Theological Foundations new file

214 Theological Foundations Intimacy with God, which is expressed in acts of love, inspires us to be willingly obedient to God’s will. Such an approach to this issue is yet another positive quality of the teaching of our two authors. In their opin- ion, our fulfillment of God’s will is both the proof of our love for Him and its manifestation. It means that man is completely open to whatever God may demand from him. Father Papczynski teaches that we can read God’s will in all kinds of written sources as long as their contents is an expression of the natural order established by God or when they simply contain direct rules of God’s law. Therefore, the commandments are the main source from which we can learn God’s will for us. In the image of the mystical temple, the commandments are the lamp which burns before the altar of the heart. 36 In such an understanding of our obedience to God, there is no room for legalism in the relationship between God and man. Obedience is filial submission after the example of Christ who is the model of total submission to the Father for every Christian. In such an approach to the relationship between man and God lies the next quality of the teaching of the Venerable Servant of God Stanislaus and Blessed Bishop George, i.e., the emphasis on the necessity to imitate Christ. This necessity inspires us not only to reproduce Christ’s traits but also to become filled with the spirit of His entire teaching and to follow in His footsteps faithfully. An expression of such imitation is our intima- cy with Christ, our clinging to Him. As they discuss the idea of imitating Our Savior, the two authors strongly emphasize the relationship with the suffering Christ. It is through His Passion that a Christian best recognizes the immensity of God’s love. It is also from Christ’s Passion that he receives the strength which enables him to live a truly Christian life. In Father Matulaitis-Matulewicz’s opinion, the first Christians, whose inter- cession he asks for, are models of such an attitude: “O you Christian warriors and heroes of our faith, who, with the help of Christ, shed your blood that the Church might grow, help us to be brave and strong enough to follow your example.” 37 Another element which enhances the value of Father Papczynski’s