127 d) the 18th-century Marians published a prayer book to prayerfully assist the deceased. This beautiful initiative is continued in many ways by our Publishing House and our Association of Marian Helpers. Maybe, we ought to create an “eschatological series” for our publishing apostolate that would provide the canonical view on this topic: for example, the works of Joseph Ratzinger or Ladislaus Boros. Thanks to these initiatives, people may begin to associate us anew with helping the souls suffering in Purgatory. C. The Apostolate—Caritas: a) The second hospice, to which the Marians have made a commitment (the fi rst, in Warsaw, and now in Licheń) fi ts perfectly into our eschatological charism of caring for the dying. At this point, only the Marian experts are involved in this cause. Let’s hope that our hospice work will stimulate all of the Marians to provide spiritual and prayerful care for the elderly and the dying. The aging of the European population should be a sign of the times that indicates the need to re-evaluate our Marian program of caring; b) I learned from our confreres in Germany about an important pastoral cause related to death—care for the bereaved. The natural place for this kind of care is the confessional and the sacrament of reconciliation. However, wouldn’t it be worthwhile to create some counseling service at our parishes to benefi t those who cannot cope with the death of their loved ones. Undoubtedly, this type of apostolate needs responsible and well-trained staff: psychologists or spiritual directors. Closing question To close, I’d like to put a question to you. Wouldn’t it be worthwhile to return to the Congregation-wide recitation of the Offi ce of the Dead as a manifestation of our charism? I’m thinking about receiving from the Holy See the privilege for the Marians to recite this Offi ce weekly, for example, on Mondays, aside from obligatory memorials prescribed by the liturgical calendar. Someone may say that, in fact, no one is forbidding us from reciting this Offi ce. My idea goes further: I’m thinking of a communal, continuous prayerful commitment that would help the Marians themselves to live in the eschatological perspective, according to the principle: Lex orandi, lex credendi. Such a renewed practice would demand the incorporation of a new paragraph into our Directory, but the right to make alterations in our laws belongs to the General Chapter alone. The goal of my proposal is to present the problem and to raise a question for further refl ection.
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