72 the will of God whose salvifi c act always precedes a human response. Thus, in the Immaculate Conception, we can admire the absolute primacy of God and His redemptive will toward each man and the primacy of grace in the relationship of God with creation. John Paul II reminded us about the principle of the primacy of grace at the dawn of the Third Millennium, strongly stressing its indispensability in the life of the Church. In the Apostolic Letter, Novo Millenio Inneunte we read: “There is a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan. God of course asks us really to cooperate with His grace, and therefore invites us to invest all our resources of intelligence and energy in serving the cause of the Kingdom. But it is fatal to forget that “without Christ we can do nothing” (cf. Jn 15:5).”24 The principle of the primacy of grace, which we discover in the Immaculate Conception, introduces order into our pastoral work and sets the appropriate pastoral priorities. All attention and pastoral work should focus on receiving God’s gift of grace and remaining in God’s presence. This leads to the most important pastoral priority which is prayer, understood as remaining in the presence of God with an open heart. There is no more important pastoral work than prayer. In this context, we can see the pastoral power of the infl uence of a Religious dedicated to pastoral work. Their faithfulness to prayer, that is, their remaining in Christ in the community of the Church, is an absolute priority in apostolic engagement. Isn’t it exactly what Blessed George Matulewicz testifi ed to when he wrote: “These are the wellsprings of our life! The more deeply a person becomes immersed in the Spirit of Christ and of the Church, becomes soaked in it, saturated with it, the more complete will be his holiness and the more fruitful will be his work”25 or “unless constantly nourished by prayer, the soul wilts and withers. Our energy burns out, our spirit is dissipated, and our work turns incredibly sterile.”26 Dedication to the principle of the primacy of grace insures that in our pastoral work we will give priority to the spiritual life and to striving for sanctity. And it means objecting to Christianity in its light or insubstantial form, which is less demanding, devoid of any evangelical radicalism. Thus, the basis for the pastoral program for the new millennium—as John Paul II pointed out—is leading the baptized on the road of the vocation to sanctity.27 Mary Immaculate is the example on this path. She completely fulfi lled this calling to sanctity. Accepting 24 John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millenio Inneunte, 38. 25 George Matulaitis Matulewicz, Journal, January 6, 1913, 87. 26 Ibid., November 14, 1910, 27. 27 cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Lester Novo millenio ineunte, 31.
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