212 which was tread not only by our Founder but also by these who followed in his footsteps. This strengthens us further in the belief that our sanctifi cation can be found on this path; that we can lead our lives like our Founder; that we may be guided by the same ideals and motivations that guided him and to be sure that they were right and evangelical and led him to heaven. This understanding is necessary when we recollect his life’s diffi cult moments: deliberations, tensions, doubts, even occasionally resisting his superiors. We have here one of the most important questions of the religious life: is it really possible to obtain holiness, having a diffi cult character? Because this is how Fr. Papczyński’s personality has been always interpreted. Or maybe, some of his deeds should be recognized as incendiary and unacceptable within a religious community. Having freshly done the work of coming to understand Fr. Papczyński’s attitudes and motivation in the light of a historical perspective and his beatifi cation, we found out that there should be room within a community for something that is diffi cult, something that may occasionally bring down long-standing patterns. Unfortunately, it seems as if there is no room in the religious life for something that shakes down the existing peace and quiet, the long-established order. Usually such attitudes are not welcome, regardless of the intentions behind them. What, in my opinion, are the needs? I think there is a need to absorb the contents that are being discovered in regard to the beatifi cation. I’m thinking of the need to go for a certain authenticity of life, to make practical conclusions and applications from what is being discovered and what delights certain confreres so that these delightful discoveries won’t just stay in the domain of intellectual and emotional enjoyment but become applied at the functional level of our community, in our works or quality of religious life and ministry. Another matter: I believe there is a need, and a pressing one no less, to refl ect on the path of our Congregation, and not only on its founding charism. I’ve noticed that an unjustifi ed juxtaposition is being made between Fr. Papczyński and Fr. Matulewicz along with drawing attention to second-rate matters unrelated to the essentials of the Congregation’s charism and clinging to certain old forms and commonplace thinking patterns. Without a profound and source-based refl ection, we’ll be threatened by the shallow indoctrination and the aspirations of strong individuals’ (as well as those of the people in power) to forcibly fi t all others into the same ideology.
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