FROM PERSONAL TO SOCIAL RENEWAL EDITORS Wojciech Mleczko, CR Robert Nęcek Wojciech Misztal Wydawnictwo św. Jana Pawła II Kraków 2017 THE SPIRITUALITY OF POLISH CONVENTS: MESSAGE AND COMMUNICATION XV RESURRECTIONIST SPIRITUALITY: Wojciech Mleczko, CR An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality Resurrectionist spirituality is rooted in the history of the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is based on the spiritual experience of Bogdan Jański, the founder of the community, and on life and teachings of Peter Semenenko, co-founder of the Congregation. Further, this spirituality was adopted by other Resurrectionists (e.g. Jerome Kajsiewicz, servant of God Paul Smolikowski), Blessed Marceline Darowska (foundress of the Immaculate Conception Sisters), Blessed Celine Borzęcka and her daughter, servant of God Hedwig Borzęcka (foundresses of Sisters of the Resurrection) and many other priests, sisters and lay people. The aim of this paper is to introduce the fundamental issues concerning Resurrectionist spirituality by giving basic information on history of the Congregation of the Resurrection, on Bogdan Jański and Peter Semenenko, as well as by describing the main elements of this spirituality and deining the Resurrectionist school of spirituality. 1. Congregation of the Resurrection In the “Historical Preface” to the Constitutions of the Congregation the beginning of the community are described: “The Congregation of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ began in Parish, France, on Ash Wednesday, February 17, 1836, under the leadership of Bogdan Jański. After the death of the founder on July 2, 1840, his disciples continued to develop his ideas and to live in community under the direction of Peter Semenenko and Jerome Kajsiewicz, the cofounders of the Congregation. On Easter Sunday, March 27, 1842, along with ive other clerics, they professed their irst religious vows in the Catacombs of St. Sebastian in Rome. The irst Rule was written during the Lenten season of 1842 and became the basis for community life and personal sanctiication. They were inspired to dedicate themselves to the Risen Saviour and to call themselves Brothers of the 14 Wojciech Mleczko, CR Resurrection. They were now dead to sin and alive with the Risen Christ in a new life dedicated to truth and charity.”1 Over the years, the community became international and is currently present in 15 countries around the world (Australia, Austria, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Slovak Republic, Tanzania, Ukraine, the United States). It consists of priests, deacons, and brothers, involved in various apostolates, among which educational and parish apostolates are priority. Through more than 180 years of their existence, the Resurrectionists organized from the beginning and administered more than 30 schools: primary, secondary and colleges; more than 120 parishes or other pastoral centers, with many religious, patriotic, educational and cultural organizations. Everywhere they built churches, school, orphanages, homes for the aged as well as places for organizations and institutions, such as: publishing houses, editorial ofices, parish banks, and headquarters for larger associations. They spent much of their time on promoting the issue of women’s spiritual renewal by helping in the founding of several new women’s religious institutes (e.g. Polish Sisters of the Immaculate Conception; Sisters of the Resurrection). They also educated many renowned priests, nuns and lay people.2 1 Constitutions of the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Rome 2001, p. 5. 2 More about the history of the Congregation can be found in e.g.: John Iwicki, Resurrectionist Charism. A History of the Congregation of the Resurrection, vol. I (1836 – 1886), Rome 1986, vol. II (1887 – 1932), Rome 1992, vol. III (1932 – 1965), Rome 1992; James A. Wahl, “Relections on the History of the Congregation of the Resurrection”, in Michael W. Higgins, ed. How Could We Sorrow? Essays on the Resurrection, University of St. Jerome’s College Press, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada 1989, pp. 1–15; James A. Wahl, In the Hope of Resurrection. An Illustrated History of the Ontario-Kentucky Province of the Congregation of the Resurrection, Waterloo 2007. An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality 15 2. Bogdan Jański – the Founder Bogdan Jański was born on March 26, 1807 in Poland and died on July 2, 1840 in Rome, Italy. He can be described as: a professor of economics, a fervent patriot, a voluntary exile, a man of deep interior conversion and spiritual resurrection, a public penitent, a lay apostle of the Polish emigration in France, a spiritual guide for the lost, a protector of the morally and materially careless, an educator of priests, the founder of the Congregation of the Resurrection and initiator of the Resurrectionist school of spirituality. In 1827 he graduated from Warsaw University with two degrees: a Master’s degree in economics and law. The following year, he won a competition for the position of professor of economics in the newly organized Polytechnic Institute in Warsaw. Along with the