Lumen 2018

inspired them to the practice of the Christian virtues. He was an ex- cellent spiritual director. He knew that the lack of faith in the salva- tion of the soul is man’s real tragedy. He knew that living without God and being exposed to the risk of eternal damnation is man’s greatest misery. One could almost hear the tears in his ardent words. He taught those Christians, who often lived outside God’s grace, how to hold their low inclinations in control, how to avoid sin, i.e., improperly used freedom, how to open their souls to God’s presence through prayer, and how to avail themselves of God’s mercy through penance and through the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin Mary. When the retreat was over, Fr. Stanislaus went to the parish church in Chojnata where he preached a special sermon on the feast of St. Martin (November 11, 1673). Before ascending the pulpit to deliver his sermon, he spent some time in prayer. As he was engrossed in it, he saw, in ecstasy, a victory of the Polish army led by Sobieski over the Turks at Chocim, a victory which actually took place on that very day. Moved by some inner impulse, he immediately shared this joyful news with the faithful gathered in great numbers before the mirac- ulous image of the Blessed Mother. He encouraged the faithful to continue to offer their pleas to God, so that the enemies of the faith might be conquered and called them to give thanks for such a glo- rious victory. 82 How did this event, seen by Fr. Papczynski in his vi- sion before the sermon in Chojnata, 83 come about? The infamous Treaty of Buczacz sobered up a little the parties re- sponsible for Poland’s fate. They finally entered into an agreement during a session of the Diet in 1673. New taxes were approved, some of the tapestries and jewels from the collection of King Sigismund Augustus were sold, and it was possible to raise an army of forty thousand soldiers, which was to be led against the Turks by Hetman Sobieski, a man “brave as a lion.” He crushed the Turkish army on November 11, 1673, and captured its fortified camp at Chocim. 84 The night before the battle proved to be Sobieski’s ally. The Turks, used to a much warmer climate, stayed on alert in the snow S TANISLAUS P APCZYNSKI 268