Ad honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Conceptionis Immaculatae Ad honorem Documents of the 1st Theological Symposium of the Marian Fathers’ School of Spirituality assembles articles prepared for the symposium, which was planned for October 20-21, 2020 in Licheń, as part of the General Convention of the Congregation of the Marian Fathers. Un- fortunately, the pandemic, which affected the whole world at that time, made it impossible for the authors of the articles to meet and to discuss the proffered issues. However, this did not stop us from publishing these materials. Furthermore, with time, it was possible to add to the previ- ously planned symposium conferences other papers that interpreted in a broader context the meaning of the act of the Oblatio and religious consecration. These two issues are clearly connected with one another, creating a point of reference for the religious identity in the spirituality of the Marian Fathers. Consequently, the title “Oblatio and Consecra- tion” was chosen for the planned symposium. For the Oblatio made by St. Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary is an act of consecration, constituting a turning point: it closes his Piarist period and also opens the stage of his new vocation, that is, the founding of the Congregation of the Marian Fathers. By making the act of the Oblatio, our Saint becomes the Fa- Oblatio ther and Founder of a new institute and publicly declares the founding charism, already imprinted on his heart by the Holy Spirit. A few years later, he personally recalled these moments and described his experi- Consecration and ences in the work entitled Fundatio Domus Recollectionis (Founding of the House of Recollection). Recognizing the Oblatio as the beginning of Ad Honorem a new religious community is tantamount to acknowledging religious consecration as the most important element of the religious identity in Immaculatae Conceptionis the spirituality of the Marian Fathers: it means that someone is recog- nized as a Marian religious and that the origin of his religious life began with his consecration. It is also true, even if sometime later – for various Mariae reasons judged necessary – this consecrated person was unable to live in the community. Such are the theological and spiritual effects of as- signing the primacy to religious consecration. Oblatio and Consecration From the Foreword Documents of the 1st Theological Symposium of the Marian Fathers’ School of Spirituality 2 Jubileusz-2-angielski.indd 2 2020-12-07 10:07:40 AD HONOREM IMMACULATAE CONCEPTIONIS MARIAE OBLATIO and Consecration 1 Jubileusz-2-angielski.indd 1 2020-12-07 10:07:40 2 Jubileusz-2-angielski.indd 2 2020-12-07 10:07:40 AD HONOREM IMMACULATAE CONCEPTIONIS MARIAE OBLATIO and Consecration Documents of the 1st Theological Symposium of the Marian Fathers’ School of Spirituality Editor: Fr. Andrzej Pakula, MIC General Curia of the Congregation of Marian Fathers Rome, 2020 PROMIC Warsaw 2020 3 Jubileusz-2-angielski.indd 3 2020-12-07 10:07:40 Translator from polish: Marina Batiuk Cover design: Hanna Woźnica-Gierlasińska Image on the front cover: Saint Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary, bas-relief of the field altar at the Shrine of St. Stanislaus Papczyński in Marianki – Góra Kalwaria, sculpted by Witold Czopowik Cover page II Logo for the 350th Anniversary of the Congregation of Marian Fathers Edited by Fr. Joseph G. Roesch MIC Page layout and technical editing: Eliza Wiśniewska ISBN 978-83-7502-842-3 Printing and binding: foto-druk.pl 4 Jubileusz-2-angielski.indd 4 2020-12-07 10:07:40 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword. 7 AndrZEJ PakUłA MIC The Act of the Oblatio as a charismatic work of St. Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczyński. The time of the creation, context and the meaning of the first formula of the religious vows of the Congregation of Marian Fathers. 11 FrancisZek SmagOROwicZ MIC The date of origin of the Congregation of Marian Fathers. 24 FrancisZek SmagOROwicZ MIC The Beginning of the Marian Congregation. The Birth of a New Tradition . .34 AndrZEJ PakUłA MIC Oblative Spirituality in the teachings of Saint Stanislaus Papczyński. 54 TOmasZ SekUlski MIC Religious consecration: its specificity and the newest theological approaches . .66 MicHAł KOZak MIC Sanctified in Christ Crucified (cf. 1 Cor 1:2). The Dimensions of Consecration Related to Christology and the Passion . .82 Paweł NAUMOwicZ MIC The Oblatio as a complete self-offering (VC, 17). (“I, Stanislaus of Jesus Mary Papczyński […] offer and consecrate …”). 100 Dmitrijs ArtjOMOVS MIC Oblatio: From Individualism to a Charismatic Community. 112 BOGUSław Gil MIC Father Stanislaus Papczyński’s Oblatio Then and Now. An attempt at a theological interpretation. 129 5 Jubileusz-2-angielski.indd 5 2020-12-07 10:07:40 THaddaeUS LanctON MIC Oblatio and the Evangelical Counsels: From Consecration to Vowing the Evangelical Counsels . .141 EUgeniUSZ ZarZecZNY MIC “I shall, until the end of my life, serve” (St. S. Papczyński, Oblatio). The Irrevocability of the Oblatio today? . 