Lest You Remain

nity whose task was to let the light through so that people, looking upon it, can admire the beauty of its spiritual reality. The Holy Spirit found in Fr. Stanislaus a man who gave Him his heart so that the Holy Spirit may imprint on it the seal of a new congregation. Father Stanislaus’s spiritual experience reflects the dramatic events in creation of this new community within the Church: at its conception (in Fr. Stanislaus’s heart), at its birth (troubles with starting the work), and at its growth (obstacles on its road). Let’s recall Fr. Stanislaus’s own words who thus describes the beginnings of the Marian religious community: “Several were the Orders of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary that invited me into their midst, me—a person longing for perfection. However, the vision that has been impressed upon my soul as to founding the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary caused that, after rejecting all proposals, along with those of returning to the Piarists, led me to its goal.” “I was living at the house of this nobleman, P. Karski, for almost two years and I was seeking ways to establish the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception that has been already formed in my soul by the Holy Spirit . However, I did not have companions needed to start out such a great work. Although there were candidates from among the laity and religious, I was afraid to let them join for virtue was not clearly visible in them, and besides, there was no room.” Let’s note the words: “the vision that has been impressed upon my soul”. He speaks about the “vision” which defined the specific features of the new religious community: its identity and place within the Church—all this that we call today “The Founder’s charism.” This charism is a gift from the Holy Spirit, which Fr. Stanislaus generously discerns with fear and trepidation in his “soul.” He sees this gift as being “imprinted” in a manner of a seal being placed on a document in order to make it valid. The one who placed this seal on Fr. Stanislaus’s soul was the Holy Spirit, which means that the mission that He assigns comes from God. If God seals a man with the Holy Spirit (cf. Eph 1:13), thus He officially takes him into His pos- session. Father Stanislaus receives a new task of bringing to existence within the Church what was initiated in his soul, in other words: to become the Father Founder of a new religious community. Since the seal is a certain kind of a “signature” that warrants for the document’s validity, Fr. Stanislaus can be sure that all his efforts made in conformity with his inner vision are true and expected by God. *** Father Stanislaus’s example teaches us to be sensitive to the movements of the Holy Spirit. It reminds us first that we all have received an imprint of God already in the sacrament of holy baptism, which the Fathers of the Church call a “holy inde- L EST Y OU R EMAIN W ITHOUT W ORK IN THE V INEYARD OF THE L ORD 214