Peace and goodness.
Peace and goodness to people of goodwill! I am Michał and I come from the beautiful region of Greater Poland. For the past three months, I have been in Venezuela, dedicating myself to charitable work renovating a school for children, spending time with them, helping street children and others in need. Due to a lack of visa, I have temporarily returned to Poland to soon go back and continue serving those who have lost hope that something can change in their lives. Dear ones! How wonderful it is to know that you are in this world for an important purpose.
The thought of finding my purpose fills me with fire and strength to fight. I desire to fulfill what I was created for. And all this out of love for another person, because none of us lives only for ourselves. Love does not consist in words or feelings, but in action. It is an act of will, it is a gift, that is, giving.
The goal of the collection is to carry out the renovation and expansion of the school, build classrooms, and a sanitary room. I also want to feed the children. This facility is to be a place where children can develop, acquire knowledge, and eat a normal, healthy meal. Unfortunately, we currently lack many basic things, such as books, clothes, school supplies, or places to study and play sports. Living conditions are difficult. The oratory in which I am involved helps to feed the children, but it is only enough for three days a week. From November, I want the children to be able to receive a meal on another day.
About 60 children attend this school. The meal is very modest, consisting of a small portion of rice or pasta and meat. The situation is really very difficult. Children often live in cramped spaces, sometimes even 5-6 people in one room, without access to water or electricity. Education, healthcare, and work are challenging for the people of Venezuela. These difficulties have contributed to an increase in crime. Children are exposed to suffering, malnutrition, and violence. The average family cannot afford to buy even basic food products, and economic problems have led to a general increase in crime in the country. 60% of the country's population lives in poverty, with no prospects for improving their living conditions. Many families decide to migrate to neighboring countries in search of a better future.
Venezuela is a wonderful country, people have big hearts, they share what they have, and they have very little. "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Therefore, I have decided to announce a collection because without your help we will not manage. Every contribution is a great support for me. Let us not lose courage and do what we can, and God will fill in the rest. I believe that together we can help much more. Because love is to feed another person in the good sense, with what they need at the moment, because only love is creative.
If you want to help?
The most important and most precious help is sincere prayer from the heart, which I ask for the most. I will be grateful for Holy Communion offered in my intention, fasting, and any other form of spiritual support. However, dear ones, as long as we live in this world, besides food for the soul, care for the body, which is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, is also necessary. Therefore, I ask on behalf of those brothers and sisters who have not succeeded, who have lost their way, who have gone astray…
“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Remember: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). When we share money or other goods with our neighbors, our heart turns to Jesus, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Our hearts belong to Christ, and it is He who urges us to acts of mercy.
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Why "POTERION"
Mt 10:42: "Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."
Mt 26:39: "And taking the cup, he gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you;'"
Mt 26:39: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."
Mk 10:39: But Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized."
... in all these words from the Holy Scriptures, the words "cup" and "chalice" are defined by the one Greek word "poterion" (original ποτηριον). Offering a cup of cold water to the thirsty, as a small act of mercy that will not be overlooked and forgotten by God, is compared with the Chalice of the Lord's Passion and the Chalice of the Lord's Blood.
And we, coming to the Eucharist with our dirty cups of heart, hungry for love and mercy, approach the Lord's table and receive grace from the chalice of God's mercy.
Previously quenching the thirsty with cold water, now we are quenched by the Savior with living water.
Peace and goodness!
Thank you for the gift of prayer, it is very important to me. Thank you for being here and remembering, I am sending some photos from our volunteer work. Thanks to your help, many children received small gifts. There is great poverty outside the center, the conditions are very difficult, many children do not have parents. The oratory we are at helps feed the children, but it is only enough for three days a week. This is a wonderful country; people have big hearts and share what they have. As we know, we are here to restore their hope that with God everything is possible!
Much prayer and proclamation of God's mercy are needed here!
Sometimes they don't even have a window in their house, they live with 6 to eight people in one room, without a bathroom, water, or electricity. Please pray for all the people we meet.🙏
Peace and goodness.
My name is Michał (from Hebrew "who is like God”) Banach and I am 39 years old.
In 2015, I called out to God in my life - "save Sergiusz's life and take mine", then God showed me His mercy and gave me a new life. "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles." (Ps 34:7) The Lord pulled me out of the very bottom of the abyss of sin.
In 2019, I was invited to the Community of Mercy in Wolsztyn. A few weeks later, I attended a retreat in Częstochowa conducted by Father Antonello Cadeddu. The words he spoke deeply struck my heart: to proclaim that God is good, is love, which we are unconditionally gifted with every day, and we are to spread it to our neighbors.
I also heard that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life… These words made a great impression on me and since then I have been putting them into practice every day. They guide me in my actions and make me more and more open to the needs of my brothers and sisters.
Driving a truck around Europe, I tried to testify about God's love at every opportunity. At that time, a desire was born in my heart to go on a mission to Ukraine, but it did not come to pass.
When I was on a retreat in Warsaw, I heard about the Covenant School associated with volunteering. Soon after, I filled out an application and after an interview, I was accepted. When I started my education, I learned about four places where the inhabitants need material and spiritual support the most.
I immediately chose Venezuela, even though I did not know this country, its language, culture, or customs at all. However, I am at this school to prepare myself as best as possible for participation in the mission. In a short time, it turned out that for a year I had unknowingly been helping people from this country through Caritas. My heart was deeply touched by the incredibly difficult situation of the native inhabitants of Venezuela. The conditions they live in, how many children starve, do not get educated because they lack basic means of living. The more I learned, the more I wanted to go and dedicate myself to this mission.
At the beginning of this year, I was given the opportunity to visit Mexico and this trip further convinced me that my decision to go is right. There I met a boy named Wilmer on the street, from Venezuela. He was very surprised by my desire to go to the country he had fled from, forced by extreme poverty. I felt even more strongly the need to serve the inhabitants of this country, to awaken in their hearts hope and love for Jesus, also through material support. I feel an inner conviction that this is where God is sending me - to His beloved children who are waiting for comprehensive support.
Venezuela
The huge political crisis, hyperinflation, and unstable oil market situation have caused Venezuela to be on the brink of collapse and poverty today, and it is ordinary families who suffer the most.
Venezuela is currently, along with Sudan, Yemen, and Syria, one of the countries with the greatest food deficit - only one in five Venezuelans can afford to buy enough food. The basic food basket for five people costs about 250 USD, while the minimum wage is 7 USD per month.
The number of emigrants or refugees from Venezuela has already exceeded 7.1 million and is still growing.
The long-standing crisis manifests itself in severe food shortages, hyperinflation, lack of electricity or water. Lack of access to healthcare, education, or work is the daily reality for Venezuelans. An average family cannot afford to buy even basic food products, and economic problems have translated into a general increase in crime in the country. 95% of the country's population lives in poverty, with no prospects for improving their living conditions.
Children suffer the most, being most vulnerable to malnutrition and violence. For this reason, many families, in search of a chance for a normal life, decide to migrate to neighboring countries. The majority reach Colombia, which has already taken in over 2.6 million Venezuelans. They often travel on foot, with their life's belongings on their backs, exposed to the dangers of the journey.