199 concern for the beauty and the holiness of a soul, fi nally his humble carrying his many crosses… it is impossible to name everything that’s been shown to me through the meditations. And fi nally, as a beatifi cation gift, we received the entire collected works of Fr. Papczyński in Polish—Pisma zebrane. The preparations for the beatifi cation gathered many priests and brothers together, including those from outside of the Congregation, many lay people; they have all created a large family of people helping one another. About a month after the beatifi cation, I met Bishop Edward Nowak at the Vatican. He recognized me at once and called out: “Greetings to the Marians! Your beatifi cation was a masterpiece.” Undoubtedly, we have done a great deal of work both organizationally and fi nancially, and it reverberated widely. I ask myself: what is the beatifi cation to me? But fi rst, I will tell you what hurts me. In spite of the fact that the beatifi cation has taken place, and we are about to enter the year of 100th Jubilee of the Congregation’s renewal, several of our confreres have left. People who are dear to me are leaving. These are my confreres, colleagues with whom I studied, received my priestly ordination; one of them is my friend who I grew up with and then worked with in Germany. They are leaving. I ask you: Why? Naturally, the beatifi cation is not a protective armor or a shield meant to keep the Marians safe in some artifi cial manner. It is, as it always has been—an invitation. I understand it as an invitation to my personal conversion, to be faithful, to open myself to the grace of God, to become involved ever more strongly in [the service of] “Pro Christo et Ecclesia.” These departures pain me greatly and I know that they bring about a deep human crisis. I ask myself: how can we help these people? How to embrace them with our solicitude? Without doubt, this is the worry of all governments, all superiors who give serious thoughts to their confreres. What our community is living by has been already discussed by Frs. Marek Szczepaniak and Zbigniew Piłat, and I put my signature under it. Yes, we are sinners. The only consolation is that the Lord keeps us in His unwavering care and great love, that He is not discouraged and still allows us to explore new “sides” of grace. I trust that the beatifi cation of our Founder will help us to discover the values of the communal life, of the priestly and religious life in the Marian community. I believe that it will open our eyes to the needs of our confreres and that Blessed Father Stanislaus’s intercession will teach us to respond to the “signs of the times.” Father Stanislaus, help us in conversion! And you, [my confreres,] who are called to care for us by the power of your various offi ces, be patient with us.
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