Lumen 2018

S TANISLAUS P APCZYNSKI 428 they suffer terribly.” Those who listened to his sermons were con- vinced that whenever he fell into an ecstasy, he would have a vision of Purgatory. Very often in his admonishments to his confreres and in his sermons to the people, he would ask with tears in his eyes that they come to the aid of the departed, claiming that there were a lot more souls in Purgatory than there were people on earth. He said that the souls in Purgatory suffered terribly as they tried to requite God’s justice. Therefore, he offered all his illnesses, sufferings, the many persecutions that he bore, fasts, mortifications, and all other pious deeds as a sacrifice for the souls in Purgatory. He continued to remind his confreres to perform deeds of mercy for the sake of the departed and to commend them to the Immaculately Conceived Blessed Virgin Mary as the Most Gracious and Most Merciful Pro- tectress of the souls in Purgatory. 48 In order to help the souls in Purgatory, Fr. Papczynski ordered his confreres to pray the rosary and the Office of the Dead every day. He also told them to offer all their merits, works, fasts, mortifica- tions, and other pious deeds for the departed, so that they might be freed from the unbearable punishments of Purgatory. 49 It was Fr. Stanislaus’s desire that special prayers be always offered for the dying and the departed confreres. Whenever any one of them was dying, he ordered everyone to gather around him at the sound of the bell, support him with prayers, and commend him to Divine Mercy. In Fr. Stanislaus’s opinion, it was the duty of the Superior to provide the ill confrere not only with medical assistance, but also with help in obtaining eternal life. This was to be accomplished by a sincere confession of sins, penance, a confession of faith, chasing the evil spirits away, commending oneself to God and to the con- fessor, piously receiving Holy Eucharist and Extreme Unction, in- voking the help of those in heaven, and placing one’s complete trust in the merits of Our Savior. 50 It was also necessary to recite other prayers that were customarily offered for the dying person and ar- dently commend his soul to God. After the person died, the body was to be washed carefully and buried within three days. It was nec-