Lest You Remain

secondly, to give practical advice, that could help one to keep this vow in an even more pure way. And here he states with determination, that each person has a nat- ural and at the same time “ a well hidden lust for knowledge and yearning for pos- sessions”. These aspirations are not the tool of some singular person, but they encompass all spheres. And because of this, there exists a real danger of “ entan- gling our thoughts” in worldly affairs, rather than in “ spiritual affairs” . With free will “instead of pushing away all yearnings for possessions” and “ reaching out for ” Christ, one can be drawn into the errors of “greedfor riches”. Rather than “ cling- ing ” to feelings and yearnings for the “O ne Good”, one can cling to things already formed. Papczy<ski states that, only in “ owning nothing, one owns everything”, for God is everything . 12 In summarizing the thoughts of Founder Father with respect to the three vows of: chastity, poverty and obedience, one must underline how frequently he referred to and mentioned the taking of the vows and to the vows themselves, which gives an indication of how much importance he placed on them. By simply reminding our- selves, they take on the character of deepening the initial act of our subservience to God, 13 and also mobilizing us to persevere in the search for perfect love. By remind- ing us of the evangelical and supernatural roots of our vows, for they have their source in the grace of the Holy Spirit, this ensures us that he places religious voca- tions in a theological context, allowing them to be viewed in a deeply spiritual way. Fr. Andrzej Paku = a, M.I.C. L EST Y OU R EMAIN W ITHOUT W ORK IN THE V INEYARD OF THE L ORD 230 12 Inspectio cordis , k. 71-72, 138, 164-166. 13 Although in Inspectio cordis there is no direct referral to a tradition existing within the Church for frequent or even daily renewal of religious vows, however, in Norma vitae (ch. V, 6) Father Founder obligates the Marians to this practice, speaking thus : “So that you will be mindful of your vocation, and avid for the rewards prepared for those who loyally struggle until death, each day renew your vows privately before the Blessed Sacrament.”