Stanislaw Czerniewicz to the fathers and brothers of the province Polock, 13 August 1783 ARSI, Russia 1001, VII-2. Orig. Letter of R.P. Stanislaw Czerniewicz to the fathers and brothers, with the announcement of the declaration spoken by Pope Pius VI. Dated 13 August 1783 [heading prepared by archivist] Latin original published in Marek Inglot SJ, La Compagnia di Gesù nell Impero Russo (1772-1820) e la sua parte nella restaurazione generale della Compagnia (Rome, 1997), pp 273-5 To the reverend fathers and dearest brothers of the least Society of Jesus in White Russia: I greet you in the Lord. That which St John Crysostom, in the eight homily on Matthew, wrote concerning all the servants of God, namely that the merciful God allows them to have neither continued tribulations nor continued joys, but weaves in the life of the just, with admirable variety, both adversities and prosperity, this he does also with us, according to the will of his most clement providence Each time that new storms came and we believed that we were finished, we rejoiced because from these very dangers something good came for us. We had hardly recovered from the fear that at Rome something threatening would be decided against us, or that at St Petersburg, in the name of the Supreme Pontiff something of mortal danger would be transmitted, when the most illustrious and most reverend Jan Benislawski (whose
arrival was most eagerly awaited at Rome and St Petersburg), coadjutor of the archbishop of Mogilev, let us know that, there as well as here, our affairs are out of danger, and that in particular the Supreme Pontiff ratifies all that has been done here to stabilize our least Society, and this he has said clearly and repeatedly. Having received such joyful news, I cannot refrain from communicating to your reverences the relief which I have experienced as a result, and so I invite you to give thanks to God, father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who comforts us so marvelously in all our tribulations. In particular I wish, in order to give thanks, that every father offers to his Divine Majesty three Masses and every brother three communions. But this sacrifice of praise will be all the more acceptable to the extent that we will seek to give him glory in works and in truth. The Lord seems to be asking two things from our least Society at this present time, to keep it safe in the midst of so many dangers, namely a strenuous care for the salvation of our neighbour, and mutual charity among ourselves. The end for which the Society was founded, by means of our holy Father Ignatius, inspired by God, was the propagation of the divine glory by means of the search for perfection, united to the zeal of winning the souls redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. This being so, it is not difficult to understand that the end for which the supreme providence wished that that part of the Society which remained would be conserved in White Russia, taking into account our condition and with particular consideration for the ministries and tasks, was our effort with every means to be useful to the inhabitants of this region. As things stand, we may perhaps have some reason to fear that Lord might cast us far from himself, as useless servants unworthy of his marvelous protection, if, tired of laboring in his vineyard, we either seek to
flee from those works in which we seek to help our neighbor, or engage in them wearily, if, fully caught up in an easy life, we were to dedicate ourselves only to our studies, little concerned at the ruin of so many souls in this world full of scandals. If there were someone among us who feels that his own soul might be moving towards sloth and laziness, it would be of great help to him to recall what St. Gregory the Great says in his Homily 17: Let us consider carefully what damnation that person would deserve who receives the reward of his own work without in fact having worked; what crime it would be in front of God to eat the price of sins and not to preach in any way against the sins themselves; let us keep in mind those who, having been converted by our speaking, and, thanks to our admonition have been dragged out of their bad conduct, and have done penance; let us remember our recompense from God, who has given us the talents and has invited us to labour. The serious education of youth opens up as a field for our zeal, and so, he who wishes that the study of literature would be a means to an end, which is the beginning of wisdom or of the fear of God, pouring into their tender souls the love of virtue and a wholesome way of life. Never more than today do we need to make every effort so that our schools might respond to the expectation of the public and exactly observe all the prescriptions of the Ratio Studiorum; otherwise this means will not be suitable for the end towards which the Society s schools are directed. Let us dedicate ourselves therefore to this work with a joyful and courageous soul, so that nothing might be lacking that is desirable regarding doctrine, even though we should not insist on this as if it were the goal; teachers and professors should not spare themselves in willingly instructing their students so that they might profit from literature, but even more so
that from our schooling they might go forth so honest and upright, so solid in what is being inculcated in them regarding religion and the love of virtue, so that they might be not only famous orators, philosophers, mathematicians etc but also good citizens and excellent Christians. However since in this area the effort is great, who would ever dedicate himself to the good of others, if not animated by the spirit of charity? And how could one ever have charity towards those outside the Society, if one did not have charity towards one s own companions? Without charity, similarly, no community could survive, and a building which lacks a strong connection between its various parts cannot withstand the violent blows of storms and plots. An army invincible against enemy assaults can be defeated by the arrows of the internal dissidents who emerge from among the citizens. Where there is charity, peace and mutual agreement of minds, there Christ is present, as he himself has said: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. And where Christ is present, there can be nothing harmful: although the boat of the apostles was buffeted by the waves and although Jesus was sleeping, from the moment he was among them everything was secure. On the other hand, where anger, envy, rivalries and factions, suspicion and conflicts are present, men cannot think of being united in the Lord s name. God does not want that this should happen easily among us, who have been called, and are, sons of God and therefore sons of peace. Let us turn our eyes rather towards our first fathers, whose story presents us with mutual charity and shows us an image of the paradise in which they lived. It is told that at that time, in the professed house at Rome, as well as six professed there were twelve brothers, who had entered the Society shortly beforehand: each one was diligently attending to his own work,.. No rivalry, if not for virtue, no envious backbiting, no word of complaint. Each was outdoing the other in the common tasks, and in giving honour
to the others. The only area of competition was for humility, which is the mother of peace and of harmony; the men were very different given the variety of customs, of countries of origin and of ages, yet they lived in great harmony together, a single body and a single spirit: one would have said they were a group, not of men, but of angels in human form. So Orlandini [N. Orlandini, Historia Societatis Iesu (Rome, 1614)] described our first fathers, and so that posterity might read the same about us, regarding the sweetest link of charity which unites us, as that precious pearl for which the one who found it, gives all his possessions and buys it, we must ensure that there is nothing more precious for us, and of which we do not want to be easily deprived. Let us unite our prayers to the prince of peace, the one who loves charity, so that he might give us harmony with his grace. I entrust myself to the Holy Sacrifices of your reverences. And finally I ask the Reverend Father Provincial to communicate this letter of mine in all our colleges and mission, so that it will be read at table. Polock, 13 August in the year of Our Lord 1783 Your reverences servant in Christ Stanislaw Czerniewicz, Vicar-General SI, in White Russia