nomination he received a scholarship for studies abroad in Europe. In this way he found himself in France (November 1828), as well as in London (from September 1830 to February 1831), where he met the philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873) and Robert Owen (1771 – 1858), a utopian socialist and pioneer of the cooperative movement. In connection with the outbreak of the November Uprising in Poland against their Russian overlords, he decided to settle in Paris, which he would only leave in the year of his death, when he went to Rome. Before he became a prominent Catholic igure in the nineteenth century, he went through a period of crisis, including a loss of faith, a total departure from God and moral degeneracy. This period, initiated during his studies in Warsaw, ended with a dificult and lengthy 3 year process of returning to the faith, God, the Catholic Church and a sacramental life. This could only have happened because Jański never ceased to seek the right way leading to perfection, which he considered effective service to others. This cognitive desire led him irst to join the utopian and socializing Saint-Simonist movement, and later to ind a better 16 Wojciech Mleczko, CR way, when through the intellectual and moral conversion he reached the living faith. Jański’s conversion largely was accomplished through the study of the works of such authors as: Nicolas-Sylvestre Bergier (1718 – 1790), René François Rohrbacher (1785 – 1856), Ferdinand d’Eckstein (1780 – 1861), François René Chateaubriand (1768 – 1848), Joseph de Maistre (1753 – 1821), Luis Gabriel Ambroise de Bonald (1754 – 1840), Fr. Felicité Robert Hugues de Lamennais (1782 – 1854), Louis-Marie-Eugéne Bautain (1796 – 1867). Of equally great importance for the spiritual transformation of Bogdan Jański was his close personal contact with the most prominent igures of French Catholicism of that time. They were: Fr. Félicité R. H. de Lamennais (1782 – 1854), Fr. Philippe-Olympe Gerbet (1798 – 1864), Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805 – 1875), Fr. Jean-Baptiste-Henri-Dominique Lacordaire (1802 – 1861), Count Charles-Forbes de Montalembert (1810 – 1870), and Frederic A. Ozanam (1813 – 1853).3 Being aware that “the reform of society is to be achieved by the coming together of the reborn individuals”4, Jański founded a community. On February 17, 1836 in Paris he opened so called ‘The House of Jański’(‘Maisonette de Janski’) for a group of young Poles (Peter Semenenko was 22 years old, Jerome Kajsiewicz – 24 years, and Jański himself – 29 years, and others), for whom he served as a spiritual leader. First of all, the members of the community had to be mindful of their own sanctiication and work on their character. A daily ixed schedule and harmonious cooperation in duties helped in this tasks.5 3 Cf. Wojciech Mleczko, CR, Nauka i świętość. Formacja kapłańska w myśli i działalności zmartwychwstańców [Science and Holiness. Priestly Formation in Thought and Activity of the Resurrectionists], Kraków 2014, pp. 23–24. 4 Bogdan Jański, Under the Standard of the Risen Savior. Statements of the Founder on the Theme of the New Community, selected and arranged by Fr. Bolesław Micewski, CR, Chicago 1978, p. 12. 5 Bolesław Micewski, CR, Bogdan Janski “Founder of the Resurrectionists”, translated by Rev. Francis Grzechowiak, CR, Rome (?) 1984, pp. 67–78. An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality 17 From the very beginning of his spiritual transformation, Bogdan Jański wanted to develop catholic values, regarding them as the only way for man to achieve personal, spiritual, social, and even national and political freedom. His desire was that Christian values be present in both private and public life. He believed that a spiritual rebirth of society can be achieved only if it is based upon the accumulated wisdom of the Church. Based on his own emigrational experiences, Jański noticed that people were disadvantaged in various ways by the structures of the world. Hence, he thought that “structures without God” are the most dangerous to man, society and the world, because they led to neo-paganism, and to the acceptance of atheistic and materialistic attitudes. He was convinced that the only help and guarantee for the proper shaping of world structures is the Church (a community of re-born, ‘new-men’). He wrote: “In Christ the Lord, in his divine teaching and in his holy Church is all… all truth, all good for individuals and nations.”6 Therefore, in his plans Jański foresaw the foundation of several ‘Houses’, as well as schools of every kind, catholic libraries, the translation of religious books, operating their own publishing and printing houses and workshops for new religious art. He intended to develop a broad effort of taking care of the sick and poor, as well as establishing a Polish seminary in Rome. All of these were to serve for the renewal of society and the creation of a new culture, but irst of all, it would to contribute to the resolution of urgent problems in his contemporary society: the condition of workers and farmers. It is important to note that Jański’s role model for all of this was the community described in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Peter Semenenko, Jański’s most faithful disciple, wrote some years later about him: 6 Jański, Under the Standard of the Risen Savior…, op. cit., p. 10. 