Ties of History and Faith

I barely ever went to church in California. Only on Christmas and Easter would I attend mass, hear the priest give a sermon on why most of the congregation should come the rest of the year, and then wait until the next of these holidays to return. However, while in Poland I began going to mass regularly and discovered that I actually liked it.

Once I got to Budapest, I saw a sign for the city’s Polish church. Since then I have made it a point to take the metro out to Budapest’s 10^th district every Sunday to attend Polish mass.

A few Sundays ago, the priest announced that this day was not only the first day of Blessed Pope John Paul II, but also was the 55^th anniversary of Hungary’s 1956 uprising against the Soviet regime. Understandably, this was a rather important day for both nations. The church had even planned the first communion of it’s Sunday school to coincide with it.

The mass began by blessing an image of the former Polish pope, and appealing to the the recently beatified pontiff. This only served to underscore to me the fact that while John Paul II is not yet a Saint, to many poles he might as well be already.

Of even more interest was the almost equal respect that the Polish speaking mass paid to the Hungarian October uprising. Like the Gdańsk shipyard uprising of the early 1970’s are regarded in Poland, this Budapest insurrection of similar import to the Hungarians. Throughout the mass the priest spoke of the importance of these events in building a good national foundation, and of the pope’s example in fostering solidarity between Christian and other peoples.

Judging by my experiences in America, mass was always about what people are doing wrong, but this one was an affirmation of what we have done right. Although it was about the past, it showed that their message still has relevance in the present day, and meaning for the future.

This experience exemplifies the sense of friendship between Poles and Magyars. While their cultures may be different, the journeys of faith and freedom that they have had to travel are strikingly similar. On that morning in mass it occurred to me that this manifestation would have been in keeping with the pope’s wishes. As one of my Friends from Kaliningrad put it: “Polak i Węgier, dwa bratanki.” Pole and Magyar, brothers in arms – and in faith.