Saint Stanislaus Papczynski — The Life and Writings

understood as something to which one should give himself and dedicate himself completely.” His love for Poland was so well known that the 1764 Coronation Diet of the Republic of Poland petitioned the Holy See for the beatification of “Stanislaus Papczynski, a Pole renowned for miracles.” In 2011, the Polish Senate recognized him as an exemplary Pole dedicated to the matters of his homeland. Today, just as he did more than three hundred years ago, Fr. Stanislaus reminds us: “True freedom consists in obeying the law, and more so divine laws than human ones. We are born not for ourselves, but for our Home- land. [...] We need real men, not some bad eggs or scum. Give to the homeland true Poles, not some weaklings; that is, give strong, brave people, capable of great efforts, seasoned to fight, prepared to sit in councils. This is what the Fatherland expects and demands you to be.” Beloved in Christ, The upcoming canonization of Blessed Father Stanislaus Papczynski is an invitation to receive again the mercy of God and to renew the grace of our Baptism, so that we may respond to God’s gratuitous love with our love for Him and charity to- wards the living and the dead. May the Immaculate Conception of Mary strengthen our hope! This letter is to be read on Sunday, May 29, 2016. Signed by the Shepherds of the Catholic Church in Poland, present at the 372 nd Plenary session of the National Conference of Bishops in Gniezno and Poznan, on April 15, 2016. Unofficial translation Documents and Homilies from His Canonization 183