Lest You Remain

may not have in Mary? Would anyone else give with you of what Mary possesses? This is a book of virtues and every perfection. It has as many chapters as the num- ber of virtues it discusses. Thus, immerse yourself completely in the reading of this book and gather the flowers necessary for you in your walk of life.” 15 2.2. Spreading of the devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the M.B.V.M. through actions Without a doubt, the first task in service of spreading devotion to Mary Immaculately Conceived had to be the Congregation of Marian Fathers and its charism. The very fact of the Congregation’s existence is already a form of promot- ing the Immaculate Conception. Father Casimir Wyszy < ski (1700-1755) thus recalls in his diary the audience granted by Benedict XIV, during which the Pope commended the fact that the Congregation has been founded for the greater glory of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. 16 In this very manner the Congregation’s existence was perceived by its Founder who, for this reason, attrib- uted great importance to the outward signs pointing to this aspect of Mary’s life and the Congregation’s charism. In his Norma vitae he says: “… you, as hermits, will wear clothing from the most simple, rougher and thicker material: you will wear a habit stretching to the ankles […] and a short mantle reaching to the knees, and a shirt from course linen or some other stinging material. All of these will be white in color, in honor of the pure Conception of our Lady, and the greatest cleanliness of them should be observed, because dirty poverty can please no one.” 17 In time, and also as a result of accepting the Rule of the Ten Evangelical Virtues, he adds to this clothing a white and blue scapular embroidered or embossed with the image of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, as well as a ten-bead rosary to be worn at the belt. 18 Such attire was supposed to recall the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. However, what really completed Fr. Papczy<ski ’s Congregation was the existence of a man devoted to Mary, was the evangelical life marked by the Marian spirituality, deepened by daily Marian practices, particularly the daily com- munal recitation of the Office of the Immaculate Conception , the Rosary, and other prayer (i.e., litany), as well as hymns dedicated to the Mother of God, communal fasting prior to all major Marian solemnities, the placing of images of the Immaculately Conceived in the Marian monasteries, and the mandatory invocation Devotion to the Immaculate Conception according to Fr. St. Papczy < ski 191 15 Ibid, k. 140v. 16 Cf. Z. Proczek, The Devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the M.B.V.M ., in The Marians , Ed. J. Bukowicz, M.I.C., T. Górski, M.I.C., Rome, 1975, 326. 17 NV, IV, 4. 18 Cf. C. Wyszy < ski, Foreword , in: F. Arias, The Morning Star, or about imitation of ten virtues of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary , Warsaw, 1986.