Message from Superior General of the Congregation….

Importance of This Jubilee

“In the Church’s history, every jubilee is prepared for by Divine Providence.” Saint John Paul II used these words in his apostolic letter, Tertio millennio adveniente (17) to describe the theological perspective of a jubilee. The same document also provides other meanings and the goals of a jubilee: “a time dedicated in a special way to God” (12), it gives “impetus to the renewal” (19) of faith and the bond with God, it “is always an occasion of special grace, ‘a day blessed by the Lord’” and “it is thus a time of joy;” it “is meant to be a great prayer of praise and thanksgiving,” and “the joy of every Jubilee is above all, a joy based upon the forgiveness of sins, the joy of conversion” (32). “Everything ought to focus on the primary objective of the Jubilee: the strengthening of faith and of the witness of Christians” (42). I trust that our celebrations of the 350th  Anniversary of the origin of our religious community will contribute to the renewal of our faith and our personal bond with the Lord who called us; to the deepening of our identity and the awareness of our charism; to our giving witness to who we are and to the purpose of our existence in the Church; to our re-discovering what Christ and His Immaculate Mother, our Patroness, mean to us; to strengthening our bonds with our holy Father Founder, Saint Stanislaus, who – always obedient to the Holy Spirit – gave rise to our religious community……

After 350 years of the existence of the Congregation of Marian Fathers, jubilee joy also becomes ours. This is not of our doing, but purely a gift from God in His Providence. Today, we gaze with gratitude at Him for He not only raised this community into existence through our Father Founder, St. Stanislaus, but also preserved it and continues to sustain it. During the Jubilee events, we want to express our gratitude to God for His protection over us throughout our history and to entrust our future to Him…

 

Jubilee prayer

Almighty God and Father,

In Your Providence,

You have been shaping

the Congregation of Marian Fathers from the beginning

– Your possession,

raised into existence by the Holy Spirit

in cooperation with our father, St. Stanislaus

to proclaim to all peoples and nations the deed of the redemption

carried out by Your Son,

born of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Grant, we pray, that the 350th Anniversary of the origin of our community

will renew and strengthen the charism in us,

poured into our hearts by Your Spirit.

May our life, immersed in You,

become a witness before others to Your salvific love.

Obedient to You as the Immaculate Mother of Your Son was,

transformed in the Holy Spirit,

we, individually and as a community,

want to respond to your salvific plan:

“That we should be holy and immaculate before Your sight” (cf. Eph 1: 4).

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

 

Fr. Andrzej Pakuła, MIC

Superior General