18 Wojciech Mleczko, CR Then there arose among us a man of great intellect, a person in every way exceptional, his name – Bogdan Jański. He, too, passed through darkness, but he was the irst to greet the rising light. Then he himself gave forth the light like the morning start, which announces the newly arrived dawn, a prophet of that light which is to reign always. Actually he did not carry the torch very long, but long enough to show the way. How many quickly gathered around him! How many found God’s peace through him and greeted him as one sent from God, a guiding angel. Even though their number may not have been great, how great the reality and the results! What a beautiful person… a great soul, unshakable, steadfast, clear, pure and serene. He was the irst to be openly illuminated by the light, by grace and peace.7 Bogdan Jański was well aware that he would not create a new society without renewing of individual persons. And he also knew that he had to start with himself. He wrote: “Create a new people, having already become new man yourself.”8 Jański based his strength on God, therefore in prayer he sought the power to renew himself: “I need to pray for extermination of all the habits of the old man, for complete rebirth, for living faith, pure love, and unfaltering hope; for enlightenment of the mind, strengthening of the will, control of the lesh and all lust.”9 Along his way of spiritual growth, he came to conviction that union with God is the only condition and source of new life in a man. As a result, he made a resolution: “We must work on ourselves so as to realize this holy union [with God]. This is a spiritual and practical task, 7 Piotr Semenenko, CR, “Biesiady ilozoiczne,” in Przegląd Poznański 27 (1859), pp. 113–114. English translation taken from Jański, Under the Standard of the Risen Savior…, op. cit., p. IX. 8 Jański, Under the Standard of the Risen Savior…, op. cit., p. 22. 9 Bogdan Jański, Diary 1830 – 1839, edited and arranged by Andrzej Jastrzębski, English translation by Fr. Francis Grzechowiak, C.R., Rome 2000, p. 274. An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality 19 sincere and peaceful, renewing our entire being, allowing our life to inluence the lives of others, uniting ourselves and others with God and Christ. Today, this is our greatest responsibility.”10 In his spiritual growth, Jański’s transformation in Christ became even deeper, and more complete. Jański strove to make his life more and more similar to that of Christ. And he saw this ‘being more alike’ as an important moment of growing in sanctity. Therefore, it is not unusual that he wanted to unify his life with Christ. Although Bogdan Jański lived for only 33 years, the history of his life and his spiritual experience initiated a new school of spirituality. Fortunately, the most important of his writings (from the point of view of spiritual theology), have been translated into English and are available online: Diary 1830 – 1839 (edited and arranged by Andrzej Jastrzębski, English translation by Fr. Francis Grzechowiak, CR, Rome 2000), Letters 1828 – 1839 (edited by Fr. Bolesław Micewski, CR, English translation of the Polish letters Fr. Francis Grzechowiak, CR and of the French letters Fr. John Finn, CR, computer edition by Fr. Wojciech Mleczko, CR and Renata Borowczyk, Rome 2011). Many important testimonies about Jański’s life and sanctity are included in Fr. B. Micewski’s edition Jański in the Eyes of his Contemporaries (translated from the original Polish by Natalia Janota and Ben Borek). It is also worth mentioning that Congregation of the Resurrection proceeds with the canonization process of its Founder. 3. Who was Father Peter Semenenko? Servant of God Father Peter (Piotr) Semenenko was born on June 29, 1814 in north-eastern Poland. In 1830 he started his studies at the University of Wilno (Department of Philosophy), but soon interrupted them deciding to join the November Uprising 10 Jański, Under the Standard of the Risen Savior…, op. cit., p. 9. 20 Wojciech Mleczko, CR against Russian hegemony. He emigrated to France in 1832, where, in Paris, he met Bogdan Jański in 1833, who soon became his spiritual director and master. Under his inluence, Semenenko returned to the Catholic faith and became the irst member of the “House of Jański” in 1836, the beginning of the Congregation of the Resurrection. After the early death of Bogdan Jański in 1840 in Rome, Peter Semenenko was elected the irst superior and spiritual leader of the new community. When he inished his theological studies (Collegium Romanum, 1837 – 1841), he was ordained to the priesthood on December 5, 1841 (not without dificulties from Russian authorities). As a main co-founder of the congregation, he wrote the rule of 1842, and was the principal editor of the (1850 – 1880) rules. He was also superior general of the Congregation for a good number of years (1842 – 1845, 1873 – 1886). Fr. Peter Semenenko actively collaborated with the Holy See. He was