255 Lord is with you (…). The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (cf. Lk 1:28.35). Amazing is the simplicity with which Mary responds to the extraordinary message of Angel Gabriel: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to Your word” (Lk 1:38). Mary’s greatness is expressed in her complete, absolute obedience of faith. The Immaculate Virgin was the unconditional “yes” to God, to His will. This is why St. Anselm was able to say: “God, then, is the Father of the created world and Mary the Mother through whom all things were given new life. For, God begot the Son, through whom all things were made, and Mary gave birth to him as the Savior of the world.”3 This is the greatness of Mary Immaculate: She is indeed a shining beacon which God lit up for all of humanity. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM has a special signifi cance for the Congregation of Marian Fathers because Mary Immaculate is at the heart of its original charism. Living out this memorial, the entire Congregation wants to rediscover again and again the fascinating beauty of this charism in order to receive it afresh with a renewed sense of gratitude and responsibility, to live by it more fully in their ministry for the Church’s mission. How could we not recall here the words of the Congregation’s Founder, Blessed Stanislaus Papczyński: “Oh my soul, (…) look today through a new, fresh, unseen Book— namely—the Most Holy Mother of God, the Book created by God Himself: written and ornamented. Can you possibly fi nd anywhere else something that you would not have in Mary? Is it possible for someone else to give you more of what Mary has? This is a book of virtues and all perfection: it is divided into as many chapters, as there are virtues. Thus, leafi ng through this Book, apply yourself entirely to its study and pick fl owers so very indispensable for your station.”4 This suggestion of your Founder is worthy recalling on the day of the closing of the Year of Thanksgiving for his beatifi cation. We all have imprinted in our memory the celebrations that gathered vast crowds of the faithful at the Licheń Shrine on September 16, 2007. A great gift for the entire Church—the beatifi cation of Stanislaus Papczyński—became a genuine time of grace, a true kairos for the Congregation of Marian Fathers, a stimulating impulse to live by the original charism with a renewed zeal and to make it a treasure in the service of the mission of the Church. Today, a new special year begins in the life of the Marian Fathers: the Centennial Anniversary of the Congregation’s Renewal through the Reform undertaken by Blessed Archbishop George Matulaitis-Matulewicz. That was an exceptional 3 St. Anselm, Discourse 52, in: Liturgy of the Hours, t. 1, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1975, p. 1229. 4 IC, p. 934-935.
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