80 tion that it is reserved only for perfect, clean-cut faith-devotees who, having reached absolute perfection, who don’t have to worry about a free pass to the elite club of the redeemed. In this way, the Divine gift of the Immaculate Conception powerfully reveals the truth that God has eternally loved each and every man and He constantly confirms His irrevocable decision. What’s more, the mystery of the Immaculate Conception as a sign of Divine Mercy consistently leads to a new creation, becomes an icon of the new man. What does this mean in practice? Namely, that in the Immaculate Conception, Mary experiences in reality the work of the Holy Spirit who makes Her a new creation, and today a Marian who imitates Mary and is delivered from sin by the power of grace also becomes a new man (cf. 2 Cor 5:17; Rom 7:6; 8:1-16; Gal 5:16-25) in whom the original image and likeness of God is renewed (see Col 3:10; Gen 1:27). No wonder that the prophet of the Immaculate Conception, St. Stanislaus Papczyński becomes today a special intercessor of the people searching for their true origins and sources whom he helps discover anew that you cannot read the history of man without God just as with any sphere of our life, you cannot avoid sinking into an unproductive activism without God’s grace. Relying on the richness of the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, let’s not get into new versions of the old heresy of Pelagianism but filled with joy at the grace being bestowed, let’s sing gratefully the hymn of praise together with Mary – the Almighty has done great things for me (Lk. 1:49). In the image and likeness ... Indeed, God is doing great things in and for us but are we really becoming a new creation? And even if we are, is it really in His image and likeness or in our, still limited image according to a crippled and narrow-minded faith? There is an interesting story from the phenomenal ministry of Fr. Józef Tischner who used to say: “Love in itself is beyond comprehension but thanks to love, we can comprehend everything.” taken from one of his dialogue homilies where his interlocutors were pre-schoolers. In the 70s, Fr. Tischner celebrated famous Eucharists for pre-schoolers and their parents in the Church of St. Mark in Kraków. During one of the masses, he asked the children whom God created the most beautiful, who is exceptional, created in the image of God Himself. There were various answers: the sun, the stars, the woods, the mountains or, closer to them, teddy bears or other favourite toys. When the priest, still not receiving the right answer, tried to suggested to them whom God created as really special and won-
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