George Matulaitis Journal

I questioned him whether he is able to understand the lectures and if they are of any use to him. Usually, I made it a point to ask each seminarian to tell me something about life at the seminary so I could get a better idea about the situation there. On March 21st Alexander Syczewski, who hails from the Naugardukas 1 area, served Mass. When I asked if he was a Belorussian, he answered that he could be whatever anyone wanted him to be—a Belorussian or a Pole. It was clear that he did not dare commit himself to any nationality. These are trivial things, but they do reveal the educational methods of the seminary. On March 22nd Leonas Eidimtas, who comes from Plunge, was here to serve Mass. He also was reluctant to say outright what nationality he belonged to, but admitted only that he knew both Polish and Lithuanian. In fact, he spoke Lithuanian very well. He is a real Samogitian, 2 but at the seminary he did not dare own up to being Lithuanian. This educational policy is unsound and harmful to the development of a person’s character. I told them all: “Look here; after all, you can be whatever nationality you want to be, but you should have the heart of a priest- apostle and when you are assigned to a parish, you must serve the people with dedication, adapting yourself to them and not forcing them to learn an unknown language according to your own preferences. Jesus has sent us to teach the Faith and to proclaim the Gospel, not to teach languages. Jesus has commanded us to work for the salvation of the people, not to pursue national politics by exploiting their ignorance and blindness.” In questioning the other seminarians, I took note of the fact that the seminary lacks proper discipline. For example, there is no spiritual reading during the evening meal and they do not eat at the same time, but whenever they wish. During the noonday meal there is often no reading as well; servants wait at table rather than the seminarians themselves, and so on. I have tried to acquaint myself thorough ly with 231 1 Nowogródek in Polish 2. Northwestern part of Lithuania: Zemaitija ; noted for its patriotism, conservatism, and certain regional distinctions in speech and dress.