Lumen 2018

Health Regained In his terrible illness, Papczynski was like the biblical Lazarus, and he literally experienced the very same thing that Lazarus did when, according to the account given in the Holy Scriptures, the household dogs came to him meekly and licked his wounds, thus bringing him relief in his suffering. And, this was the reason why Johnny eventually recuperated. Based on the testimony given by Johnny himself in Sec- reta Conscientiae , Fr. Wyszynski expressed a conviction that this was exactly the medicine ( medicina ) that helped in this miraculous heal- ing — after some time the scabies and the sores completely disap- peared. 124 God guides human lives in mysterious ways and, in the fullness of time, He comes to our aid, often in a surprisingly simple manner. At that time, a few of Papczynski’s fellow villagers from Podegrodzie arrived in Lvov to buy fish for the approaching Lent. Through them, Johnny’s father sent him some money. It helped him to regain some of his strength and to extricate himself from the ex- treme poverty that he had been in. He soon felt as if he had been re- born and thanked God for rescuing him. He began a new life, commending himself to God’s goodness and to the protection of the Blessed Mother. Upon their return home, the men who visited Johnny Papczynski in Lvov, told his father about everything that his son had experi- enced. Thomas Papka sent a horse and a wagon in order to bring Johnny home. But Johnny’s body was still weak from the previous illness and, on his return journey home, he came down with a high fever again. He had to stop at Sedziszow which was about 100 kilo- meters away from Podegrodzie. Soon, yet another man sent by Johnny’s father arrived and finally brought the young man home. The joy of the old father and the worried mother was boundless. With tears in their eyes they both welcomed their son whom they thought they had lost. Johnny remained home under their care for about four weeks 125 and completely regained his strength. During the young Papczynski’s stay in Lvov, the eastern borders of the Republic of Poland stood in flames. 69 Stanislaus Papczynski’s Childhood and Youth