an expert on Polish and Eastern matters, and was regarded as one of the most scholarly members of the Church in the second part of the XIX Century. Because of his knowledge, he was held in high esteem by Popes Pius IX (pontiicate: 1846 – 1878) and Leo XIII (pontiicate: 1878 – 1903) and carried out the missions entrusted to him by them. He worked as a consultor for the Sacred Congregations: of the Index (since 1857) and of the Holy Ofice (since 1873) [now: the Doctrine of the Faith]. His work was highly praised, and his statements were taken as inal on a regular basis. He was a member of the prestigious Papal Academies: Accademia della Religione Cattolica (since 1859), and Accademia degli Arcadi (since 1874). He was outstanding in his erudition and freely able to discuss even the most subtle matters.11 Cf. Wojciech Mleczko, CR, “Sługa Boży o. Piotr Semenenko CR – nota biograiczna,” in Wojciech Misztal, Wojciech Mleczko, CR, eds. Sługa Boży o. Piotr Semenenko i zmartwychwstańcza szkoła duchowości, Kraków 2011, pp. 165–167. 11 An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality 21 He founded (1866) and was the irst rector (president) of the Polish Pontiical College in Rome. Many alumni of the College (in years 1866 – 1938 the College was run by the Resurrectionists) accepted and adopted Resurrectionist spirituality and became outstanding priests, bishops, archbishops, and cardinals, some have been beatiied and even canonized (e.g. the Bishop Saint Józef Sebastian Pelczar [1842 – 1924], the Archbishop Saint Józef Bilczewski [1860 – 1923], and Blessed Fr. Jan Balicki [1869 – 1948]). Father Semeneneko was a highly respected priest, confessor and spiritual leader of many lay and religious persons, e.g.: Blessed Celine (Celina) Borzęcka (1833 – 1913) and her daughter Hedwig (Jadwiga, 1863 – 1906), Blessed Francis (Franciszka) Siedliska (1842 – 1902), Blessed Marceline (Marcelina) Darowska (1827 – 1911), Blessed Mary of Jesus (Émilie d’Oultremont, 1818 – 1878). He helped to found many women’s religious congregations, e.g.: Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Sisters of the Resurrection, Felician Sisters, Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, Consolers of the Sacred Heart (Belgium), Sisters of Adoration Réparatrice (France). He preached in various churches in Poland, France, Belgium, Bulgaria and Rome.12 Much of his attention went towards the youth. He desired to inspire their devotion to the sciences and holiness. He laid the foundation for the Resurrectionist system of education.13 Fr. Semenenko died on November 18, 1886 in Paris, France in the odor of sanctity. His remains rest in the Resurrectionist’s church in Rome (via San Sebastianello 11). The beatiication process was started shortly after World War II. Pope Leo XIII’s Cf. Mleczko, CR, Nauka i świętość…, op. cit., pp. 43–47. Cf. Lenore V. Kusek, Peter Semenenko and His Triologism as a Basis for a Resurrection Philosophy of Education (1972). Master’s Theses. Paper 2579. http:// ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/2579 (3.02.2017). Sister Beatrice, “The Resurrectionist Pedagogical System,” in Polish American Studies, vol. 20, no. 1, 1963, pp. 34–39. www.jstor.org/stable/20147633 (3.02.2017). 12 13 22 Wojciech Mleczko, CR words about Fr. Peter upon hearing of his death were: ”Father Semenenko was so esteemed in the whole city of Rome for his virtues and for his works done for the Church. He was the soul of your Congregation and sacriiced his life for its welfare.”14 Pope John Paul II called him „a great gift for the Church”.15 Semenenko was an author of many philosophical and theological works, as well as works on the interior life. He left massive correspondence and a personal diary. Some of his writings were translated and published in English: The Interior Life. A Study in Ascetical Theology (Rome 1969, translated by F. J. Grzechowiak, CR), The “Our Father” – A Commentary (Rome 1986, translated by F. J. Grzechowiak, CR), Spiritual Exercises (with a foreword by Fr. Paul Smolikowski, CR translated into English by Francis J. Grzechowiak, CR, this translation can found in the Archives of the Congregation of the Resurrection in Rome, no. 25.616.239), Letters, vols. I – VII (Rome 1980 – 2010), Love and Faith. Five Sermons of the Resurrectionist Spirituality (translated from Polish by Sr. Pascale-Dominique Nau, op, Rome 2014, Lulu Press, Inc), Autobiography (translated from Polish “Autobiograia” compiled by Father Jerzy Mrówczyński, CR by Sr. Jeanne Marie Harla, CR, Sisters of the Resurrection, Resurrection Studies, Rome 2004), Letters of Father Semenenko to Hedwig Borzęcka 1878 – 1886. 4. The Main Elements of Resurrectionist Spirituality The foundation of Resurrectionist spirituality is the primacy of love. The whole spiritual life of a Christian should be centered around the virtue of charity, which is at the same time participation in God’s love and the foundation of holiness. Father 14 Ladislao Kwiatkowski, CR, La vita di Padre Pietro Semenenko, C. R., Roma 1953, p. 501. 