Ask the Lord of the Harvest

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A Community of Prayer and Work

Disciple– Ask the Lord of the Harvest

ft. Szczepan Hebda CSsR, director of the Vocation Ministry Center
Praised be Jesus Christ. The Rosary Opus of the Redemptorists’ Vocation Support has existed since 2012. It is a spiritual community of believers who, through the rosary prayer, ask the grace of new priestly and religious vocations to the Congregation of Redemptorists. There are already 1500 people involved in this opus. Here are some testimonies.

Matthew’s Testimony
Hi, my name is Matthew, I’m 14 years old, I am in the 7th grade of primary school and I’ve participated in the Rosary Opus of the Redemptorists’ Vocation Support since October last year. To be in the Opus you have to pray one Rosary a week and include a special prayer and once a month receive Holy Communion for the intention of asking for new vocations. I joined this Opus because I feel the call to become a redemptorist and I want to support this Congregation with these prayers. I remember when I learned about Opus, I thought: why don’t I join it? So, I made a declaration to join for one year.
This prayer group, gives me the conviction that I am fulfilling Jesus’ command: “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” I am glad that I am able to help fulfil this Gospel! Through the Opus I feel also that there are a prayers said for me and for all engaged in Opus. There is a Mass celebrated every first Thursday of the month and I am also remembered during all feasts and invited to retreats. This is my first time in the Opus so I have not been to any such meetings but I really want to go!
I encourage everyone to join this Opus! One Rosary a week is not a lot but I hope that thanks to my prayers and the prayers of all the people engaged in Opus, there will be many people who will preach the Plentiful Redemption and lead others to God, and to heaven. Stay with God!

Mary’s Testimony
My name is Mary, I live in Wroclaw close to the redemptorists, and I have an eye on them! That is why I feel so much affection for and attachment to them. I am a member of this parish for many years, over 20. It has been a good experience with good meetings, good people, and a good atmosphere. It is a very good place to live. My children also go to this church. All of our family celebrations take place here. It’s my home!
I’m in the Rosary Opus of the Redemptorists’ Vocation Support since 2016 and I want to remain with Opus as long as God lets me. I’m very grateful for my parish and that is why I’ve joined Opus to ask the Lord: to give us more new redemptorists. Send us new priests.
As the community of the Rosary Opus we meet on retreats every year in Lubaszowa. Through our Rosary Opus community we pray to God for vocations and to remind him that we are waiting for his response. But we also we want to strengthen ourselves, to know each other, we want to know how many people are called by God to this Opus. These meetings are wonderful! We experience cordiality and unity, the specific feeling you experience at family meetings. We get stronger and closer to one another. I think that this closeness and cordiality is the love we want to share with younger people!
There are not many requirements to join the Opus: Rosary once a week with special prayer and once a month to receive Holy Communion for the intention of new vocations. While these are the obligations to be fulfilled as a member of the Rosary Opus, the truth is that the Opus is our daily reality, as we pray: to ask the Lord to remember – Thomas, Dominik, Timothy…
I invited all my friends. There are plenty such “mums”. We probably have to little problems with our own children so we’ve taken in many more in this community, in this prayer. We have adorations of the Blessed Sacrament for their intentions. We pray for all the redemptorists: from the very beginning of their formation to the very end. As a redemptorist, you will go out to the world and we keep you in our hearts and prayers while we are here on earth. But we will help you with our prayers even more later, when we will be with God. This is the love. This is the gratitude.

Mark and Ursula’s Testimony
Marek Strychacz – Praised be Jesus Christ. My name is Marek and this is my wife Urszula. We’ve been married for 33 years. We have four children: three daughters and one son. The eldest daughter is married and has a family and lives outside our home. Our son is a redemptorist, and our two younger daughters are still in school . One is in primary school, the other in high school. We have two grandsons and one granddaughter who is three months old.
Urszula Strychacz – For seven years we have belonged to the Rosary Opus of the Redemptorists’ Vocation Support. This is a large group of people who are dedicated to pray for new vocations to the Congregation of the Redemptorists. This prayer support consists in reciting one part of the Holy Rosary once a week, reciting the prayer for the calling to this Congregation, and once a month we offer Mass and receive Holy Communion for the intention of new vocations.
M – For members of this Rosary Opus there are retreats organized in Lubaszowa, near Tuchów, which we go to every year. There is a great atmosphere there, and the redemptorists give informative catechesis. For us it is a great time to wind down, take a break from everyday duties, as well as talk together over coffee or tea.
U – We feel like one big family there. During these retreats, brothers from the seminary in Tuchów also come to us and share their experiences with us, which gives us even greater motivation to pray for vocations to the Congregation andalso to pray for perseverance for those who have already taken this path.
M – Certainly we would not have been in the Redemptorist Vocation Community if it were not for family prayer together. Every day our whole family prays together.
U – We care very much about passing on the catholic faith to our children. This prayer time brings us closer to God and to each other and helps us solve various problems. We talk about various things that matter to us , and we thank God for the many graces we received.
M – I must add that thanks to our bent knees, fruit is visible. God has blessed us.
U – We notice that prayer in our family affects us as spouses and our children as well because we have very good communication with them and they help, support and trust each other.
M – Of course, the outbreak of the epidemic forced us to change our lifestyle. We were helped by church initiatives, thanks to which we could participate in the Mass and various services at home, through the mass media.
U – We often connect with the Basilica in Tuchów at the rosary prayer at 8:30 p.m. As long as I can remember, we end the day with the Jasna Góra Appeal, we often join with Jasna Góra, but also with the redemptorists in Tuchów who are very close to us.
M – Finally, we greet all viewers of this film and encourage you to join in this beautiful prayer of Opus through which we can pray for new, numerous and holy vocations to the redemptorists.

Authors: Matthew Słota, Mary Rudnicka, Urszula and Mark Strychacz

Translation: Dariusz Dudek CSsR

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