Ad Honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Oblatio

192 Saint Stanislaus Papczynski – my Spiritual Father The saints are models of Christian perfection. They live completely for Christ and are united with Him at all time. They are truly the mirror and inspiration for all of us, the pilgrims on the earth. Before I entered the Marians, I was touched by the life of the Martyrs of Vi ệ t Nam. They were the heroes and warriors of Jesus. They always live in my heart and inspire my daily life. But when I entered the Congregation of the Marian Fathers, I received another great gift from God. It is our Father Founder. I did not know anything about him before. I was not even much interested in him. His name was to strange for me. I could not read correct- ly and remember his name. But after three years spent with the Marians in Saigon, I learned a lot about Saint Stanislaus Papczynski, especially from Father Superior of the Community. I have also read the books about Father Founder which helped me to come closer to him. At the beginning I did not really pay much attention on the person of Father Founder. Only sometimes I read some information about him in the internet. This was certainly not enough to know such a great person as Father Founder. Anyway, it was like this at the beginning, when I was just a candidate to the Congregation. But now I am a novice of the Marians in Vi ệ t Nam. I study a lot of things during this time, specially the History of the Congregation. Our Novice Master while teaching brings us closer to the important people from the history of the Marian Fathers such as Father Casimir Wyszinski, Father Renovator Blessed George, Blessed Martyrs George and Anthony, but first of all Father Founder. He is the most impor- tant person for us. Father Novice Master wants every novice to know him well and even better than the others. In fact, there is no way to be a true Marian without knowing the one who is the Founder of the Congregation and who is also the mirror for every Marian to look at and so to recognize self-identity. I remember the words of Father Novice Master that when we go to the sea it is not enough to put only the feet in the water but we should dive deep into the water. In the same way we must know deeper the charism and