Uroczystość rodzinna ‒ 1968

Abstract

Among many pastoral initiatives taken in Poland recently, the Great Novenna before the 1000th Anniversary of the Baptism of Poland, stands out as the most significant. The ceremony which was to be the highlight of the novenna was the act of „surrender of the whole Nation to the maternal bondage of the Virgin Mary”. At the basis of this act was concern for more dynamic faith and for changes in the moral sphere. To provide some kind of solemn setting for the event, it was combined with the visitation of individual parishes and families by the picture of the Madonna of Częstochowa. It is justifiable to put forward some hypotheses concerning the effectiveness of this pastoral undertaking and, above all, the degree of perception of individual elements by the believers. The survey taken to investigate these problems seems to indicate that in the group examined the visitation, with all its external setting, was definitely a much greater experience than the act of surrender. Thus, it points out low degree of effectiveness of the essential element, i.e. the act of surrender. Such a situation probably results from the nature of religiousness of the people examined on the one hand and from a too general character of the act itself on the other. It was too schematic and did not allorw for the diversity within different environments. This might be a meaningful suggestion for planning similar initiatives in the future. However, any exhaustive answer can only be possible if more extensive studies have been made.