For many years, the inhabitants of Gorzów Wielkopolski have been coming to Our Lady of Lichen. At the very beginning, this pilgrimage was not numerous. However, the tradition of pilgrimage has taken root among the inhabitants of Gorzów and recently, even in a 60-person team, they come to Our Lady of Licheń. All thanks to Anna Galińska, who invites you to pray together in Licheń. She emphasizes that she does not want the trip to be a visit to the sanctuary, but a meeting with God. - At the beginning, I went to the sanctuaries of the Mother of God myself. During one of the retreats, I promised: "Mother of God, I will never come to you alone again," says Anna. From that moment on, she started organizing friends and visiting Our Lady of Licheń regularly.
To make the prayer more profound and fruitful, pilgrims from Gorzów Wielkopolski participate in Marian retreats organized by the Marian Formation Center at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Licheń. - These moments of reflection change a person. This is not the same as a parish retreat. Then you run home and think about your daily duties. And in Licheń, man is excluded from it and he deeply and internally experiences the meeting with God. Many people shared that they were very happy to come to the sanctuary. It builds me up a lot - says Anna Galińska.
This time, 35 participants of the rosary retreat led by Fr. Dr. Janusz Kumala, MIC, custodian of the Lichen sanctuary and director of the Marian Formation Center, focused on the topic: "With Mary, we learn to be with Jesus." - The rosary is to bring us closer to God. Every prayer is being close to God, but this presence should be conscious. It is important that we rely on the presence of God in our lives - the custodian of the sanctuary explained that, like Mary during the Annunciation, we can discover our identity in the words of Archangel Gabriel. We too are loved by God like Mary, and like her we can experience that "the Lord is with us". - In being with God it is important to listen to him and feel his love. Like a little child who doesn't understand his parents but feels safe because of their love. We will discover the fullness of God's love in heaven. And to listen means to be obedient - emphasized Fr. Kumala. He also noticed that in everyday life God should be discovered in other people. - The space for Jesus' meeting is the church. There we hear the Word of God, there is time for reflection and our response. Meditating on the mysteries of the rosary will help to experience the presence with Jesus - reminded the curator of the sanctuary.
In addition to the conference, there was time for the Holy Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, rosary, personal prayer and reflection, as well as a conversation with a retreat.
There is the Lichen Community of the Rosary at the sanctuary. Detailed information is available at the Pilgrim Service Office no. tel. (+48) 63 270 81 63, (+48) 63 270 81 42, (+48) 63 270 85 75 or by writing to the address licheń@lichen.pl.
