Theological Foundations new file

44 Theological Foundations experience such happiness. Contemplation, therefore, is “an eye of the soul.” It impels one to seek God through constant prayer which engages man’s whole heart, all his wishes and desires. 75 *** Now, in turn, how did Father Matulaitis-Matulewicz understand the idea of total surrender to God? When the Renovator of the Marians was pondering what kind of people were needed in the renewed congrega- tion and what kind of workers the Marian vocation called for, he stated without hesitation that they should be people who had died to he world, who had completely denied themselves and given themselves exclu- sively to God. To abandon one’s self, which is a condition of giving one- self to God, is to forgo the love of self in order to clothe oneself in Christ’s spirit and grace. The confreres are to remember that Christ “died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Cor 5, 15). Such sur- render makes one’s ministry so very effective that he can even raise the entire world to heaven and bring it as an offering to the feet of the Supreme God. 76 The ideal of total surrender to God presented by the author of the Spiritual Diary found its expression in the new Constitutions of the con- gregation. It is at their very beginning that Father Renovator instructs his confreres to surrender everything to God as much as human frailty allows so that He alone would become the center of life of both the indi- vidual members and the entire congregation. 77 At the same time he points out the effective means for achieving this noble goal. These are pious exercises and practices through which the confreres proceed towards God, get to know Him better and contemplate Him. Their minds are lifted up to Him and their hearts and feelings lead them to a loving union with Him. They feel that they love Him more, that they take plea- sure in Him and enjoy Him. Their will conforms to the will of God com- pletely and they become more prompt from day to day in the service of their beloved God. In this manner they foster and augment in themselves