St Stan Illustrated Story

91 T he fields adjacent to the Cenacle also belonged to the Mari- ans. They were, however, in a deplorable condition and could hardly be turned to any useful purpose. In fact, most of the land con- sisted of swampy hollows, and what the act of donation pompously called “the lake” (lacus) was nothing more than a morass. When Fr. Papczynski arrived at the Cenacle in 1677, with a few companions, he made it his first concern to improve the modest hold- ings of the community. Before anything else could be done, he and his companions would have to drain the morass. They accordingly set to work and dug ponds that could be stocked with fish. Before long the land became practically unrecognizable. The water had been drained away from the swamps, the “lake” had become a meadow, and a good part of the land round the Cenacle was now tillable. All this the Marians had done with their own hands, during the time free from obligatory devotions and pastoral work. S trangely enough, the improvements accomplished by the Mar- ians only excited the envy of some of their neighbors, who began to lay claim to the drained land, maintaining that the Marians only had a right to the fields in question while they were in there orig- inal condition – in other words, completely useless. Some of the local people raided the fields and woods, causing serious damage. Most of the abuse, of course, was directed against Fr. Stanislaus, since he vigorously defended the rights of his community. yet he bore the abuse and persecution patiently and quietly, even joyously, with forgiveness in his heart and on his lips. A herdsman who had made a physical attack on Fr. Stanislaus fell seriously ill shortly afterwards. Through his master he begged Fr. Sta- nislaus for forgiveness, which he at once received, and his health with it!