Lumen 2018

Prognostics In the history of Fr. Papczynski’s childhood, one can find certain prognostics of his future life as a religious and a priest. When he was a child, he liked to play “holy games” with his friends. He was deeply devoted to the Blessed Mother and turned to her trustingly in his daily pious practices as well as in various needs. Father Papczynski saw the edifying influence of Divine Providence in various events and circumstances of his life. Some of his biographers shared this con- viction, and, as they wrote about his life, they gladly drew parallels between him and some biblical figures. They compared him to Lot fleeing Sodom, when he finally fled from the advances of the demor- alized teacher in Nowy Sacz. 57 John Papczynski’s penance and con- fession of sins in Secreta Conscientiae resemble the conversion of St. Augustine and his Confessions . 58 Father Papczynski never forgot his moments of infidelity and referred to himself as “Stanislaus the sin- ner,” which really expresses his heroic humility. 59 His own spiritual drama prepared him well for the work of helping sinners and freeing them from the power of Satan. Yet another drama that took place during Fr. Papczynski’s stay in Lvov, when he was very ill for a long period of time, bears resemblance to the story of the biblical Lazarus. 60 Those events formed Fr. Papczynski as a future intercessor for the souls in Purgatory and taught him to be merciful towards the sick and the poor. The times when the future Founder of the Marians tended his father’s sheep in good or bad weather bring to mind, the figure of David, a shepherd and a king, 61 and we do remember that Fr. Papczynski was a true shepherd of souls. One of the more telling signs announcing little Johnny as a future teacher and the author of various important publications was the miraculous awakening of his mental abilities. Although at first he did not show any talent for studies and seemed to lag behind his class- mates, he experienced an awakening of his intellectual powers one day, after he had begged God and prayed to Mary to intercede for him and obtain for him the gift of understanding. He did receive this gift and its first evidence was the fact that, all of a sudden, Johnny S TANISLAUS P APCZYNSKI 430