95 cult of the Immaculate Conception and proclaiming the Word of God, praying for the dead thus became one of his Congregation’s principal aims. The thought of death and meditation upon Heaven, Purgatory and Hell help us to wisely“spend” our time on earth; it encourages us to think of death as a necessary stage on our journey towards God; it leads us always to accept and respect life as a gift from God, from its conception to its natural end. What an important sign for the modern world is the miracle of the “unexpected recovery of a pregnancy between the 7th and 8th week of gestation” which occurred through the intercession of Fr. Papczyński. God is the Master of human life!”58 The tenor of those statements suggests that the object of the Marians’ apostolate does not involved the deceased alone, but also the living so that they may format their lives sub specie aeternitatis right from their youth. In our way of assisting the dead we must respect the traditional means, while seeking the new and modern ones. All of them have their value and meaning, are equally needed and timely for the work of salvation of men. Salvation is the essential element of every pastoral service. In truth, there is just one form of pastoral work—the work for life: a dignifi ed earthly life and a glorious life in eternity. Proposals We feel prompted to formulate certain proposals by our entire and presently reviewed tradition, but particularly by statements and defi nitions included in the Post-Vatican Constitutions and Directory (1970, 1988), which are concerned with this topic and were placed there with the idea of “returning” to the legacy of the charisms of our Congregation. It is propitious that these statements and defi - nitions have already found their way into decrees. They are important and worth attention, even though sometimes they have been located outside of the chapter about the nature, particular goal and character of the Congregation. Thus, we must fi nd them a more appropriate location. This brings on my proposals. For the Constituions: Paragraph 19 ought to appear after paragraph 6, because these two, as well as the others given in Part I, speak about the essential features of our Congregation’s character. Taken together, they represent a development and a commentary, even an annex to paragraph 2 about the mission of the Congregation, which in the old religious parlance was called the particular goal. 58 The Beatifi cation homily can be found at: www.stanislawpapczyński.org; also see: Immaculata 2007, no. 514, p. 39. 1.
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