Lumen 2018

Vincula, Flagella Peccatoris, SpineumDiadema, Onus Leve, Crux Glo- riosa, Mors Mortis . The booklet was Fr. Papczynski’s triumph over those who wanted to harm him. He mentioned his enemies in his dedicatory letter to the bishop and asked for his protection. He expressed his hope that nothing bad would happen to him in the darkness of the night be- cause the stars shining in the bishop’s coat of arms would disperse it. He could, therefore, remain at peace, just like the moon also vis- ible in the bishop’s coat of arms, and be unafraid of the pack of bark- ing dogs attacking him. The bishop, won over by this dedication and by the profundity of Fr. Stanislaus’s meditations, became more critical of the accusations against Fr. Papczynski’s Congregation. Having investigated the whole matter more carefully and without prejudice, he came to the conclu- sion that all the charges were unfounded. 263 Once again, Fr. Papczyn- ski saw that clouds come, clouds go, and heaven remains. Once again, his work was saved. But this was a serious warning for him, and he realized how important it was to find better protection, in case some- thing similar should happen in the future. It became absolutely nec- essary to obtain papal approbation, so as not to be dependent on the Ordinary’s changing will. Father Papczynski was going to make efforts to secure such ap- probation for one other reason, namely, to obtain for the Marians the right to take solemn vows, which, he hoped, might stop the ever more frequent departures from the Congregation because the simple vows did not have, at least in the opinion of some moral theologians, as strong a binding power as solemn vows. According to this inter- pretation, solemn vows were considered to be absolutely binding, i.e., they were for always and it was not possible to obtain a dispen- sation from them. A religious who took such vows was convinced that they were irrevocable. The simple vows were not considered to be irrevocable. They were believed to be a simple promise, from which one could be released. 264 S TANISLAUS P APCZYNSKI 328