George Matulaitis Journal

108 care to foster it within ourselves. We must be careful to remain the representatives of the spiritual life, of the Church, and of the Gospel, and not of some peripheral concerns or aims. As far as studies are concerned, he advised us to make sure that our students are well grounded in philosophy. Without this foundation, theology and the other sciences, especially the positive sciences, will be suspended in the air, as it were. In theology, it is best to follow St. Thomas Aquinas. Father Ledóchowski also spoke about the asceticism practiced in our country. He said that it is not very healthy and is distorted by sentimentality. He explained this as being partly due to the political situation in Poland—its oppression by Russia. I replied that we shall make every effort to ground our asceticism on the solid foundation of philosophy and theology. I also added that we intend to take good care to avoid any nationalistic, political, or social overtones in our Congregation, and to make it a truly catholic, religious institution, dedicated to the service of God and of His Church. I had many other questions to ask him, but did not want to take up any more of his time. When we have more experience and new questions crop up, it is a good idea to consult with the Jesuits once again—and also with other exemplary religious communities. 2. I also brought up some matters pertaining to the Academy, for which I also came here, about the report prepared by Father Kakowski. I tried to point out that the Decree put out by the Congregation of Studies is, in many instances, impossible to implement because of present conditions: it is impossible to introduce physics and astronomy. In our conversation with Father Ledóchowski it became clear an entirely different project had been proposed for the reform of the Academy. It had taken into account the guidelines set up for the Academy by Czar Nicholas I. 1 But somehow things got confused, and the outcome was quite different. We talked for some time about the Academy. I stayed with Father Ledóchowski for over an hour. He advised me to be sure to see His Eminence, Cardinal Vives y Tuto, about our Congregation and, in general, to make an appear- ance before the prefect of the Congregation for Religious. He gave me a 1 In 1847, the Czar had signed a concordat with Pope Gregory XVI according to which the Theological Academy of St. Petersburg was founded and guidelines provided for its operation.