156 TOmasZ NOwacZek MIC Consecrated life as a mission in the Church to the World. 168 Jacek RYgielski MIC The lives of our holy Father Founder and of Venerable Servant of God Casimir Wyszyński in the spirit of imitatio Mariae. 176 APPENDIX CHARISM IN THE EXPERIENCE OF THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY OF THE MARIAN FATHERS. 185 BOGUSław Gil MIC Introduction. The beginnings of the Congregation of Marian Fathers in Vietnam and the testimonies of the first Vietnamese Marians. 187 JOHN THE Baptist NGUYễN VăN BIÊN MIC Saint Stanislaus Papczynski - my Spiritual Father. 192 Peter NGUYễN TIếN Dũng MIC Father Stanislaus Papczynski . .194 Peter NGUYễN VăN Hà MIC Why do I love Saint Stanislaus Papczynski?. 195 6 Jubileusz-2-angielski.indd 6 2020-12-07 10:07:40 Foreword The vitality of a religious community is expressed in many ways, but one of the most important is returning to its origins and striving to renew its charism. The events of recent years, in particular, the Beatification and Canonization of St. Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczyński, has evoked in his spiritual sons’ a genuine and sometimes even a deeply emotional need to rediscover the origins of the Congregation of the Marian Fathers. This desire was noticed and strengthened by Pope Francis, who – on the occasion of the General Chapter – on February 18, 2017, addressed its members with an appeal, urging them to remember the patrimony of the Congregation, and – in particular – to remain faithful to their Founder’s charism: “I therefore urge you to carry out this reflection with fidelity to the charism of the Founder and to the spiritual heritage of your Congregation and, at the same time, with a heart and mind open to the new needs of the people. It is true, we must go forward with the new needs, the new chal- lenges, but remember: we cannot go on without memory. It is a tension, continuously. If I want to go on without the memory of the past, of the history of the founders, of the great ones, even of the sins of the congrega- tion, I will not be able to go on. This is a rule: memory, this “deuteronomic” dimension proper to life and which must always be used when a religious congregation, the constitutions, must be updated.” The act of the Oblatio, made by St. Stanislaus on December 11, 1670, occupies a special place in this historical and also charismatic memory of the Congregation. On that day, a Saint initiated his community. Thus, our evoking this event, its cir- cumstances and the contents of the Oblatio becomes this “return to the origins,” to which the Church has been encouraging all institutes of conse- crated life for many years. Documents of the 1st Theological Symposium of the Marian Fathers’ School of Spirituality assembles articles prepared for the symposium, which was planned for October 20-21, 2020 in Licheń, as part of the Gen- eral Convention of the Congregation of the Marian Fathers. Unfortunately, the pandemic, which affected the whole world at that time, made it im- possible for the authors of the articles to meet and to discuss the prof- fered issues. However, this did not stop us from publishing these materials. Furthermore, with time, it was possible to add to the previously planned 7 Jubileusz-2-angielski.indd 7 2020-12-07 10:07:40 symposium conferences other papers that interpreted in a broader context the meaning of the act of the Oblatio and religious consecration. These two issues are clearly connected with one another, creating a point of reference for the religious identity in the spirituality of the Marian Fathers. Conse- quently, the title “Oblatio and Consecration” was chosen for the planned symposium. For the Oblatio made by St. Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary is an act of consecration, constituting a turning point: it closes his Piarist period and also opens the stage of his new vocation, that is, the founding of the Congregation of the Marian Fathers. By making the act of the Oblatio, our Saint becomes the Father and Founder of a new institute and publicly declares the founding charism, already imprinted on his heart by the Holy Spirit. A few years later, he personally recalled these moments and de- scribed his experiences in the work entitled Fundatio Domus Recollectionis (Founding of the House of Recollection). Recognizing the Oblatio as the beginning of a new religious community is tantamount to acknowledging religious consecration as the most important element of the religious iden- tity in the spirituality of the Marian Fathers: it means that someone is rec- ognized as a Marian religious and that the origin of his religious life began with his consecration. It is also true, even if sometime later – for various reasons judged necessary – this consecrated person was unable to live in the community.