The History of the Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Part 7

Continued from The History of the Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Part 6

Currently, there are two curates working in the parish, Father Stanisław A. Kilar and Father Wiktor J. Dominas. Some alumni of Assumption Parish, already in their young years, showed a calling to the priestly profession. The move was a good example of his Reverend pastor, in his time he enrolled in higher philosophical and theological studies in the Seminary. After many years of study, Holy Orders were conferred and today they work for the Glory of God in other Polish parishes. A number of them were not little. Father Stefan Trepczyński celebrated the first mass in the Parish of the Assumption on the 24th of June, 1917, and is the present pastor in the Parish of Saint Andrew. Father Józef Naperalski, who after working for eight years in the Lord's Vineyard, died on the 15th of December, 1933. Father Piotr Wyrzykowski, Father Klemens Stoliński, Father Edward Sobczak, and Father Wenanty Szymański.


At this point in the history of the parish, there appears a list of the clergy who served at Assumption as well as those from the parish who were called to serve the Lord elsewhere. That information will be posted on a separate page. What appears next in the Silver Jubilee book is the following:

Thanks Be to God.

The Catholic Religion is a Teacher of Character

A disease of modern times is the lack of character. It is the result of various reasons, above all rationalism, liberalism, and naturalism in particular. Rationalism in the place of God the Creator declares its god -- the mind of man. Liberalism, on the other hand, declares every freedam and forgets about the freedom of the internal, of the soul, about the control of greed and passions of human beings. It forgets that it does not seem to people external freedom, if they become slaves to their passions". Naturalism indulges one, and this lower part of human nature, that is, the animal instincts, both strives for the satisfaction of the eye, lust of the body, and the pride of lige. Today, mankind dreams about pleasure, most of all about sensual delight. Inside, on the other hand, this doesn't change, even if it resulted in the harm of a fellow human being.

In nondenominational schools, which are comparatively inferior, for the most part, they remove themselves from the program of God the Creator, and they turn up ideas of animal origins of human beings. In the family home, children hear everything except about the need for the development of the heart, the will, the character. And the youngsters? The youngsters know every sports record, all the movie stars, every automobile model, and every cabaret in a given city, but nobody hears him who speaks about the value of man's soul or about character. That which Adam Mickiewicz said is correct: "Our soul must be what is moved: if this idea is not set in motion, then sensory desire moves, and then it wails for human beings".

On what, then, does the essence of an excellent character depend? It is the strength of will, with the help of which man becomes attached to certain principles, imposed by conscience. Conscience, moreover, is the work of the mind, will, and emotion-embrace by the whole soul. Character means to initiate in ones behavior a certain harmony with the law, and in an attitude with people to go to the call of conscience and reason. There is a certain power of will, awareness and independent , reliable, and [?] as well, which becomes the main factor in the actions of people, of being able to prevail over oneself. Such is a man with character in the moral sense of the word. With the aid of constant efforts of will and consistent work, he becomes a man of instinct and to feel his own. He exerts control not only over his deeds, but also over his emotions and thoughts.
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The fasting doesn't get thinner, the mass doesn't wash away,
Don't ask where hell is, or how to avoid it,
The cross on Golgotha won't save him,
Who to us, in his heart, doesn't show the cross.
Where there is a full temple, there is an empty prison,
Who serves God, God doesn't incur debts.
--Mickiewicz

From "Silver Jubilee Souvenir Booklet of the Church of the Assumption 1912-1937", Detroit, Michigan. Translation from Polish to English by Stephen Danko, 2007.