The Image of a Hidden Life: Kazimiera Gruszczyńska’s Way to Holiness
Małgorzata POTENT-AMBROZIEWICZ
Zakład Edukacji Polonistycznej i Innowacji Dydaktycznych, Wydział Humanistyczny, Instytut Filologii Polskiej, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej Lublin, pl. Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 4A, 20-031 Lublin, Poland , PolandAbstract
The article describes the profile of Mother Kazimiera Gruszczyńska, the foundress of the Franciscan Sisters of the Suffering Congregation. Inspired by Fr. Honorat Koźmiński, she chose the hidden life. Her radical attitude concerning the need to keep the activity of the congregation she founded secret resulted from her desire to imitate Christ by being obedient to the will of God. In that, she wanted to follow the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. In her daily life Kazimiera Gruszczyńska fully confirmed her faithfulness to the vows she had made, thus becoming a paragon of humility. She believed that the value of her hidden life lay in its being a gift for the Church and for every human being. She devoted herself to serving the afflicted and the rejected, and she educated her wards in that spirit. Her work resulted in the erection of numerous churches, hospitals, and nursing homes.
Translated by Dorota Chabrajska
Keywords:
Kazimiera Gruszczyńska, hidden life, Franciscan Sisters of the Suffering CongregationZakład Edukacji Polonistycznej i Innowacji Dydaktycznych, Wydział Humanistyczny, Instytut Filologii Polskiej, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej Lublin, pl. Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 4A, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
