Convent of the Polish Province of the Congregation of Marian Fathers

He talked about the conclusions and the most important findings of the convention Fr. Dr. Tomasz Nowaczek, MIC, Provincial Superior of the Congregation of Marian Fathers:

The main conclusions of the convention are very simple, as they must relate to practical life. If we talk about the constitutions of the Congregation of Marian Fathers as a specific rule of living the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are trying to see what the charismatic line of our constitutions is, i.e. how the mystery of the Immaculate Conception is manifested in them, how they recommend that we live this mystery simply. How to translate them into pastoral care? For the groups we run? How to form our adepts - seminarians, novices, postulants? The general conclusion is that we, according to the liturgy of today's word, gain awareness of a certain kairos, that is, the time when the Holy Spirit visits us, giving us a better understanding of our own identity, focused on the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. This allows us to place ourselves as a law, first as individuals, then as a community, in the specific needs of the Church of our time.

The following topics emerged during the day of recollection:

1. The question of preaching the faith, when Marians go out into the world, they go as preachers and inspire faith in people. This is one of the areopagi, as it was characterized during the day of recollection, in today's areopagi, and therefore the situation of specific needs and specific opposition of today's world.
2. Formation of youth. We were concerned not only with the fact that there are no young people, but with the question of how to accompany them. We also try to read it in the specific charismatic mission of the Marians. The more so because our founder cared for the poor, socially disadvantaged and unskillful, i.e. those who did not have basic education or basic catechesis, in order to teach the unskilled and give them the opportunity to develop.
3. The third, very important topic, what today is called an unknown continent, not well-penetrated enough, is social media. Not only young people, but also middle-aged and even very advanced people are present there. We are in a strange situation because we do not have them in our temples.

These are the ranges in which we begin to operate. It is worth adding what appeared on the second day of the convention in the lecture of Fr. prof. dr hab. Piotr Kroczek, who is the inspector of personal data in the Church. He pointed out that the Church is in retreat, that is, the world from the outside imposes a specific narrative on it, we are present in this narrative, not necessarily in a positive way. An example is, for example, things related to the offense against the VI commandment, but this does not mean that the whole reality of the Church is limited only to the sinful reality. This is not a true image of the Church, it is no image of the Church. This is a fact we regret for which we also owe an apology and redress. This is an example of such an evoked narrative with which we must enter into dialogue, abandoning what is beautiful, good and positive in the Church. 

I think these are the practical conclusions from this convention, but I would like to highlight another one. This is another important step in building our religious awareness and identity, because during this convention we devoted a lot of time to the constitutions, which were renewed at the 57th General Chapter in Rome in 2017 and approved in September this year. Now we are in the process of implementing this content, the most important element of which is Part I, bringing out who the Marians are, what kind of community they are in the Church, what they do. This identity moment must be brought out, it is a process that has been started and will last for years.