15 John Paul II, Telegram to the Congregation of the Resurrection on the centennial anniversary of Fr. Piotr Semenenko’s death, Vatican, November 18, 1986, Archives of the Congregation of the Resurrection in Rome, no. 72909. An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality 23 Semenenko preached: “God loves each one of us, as if each one of us was the only in the world [...]; and about this truth we must be convinced deep in our hearts. God loves me, that is the foundation and summit of the interior life.”16 But what kind of love is God’s love? God’s love is unconditional. Constant and faithful and for each person. “This love is not only of the best father, but also love of the most tender Mother.”17 The fundamental biblical text which Resurrectionists recommend for consideration on this point is the First Letter of St. John. Indeed, in this letter such words can be found: “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 Jn 4:16; NIV). Love is the theme of union with God, accepting His will, complete devotion to Him and acts of love towards one’s neighbor.18 However, discovering the truth about God’s love, a person begins to see in him or herself the contradictory desires. Therefore, striving for perfection, one should know the truth about his or her condition.19 It is here that such terms as nothingness, misery and corruption appear in Resurrectionist spirituality. The concept of nothingness leads to the understanding that all creation is the work of God’s free and unconditional love. Neither the world nor man could exist without God. So everything is God’s gift. This applies both to what we have, and what we are (our talents, abilities, virtues, our lives). To recognize this does not lessen their beauty, nor devalue them or us. Rather it opens to us the one and only path to human greatness.20 This principle invites an attitude, which on one hand leads to the conclu16 17 p. 237. Piotr Semenenko, CR, Ćwiczenia duchowne, Kraków 1903, p. 94 Piotr Semenenko, CR, Credo. Chrześcijańskie prawdy wiary, Kraków 1907, Stanisław Urbański, Duchowość zmartwychwstańcza [Resurrectionist Spirituality], Warszawa 2003, pp. 17–51. 19 Ibidem, p. 53. 20 Resurrectionist Formation, Rome 1993, p. 22. 18 24 Wojciech Mleczko, CR sion: “we are nothing, have nothing, and can do nothing without God”, but also leads to the acceptance of dignity of God’s child, created in God’s image and likeness.21 In turn, the term misery (evil attracts us) refers to the contamination of human nature, that is the heritage of original sin, which introduces confusion into the interior of man. This condition inhibits spiritual transformation. The term “misery” should be understood as “lack of what a man possessed before sin and what he should have, but lost, since the fall of Adam violated existing in him the divine order.”22 The issue here is the loss of original harmony and order, which results in the propensity to evil. Therefore, mankind is unable to achieve on their own, their ultimate goal.23 As prof. Stanisław Urbański explains, “misery causes a Christian to replace God with his or her own self, and take all steps arbitrarily.”24 What is needed is the recognition that it comes easier to us to choose evil than to go for the good. On all levels an attraction to evil and frequent falls are experienced without really knowing why or fully desiring it. Therefore, thorough introspection is necessary to examine whether a person is not attracted by evil under the guise of the good.25 Another truth about human condition is the fact that despite his or her best efforts and good intentions he or she sometimes commits sin (corruption). St. John puts it in words: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8; NIV), and St. Paul states clearly: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23; NIV). This personal sin has a harmful effect on us and others since it reduces 21 Constitutions of the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Rome 2001, p. 7, 12 – 13 (Charism Statement; art. 2). 22 Urbański, Duchowość zmartwychwstańcza, op. cit., p. 57. 23 Ibidem, p. 58. 24 Ibidem, p. 59. 25 Resurrectionist Formation, Rome 1993, p. 30. An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality 25 and at times even totally destroys our receptivity for love: God’s love and the love of others. The term “corruption” attached to this truth means an effect, a consequence of personal sin. The effects of sin in the individual person’s faculties are: in mind – penchant for falsehood; in heart – rooted propensity to evil and penchant for what is bad; in will – desire for a new evil.26 Knowledge of one’s condition (nothingness, misery, corruption; or, in other words, a person’s creaturehood, tendency to evil and personal sinfulness) is not an easy experience. However, Resurrectionist spirituality is far from pessimism. On the contrary, it is characterized by hope, which source is the Paschal Mystery of Christ. For God calls us to conversion: to the paschal mystery of dying and rising with Jesus.27 And only in the perspective of the redemption accomplished by the Lord Jesus, can a person undertake effective cooperation with God in the work of puriication of his or her faculties, exploring and elimination of self-love and self-activity, as well as of progress in the virtue of humility. This should lead a person to a newness of life, a life in Christ. As St. Paul states “I have been cruciied with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20; NIV). This ideal of a life in Christ is dramatically depicted in a paragraph (no. 9) of the Rule of the Brothers of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ written by Piotr Semenenko in 1850, ten years after Jański’s death: 26 Cf. Resurrectionist Formation, Rome 1993, p. 41; Urbański, Duchowość zmartwychwstańcza, op. cit., pp. 74–75. 