Father Casimir Wyszynski

152 J ANUSZ K UMALA , MIC, P H D As a result of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Father Casimir foresees the rise of those who “are willing to imitate the Blessed Mother’s evangelical virtues.” This would most certainly include members of the Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, founded by St. Joan de Valois upon the Rule of the Ten Evan- gelical Virtues of the Blessed VirginMary, and similarly the Order of Marians which adapted the aforesaid Rule, and its Founder, St. Stanislaus Papczyński, for it “was God who called his servant [… ] to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” 184 Moreover, we ought to see it as the fulfillment of God’s will that many of the ordinary faithful undertook the practice of imitating Mary: “God prompts and invites not just themembers of the aforementioned Orders, but also many others from among the faithful to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” 185 because “God gave [them] for this purpose.” 186 The practice of Mary’s virtues must be understood as part of God’s plan for our salvation. It is not enough to focus on “obtaining virtue” without correlating it to God’s work within us. Human ef- fort alone is insufficient for attaining virtue, because—as Father Casimir clearly states—“Virtues come fromGodwho helps all who truly seek Him to do good, no matter where they may be.” 187 The Venerable Servant of God realized that God’s grace had primacy in the spiritual life of human beings but also required their coop- eration. In this light he seesMarywho “advanced in virtue thanks to God’s grace, not her own power, but with her cooperation through diligence and hardwork.” 188 Therefore, it is impossible to treat the path of imitating Mary’s virtues as some sort of self-im- 184 Ibid. Cf. Ph. Annaert, Le père Gabriel-Marie Nicolas et l’héritage de Jeanne de France , in: Jeanne de France et l’Annonciade (Actes du colloque international de l’Institut catholique de Paris, 13-14 mars 2002) , Ed. D. Dinet, P. Moracchini, M.E. Portebos, Paris 2004, 27-64; A. Pakuła, MIC, La ‘Règle des dix plaisirs de la bienheureuse Vierge Marie ‘dans l’histoire de la Congrégation des Pères Mariens , ibid, 401-410; A. Mączyński, MIC, Koronka dziesięciu cnót NMP. Dawna modlitwa marianów , “Immaculata” 25 (1988) No. 4, 55-62. 185 C. Wyszyński, Foreword to Morning Star , 26. 186 Ibid, 30. 187 Ibid, 22. 188 Ibid, 28.