Spirituality of the Religious Life According to St. Stanislaus Papczyński 122 2.1. Ways of presenting Christ The goal to express the mystery of Christ in an easily-understandable way, to conform to the teaching of the Church and to encourage the religious to embark on the path of His imitation urged Stanislaus Papczyński to use multiple words signifying the Person of the Redeemer. Some are meant to bring the nature of the Incarnate Son of God closer, while others characterize His salvific mission and relate to key moments in His life. Other expressions describe Christ in His basic relationships both with God and with men, especially the religious order members. A similar logic may be found in other documents of the Marians’ early tradition, such as Regula decem beneplacitorum. Theological terms defining the nature of Jesus Christ, especially inHis relation to the other Persons of theMost Holy Trinity have a particular significance. He is being called the Word of the Father (Verbum Patris), true Son of the true God equal in everything to the Father, the only Son of the only God (Filius Numinis unius soliusque), the second Person of the Holy Trinity, the beloved Son of the Father, the Incarnate God, born of the Virgin Mary, and the true Messiah, Son of the living God.34 Jesus Christ is “the true God and Man,” who has all the power in heaven and on earth. He is eternally equal “in divinity” (secundum Divinitatem) to the Father; as well as in power (potentia), which He did not receive from anyone, but always had it “from Himself.” His particular relationship with the Father, also manifested in the fact that the Son “has everything in common with the Father,” is noticed by Papczyński in various passages of the New Testament that describe Christ’s behavior. However, Papczyński speaks about the attitude of complete obedience to and fulfillment of 34 See IC, First Sunday of Lent, BHC, pts. 1-2;Third Sunday of Lent, BHC, pt. 1; Trinity Sunday, BHC, pts. 1-3; Feast of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, BHC, pts. 1-2; Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, BHC, pts. 1-2, and others. Saint Stanislaus Papczyński, as well as the documents of the early tradition of the Marians afterwards, devoted much less room to describing Christ’s relationship with the Holy Spirit than His relationship with the Father. Basically, the Holy Spirit is spoken of in His function of animating the relationship between the Father and the Son, and communicates its dynamism. He also governs Christ’s life, making a permanent mark of filial obedience and love.
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