with everyone loved by God. The paragon of friendship is the Good Samaritan from the Gospel.

In the period from 7 to 28 October 2012 in the Vatican City was held XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization. The fruit of the Synod is the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium. According to many observers, it is a programmatic document of Pope Francis, revealing the priorities of his pontificate. Presented reflection is an attempt to make a synthesis of the most important indications of the Pope on evangelizing activity of the Church. These include in particular the following issues: union with Jesus as the primary motive of evangelization, necessity of missionary conversion, evangelization as a joyful radiation, witness of Christian life as the first step of evangelization, the proclamation of the Kerygma as the heart of evangelization, the need for renewal of forms of evangelization.

At the end of the year of faith (24.11.2013) pope Francis announced an apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. This exhortation contains numerous guidelines relating to preaching, and concerning, inter alia, several instructions regarding the content of preaching. Pope Francis reaffirms the principle of Christocentrism in preaching. „God who revealed his immense love in the crucified and risen Christ” (EG 11), is the centre of preaching the word of God. At the same time the pope confirms the council’s principle, which says that the secondary subject of preaching are existential problems of contemporary people and worldly issues which are to be presented in the light of Christ. For the pope, a preacher is a man who listens to the people of God and knows their problems, a man who contemplates the Word and the people of God at the same time (EG 154). A very wide panorama of problems faced by man, problems with himself, with the others, the community of men and the community of the Church presented by the Pope is a guide for today’s preachers of the Word of God, and at the same time indicates a great insight of pope Francis into the reality which surrounds us.

A contact with a liturgical language and preaching the Word of God during the liturgy is not only a contact with a teaching word of God, but most of all with the word that has a power to transform those who celebrate the liturgy. Dynamics of this impact differs from the dynamics of a human language, since the language of the Bible is equipped with the salvific power. It is not about the effectiveness analysed in the context of literature or psychology, but but in the context of the Holy Spirit, who in the act of proclamation of the Word of God acts on the faithful and sanctifies them. This sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit reaches its climax precisely in the liturgy (see: SC 10), however its is not limited to the very celebration. Hence the spiritual life of the faithful is not limited solely to their participation in the liturgy (see: Constitution on the sacred liturgy 12), but extends its interaction to every day Christian life modelled on the road composed of the Word of God, transferred as the spiritial food in the liturgy, which is the font of life of the whole Church and her activities (see: SC 10). This is why all the forms of care for a word, which creates – apart from symbols and gestures – one of the major pillars of the liturgy celebrated by the Church is, as the matter of fact, a manifestation of a care for Christian spirituality. The Word of God proclaimed during the liturgy that comes from His mouth (see: Mathew 4:4) should become one with everyday life attitudes of Christians, so that the visible effect of the symbiosis (inevitable for matured faith) was spirituality of followers of Christ – pilgrims who all their earthly lives search for things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1). This is why the Word of God should be given an appropriate attention in the broadly understood meditation, reflection and discussion, since the dependancy between the care for a language in the liturgy and the Christian spirituality is interactive.

Jesus constituted Eucharist in the atmosphere of love: „having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (Joh 13:1). It is especially stressed in the anaphora and all The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom.
In this article author considers liturgical hymn about God’s source of love and he recalls 150th anniversary of the Congregation of the Resurrection’s participation in the mission in aid of the Bulgarian Union. First of all he shows genesis of this congregation. Next he analysis a history of its work in Bulgaria: years of beautiful and creative apostolate, the difficult and tragic time of war, and after that the period of communistic regime. The great works of this congregation were canceled and some of friars were imprisoned. Members of the Congregation of the Resurrection treated a time of prisoning as a „second university” and to the end of their lives they served to the people with joy.

The Holy Eucharist contains the whole spiritual good of Church. It is Jesus Christ, our Passover. The Church exists owing to the Eucharist. Its celebration in the Armenian Catholic Church is according to ancient rites, which are common in the Armenian Apostolic Church and with some elements of Roman Liturgy. It is presence of Jesus Christ and his saving act. A crucial aspect of the Eucharist is the mystery of crucifiction and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His presence is prolonged beyond celebration due to Eucharistic worship. The Church as people of The New Covenant celebrates The Mystery of Salvation of Jesus Christ from a day of Descent of the Holy Spirit. In sacramental way the passing from the cross to resurrection is presented. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the christian life.

