Lumen 2018

CHAPTER III AT THE CROSSROADS M ISUNDERSTANDINGS The variety of duties that Fr. Stanislaus Papczynski fulfilled in the Order of the Piarist Fathers points to his extraordinary personality. It would seem that such a talented religious, who served his congregation in so many important areas and who lived such a profound spiritual life, would be appreciated and accepted by all the members of the com- munity. Yet, during the time of Fr. Papczynski’s most intense activity in the congregation, a conflict began to grow between him and some of his confreres. He suffered much unpleasantness from it. But suffer- ing is an inescapable part of human life and sometimes the only key to the understanding of things that matter in life, why should it spare Fr. Stanislaus, then? The misunderstandings began in 1664 and concerned religious observance. In Defense of Religious Observance The lowering of the standard of religious life usually takes place in connection with a general decline of religious life, and in those days it was far from perfect. Poland was going through a period of religious and political changes. It was a time of tumultuous events, material poverty affected a large part of the population, churches and monasteries were being destroyed. This chaos affected the spiritual life of the faithful, including that of religious. The crisis did not spare the Piarist Fathers, either. Perhaps the fact that the congregation was only in its early stage of development could serve as some justifica- tion. Its spirit was not yet fully formed, which was particularly no-