Lest You Remain

be called upon by pastors, and have previously obtained faculties from the Ordinaries and the Superiors.” 4 Consequently, spreading the devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the Most B.V.M. means to assist the souls of the departed and to con- duct an active apostolic work. Can it be, since Fr. Papczy<ski ’s first intent was to spread devotion to the Immaculately Conceived Virgin Mary, that those two subse- quent goals appearing at a later time—supporting the deceased and pastoral work— result from a special devotion to Mary Immaculate and are a form of spreading of this devotion, thus needing to be subordinate to it? Foundations of the devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. We do not doubt that Fr. Stanislaus Papczy<ski was a zealous venerator and imi- tator of our Blessed Mother, Immaculately Conceived. In the most difficult moments of his life he used to entrust himself to her and to fly to her maternal protection. This is a result of his deep belief in the special role that Our Lady plays in Christian life and it has been reflected in his writings. He pointed out that God’s will is for us to give ourselves with trust into Mary’s care in every circumstance of our life. 5 It is possible to assume that such convictions came from Fr. Stanislaus’s expe- rience of faith and piety learned in his family home. However, they were also a par- ticular reflection of the times, in which Fr. Founder lived, and of the Marian devo- tion practiced then by the Republic of the Two Nations. Very similar was the piety of the environment in which Fr. Papczy<ski grew up. For the Commonwealth, the 17 th century was marked by a particular Marian devotion with a strongly developed aspect of Marian enslavement and protection of Mary’s privilege of the Immaculate Conception. As a fruit of this devotion came the famous Marian vows made by King John Casimir who gave all lands under his reign into Mary’s enslavement and proclaimed her the Queen of the Republic. 6 Growing up in this particular epoch, the Marian Founder was its product and expression. He adapted for his newly estab- lished Order everything that agreed with his own concept of reading the signs of the times and matters, of which the Holy Spirit made him specifically aware. We should note that, given the circumstances, theological arguments regarding devo- tion to the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. were particularly important for him: that for centuries Mary was destined by God to become the mother of His Son and for this reason He granted her the privilege of the Immaculate Conception. L EST Y OU R EMAIN W ITHOUT W ORK IN THE V INEYARD OF THE L ORD 188 4 Ibid, I, 3. 5 Cf. Same author, Orator crucifixus, III, 11 (1670), Ed. C. Krzyzanowski, Warsaw, 1998, 35 (here and after:OC); same author, Templum Dei Mysticum XX, 159 (1675), Ed. C. Krzyzanowski, MIC, Warsaw, 1998 (here and after: TDM). 6 J. Misiurek, Historia i teologia poslkiej duchowo>ci katolickiej (History and theology of Polish Catholic spirituality).