Father Casimir Wyszynski

101 The Servant of Mary Immaculate valued.” 50 The Venerable Casimir enjoyed similar opinions in Rome and Portugal. He was regarded as a man fully dedicated to God and faithfully realizing the ideal of both Christian and reli- gious life. This found confirmation in the decree testifying to his heroic virtues of December 21, 1989, which was proclaimed as the result of a lengthy examination of Father Casimir’s documents and written works: “It is considered certain that the Venerable Casimir of Saint Joseph Wyszyński practiced to a heroic degree the theological virtues of faith, hope and love of God and of his neighbor, as well as the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, tem- perance and fortitude along with their related virtues.” 51 There- fore, let us now trace the development of Father Casimir’s spiritual life, especially his practice of the theological virtues of faith, hope and love. It is possible to speak of a triple analogy between aman’s nat- ural and spiritual life. A person cannot come into being all by him- self, but is brought into the world through parents. To grow he requires a gratuitous and unbiased love. Finally, to attain the full maturity of a free person capable of love, he must learn to love others. The spiritual life of a person progresses through similar stages. First, this life is initiated by God’s goodness and love. God is the Onewho endows a personwith life and a share in the divine nature, andwho establisheswith a person a community of friend- ship. This stage begins with the sacrament of Baptism, in which one receives—along with the grace of sanctification—a new su- pernatural dynamism that enables him to cooperate in a volun- tary and conscientious manner with God’s grace. At that time, in making his life’s daily choices, a person is gifted to draw from the power of God Himself. 52 A Christian’s spiritual life consists of a personal relationship between God and the person, which is initiated, supported and deepened exclusively by the grace of God. We call this a spiritual 50 W. Magnuszewski, Żywot … , 49. 51 Dekret o heroiczności cnót , in: Stróż duchowego dziedzictwa marianów …, 11. 52 J.W. Gogola, OCD, Teologia komunii z Bogiem , Kraków 2001, 21-22; Ch. A. Bernard, Wprowadzenie do teologii duchowości , Kraków 1996, 55.