Ad Honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Oblatio

136 late Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose vision God etched on his soul in a mystical way. While still existing only in the mind of Father Founder, this Order was already closely linked to the mission of spreading devotion to Mary in the mystery of her Immaculate Conception. This was precisely the purpose for which it had been founded. We may venture to say that – just as the Immaculate Conception of Mary is inseparable from her person – the existence of the ‘Society of Marian Fathers’ loses its sense if it is detached from the main goal set by the Founder. 10 This charismatic goal was not a result of Father Stanislaus’s theological or any other specu- lative reflection. Nor was it the fruit of his pious ambitions and projects. It had its source in an authentic encounter with God, a spiritual experience subjected to the discernment of the Church and constantly challenged by the voice of his conscience. This is why, on December 11, 1670, he uttered in a “low voice” the words flowing out of his heart: “I, Stanislaus of Jesus Mary Papczyński, [...] offer and consecrate to God the Father Almighty, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, and also to the Mother of God the Ever-Virgin Mary, conceived without origi- nal sin, my heart, my soul, intellect, memory, will, feelings, my whole mind, my whole spirit, my interior and exterior senses, and my body, leaving absolutely nothing for myself, so that in this way I may be henceforth the whole-hearted servant-slave of the same Almighty [God] and of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. And so I promise that I shall, to the end of my life, serve Them chastely and zealously in the Society of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception (which by the grace of God I resolve to found)” ( Oblatio , in: Historical Writings ... p. 28). On December 11, 1670, St. Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary gave himself to God and Mary Immaculate, thus responding to the charismatic gift of spreading the honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mother, to which God called him and the entire future Marian community. Did Fa- ther Founder know then how to fulfill his mission? Did he have a strategic action plan and the means to implement it? The answer is no. He knew one 10 “But lest you remain without work in the Vineyard of the Lord (cf. Mt 20:31), to the ut- most of strength you will promote devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mother of God,” in: St. Stanislaus Papczyński, The Rule of Life , on: padrimariani.org/resources/marian_li- brary/Spirituality, Consitutions, Antique_materials, p. 11.