Theological Foundations new file

202 Theological Foundations be found in the frequently quoted texts from the Scriptures, both from the Old and the New Testament. For example, in his Rule of Life , which is not a really voluminous work, Father Papczynski quotes the Holy Scriptures more than twenty times. These quotations are the basis on which he builds the content of the particular paragraphs of this funda- mental legal document. His extensive work entitled Inspectio cordis is simply a commentary to the pericopes in the Gospel taken from the litur- gy of a given day. In his teaching, the entire anthropology is biblical, with its basic assumptions that a Christian is an image of God (cf. Gen 1, 27) and His temple (cf. 1 Cor 3, 16; 2 Cor 6, 16). It is from the Bible that the main principles of the Christian life like the love of God (cf. 1 Cor 13, 1-7), the obedience to God’s will (cf. 1 Sam 15, 22; J 4, 34), the imitation of Christ (cf. J 8, 12; Mt 4, 34) and the Blessed Mother (cf. J 19, 26-27) are taken. The process of the Christian life is also biblical and evangelical in nature, the life into which our Founder initiates us as he calls us to renounce sin (cf. J 8, 12; Eph 5, 8) and to practice virtues (cf. Mt 5, 44-45; 25, 35-36). Father Matulaitis-Matulewicz, too, frequently quotes fragments of the Holy Scriptures, be it in his Spiritual Diary or in his ascetic conferences. These quotations are a starting point for his theological reflections. The biblical thought gives support to the foundations of the Christian life: the concern about salvation (cf. Mt 8, 36) and the renewal of the Church (cf. Eph 1,10), the duty to strive for perfection (cf. Mt 5, 48), the need for constant conversion (cf. J 12, 24). It is obvious that the two authors knew the sacred books very well and used them with great ease. Their favorite texts were the four gospels and the letters of St. Paul. Father Stanislaus’s favorite call: Omnia ergo apud vos in charitate fiant, which is a kind of summary of his teaching on God’s love, is literally taken from the Apostle of the Nations (cf. 1 Cor 16, 14). Like St. Paul, Father Papczynski sees the perfect model of obe- dience in Our Savior who humbled Himself and was obedient unto death (cf. Phil 2, 8). Father Matulaitis-Matulewicz, too, often gave St. Paul as an example to his confreres. He wrote: “We intend to observe the exam-