In the spirit of this renewal, hundreds of thousands of people came to Csíksomlyo on Whit Saturday, as usual in recent years.
Even the early morning rain didn't deter those who came under the cross from taking part in the festive mass in the saddle between the Little and Great Somlyó mountains.
Csíkszereda woke up to a cool, overcast, rainy morning. The farewell christenings arrived early in the morning to take their place in the Csíksomlyó mountain saddle, in front of the Hármashalom altar, until the start of the holy mass.
In addition to the participants from Székelyföld and Transylvania, believers came from all over the world, from the Highlands to the motherland to the western diaspora.
By noon, the site of the high mass was full, and people waited disciplinedly, praying, or just eating their ten-hour meal, for the ceremony to begin. The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, representing the Government of Hungary, as well as leaders and representatives of the local and national organizations of the Hungarians in Transylvania.
Photo: Kelemen Kinga/Maszol
The Csíksomlyó shrine joined the pastoral year announced in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gyulafehérvár.
The theme of the year is "community renewed through prayer", and the motto of the vow farewell also encouraged renewal.
At the beginning of the high mass, the Franciscan monk Erik Urbán, provincial superior of the Transylvanian Franciscans, greeted the gathered, and then the sermon of Pécs county bishop László Felföldi, the celebratory speaker of the mass, was delivered. The bishop joined the intention of renewal in the reflection on the topics of faith, community, family, young people, mission and prayer. The speaker Mihály Váci This! Here! Now! He quoted his poem, and then shared the story of the statue of Mary in the church of Kismányok, a village in the Diocese of Pécs, which was consecrated in 1989. László Felföldi presented the sculpture, which was taken from Hadikfalva in Bukovina to Bácská and then to Hungary, as a representation of the faith, hope and life of the Szeklers who found a home in Baranya.
As he emphasized:
"Here and now we have to renew and strengthen the table of family unity and strength, the altar of church communities that look out for each other and help each other. Not with words, not with special thoughts, but with our kind, loving and accepting presence".
The bishop addressed the clergy present, then addressed the fathers and mothers.
"Fathers! Mothers! Teachers! Priest brothers! Now it's our turn, we have to decide what to put in the bags of young people. Will they have something to reach for, in their hearts, will there be the bread baked in the ashes of the home, kneaded from good examples, that helps them through everything, gives them all strength and wisdom?"
he asked the question. Addressing the young people, he emphasized:
"Be demanding, not only about your clothes, but also about your mental and spiritual food! Do not allow the evil of the virtual world directed at you to destroy your human dignity! Be very sane, because it is much more difficult for you to distinguish between truth and lies, reality and the virtual world!"
"My dear pilgrim Brothers! Be renewed! The message that shapes and renews our lives does not come from outside. It is born in our hearts and thus becomes a decision and then a realization. But it requires a living relationship with God, with each other. Living and life-giving prayer is the essential basis, sustaining power and source of the renewal that awaits us"
he added.
Photo: Kelemen Kinga/Maszol
He emphasized that we came here to be strengthened in our faith and love. This joy of faith is what we and the young people who continue the future and build the future need. So we have to sit down at the table of love, at the family table, at the altar table, so that we can find it and grow into it in our lives, so that we can pass on the richness of the love entrusted to us to those for whom God sent us into this world!
Here, in the saddle, in this poignant place, here, in front of Our Lady of Csísomlyó, we allow our faith to be strengthened with the sincere joy of our hearts, that God's wonderful dream may come true in our lives, and through our faith-based service in the lives of our loved ones
László Felföldi concluded his thoughts.
After the sacrificial offering and then the blessing, the 2024 Csíksomlyó Pentecost vow farewell ended with the singing of the Hungarian and Székely hymns.
Featured image: Kelemen Kinga/Maszol