27 Cf. Resurrectionist Formation, Rome 1993, p. 47. The concept is summarized in the irst paragraph of the current Constitution of the Resurrectionists: “Our personal participation in the paschal mystery begins with our conversion, the acceptance of the Lord Jesus as our personal savior, and our union with him in baptism, conirmation and the Holy Eucharist. But our conversion is a dynamic, lifelong process. We must constantly die to self (self-will, self-love, self-activity) in order to rise by the power of the Holy Spirit to a new life of love in Christ” (Constitutions of the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Rome 2001, p. 11). 26 Wojciech Mleczko, CR The Brothers must establish Christ our Lord as the beginning, center, and end of all their activity an of their life; He shall be their sum and substance, the living fulillment of the Rule. They will have recourse to Him: for counsel in their doubts, instruction in their ignorance, and strength in their weakness. He shall be their consolation in time of adversity, their glory in time of prosperity. He shall be the only one reward they desire for they labors, adversities, and sacriices. Christ, our cruciied and risen Lord, shall be the principle source of knowledge before men; from Him alone shall they derive the beginnings of divine wisdom and power. They shall look to Him as the epitome of the Law, justice, faith, hope, charity, history, and of all things. He shall always be for them: the irst and the last, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega of all things.28 Resurrectionist spirituality contains a unique characteristic, the life of Jesus in us. Human being is invited by God to cooperate in the process of puriication and sanctiication, which not only leads to union with Christ, but also to transformation in Him. This state is called mystical or spiritual resurrection.29 Therefore, most important biblical passage for the described spirituality is allegory of the vine in the Gospel according to St. John (chapter 15) and particularly words: “apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5; NIV). Consequently, for a Christian Jesus Christ is the ideal, which connects to the human person, and it ennobles. Fr. Semenenko wrote about this union with Christ answering a question what it means to follow Jesus: The Rule and Constitutions of the Congregation of the Resurrection 1842 – 1967, edited by John Iwicki, CR, Romae 1967, p. 39. 28 29 Paweł Smolikowski, CR, “System ascetyczny X. Semenenki,” in Piotr Semenenko, CR, Ćwiczenia duchowne, Kraków 1903, pp. 57–73; Urbański, Duchowość zmartwychwstańcza, op. cit., pp. 103–202. An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality 27 Do you know what it means to follow Christ? It means: to think like Him, talk like Him, feel like Him, act like Him. Do not go to the right, when He goes to the left; nor to the left, when He goes to the right. Do not stay behind, while He goes forward; nor go forward, when He stays behind . Do not say “no”, when He says “yes”, nor “yes”, when he says “no”. Do not love, what He hates; nor hate, what He loves. Do not rejoice with His sorrow; nor sorrow with His rejoice. Do not praise what He humbles; nor humble what He praises. To have everything in common with Him: common pleasure, common suffering, common humiliations, common glory, common cross on earth, common happiness in heaven; everything, everything in common heart, mind, soul, desire, reason, will, time and eternity; everything in common, one, one, one in everything! That means to follow Christ! That is the faith that redeems!30 Archives of the Congregation of the Resurrection in Rome, without signature. 30 28 Wojciech Mleczko, CR Progress in the spiritual life in Resurrectionist spirituality thus consists of three phases: 1. understanding and overcoming of human nature contaminated by sin; 2. cooperation with God’s grace; 3. union with God31. There are other characteristic features of Resurrectionist spirituality, apart from those already mentioned (the primacy of love, the need for introspection and hope emerging from the paschal mystery of Christ, Christocentrism) such as integrality, Trinitarian exemplarism and personalism.32 Furthermore, Resurrectionist spirituality emphasizes not only work for personal sanctiication, but also for the transformation of society. The Holy Spirit enables one to share personal experience of new life (resurrection) with others, encouraging and leading to a deeper sharing in the life of the Risen Christ. United by the Holy Spirit, people can work together to transform (resurrect) society, based on gospel values so that homes, schools, work places, neighborhoods and parishes may truly relect the kingdom of God.33 31 A. Baran, P. Piasecki, “Polskie szkoły duchowości w tysiącletniej historii narodu,” in S. Urbański, M. Szymula, eds. Duchowość przełomu wieku, Warszawa 2000, p. 68. 