191 Papczyński. Both the beatifi cation and related studies revealed the riches of Fr. Founder and his Congregation’s spirituality and charism. It is a new experience that brought the Lithuanian Marians closer to other Marian communities worldwide as well as allowing us to get to know better the history and development of the Congregation throughout its entire lifetime. Until now, because of well-known causes, the Marians in Lithuania used to think of themselves as locked within the Lithuanian borders; also, they used to perceive the history of the Congregation starting with its renewal. This new experience touched not only the Lithuanian Marians, but also our lay people. Much help in this aspect came from people associated with the Marian Helpers Center’s work in Lithuania, who were involved in the beatifi cation process. Their numerous contacts made us clearly realize that the Marians also live in various places outside of Lithuania and that the history of our Congregation does not start with the Renovator, but with Fr. Papczyński. I am amazed by all this and I rejoice from the chance to deepen my knowledge of the charism and spirituality of our Congregation. I admire the thoroughness, responsibility, and great efforts that have been exerted to studying our history, spirituality, and charisms; and I rejoice at that plans which have been laid out. I hope for a great future of our Congregation and that it will blossom. However, personally I am also concerned with our future. We are talking about our entire activity, not only after the founding of the Congregation, but also after its renewal. We are not living 300 years ago, but today. When we talked about our Founder and his spirituality, we’ve done it in the context of his period with its political and religious circumstances and mentality of his contemporaries. Instead, I rarely hear anything presenting his person and spirituality in relation to our times. This worries me because I fi nd there this mentality, which could be thus expressed: what do all those things that happened in the past have to do with the future? Consequently, what needs to be done? I remember a passage from the New Testament: “Go into the world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (cf. Mk 16:15; Mt 28:19-20). I believe that the study of, and living according to the spirit of our Founder, as well as according to the rich heritage of our Congregation, are that part of our lives in which we are removed from the world. It gives us protection and is a source of our spiritual strength. With it, we must enter today’s reality, go to the great sinners who, having taken care of various things, do not see the need to be concerned about the things that we care about: their spirituality and eternal life. Thus, I believe that our task is to study the world and the mentality of people today, to show them a personal motivation for faith, to explain the meaning of the spiritual life and its necessity for growth. However, there are some dangers hidden in these kind of activities. We must make sure
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