Ad Honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Oblatio

118 Importance of the Law Reading the Oblatio for the first time, without knowing Father Pap- czyński at all, one may get the impression that his attitude towards the law is too rigorous: I also promise that I will adjust my way of life to its laws, statutes and rites, and that I will never act nor permit or consent, not even indirectly, that these be in some way abolished, or changed, or that dispensation be given from them, except that a grave and lawful ne- cessity requires it. 23 Why is it so important to keep the letter of the law? The text of Another Testament shows that Saint Stanislaus understood human weakness well. Giving instructions on how to manage specific sums of money, he says: “... since many things usually are done improperly, so you need to keep the law. 24 ” Through his Oblatio , Saint Stanislaus personally undertakes the same obligation of not changing or abolishing these laws, statutes and rites, which – as we know – were about to be shaped. Father Papczyński’s intuition regarding the significance of the law can be discerned in the First Testament , where he make a strong connection between upholding the laws and something more important and more meaningful for the religious vocation: To my most dear Brothers in Christ I especially and urgently recom- mend Love for God and neighbor, a union of minds, humility, pa- tience, sobriety, modesty, a faithful fulfillment of their vocation and a constant perseverance in it, an enduring veneration of the Virgin conceived without sin, a fervent help to the Deceased, an observan- ce of religious rules, religious discipline and perfection, and always a more zealous spirit; let them remember, that for those things that they have vowed to God and to the Most Noble Virgin, a most certain and infallible reward is laid up in heaven for them. 25 23 Ibid. 24 Another Testament , in Historical Writings of Blessed Stanislaus Papczyński , Stockbridge, 2007, p. 110. 25 First Testament , in Historical Writings of Blessed Stanislaus Papczyński , Stockbridge, 2007, p. 96.