Spirituality of the Religious Life According to St. Stanislaus Papczyński 106 pious practices, taking specific stands dictated by the practicing of the virtues, religious discipline, as well as the organization and governing of the Congregation are to assist in preserving, strengthening, and spreading – also among outsiders – the supernatural love which is, according to the Founder, “the soul of this Institute.” Kałowski sees similarities between Papczyński’s instructions concerning the observance of peace, order and mutual love, and the previously-known rules of the religious life or religious constitutions, especially the Pachomius Rule, the Rule of St. Augustine, the Rule of St. Caesarius of Arles for monks, the Rule of Paul and Stephen, the Rule of the Master, the Rule of St. Benedict, the Rule of St. Columba, and the Rule of St. Isidore of Seville.221 It would be hard to believe that the Marian Founder knew all these Rules especially because, in the researchers’ opinion, some of them were little known and only briefly referenced, while their critical editions were made available only in the last decades.222 Instead, these similarities lead us to understand that Papczyński knew well the basic works on the religious life and its spirituality and that he took good care to see that Norma vitae was solidly realized, also from the point of view of the religious life tradition, including the Rules, best known and respected by the Church. It is possible that such a clear display of supernatural love in Saint Stanislaus Papczyński’s concept of the religious life in both its individual and its communal aspects could be a result of his personal path in the spiritual life and related experiences that are part of his personal growth in maturity. We are thinking here primarily of his difficulties as a Piarist, which resulted in his leaving the community. Therefore, we would be right in assuming that Papczyński gradually grew to understand the importance of supernatural love as the essence of the communal life and the organizational principle of a religious community. This interpretation finds a certain corroboration in Papczyński’s personal observations given in his Apologia pro egressu e Scholis 221 Cf. J. Kałowski, “Norma vitae”. Pierwsze konstytucje..., p. 126. 222 Cf. M. Starowieyski, Reguły Italii. Reguła Pawła i Stefana. Wprowadzenie, in: Starożytne reguły zakonne..., p. 141.
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