Father Casimir Wyszynski

176 T ADEUSZ R OGALEWSKI , MIC, P H D portance of imitating the Blessed Virgin Mary. In a circular letter of 1740, he wrote: “Like a plant that takes root, the vows made on the Rule of The Ten Virtues of the Blessed VirginMary Immac- ulately Conceived should radiate, blossom, and bear fruit in our Marian hearts. For it is not in words but in reality and in truth that we must imitate and live out the virtues of the Most Elect Virgin mentioned in our Rule. I encourage all Marians to inhale the sweetest aroma of these virtues. 265 It seems impossible to overemphasize Father Wyszyński as an example of the precise observance of religious regulations and of zeal in acquiring virtue. In fulfilling numerous offices, he was characterized by a wealth of spiritual and intellectual attributes. As the Superior General, he greatly contributed to improving the customs and repairing the damages caused by the pernicious in- fluence of moral decay that prevailed in Polish society in the Saxon era. In an era lacking reasonable transportation, he formed his confreres by means of circular letters, guiding them and set- tling various disputes. His letters prove his conscientious care and love for his subordinates, whomhe encouraged to be guided by the rules and live together in peace. In the first letter after his election to the office of Superior Gen- eral (often titled then as “rector general”), he wrote to his confr- eres: “By the unfathomable mercy of God [cf. Rom 12:1], I am begging you in a fatherlymanner to be ready and pure and right- eous for the coming of Jesus Christ, our Judge [cf. Tt 2:13]. I wholeheartedly recommend the complete observance of reli- gious discipline, submission to superiors, fraternal love, and ful- fillment of previous and current decrees of the Chapter.” 266 He wrote the second circular letter, announcing the general visitation, in an eschatological spirit borrowed from the Founder: “I fervently desire the salvation of all entrusted to my fatherly care, for we are but temporary sojourners on this earth on our 265 Circular letter of June 10, 1740, in: Stróż duchowego dziedzictwa mari- anów … , 177. 266 Circular letter of December 23, 1737, in: Ibid, 170.