George Matulaitis Journal

SPIRITUALTHEMESAND CONTEXT OF THE JOURNAL OF BLESSED GEORGE Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24 RSV Across the years covered by the journal of Blessed George — the begin- ning of the renewal of theMarians (1910) through the close of his time as bish- op of Vilnius (1925) – the imagery of death and resurrection repeats itself. The story of the grain dying in the earth only to spring up anew was a familiar one to George, the son of a poor farmer. It is a particularly rich theme that sheds light upon the life of Blessed George, and upon the diary of notes and spiritual insights he kept. I. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundredfold. (Mark 4:8 RSV) The soil of George’s life was tilled and made fertile – it became the ‘good soil’ of the parable. TheWhite Marians of Marijampole baptized George and instructed him in the Catholic faith. His parents’ hard work and genuine faith gave both good example and firm support to the work of God in his heart. His poor health kept him humble yet inquisitive. What he lacked in physical agility, he more than made up for in intellectual wonder. George’s priest-uncle led him to the world of education and of spiritual development. His seminary studies in Warsaw and St. Petersburg, along with his ever deepening spiritual life, prepared him for the graces of his ordi- nation and stirred in him a hunger to serve his Lord after the example of the great apostle Paul. The familiar scriptural passages about the dying grain became all the more familiar and meaningful in the context of George’s own lived experi- ence. After his return from doctoral studies in Fribourg, Switzerland, his health problems – always a part of his life’s trials – became even more seri- ous. It appeared that this was the moment of death. He went to Transfiguration Hospital (the name is perhaps significant) in Warsaw’s Praga district. Without financial resources, he suffered alone and without a doctor’s care in the general ward. He wrote to his spiritual direc- 13