Journal
ENThe "Journal" of George (Jurgis) Matulaitis spans a fifteen-year period, almost a third of his life. It was written intermittently from the fall of 1910 to the summer of 1925. When he began to keep a Journal in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1910, his intention was to do this as a spiritual exercise rather than simply to write a diary. He started to write in a small notebook which he kept with him. He titled it thus: Thoughts, Enlightenments, Inspirations, and Resolutions. Having recently made his religious profession as a Marian, a step he took after 11 years of priesthood, he was also in the process of renewing the dying Marian Congregation. From 1910 to 1914 the Journal reflects his own spiritual concerns and those of his religious community. His main preoccupation was this: what is the most effective way to lead a truly spiritual and apostolic life in the turbulent modern world, a world becoming ever more hostile to religious faith and to the Church. He regarded the Catholic Church as the kingdom of God on earth, but also as a persecuted pilgrim Church. His main aim was to learn to “walk in the footsteps of Christ” and to serve the Church wholeheartedly [p. 19].
