family farm as best he could, although he much preferred to read and was a gifted student. In 1889, his cousin (a teacher) saw his talent and offered to pay seminary tuition, which George gladly accepted. As a priest, Fr. George explored the Catholic Church’s social doctrine, becoming both a sociology professor and an activist on behalf of workers and the poor. However, he also felt called to re-found the Marian Order. Two years after his secret vows, Fr. George requested a transfer to Fribourg, Switzerland, to continue studies and to erect a novitiate house outside Russian control. There he attracted capable priests for the Order. Outreach and expansion Father George crossed the Atlantic to establish religious houses near Chicago in 1913. However, while preaching a mission in Lithuania in 1914, he was stopped from returning to Fribourg by World War I. He remained near Warsaw (then occupied by the Germans), founding another novitiate and directing an orphanage for more than 200 boys. Father George himself often begged alms for the orphans from German soldiers, disregarding their curses and threats. He also founded two orders of sisters and helped 10 other orders revise their constitutions to follow the 1917 Code of Canon Law. In 1918, Pope Pius XI appointed Fr. George the Bishop of Vilnius. There he maintained the Church’s stability for seven years despite multiple governmental shifts between Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, and Germans. When criticized for refusing to side with political factions, he simply replied, “My party is Christ and the Church.” Bishop George resigned from the see of Vilnius in July 1925, seeking to shepherd the growing Congregation of Marian Fathers, but in December, he was appointed Apostolic Visitator to Lithuania. He passed away on Jan. 27, 1927. His last words exhorted his confrères repeatedly: “Close ranks; sacrifice yourselves! Close ranks; sacrifice yourselves!” Focus on Christ and His Church Blessed George’s example encourages us to transcend politics by focusing on Christ and His Church. Here was a man of great courage who was also a peacemaker; a friend of workers who strove against their enslavement to ideologies; a consecrated religious who was also an excellent bishop. He made no secret of the source of his abilities — his interior life with God, fueled with a halfhour meditation every morning. In his “Instructions for the Marian Fathers,” Blessed George actually asked his brothers to draw up two or three points every night to meditate on next morning. They would silently ponder these points of meditation when preparing for bed, waking up at night, and rising in the morning, putting all other thoughts second. They would make their morning meditation in the chapel, and later briefly examine the fruits of meditation, and how to improve future meditations. Meditation is a beautiful way to detach from the world and attach ourselves slowly but surely to God. It is no wonder that Blessed George, practicing this day after day, became and acted more and more like Jesus. Beatification miracle Blessed George suffered great pain and had difficulty walking due to tuberculosis of the bone. The beatification miracle involved a woman who also had difficulty walking: Adelaide Tamosiunaite from Lithuania. She was a teacher who rode a bicycle to school each day, but had to stop after the pain of varicose veins in her left leg became unbearable. Soon, her condition, which had affected her for 30 years, made it too painful for her to walk. In 1974, at the age of 85, she became bed-ridden due to thrombophlebitis. Her condition was considered hopeless. She faithfully turned to Servant of God George Matulaitis in a novena. One morning during the novena, she woke and realized that the pain and ailment had vanished. At the beatification Mass 35 years ago, Pope St. John Paul II captured the heart of this holy man when he said in his homily, “He was a shepherd full of courage and initiative. ... His only concern was always the salvation of the souls entrusted to his care. ... I wish to remind you of his zeal. ... In heroic degree he strove to be everything to everyone, deeply conscious of his pastoral mission, true apostle of unity, dedicated without reserve to preaching the gospel and the salvation of souls.” Blessed George, pray for us! For a Blessed George prayer card (B54-CBGP), call 1-800462-7426. If you have received graces through his intercession, please write: Br. AndrewMaczynski, MIC, Vice Postulator of the Marian Causes of Canonization, 2 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge, MA 01263. Email: [email protected] Marian Helper • Summer 2022 • Marian.org 27 Meditation is a beautiful way to detach from the world and attach ourselves slowly but surely to God. It is no wonder that Blessed George, practicing this day after day, became and acted more and more like Jesus.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==