Lumen 2018

family atmosphere, Johnny was nurtured in goodness and practiced piety. It would be expressed in such activities as participation in the church services, decorating holy images, frequent prayer, and fasting on Saturdays. 86 His future vocation to a life of a religious and a priest manifested itself through various forms of “pious child play.” He built little altars at home similar to those that he had seen in church. With piety and love, he would sing everything that he had heard in church while imitating the priest’s voice, gestures, and demeanor. Together with his friends, he would organize religious processions in the fields and around the house. Some adults looked at all this with worry, for they feared it was a harbinger of the plague that was to come in the future. 87 Young Papczynski’s mother had the greatest influence on him as far as religious practices were concerned. It was because of her that he developed a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother, he venerated her ardently and commended himself to her care every day. He ob- tained a lot of graces through her intercession and often experienced truly miraculous Divine protection. 88 Once, after hot chicken soup was accidentally spilled on him, a large part of his body became cov- ered with burns, but, with God’s grace, the wounds healed and there was no need to seek the help of the doctors. 89 Twice he became a victim of an epidemic and became so ill that he lay unconscious, but he regained his health after having taken a drink of cold water. 90 When he was ten years old, he fell down from a high ladder and hurt himself badly. Yet, soon after, he recuperated. 91 At his family home he learned obedience, hard work, and humility, as he helped with household chores, especially with tending the sheep. It was already at that time that he was preparing for the hard- ships and discomforts of his future life. He spent a lot of time in con- tact with nature, absorbed the beauty of the world, and later shared it with other people in his writings and speeches. 92 “The little shepherd,” wrote Sydry, “gave in to the influence of the surrounding nature. The area of Podegrodzie is one of the most beautiful in our country. From the steep hills, Johnny, with his gaze 61 Stanislaus Papczynski’s Childhood and Youth