2023-04-28 08:29:20
It is a beautiful symbolic coincidence that St. Parish priest Rolandas Bičkauskas, organist Roma Ruočkienė and church administrator Virginija Lukoševičienė celebrate their birthdays almost together. So last Sunday, at the end of St. During the mass, the wish of “God’s blessing” and “Longest years” sounded in the church.
The apostolic blessing of Pope Francis was presented to Roma Ruočkiena by the Vicar General of the Kaišiadori Diocese, Rolandas Bičkauskas, the parish priest of Jiezno.
Roma Ruočkiene’s birthday is a jubilee. On this occasion, she also received a special greeting – the apostolic blessing of Pope Francis. The letter sent from the Vatican reads: “His Holiness Francis sincerely conveys his apostolic blessing to ROMA RUOCKIEN on the occasion of her 60th birthday and conveys it to the members of her family and to all those who share her thanks to the Lord for this event and other good things.” And I wish her health, peace of mind and all other good things and the constant protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary”.
Therefore, this apostolic blessing, according to me and the birthday girl herself, is intended not only for her, her family, but also for all the people who are close to her and who walk the path of life together. And that road, by the way, also shines with particularly bright colors. This is the path of music and teacher. At the beginning of her work, she was a teacher at Jiezno secondary school, now there are several
Roma Ruočkienė – with the choristers of the Jiezno church.
decades – at the “Žiburis” gymnasium in Prienai. A teacher in the Birštonas cultural center “Raskilos” folklore ensemble, which she directs, and a teacher in the Jiezno church.
For the first time, Roma Ruočkienė played the organ of the church in her hometown back in 1993, so with a break of a few years, she has been delighting the locals with her singing and music for the third decade.
Aren’t you tired, as you can guess? And where are the various projects, festivals, contests, other altruistic activities. There was a time when she went to rehearsals in Vilnius. She traveled because her former students from “Žiburisi” gymnasium who became students really wanted to sing.
She guesses and doesn’t get tired, because for almost 40 years she can’t tell where her work is and where her free time is.
– I am very happy that I still want to learn and understand what has not been seen or known, that I am interested in both traditional music and various creative pursuits. And if you can find like-minded people? After all, both the teacher and the team leader are guides, worthless without a team that goes together. They – students, ensemble members, colleagues, singers – are my fellow travelers on the musical and life path. Simultaneously striving and 
achieving, – says Roma Ruočkienė, being happy about the students’ genuine desire to sing.
She is also grateful to the members of the “Raskila” ensemble who love authentic folk songs and trust her, and to the singers of the Jiezno church, who also support new searches. This is also evidenced by the evaluation of HE Bishop of Kaišiadori, Jonas Ivanauskas. During a recent visit to the parish of Jiezno, the bishop was happy that some hymns can be heard in such a beautiful way only in the church of Jiezno.
…Every year of a person’s life is a great asset, interesting with everyday life, new experiences, successes, failures, losses and discoveries. Roma Ruočkienė, who celebrated her 60th birthday, also had many beautiful moments in her life. Among them – the title of Lithuanian Teacher of the Year earned in 2012, and the evaluation of the readers of “Gyvenimos” and “Birštonas versmės” when choosing the 2017 Person of the Year, and other achievements. But, in the opinion of the jubilee herself, the most important feat of her life is her children, who have been brought up and are already walking the path of life beautifully.
At the end of 2017, when we congratulated Roma Ruočkienė on the appreciation of the people of Prienai district and Birštonas region, she said that her, “…as a musician, the goal of life is to strive to make the world that surrounds us and revolves inside us more beautiful, more harmonious – like a good melody “.
So let it continue to ring, cheering and leading others forward…
Ramutė Šimukauskaitė
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