Ad Honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Oblatio

150 Calvary, who was crucified naked and publicly humiliated (cf. Matthew 23; Hebrews 13:12). The danger is nothing short of the danger which Jesus time and again indicated in regard to the Pharisees: an adherence to the written law without being caught up in the inner movement of the law, namely, total self-gift in love (cf. Gal 5:14). 37 Such a difference stems from the inca- pacity to live the total detachment proposed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the First Principle and Foundation in choosing God alone as the final goal. 38 This manifests itself often in subtle manners, primarily in unwillingness to surrender and obey: 39 for example, in the unwillingness to surrender a par- ticular apostolate or to be sent abroad; quoting the constitutions on pov- erty to justify retaining possessions in an attached, disordered manner; 40 living the vow of chastity as mere abstinence, rather than as fullness of love for Christ and the Church (cf. Eph 5:25). Total self-giving entails giving up what is called one’s “comfort zone” of personal expectations and customs, so as to be continually called forth from our homeland like Abraham (cf. Gen 12:1-2) and leave all to follow Jesus like the first disciples (cf. Mt 4:18- 22; Mk 1:16-20; Lk 5:1-11). What results is a certain minimalist attitude of maintaining the status quo (sometimes hidden behind an inordinate desire for being conservative and orthodox in theology) without entering into the dynamic of the first paragraph, namely, a radical and continuous conversion demanded by the Gospel for the sake of total gift of self that lasts until the end of life in the concrete manner of the evangelical counsels. 41 It is important to remember that Stanislaus, while being faithful to the teaching of the Church (as indi- cated in paragraph four of the Oblatio ), nevertheless fulfills the prophetic function of a religious in going beyond the written doctrine of the Church 37 Cf. Curtis Martin and Edward Sri, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of Matthew, Commentary for Matthew 5:20. 38 Cf. Spiritual Exercises, n. 23. Cf. John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, I.11.4, on the image of the bird that is withheld from flying by a large chain or by a thin thread, as a symbol of attachment that prevents total transformation for His glory. Cf. Bl. George Matulaitis, Spiri- tual Diary (Stockbridge, MA 2003), p. 31, entry for 13 October, 1914: “Let God and His glory be the axis of my life.” 39 Cf. Wejrzenie w Głąb Serca, O potrzebie rachunku sumienia z cnót , p. 985, and O posłusze- ństwie , p. 987, in: Pisma Zebrane. 40 Cf. Wejrzenie w Głąb Serca, O cnocie ubóstwa , p. 994 and O tej samej cnocie ubóstwa , p. 996, in: Pisma Zebrane. 41 EE, II.16: “There is also the willing undertaking of a life of radical and continuous conver- sion as demanded by the Gospel, further specified in the content of each of the vows.”