St Stan Illustrated Story

Inspired by God’s love, Blessed Stanislaus burned with a strong passion for the salvation of souls and he addressed his listeners with heartfelt pleas such as this: “Turn back now to your Father! Why do you wander through the distant land of passions, deprived of the loving sentiments of the Supreme Good? Go to your Father! Christ is calling you, go to Him!” ( Inspectio cordis, 1, 25, 2). Following the example of the Good Samaritan, he stood at the side of those wounded in spirit and eased their sufferings, he consoled them and filled them with hope and serenity, he led them to the “inn of pardon” which is the confes- sional, thus helping them recover their lost or rejected Christian dig- nity. Divine charity impelled Blessed Stanislaus to become an evangel- ist of the poor in particular, of simple folk, the socially marginalized whose spiritual needs were overlooked, and of those who were in dan- ger of death. knowing how widespread the scourge of alcoholism was at the time, through word and example, he taught sobriety and inner freedom as an effective antidote against all forms of dependence. Filled with profoundly patriotic love for the united Polish, Lithuanian and Ruthenian nations, he did not hesitate to condemn the way in which those in power sought their own advantage, abused the privilege of nobility and promulgated unjust laws. Today too, the new beatus offers a timely invitation to Poland and to Europe, in its arduous search for unity: only by building solidly upon God is reconciliation possible between people and between nations. Without God, there cannot be true social justice or stable peace. Dear brothers and sisters, Blessed Stanislaus’s love for his fellow men ex- tended also to the dead. After his mystical experience of the suffering of those in Purgatory, he prayed fervently for them and ex- horted everyone to do the same. Alongside spreading the cult of the Immaculate Conception and proclaiming the Word of God, praying for the dead thus became one of his Congregation’s principal aims. The thought of death and meditation upon Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell help us to “spend” wisely our time on earth; it encourages us to think of death as a necessary stage on our journey towards God; it leads us always to accept and respect life as a gift from God, from its conception to its natural end. What an important sign for the modern world is the miracle of the “unexpected recovery of pregnancy be- tween the 7 th and 8 th week of gestation” which occurred through the intercession of Fr. Papczynski. God is the Master of human life! The secret of life is love: the ineffable love of God, which sur- passes human frailty and moves our hearts to love life, our neighbor and even our enemies. To his spiritual sons, the new beatus entrusted 10