Father Casimir Wyszynski

Indeed, his love of the spiritual life, which was based on de- votion to and imitation of Mary Immaculate, prompted Father Casimir to translate and edit the work entitled Morning Star : “I chose for this book on the imitation of the evangelical virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the title of Morning Star , because I saw that nearly the whole world, plunged in anger, addictions and ig- norance of what is good and salutary, was moving away—due to error and heresy—from Christ, the Sun of Justice. As a morning star is a prelude to sunrise, so the virtues of the Virgin Mary be- come a beam of hope of reaching Christ, the Sun of Justice, for those who voluntarily practice them.” 85 The Marians were to be the ones before everyone else to endeavor following Mary’s ex- ample. Hence, announcing the general visitation, he wrote to his confreres: “Like a deeply rooted plant, the Rule of the Ten Virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculately Conceived , upon which wemake our vows, should sparkle, blossom, and bear fruit in our Marian hearts. For it is not in words, but in fact and in truth, that we must follow and practice the virtues of the Most Elect Virgin, mentioned in our Rule. I encourage all Marians to relish the sweet aroma of these virtues.” 86 While making visitation of the Marian monasteries, Father Casimir tried to inspire his confreres to a more zealous service of God and people. He asked: “Do you all follow a consistent course in spreading the honor of God and the Blessed VirginMary conceived without the stain of original sin?” The Founder of the Marians, Saint Stanislaus Papczyński was just this kind of great venerator of God and Mary. Thus, Venerable Casimir promoted his honor with great zeal, prepared his biography, and began ef- forts for his beatification. One can find numerous illustrations of Father Casimir’s spir- itual life and practice of the theological virtues in his Roman and Portuguese notes, entitled Diariusz czynności [Diary of Activities]. He asked God to help him grow in faith, hope and love: “I believe, 85 C. Wyszyński, Foreword to Morning Star , 31. 86 Circular letter of June 10, 1740, in: Stróż duchowego dziedzictwa mari- anów… , 177. 118 Z YGMUNT P ROCZEK , MIC, P H D