Jakub Baryla: A Fiery Witness of Faith

A week ago on Aug. 12th the world was set on fire by an unknown Catholic teen not here in the U.S. but across the ocean in the home country of St. Faustina, St. Maximillian Kolbe, and the late and great, St. John Paul II. Where? You guessed it, Poland. Almost all of the secular media outlets did not cover it, and it occurred in a town outside the capital city of Warsaw. The event was an LGBT Pride March with more than 1,000 strong parading with rainbow flags while being escorted by police armed with guns. But the unarmed teen, 15 year-old, Jakub (Jacob) Baryla, stood firm confronting the marchers in the spirit of a peaceful protester with a crucifix draped in rosaries. Below are some of his remarks:

• “I asked for a cross from a priest from a Płock parish,” said Baryla. “The priest was afraid of atheists profaning the Holy Cross, but he gave me a crucifix.” (Source: CNS News)
• In an Aug. 13 tweet (the day after the march) Baryła said “defending the Holy Faith against attacks is not a rejection, but a necessity, and love does not mean accepting bad behavior. I do not reject anyone, because our Lord did not reject anyone…” (Source: Church Pop)
• My words: We don’t hate. We only hate sin and offer love and compassion in its place.
• “Jesus Christ stood against evil and sins” and that “our holy faith commands us to counteract evil deeds.” Baryla said he was not opposing the people in the march but was “going against the bad deeds that are promoting homosexuality.” (Sources: Life Site and CNS News)
• Riot police in body armor bodily lifted Baryła after he refused to get out of the path of the marchers. “Later I sat on the pavement and prayed in Latin with the words Salve Regina,” (“Hail Holy Queen”) he said. “I directed my prayer to the Mother of God, the ideal of purity. Policemen came to me and asked me to get out of the way. I said I couldn’t do it because the participants of the march are destroying my Catholic faith and profaning the Polish flag by placing a rainbow on it. I didn’t think about fear. I was focused on the cross I was holding. I am Catholic, so I focused on God who gives me strength. I have the impression that God was directing me,” he said, adding that the police behaved “impeccably.” (Source: Church Militant)
• Baryła also told a Polish news outlet that he initially decided not to march for fear of negative pushback. Baryła said he initially gave up this idea “because of social consequences. I was afraid of how people would react.” However, after seeing a blasphemous image of Our Lady of Częstochowa depicted with rainbow halos, “I decided that I had to go back to my idea,” he responded. (Sources: Church Pop and Church Militant).

Jeremiah didn’t go back on his idea of prophetically speaking the truth against the authorities of his day. He prophesied the destruction of the Temple and the enslavement of Israel by the Babylonian Empire due to idol worship but also for being disobedient to God through intermarriage. Jeremiah was a true prophet of God whom people wanted to kill, because he spoke the fiery truth even though it included doom and gloom. So he paid the price by being lowered in a cistern and left there to die, or so he thought, but later rescued as found in the first reading from the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Jeremiah was also known as the weeping prophet too. He cried tears probably for not only sinking in the mud at the bottom of that lonely, dark, and dirty cistern, but especially for his people who were being led astray into sin and destruction. He was a prophet who brought the fire of truth, judgment, and purification that brought about tremendous division but also the renewal of the Second Temple and, more importantly, a renewal of faithful hearts back to God.

Jesus was not only a prophet, but he was also fiery one, as well as being our Savior and the Son of God who brought God’s Presence in a fiery love to bring about a different kind of division. When Jesus speaks of division, he is speaking of the ongoing battle between good and evil, between those who believe and follow him and those who reject him. No relationships are exempt from the possibility of division in this world. Much of the world has become evil through sin, and the evil consists of immoral people who actively exercise it and indifferent people who passively allow it. The Kingdom of God cannot have either of these. Doing good demands standing up to those who do evil and to those who allow evil to be done. It may mean opposing a leader or superior. It may mean opposing a friend or a family member for a divided household is better than a corrupt one.

Just as fire brought division in Jeremiah’s, Jesus’, and Jakub’s day – our day, it does something. It transforms. What is cold becomes hot. What is hard becomes soft. What is dirty is purified. What is hidden in darkness becomes illuminated for all to see. Many at the march and now thousands of others online, have now seen the video go viral in which Jakub stands up to those in the march with the heart of a fiery faith, hope, and love desiring conversion of heart for those who oppose Church Teaching on life, marriage, family, and sexuality.

Q: What other issues in our lives of faith are we called to stand up against? Non-medical marijuana use? Pornography? Abortion? Other issues? Have there been times when you and I have failed to stand against critical, moral issues? If we have, know the time is ripe and the opportunity is now. St. Catherine of Siena once remarked, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” Jakub Baryla, the young Polish teen has now just set the world on fire with his fiery witness, adding in an interview that he would also like to become a priest. May we allow Jesus Christ to set our world on fire with his love. Will you and I set the world on fire for Jesus Christ? Yes! Right now as we go forward locked arm and arm as brothers and sisters in Christ may we now live out our baptismal call as prophets like Jesus, like, Jeremiah, like Jakub and countless others including our cloud of witnesses – the saints, to speak God’s Word with grace and courage especially when it’s terribly uncomfortable, but to do it rooted in the fiery love of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

– Fr. Jeff

VIDEO: (Click here or on any of the above news links to view the video).

Podcast: Catholic Convert, Taylor Marshall featured on Youtube discusses event of “Polish Boy with Crucifix Blocks a March.”

• Note: I find it interesting that you can hear Madonna’s song, “Like a Prayer” playing in the background when you watch and listen to the video of Jakub’s peaceful protest at the march.

Next Week: A wonderfully and recently written Catholic document on SSA (Same-Sex Attraction) and the resources to accompany it.

Author: Fr. Jeff Allan

Biography - Fr. Jeff Allan, was ordained a Catholic priest on June 7th, 2014 for the Archdiocese of Detroit (AOD). He graduated from Adrian College in 2001 with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Criminal Justice. After working in the pharmaceutical sales industry for almost three years, he felt called to discern the priesthood. Before being ordained a priest, Fr. Jeff was blessed to receive three degrees from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. They include a Bachelor of Philosophy, Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (STB), and a Master of Divinity (Theology). His assignments in the U.S. have included serving at multiple parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit as an associate pastor and currently as a weekend assistant. Fr. Jeff is certified as a hospital chaplain through ACPE (Association for Clinical Pastoral Education). He has had the opportunity of serving at three Metro-Detroit Area Hospitals since 2017 where he serves in full-time ministry as a Catholic Priest and Hospital Chaplain. View all posts by Fr. Jeff Allan