Lest You Remain

left at once started false rumors about the Servant of God, calling him a severe and unsympathetic man. Father Stanislaus fell to such a low state of mind in regard to the realization of his mission that in 1676 he petitioned the Piarists for readmission to their Order. Only the negative response from the Superior General, which he accepted as the ultimate sign, that he conformably take the road which he had cho- sen five years earlier. Years later he would speak about the disciples uniting with the Suffering Christ: “God desires religious in His service to follow Him in suffering. They should not only courageously but also joyfully carry whatever cross put upon them. He [Jesus] thus commands us: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24). He is right, for a faithful and unusually virtuous servant stays with his Master both in joyful and hard times, in beneficial circum- stances or adverse ones. Thus, the one who follows his Master going to a feast, but hurries away from Him falling under the weight of the cross is truly deserving of the stain of infamy” ( Inspectio cordis ). The above-given examples allow us to place Father Founder among those faithful servants of the Suffering Christ. Enamored with Mary Immaculate Father Stanislaus Papczy<ski ’s first biographers gathered numerous reports of exceptional graces that poured upon him through the intercession of the Mother of God, incidents most probably recounted by the Founder himself. Let us mention at least the miraculous saving of his mother while crossing the Dunajec River, when she still carried him in her womb; or the unexpected gift of intellectual capacities granted to facilitate his school work; or special graces received during prayers and numerous recoveries from diseases. They were all expressions of Fr. Papczy<ski ’s conviction that Mary had a particular care over his life and spiritual growth. In addition, as M. Leporini first wrote in 1705, and Fr. C. Wyszy < ski noted in 1754, shortly after Fr. Papczy<ski ’s death a memory of his particular union with Mary Immaculately Conceived was very much alive among the Marians. Both sources confirm that Fr. Papczy<ski used to fly to Mary’s protection in various cir- cumstances of his life, frequently reciting this short prayer: “Immaculata Virginis Mariae Conceptio, sit nobis salus et protectio” [May the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception be our health and our protection]. It seems that the Marians perceived the spiritual makeup of their Founder through the prism of his relationship with Our Blessed Mother. In the narrative of the Founder’s birth Fr. Wyszy < ski concluded with an amazing statement: “For he was a ardent venerator and propagator of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. and later the founder of a congregation under the title of the Immaculate Conception of this extraordinary Mother of God, Mary.” Biography of Fr. Stanislaus Papczy < ski 81