Ad Honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Oblatio

180 the Blessed Virgin Mary , to which Fr. Casimir communicated a profound theological basis in his Foreword to the translation of Morning Star . The above statement finds confirmation in one of the testimonies giv- en by Fr. Charles Hondlewski, who emphasized Fr. Casimir’s special bond with Fr. Papczyński and stated that Fr. Casimir’s imitatio Mariae had be- come indeed a model for others: “admitted to the Marian Order, he dedi- cated himself entirely to works of piety and the practice of virtue. He living according to the Rule of the Ten Virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary in such a way, that he was given to all as an example of mastering one’s senses, piety, and obedience. He was so seasoned in vigils, fasting, mortifications, prayers and the observance of his Order’s regulations, that he was regarded as a true [spiritual] son of the Venerable Servant of God Stanislaus.” 12 The Marian Founder placed Jesus Christ at the center of the concept of imitation. This does not mean that he did not promote the imitatio Mariae even prior to the acceptance of the Rule of the Ten Virtues at the end of his life, because he gave Jesus’ Mother as a model to follow for his brothers. It was Mary whom he called in his writings “a special Patroness and Advo- cate” ( Patronam et Advocatam singularem 13 ) and made her a model of life ( imitatio Mariae ) for future generations of Marians. In Fr. Stanislaus’s written works, the term “imitation” referred both to the following Christ, His actions and His entire life, as well as the imita- tion of other people and attitudes and virtues, for which purpose he used the Latin words imitare or sequor in appropriate [grammatical] forms. In his Rule of Life , the author repeatedly exhorted his confreres to “imitate [Christ]” ( Christi imitari ) 14 ; while writing about poverty, he indicated that the religious should rejoice upon finding themselves in the state of “utmost poverty” ( summa paupertas ), because “then they can be true disciples and followers of Christ the Lord” 15 ( veri Christi Domini discipuli et sequaces ). The concept of imitating Mary also appears in Fr. Stanislaus’s writings, which gained its special place with the acceptance of the Rule of the Ten Vir- tues of the Blessed Virgin Mary . Although the adjustment of the Rule to the Marian statutes was made after the Founder’s death, yet from the moment 12 K. Hondlewski, Świadectwo o gorliwym marianinie, in: Najstarsze świadectwa o Słudze Bożym o. Kazimierzu Wyszyńskim , transl. and ed. by Z. Proczek, Warszawa–Stockbridge 2005, p. 79. 13 S. Papczyński, The Crucified Orator , Stockbridge, 2014, p. 37. 14 S. Papczyński, The Rule of Life, in: MIC Library at padrimariani.org , p. 16. 15 Ibid, p. 18.