232 of Mary, the Immaculately Conceived one, but of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God in all instances of key importance to us. Comprehension of this subtle yet essential difference became the turning point in my understanding of the essence of our Congregation’s spirituality and charism. There are many male congregations of the Immaculate Mother of God, but, as far as I know, only one of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, the goal of which is to promote this salvifi c mystery: the Congregation of the Marian Fathers. By the power of God, through the work of Fr. Papczyński, we’ve been called within the Church to become the custodians of the mystery of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God and of the prayer for the deceased. What it means in practice may very well be the most important question to which the Marians have yet to fi nd an answer after the beatifi cation of our Founder. How little we’ve been aware of who we are and what the Immaculate Conception means is shown by the following fact. During the 1995 Provincial Convention in Poland someone made a motion to bring back Fr. Papczyński’s invocation: May the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception be our salvation and our protection [in Polish: salvation—not health—note of the translator], we found it to be theologically incorrect, because Mary cannot be anybody’s salvation. We did not see that this brief prayer is not related to the person of Mary, but to the salvifi c action of God in her life, which is the Immaculate Conception. May God, who redeemed Mary so marvelously and completely outside of her merits, come to our assistance because His gratuitous grace is our only hope. It was only the beatifi cation of Fr. Stanislaus that caused the mystery of the Immaculate Conception to become the topic of our extended discussions and theological studies, to fascinate us, to enliven our spiritual life and to urge us to preach it. The Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God is an icon of the Divine Mercy in its pure form. Promoting the honor of the Immaculate Conception is, above all, to allow God to make us “holy and without blemish” (Eph 1:4). To be an apostle of the Immaculate Conception, is to proclaim to the world, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Good News about living God’s love and mercy and to show unselfi sh love and mercy for the living and the deceased. The Immaculate Conception arranges all the elements of our charism into one, logical unity. These elements had either been detached or lost throughout our diffi cult history, including even those that have been the topic of some disputes. To me, the Immaculate Conception has become a key for understanding Mary and her role in the spirituality of the Marians. Seen “as the perfect work of God, the best fruit of Christian redemption” (C 117), Mary is a model for us and a most effi cacious Mother and Advocate. Mary is the masterpiece of the Most Holy Trinity. When I give honor to Mary, I worship God the Father, the Son and
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