Saints, Sips and Bytes
Blessed Natalia Tułasiewicz
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Mrs. McLean
Blogger at Edinburgh Housewife blog
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Blessed Natalia gave herself totally to God but in such a way that she could find and achieve holiness in the everyday, modern world. She wrote, “I have the courage to become a saint. Only holiness is the fullest form of love, and so I don’t just want but must become a saint, a modern saint, a theocentric humanist.”
She qualified as a state teacher and wrote as well as taught: poetry, novels and newspaper articles.
In 1943 she went to a covert mission to Germany to help Poles doing forced labour in German emotionally, spiritually and intellectually. On August 18, 1943 she went voluntarily to Hamburg to share the forced labour. She worked in a factory and secretly taught religion, Polish orthography [i.e. spelling] and German to her fellow workers. She organized prayers and singing.
Sadly, the Germans discovered her activities. They arrested Blessed Natalia in April 1944. She was sent to jail in Hanover and then Cologne. She was tortured and beaten badly. In September 1944, she was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp for women. There she continued her mission by caring for her fellow prisoners, teaching them and having weekly literary meetings.
She became so weak and sick that on Good Friday, 1945, the Germans took her out of line during the morning inspection. She was sent to die in a gas chamber on Holy Saturday, and then her body was burned. Just a few days later, the Germans fled the camp before the Russian advance.
(7 Minute Read)
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“You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.”
– Jn 5:33-37
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