Sing a New Song to the Lord
Venerable Paul Smolikowski, C.R. was born in Russia in 1849 to Polish parents and at age eighteen joined the new Congregation of Resurrection in Rome.
Father Paul Smolikowski was a man who followed the psalmist’s command to make music to God while you live! (Psalm 104:43)
He was an enthusiastic and joyful member of the CRs and began his ministry teaching at a residential middle school run by the CRs in Bulgaria, and later was called to Kiev, Ukraine to do similar work. Father Paul was gifted with an eager and loving spirit that captivated young people. He was committed to bringing back to the Roman Catholic Church those families who had joined the Orthodox Church. He especially loved teaching the children of the “Uniates,” those who had left the Orthodox Church to rejoin the Catholic Church.
Although Father Paul was a Roman Catholic of the Latin rite, he was ordained a priest, at his request, in the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church because he felt called to work for the union of the Eastern break-away churches and the Roman Catholic Church.
He considered his life as a composition dedicated to God and lived his life joyfully attending to his duties. That was his calling. He heard that call every time the bell rang to announce a gathering whether for prayer or community meals or the beginning of another class. When the bell rang, it was the “Vox Dei” ( Voice of God) ]ringing that regulated his life. He listened for and always heard the sound of this music.
In his old age, when he knew that his life on earth was coming to an end, he turned to a brother Resurrectionist and said, “(I think) the music of my life is now complete.”
As we celebrate the centenary of his birth into eternal life, we Resurrectionists ask that you pray for the reunion of the Orthodox with the Roman Catholic Church.