Lest You Remain

from man and you won’t leave him anything.’ Love is the soul, light, and life of the Religious Life and of each human association.” Those words can be seen as Fr. Founder’s spiritual testament left to his confreres. In light of the above narrative, let’s take a look at the widespread rumor about the Servant of God as a man and religious of extreme severity in the observance of excessive ascetic practices, a rigorist demanding strict adherence to religious rules. This image of Fr. Stanislaus was painted by some of his Piarist superiors, and later — spread among outsiders—by his companions of the early days of the Marian commu- nity in the Korabiew Forest. It may be possible, that such an outlook on the Founder could emerge from a superficial reading of the works that Fr. Papczy<ski left behind. A closer examination of Fr. Stanislaus’s vision of the way to holiness allows the discovery of a deeply evangelical source of the ascetic program, which Fr. Papczy<ski proposed, particularly for consecrated persons. “No one can serve two masters” (Mt 6:24). Consider that there are two masters: God and the world, spir- itual and carnal desires; love of oneself and love of God. By joining the congrega- tion, you gave yourself to a better Master. Thus, you ought to declare war on the other one. Be sure that you will be given help from heaven for successfully conduct- ing this war, on one condition that you will fight properly. God gives His blessing in battle to those whom He called to combat. Thus, attack everything that is of the world, everything that belongs to evil, all that you have of self-love, or all that tries to penetrate the heart already dedicated to another Master—tear it out or thrust in away” ( Ispectio cordis ). In this perspective, the life of faith and realization of God’s calling appear as a spiritual battlefield between things of God and those of the devil; between what is holy and what is “of the world.” The ascetical means and exercises should help a religious to cleanse himself of the stains of sin and to pre- serve within himself the divine beauty. Father Stanislaus kept more fasts than his confreres did; he practiced flagella- tion more often than the rule prescribed, and he dedicated more time for night vigils. However, he did not impose any of this on his confreres. In no way did the peniten- tial directions contained in The Rule of Life go beyond the limits of the generally accepted principles of asceticism of hermits of those times (the only exception is the absolute prohibition of drinking vodka or any other hard liquors!). Those directives were not the goal in itself, but only a means of the sanctification of self; and in the case of Fr. Papczy<ski these were often the way of interceding for the others, espe- cially for the souls suffering in Purgatory, thus they were serving the greater love. We can clearly see that neither ascetic exercises nor piety, nor even the rule of the insti- tute are at the center of reflections about the road of religious perfection but the love for God and people. In his first Testament (December 9, 1692), Fr. Stanislaus wrote: “To my beloved Brothers in Christ I specifically recommend the love for God and the Biography of Fr. Stanislaus Papczy < ski 93