217 Consequently, we ought to introduce Blessed Father Founder in our prayers, both daily and in event-related ones, including the prayers of the Mass. Let us use for this purpose, the days of retreat and renewal: on a selected day during these spiritual exercises, let us use the Mass formula from the commemoration of Blessed Father Stanislaus, according to the norms of the liturgical calendar. 2. As to the present General Convention: the kind and content of the statements made in the sessions and behind the scenes prove that there is already in our Congregation a will to produce a synthesis of the contributions made by Fr. Stanislaus, Fr. Casimir and Fr. George. In our future work, especially at the stage of studying the charism, it will be very important to preserve the balance and the will to integrate all of the elements, without creating any competition or juxtaposition and particularly, without naively rejecting something. It is not a matter of syncretism, but of a living tradition. Joseph Roesch, MIC Italy, Rome, General Councilor I cannot say too much about the fruits that the beatifi cation of Fr. Founder are having in my Province, since I spend most of the year living away from my Province. However, I did have the opportunity to spend time with them at the beatifi cation and on the pilgrimage immediately afterward. I also had a chance to be with them this year during the retreat which was offered by Fr. Zdzisław Żywica on the charism of Fr. Founder. In both cases, I found great enthusiasm among the men, since the person of Fr. Founder came alive for us. He had been for me, as he had been for many others, an abstraction, not someone who seemed very real or who I had felt very close to. During the events surrounding the beatifi cation last year and at the retreat this year, I found my brothers in the Province fi nally beginning to make a connection with a long lost father. They seemed to realize that he had been in the background all along, but that a number of factors had made it diffi cult to get to know him better. In my local community here in Rome, the monthly retreat days of refl ection on his writings and his thoughts have also helped me to grow in my appreciation for Fr. Founder. I was very touched by the retreat refl ections offered this year by Fr. Zdislaw regarding the Community’s charism. He helped us to see how our Founder lived out the paschal mystery of Christ in his life. The cross of Jesus Christ was always at the center of his life which was fi lled with obstacles, sufferings, frustrations and challenges over and over again. The charisms of the Community—the promotion of the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, the praying for the souls
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