32 Ibidem, pp. 66–78. 33 “We believe that God calls us to work together for the resurrection of society, bringing his life and love to all: through our personal witness, through the witness of our life in community, and through our community apostolates, primarily through parish work and teaching. This also requires that we build, and teach others to build, a Christian community in which all can experience the hope, joy and peace of Christ’s Resurrection” (Constitutions of the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Rome 2001, p. 8, Charism Statement). The Rule of the Brothers of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 1850, art. 165: “In a word, what the Congregation proposes as its end – if not in effect, at least in desire – is the resurrection of the whole of human society, its eternal salvation and material prosperity, which is to be found nowhere else except in the search and effort to achieve eternal salvation. In the words of Christ: “But seek irst the kingdom of God and his justice, and all things shall be given An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality 29 Last but not least in Resurrectionist spirituality is the devotion to Virgin Mary. Each person is to “rely on Mary, follow Mary, and tend to Christ through Mary.”34 Three Marian feasts should be celebrated in a special manner because have a relationship to the paschal mystery: the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, and the Feast of the Assumption. “In her Immaculate Conception she was freed from sin. As the Mother of Sorrows she shared in the sufferings of her son. In her Assumption she was raised up to share in the risen life of Jesus. If we follow her as our model we learn to share in the passion, death and resurrection of her son and we, too, will be freed from sin and will share in his new life in the Spirit.”35 Indeed, she is our Model and our Mother. In 1993, the International Formation Commission of the Congregation of the Resurrection issued a handbook titled “Resurrection Formation”. It described eight principles of formation in Resurrectionist spirituality, which were formulated as follows: 1. God loves us unconditionally. 2. God created us from nothingness. 3. Evil attracts us. 4. We succumb to sin. 5. God calls us to conversion: to the Paschal Mystery of dying and rising with Jesus. you besides” (Mt. 6:33). To attain this end, the Congregation shall use the means indicated and provided by Christ: teaching and baptizing, that is, the word of God and His holy sacraments. By the former we understand all the means of propagating the divine truth; by the latter, the various means of distributing God’s blessings and His holy grace” (The Rule and Constitutions of the Congregation of the Resurrection 1842 – 1967, edited by John Iwicki, CR, Romae 1967, p. 86–87). 34 The Rule and Constitutions of the Congregation of the Resurrection 1842 – 1967, edited by John Iwicki, CR, Romae 1967, p. 155 (The Rule of the Brothers of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 1850, art. 434). 35 Constitutions of the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Rome 2001, p. 16 (art. 8). 30 Wojciech Mleczko, CR 6. God calls us to community. 7. God calls us to work for the resurrection of society. 8. Mary: Our Model and Mother.36 These principles were summarized in the following prayer written by Fr. Francis Grzechowiak, CR in the 1980s: O Risen Lord, the way, the truth and the life, make us faithful followers of the spirit of your resurrection. Grant that we may be inwardly renewed; dying to ourselves in order that you may live in us. May our lives serve as signs of the transforming power of your love. Use us as your instruments for the renewal of society, bringing your life and love to all people and leading them to your Church. This we ask of you, Lord Jesus, living and reigning with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever. Amen. This prayer is used not only in the Congregation, but also by many lay people on a daily basis. 5. The Resurrectionist School of Spirituality At the end of this introduction a few concluding words about the Resurrectionist School of Spirituality are in order. As has already been stated, the Resurrectionist School of Spirituality was 36 Resurrection Formation, Rome 1993, pp. 7–92. An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality 31 initiated by Bogdan Jański and developed by Peter Semenenko. However, among the main representatives of the School (or co-creators) the following persons must be acknowledged: 1. Jerome (Hieronim) Kajsiewicz (1812 – 1873), co-founder of the Resurrectionist, great preacher and writer, spiritual director. 2. Servant of God Paul (Paweł) Smolikowski, CR (1849 – 1926), missionary in Bulgaria, historian, philosopher, ascetic writer, superior general of the Resurrectionists (1895 – 1905), rector of the Pontiical Polish College in Rome, Bulgarian Archimandrite. 