George Matulaitis Journal

36 inspirations? Why not learn all we can from others? We can appropriate something useful from practically everyone. Why not study their Constitutions, Rules, Directives, etc.? What experience, what spirit, what supernatural light can we not find there? Let us take note of how lay people create and develop their institutions. They not only travel all around Europe, but often tour the United States as well in order to study how similar institutions are set up and operated. If they happen to see something useful in another country, they immediately try to adapt the idea at home, taking into account local circumstances and conditions. Why not follow their example, as we try to improve the internal organization, structure and order of our own Community? Our Congregation, then, should never hold back, but devote the best, the most devout, wisest, most talented, and capable people to foster and perfect it as a living organism. The most suitable people should be selected to teach the novices and to direct young religious, etc. And so, I think it is a good idea to visit other Communities, to examine their life, to discuss what we ourselves can emulate in order to avoid all kinds of difficulties and problems. For this reason we should not burden novice masters and house superiors with incidental, peripheral duties so that they would be able to devote themselves solely to the service of the Community. After that comes our concern about our work and the institutions operated by the Congregation. Here too the principle of continual progress and perfection should be applied so that in our work we would not be inferior to secular people, but, wherever possible, might even surpass them and serve as good examples for them. October 24 It is important to begin a thing at the right point: we need to grasp the essence of what we hope to accomplish. That is why we must first look at our goal, at the heart of the the matter, and then, after due considera- tion decide whether this goal is good and desirable. After that we can worry about eliminating obstacles and finding the best means to achieve what we want. A person often tends to defer attaining spiritual perfection or even neglects it altogether when faced with an opportunity of doing something