101 Rejoicing in the beatifi cation of our Founder, in the renewal of our Congregation initiated by Blessed George Matulaitis-Matulewicz one hundred years ago, as well as in the entire history of our Institute, we shall, above all, seek the answer to these questions: what do we have to offer, as the Marians, to the world and to mankind today? What do the beatifi cation and the anniversary of the renewal mean to the average man? How can we bring them closer to him? Before we answer these questions, we ought to fi rst sum up our past, to refl ect on our present, and to look forward with hope into the future. Both the gift of the beatifi cation and the important anniversary of our Congregation’s renewal are a wonderful invitation fi rst for us, the Marians, for a new revival, for enlivening and reforming ourselves, our communities, structures, and works. First of all, we must rediscover our identity, our charism, and mission so that we can live them out within and outside our community, and to show them to the world through our attitudes and actions. We must give ourselves to the Master of the Vineyard, to God Himself, so that He can remove all of the dead branches, purify the ailing ones, and make the Vineyard—in other words, us—bear new fruit. The Marians of tomorrow shall grow out of this renewal, which we have started and will continue in our Congregation and its houses, as well as out of its apostolic works, renewed and freshly restarted. Renewal Above all, the Marian of tomorrow must have a clearly defi ned identity as a Christian, a Religious, a disciple, and a spiritual son of Blessed Stanislaus Papczyński. It would be good if anyone who would examine the life and work of an individual Marian or of the whole Congregation in the future, could answer the following questions: What kind of follower of Jesus Christ is a Marian? What is the image of Christ that he has most deeply engraved in his heart? In what manner does he live out his religious consecration? Where is the vital center of his life and the life of his Congregation? What is his point of reference? Where does he fi nd the source of his joy and strength for his life and apostolate? In what way and how does he build a community with his confreres and with lay people? The center of our life and work, both today and in the future, is Jesus Christ and His Gospel life.1 Through religious consecration, we want to enter into intimacy with Christ, to become like Him and “to replicate in ourselves, as far as 1 “(…) the ultimate norm of the religious life is the following of Christ set forth in the Gospels, let this be held by all institutes as the highest rule,” PC, 2a.
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