The article deals with three Christian writings which originated in Antioch and Asia at the end of the 1st and the first half of the 2nd century, namely Didache, the Letters of Ignatius of Antioch and the Paschal Homily of Melito of Sardis. The first two include only short, marginal paragraphs criticising the Jews. The Paschal Homily, on the other hand, devotes a long, carefully composed passage to their criticism, or more precisely, accusation. It is placed in the text after the presentation of the history of sin, slavery and liberation offered to us by Christ through His death. The passage starts with an accusation against Israel for killing Jesus. The Jews killed Him because they had not recognised God, their Saviour. Then Melito revisits the history of Israel as described in the Old Testament, demonstrating that, from the very beginning, the Jews had been ungrateful and unable to recognise their God. As a result, they deserved their punishment. Though Melito does not mention it directly, it is highly probable that he regards the destruction of Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews in 135 AD as their punishment and the sign of their rejection by God. The entire Homily is based on the typological interpretation of the Scripture and demonstrates the author’s excellent knowledge of the Old Testament. The combination of such a violent accusation and such good knowledge of the Jewish tradition, in the context of what we know about the social relations in 2nd century Sardis, suggests that the church in Sardis was dominated by Christians who previously were proselytes.

The Morning Prayer of the Christmas” – performed usually before the Shepherd’s Mass – is a unique devotion which prepares for the immediate celebration of the Nativity of the Lord. The structure of this devotion is based partially on the Liturgy of the Hours but the texts and melodies represent a folk tradition. The eldest known version of its text is from the first part of the XIX century (handwritten Kancjonał z Ligoty from 1832). The first known music written to the text is from the second part of the XIX century (Chorał do Kancjonału ks. Janusza from 1873). There is a superficial analogy between the Catholic devotion of „The Morning Prayer of the Christmas” and a popular Protestant matins, but they are essentially different. Nevertheless in both cases they express a strong devotional tradition popular, mainly, among the Christian communities of the Cieszyn Silesia.

The changes that have been taking place in the Polish education system oblige teachers of religious education to raise their qualifications and pedagogical competences. Up-todate knowledge and pedagogical skills are essential for diligent teaching, upbringing and caretaking work.
This article attempts to present the aims, tasks and different forms of pedagogical development of religious education teachers which result from educational changes in Polish schools. In the analyses undertaken, the mission of the religious education teacher in the school environment has been taken into consideration. The paper also points to the dynamic character of the permanent formation. It has been clearly noted that the pedagogical development of Polish religious education teachers is among the priorities as far as formative activities are concerned. It has been suggested that empirical research be undertaken among various groups of religious education teachers.

The article is showing the possibility of exploiting numerous advantages of children’s religious magazines at the Christian body. Starting from guidelines of the programme first periodicals for children, is analysing present values of magazines addressed to this group of recipients. Against this background it is portraying the prominence of religious magazines. Next a degree of the execution of the  fundamental tasks of catechesis – promoting knowledge of the faith, liturgical education, moral formation, teaching to pray, education for community life and missionary initiation on pages of chosen periodicals for children. Recapitulating the supporting role of magazines in bringing up in the faith, it is appointing children for applying them in employing the family for the Christian body. In conclusion he is giving specific possibilities of using magazines in school teaching the religion, including correlation between religion and education.

The history of mankind is a still open approach to attempts concerning creation of different ties and interpersonal relations. Indeed, man is a socio-political being, involved in various concepts of governing. It is not always in favour of man, but for Christians it should establish civitas Dei – the kingdom of God – on the Earth.
This issue was thouroughly studied by Jacques Maritain. In his socio-political philosophy he stressed, following St. Thomas Aquinas, that politics should focus on a common good of all community members. The fundamental role of personalism, focusing on a man as a personal being, was underpinned by him. In his Integral Humanism a man was shown in dimensions of body and soul. Thanks to it every man, creating his life on the Earth and entering various human relations, is open for religion. By this a man conveys material goods into transcendent dimension and opens towards the spiritual world.