Theological Foundations new file

230 Theological Foundations Christ, who saved us, taught us how to live and is for us the most per- fect model to imitate. Therefore, it can be said that this teaching clearly shows the soteriological aspect of the Christian life, the essence of which is to be grafted into Christ and remain in profound contact with Him. The Holy Spirit sent by Jesus Christ completes the work of salva- tion. In Father Papczynski’s and Father Matulaitis-Matulewicz’s teach- ing, the Holy Spirit is not at all a “poor relative.” This term was used to describe the situation in the Western Church before the Second Vatican Council. It was only during this council that, under the influence of the Christian East, a better explanation of how sanctification is to be under- stood (namely, as the work of the grace of the Holy Spirit) was offered. Meanwhile, the Venerable Servant of God, Stanislaus, and Blessed Archbishop George strongly emphasized both the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church and His role in the work of personal sanctification. Against the background of an overly individualistic approach to the- ological issues, an approach which prevailed for quite a long time, both authors stress the communal aspect of salvation, which places them quite ahead of their times. Their teaching is also permeated with the spirit of Mary because Father Stanislaus founded his religious order for the glory of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and Father George saved it from extinction for her. Both of them ardently proclaimed the privilege of the Immaculate Conception which was a matter of dispute in the Church for such a long time. To them this truth has always been indisputable. The cult of the Blessed Mother which they spread is also absolutely correct from the theological point of view because it is firmly rooted in Christology and ecclesiology. Thus presented, their moral teaching constitutes a good basis on which we can build our Christian lives, which will, in turn, bring us to our ultimate goal without fail. In order to help us as Christians to keep this goal before our eyes, the two authors bring the ultimate affairs of man and the world closer to us. Father Papczynski does it through very realistic, sometimes shocking images; he wanted the memory of the last