3. Blessed Marceline (Marcelina) Darowska (1827 – 1911), co-foundress of Polish Immaculate Conception Sisters (Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary), mystic, beatiied by Pope St. John Paul II in the year 1996. 4. Blessed Celine (Celina) Borzęcka (1833 – 1913), co-foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Resurrection, also a wife, mother, widow and grandmother, beatiied by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.37 5. Venerable Hedwig (Jadwiga) Borzęcka (1863 – 1906), co-foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Resurrection along with her natural mother, Blessed Celine Borzęcka. Futhermore, here is a list of people signiicantly inluenced by Resurrectionist spirituality: 1. Many prominent members of the Congregation of the Resurrection, e.g. Eugene Funcken (1831-1888) and his brother Louis Funcken (1833 – 1890)38, Wincenty Barzyński (1838 – 1899),39 Cf. Catherine, M. “Mother Celine Borzęcka, C. R.: Foundress of the Resurrection Sisters” in Polish American Studies, vol. 10, no. 3/4, 1953, pp. 95–103. www.jstor.org/stable/20147337. 38 Cf. James A. Wahl, “Father Louis Funcken’s Contribution to German Catholicism in Waterloo County, Ontario,” in CCHA Study Sessions, 50(1983), pp. 513 – 531 (http://www.umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_pauls/ccha/Back%20Issues/CCHA1983-84/Wahl.pdf). 39 Cf. John Radziłowski, “Rev. Wincenty Barzyński and a Polish Catholic Response to Industrial Capitalism,” in Polish American Studies, vol. 58, no. 2, 37 32 Wojciech Mleczko, CR Valerian Kalinka (1826 – 1886), Stephen Pawlicki (1839 – 1916), Adolph Bakanowski (1840 – 1916), Archbishop Joseph Weber (1846 – 1918), Archbishop Salvatore Baccarini (1881 – 1962), Bishop John Garufaloff (1888 – 1951) etc. 2. Servant of God Josepha Karska (1823 – 1860), religious name: Maria Josepha of Jesus Cruciied, foundress of Polish Immaculate Conception Sisters as well as many sisters from this congregation. 3. Sisters from the Congregation of the Resurrection, e.g. Blessed Alicja Kotowska (1899 – 1939). 4. Priests educated in the Polish Pontiical College in Rome, e.g. Bishop Saint Józef Sebastian Pelczar (1842 – 1924), Blessed Fr. Jan Balicki (1869 – 1948), Fr. Józef Dąbrowski (1842 – 1903), Archbishop Saint Józef Bilczewski (1860 – 1923), Blessed Fr. Franciszek Rosłaniec (1889 – 1942), Blessed Bishop Władysław Goral (1898 – 1945), Blessed Fr. Zygmunt Sajna (1897 – 1940), Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha (1867 – 1951), Cardinal Edmund Dalbor (1869 – 1926), Cardinal Aleksander Kakowski (1862 – 1938). 6. Many other priests, e.g. Jan Koźmian (1814 – 1877), Cardinal Albin Dunajewski (1817 – 1894), Cardinal Włodzimierz Czacki (1834 – 1888), Archbishop Joseph Teodorowicz (1864 – 1938), Servant of God Fr. Franciszek Blachnicki (1921 – 1987). 7. Number of religious sisters, e.g. Blessed Émilie d’Oultremont (1818 – 1878, Marie of Jesus, foundress of the Sisters of Mary Reparatrix), Venerable Servant of God Maria Teresa Dudzik (1860 – 1918, foundress of the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago). 8. Numerous lay people, e.g. Valerian Wielogłowski (1805 – 1865), Ignatius Domeyko (1802 – 1889), Józef Ignacy Kraszewski 2001, pp. 23–32. www.jstor.org/stable/20148612. Wojciech Mleczko, CR, “Paraia jako przestrzeń zmartwychwstania społeczeństwa (szkic o działalności ks. Wincentego Barzyńskiego w Chicago),” in Wojciech Mleczko, CR, ed. Zmartwychwstańcy: ku duchowemu odrodzeniu społeczeństwa. Resurrectionists: towards the spiritual rebirth of society, Kraków: Wydawnictwo św. Jana Pawła II, 2015, pp. 127–159. An Introduction to Resurrectionist Spirituality 33 (1812 – 1887), Antoni Patek (1811 – 1877), servant of God Jan Tyranowski (1901 – 1947, spiritual director of the young Karol Wojtyła). 6. Conclusion Resurrectionist spirituality, initiated in the middle of 19th Century, was both original and ahead of its time. Its doctrine was in total opposition to both laxism and Jansenism (e.g. it promoting frequent Communion). The deeply personalistic system of Resurrectionist spiritual formation was years ahead of doctrinal formulation of the theory of personalism, which became well known only in the 20th Century. Similarly, the idea of the primacy of love gained preference only in the teachings of Vatican II, when it was given biblical justiication. Father Semenenko did this many years before.40 Resurrectionist spirituality should also not be associated exclusively with the Congregation of the Resurrection. The heritage of this school of spirituality has enriched many outside of the Congregation, and is able to enrich every member of the Church who feels called to work for the spiritual and moral resurrection of a society. 40 Stanisław Urbański, Formacja życia duchowego w ujęciu głównych przedstawicieli szkoły zmartwychwstańskiej, Warszawa 1988, pp. 242, 247. Edward. T. Janas, “Father Peter Semenenko, C.R. and His Message,” in Polish American Studies vol. 13, No. 1/2 (Jan. – Jun., 1956), pp. 1–18. 34 Wojciech Mleczko, CR Bibliography • Baran, A., Piasecki, P. “Polskie szkoły duchowości w tysiącletniej historii narodu,” in Duchowość przełomu wieku, ed. S. Urbański, M. 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