Ad Honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Oblatio

65 of relations of people towards monasteries or religious institutes: first, it signified their offering of children or adults to monasteries, where those who had been offered then lived; and secondly, oblatio was a sign of an association with institutes of religious life, which was not equivalent to re- ligious vows (men and women oblates) 31 . In all of these cases, however, oblatio had a specific meaning and was not associated with the creation of a concept of Christian spirituality based on the specific meaning of the word, as we see in the case of our Father Founder, St. Stanislaus. Essential- ly, even if some authors present certain concepts of oblative spirituality, they did not come until later. Such concepts appeared in the 19 th Century in France in relation to the French School of Spirituality which was con- temporary to Saint Stanislaus. Besides, it seems that these concepts do not hold any direct liturgical references 32 . The word oblatio which is used in the sense of “profession” appears in the composition of the vows of the Con- gregation of the Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists) authored by Saint Al- phonse Liguori 33 ; however, this religious community did not emerge until later, in 1732. Undoubtedly, the discussed issue requires further in-depth and contextual research. 31 Cf. G. Rocca, Oblazione , in Dizionario degli istituti de perfezione , t. VI, Paoline, Milano 1980, col. 676-678. Also cf. A. de Bovis, W. van Dijk, Offrande , in: Dicionaire de Spiritualité, t. XI, Beachesne, Paris 1982, col. 720-733. 32 As an example, let’s consider the spirituality of two religious congregations: the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (founded in 1816) and the Priests of the Sacred Heart (founded in 1877). A clear reference to oblative spirituality in regard to the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 10,7) is pres- ent in the spirituality of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. Leszek Poleszak, SCJ, thus describes it: “In the understanding of the Founder, this Ecce venio , later undertaken in the spiritual tradition of the Institute he founded, includes in its content the entirety of God’s love revealed in the Son; a readiness to offer oneself; the beginning of the work of redemption, and a model of an oblative attitude. Jesus’ attitude of Ecce venio is for the Founder a synonym for the free attitude of love which God expects from man. Its value lies precisely in man’s availability to the Creator. There- fore, worship here is not about additional sacrifices, but about devotion to the Father, which – in the example of the Son of God – also takes the form of substitution, which is contained in love, praise, pure love, obliteration, and remuneration, as well as the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus”, see L. Poleszak SCJ, Główne rysy duchowości Zgromadzenia Księży Najświętszego Serca Jezusowego w zamyśle założyciela – o. Leona Jana Dehona , in: Droga rad ewangelicznych. Program formacji ciągłej na 2011 rok , Kraków 2011, p. 121. S. Hałas, SCJ, treats this matter similarly in his article: Pismo św . w duchowości Sługi Bożego o. Leona Dehona , in: “Symposium” 2 (13) 2004, pp. 57-70. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate regard their spirituality in a different manner. Although they refer to the word oblatio in their title – yet, they define themselves primarily in relation to the Mother of God: “In other words, Oblates are people offered to the Blessed Virgin Mary”; see https://oblaci.pl/maryja-niepokalana/. 33 Information from: H. Charbonneau, Oblacja , in: Słownik wartości oblackich , Ed. F. Ciardi OMI, Poznań 2004, pp. 542-550.