Lest You Remain

S TRONG IN F AITH S PIRITUAL B IOGRAPHY OF F R . S TANISLAUS P APCZY ˆ SKI As we await the beatification of the Venerable Servant of God, Fr. Stanislaus Papczy < ski, it behooves us Marians, to once again look at his life and works. Since the chronicles of our Founder’s life are generally well known, we will concentrate on certain aspects of his “spiritual biography” following the intuition of his first biographers—Fr. Mansueto Leporini, a Franciscan, and Fr. Casimir Wyszy < ski, a Marian—who convincingly characterized him as a holy man. Let us again try to discover the signs of his supernatural faith, as well as his likeness to Christ and Mary, the most perfect disciple. The 300-year wait for the recognition by the Church of Fr. Papczy < ski’s holi- ness may on the one hand, rise questions about its merit and “ability to influence” but on the other hand, it shows the enduring conviction of believers, that we are dealing with a holy man, who inspires new generations through the example of his life and the merit of his works. What does Father Founder’s life and spirituality say to us Marians today? The Experiencing of Divine Providence Father Stanislaus Papczy < ski’s life was above all an experience of the living God, present in human history, near to the person, of the God, who reveals Himself in the mystery of the incarnation, and in the plan of salvation He shows each one His redeeming love. He wrote of this : “God’s love for men is so great, that neither the tongue of men nor angles is able to express it, and the mind cannot comprehend it. Even if you would dismiss other acts of love and even if nothing else had been revealed to us other than this, that for the salvation of all mankind God ordained to give as a burnt offering, His only Son, and actually did this, this would in itself be suf- ficient proof of an infinite, selfless, and unfathomable love” ( Inspectio cordis ). Father Founder recognized this gratuitous love of God the Father, in the events of his life through many signs of Divine Providence. His first biographies (the trustworthiness of which has been validated during Fr. Papczy < ski’s beatification process) evidence the conviction of the witnesses his life, that God Himself cher-