OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA -The "Black Madonna"; nc, pr1&2, mp1&2
This is a stylized rendering of the legendary painting of the Polish Madonna of Czestochowa which is enshrined in the chapel of the Jasna Gora monastery. According to tradition, it was painted by St. Luke on a tabletop made by St. Joseph.
One can instantly recognize this as the Polish Madonna by the two slash marks on her right cheek. Supposedly they were made by the sabre of a Hussite soldier who dropped dead instantly after the deed. The slash marks miraculously reappeared despite numerous attempts at restoration. The Madonna of Czestochowa has been symbolically crowned as Queen of Poland and is a national symbol of Polish religious liberty.

STORK (legend printed on inside of card leaving plenty of room for writing notes) ; nc
Soaring majestically over the rooftops of Poland, the stork has a special place in the hearts of every householder in this country. Through the richness of Polish legend we discover why this beloved creature has such a melancholy demeanor.
In ancient times, the carefree stork lived only in Egypt and was blessed by God with magnificent plumage of the most eye-dazzling hues. However, the magnificence of her plumage was matched only by her great arrogance and conceit, for she was compelled by her own beauty to feel superior to all the other birds.
When time came for the animals to board the Ark, all were saddened to leave their homes but accepted their fate with humility and gratitude to Noah; all, of course, except the stork who showed no gratitude, shed no tears, felt no humility. For her pride, God cursed the stork forever, taking away her colorful feathers and painting her wings a mournful black.
After the Flood, the other creatures were happy to be alive and have new homes, but the stork could only think of her glorious past, longing to go back. And so, the melancholy stork now has two homes-Poland & Egypt. Yet in each, she is filled with longing for the other, eternally wandering back & forth, singing a note of sadness in her travels.

SACRED STAG (legend printed on inside of card leaving plenty of room for writing notes); nc
Among the many folk symbols of Poland is the vibrant, triumphant white stag-symbol of life- fleeting yet ongoing and enduring.
In particular, this symbol lives on in the legends from the Swietokrzyskie (Holy Cross) mountain range of southeastern Poland. Here (according to the folk from Lysa Gora) a sacred white stag is said to appear only once every century. On his brow is emblazoned a small cross, which they believed to be fashioned from the wood of the one True Cross.
In the Suwalki region of Lithuanian Poland, the stag is thought of as the Life Force itself. The bounding of the sleek, imaginary creatures through the fields is suggested by the graceful undulation of golden grain stirred by soft winds. They sing of the stag;
Hasten, O Stag, in your fleeing along
On the billowing waves of the barley.
Soon shall the barley be all cut and gone,
Your flight and your revelry done.

STO LAT ; nc, pr2, mp2
Sto Lat-two little words, three letters each, from a language known for its lack of brevity-Polish. Translated, they mean "100 years", yet these words encompass a world of meaning to all Poles who utter or sing them. They bring joyous greetings of Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Happy Anniversary, For He's a Jolly Good Fellow, or Best Wishes.

JAK SIE MASZ? ; nc
This good-natured Polish expression of greeting and good will can be heard when friends, neighbors and family meet. From "How have you been?" & "How's everything?" to "How do you do?, a lot of questions are packed into these three little words. Carlina acualis caulescens, known in Polish as "dziewiecsil" and in German as "silberdistel", this alpine everlasting thistle flower is under the protection of Polish conservation laws. Commonly found in the Carpathian and Sudeten mountain ranges, the flower with its creamy white petals and spikey leaves appears as a popular motif in the folk art of those regions.

Our Lady of the Greens - Matka Boska Zielna
The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven is celebrated on August 15th. In Poland and other Slavic countries, however, it is also celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Greens. It is the most important date for the gathering and blessing of garden, field and forest herbs and flowers. The belief was that the blessed herbs would protect the household from lightening, sickness and other forms of disaster; and so the herbs were woven into wreaths and hung nearby holy pictures or tucked under the eaves of the cottage. In Pomorze, the land of lakes and rivers in northeast Poland near Lithuania, the herbs were used to ensure good catches of fish. There, they have a saying, "Kazdy kwiat wola, "Wez mnie do kosciola."" (Every plant calls, "Take me to church.")

St. Joseph and the Holy Family of Kalisz (prayer printed on inside of card leaving plenty of room for writing notes); nc, pc
Kalisz is the oldest city on Polish soil; in 1960 it celebrated its 1,800th anniversary of documented history. Since the mid-17th century, Kalisz has become one of the main places of veneration of St. Joseph, thanks to the miraculous picture of the Holy Family in the Basilica at Kalisz.
Continued veneration of St. Joseph of Kalisz in the 20th century was influenced by an incident which unfolded in the gloomy years of the Second World War in the Nazi concentration camp of Dachau. Facing the approaching American forces in April, 1945, the German authorities decided to murder the prisoners of Dachau. It was then, that a group of Polish priests who were imprisoned in the camp made a novena and entrusted themselves to the care of St. Joseph of Kalisz. A few days later, a final order was given to have the camp liquidated and the all prisoners executed. Yet relief came unexpectedly. On April 29, 1945, a small group of American soldiers reached the camp by coincidence, liberated it and saved the prisoners from certain death. A Chapel of Martyrdom and Thanksgiving under the Basilica, sponsored by priests and prisoners of Dachau, commemorates the incident.
In this prayer, which was said by Pope John Paul II and many other priests in preparation for mass, Saint Joseph appears as the guardian of the Son of God.
"O happy man, Saint Joseph, whose privilege it was not only to see and hear that God whom many a king has longed to see, yet saw not, longed to hear, yet heard not (cf. Mt 13:17); but also to carry him in your arms and kiss him, to clothe him and watch over him! God, who has conferred upon us a royal priesthood, we pray to you to give us grace to minister at your holy altars with hearts as clean and lives as blameless as that blessed Joseph who was found to hold in his arms and with all reverence to carry your only-begotten Son, born of the Virgin Mary. Enable us this day to receive worthily the sacred Body and Blood of your Son, and fit us to win an everlasting reward in the world to come."
When visiting the Shrine of St. Joseph in Kalisz 1997, Pope John Paul II made this exhortation:
"Supported by the example and protection of Saint Joseph, We should offer a constant witness of devotion and generosity; Protect and show concern for the life of your children, of every person - especially the sick, the weak and the disabled. Bear witness to your love for life and share it generously."

PAGE TWO