Lumen 2018

taken from the text of the Mass for the day, or a commentary based on some truth of the faith, a vow, or a virtue appropriate to religious life. The daily meditations for the morning encourage the reader to ponder the Lord’s Passion, those for the evening — the ultimate things. There are also two other meditations for each day — one, be- fore receiving the Eucharist and another, after receiving the Eucharist. Father Papczynski’s principal reference in writing Inspectio cordis was the Holy Scriptures, which he quotes or refers to all the time. As can be seen from the note on the title page, Fr. Papczynski wrote Inspectio hastily. This is the reason why, in his commentaries, he usually limited himself to what he could quote from memory or what he carried in his heart. But, by the same token, Inspectio is a very original work — a fruit of its author’s rich personal reflection upon the word of God. He shared these reflections with his favorite former confreres whom he continued to love and respect till the end of his life. His goal, as he wrote Inspectio , was to help the Piarist brethren to reap rich spir- itual benefits from the Eucharist. This extraordinary spiritual director was well qualified to minister not only to simple folk and the religious, but also to dignitaries, both from among the clergy and the laity. It is no wonder that one of them was a king. Contacts with the Victor of Vienna Father Papczynski shared a special bond of friendship with King John III Sobieski. The monarch was an educated man, but, accord- ing to the standards of those times, not very young, for at the time of his election he was 45 years old and not in very good health. He was an excellent leader, most likely the most prominent soldier who occupied the Polish throne. He dedicated most of his reign to the war with Turkey. He crushed the Tartar units with great success and forced the Turkish army marching on Lvov to retreat. In 1677, he signed a truce with Turkey at Zurawno (Zorawno), freeing Poland from the humiliating tribute imposed by the Turks at Buczacz. 228 315 Foundation of a New Religious Order