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Letters of the Superior General

Rome, April 20, 2010
Prot. No. 89/2010

Invitation
to participate in the survey regarding important matters of the Congregation of Marian Fathers
as part of preparations for the General Chapter of 2010


Dear Reverend Father/Brother:

I am writing to you with a request to kindly participate in the survey regarding important – and quite possibly the most important matters of our Congregation today. Your response to the inquiries will certainly require time and effort. I am fully aware of this. However, the Committee in charge of preparations for the Chapter and I recognized the need for each Marian to ask himself these questions and to seek an answer to them because they are concerned with the essence of our vocation.

The Holy Spirit guides the Church, and our Congregation within it, amidst ever changing circumstances, cultural transformations, changes of human mentality and sensitivity. The very same founding charism of a religious community, which is a gift of God for the Church, demands our continuous interpretation in order to know what the Holy Spirit tells us here and now and what He expects of us. Discerning His actions and inspiration for us is our principal duty, if we want to remain faithful to our charism both in the communal and personal aspects.

The Lord grants a grace of sanctification and mission. Can we possibly stop at just rejoicing from the beatification of Father Founder and the 100th anniversary of our renewal and not to ask God what it is that He calls us to and what challenges He places before us? Are we not supposed to examine with a special attention within this context the sense of our charism and to discern its timeliness for the modern world? Are not our humble quest to know the will of God and our readiness to follow His voice, wherever He tells us to go, the only foundation of our unity and fidelity?

Only a community of believers is able to discern its mission. For this reason, along with studying our roots and history, it is necessary to pray for the Holy Spirit to give us light and to reveal how God wants to see us in the Church and the world. A charism is more fully understood when it is lived out. By sharing the fruits of our reflection and experience, we shall mutually give witness to what it means to be a Marian today.

I ask you to please regard my request kindly. Please postpone all less important matters. Should it turn out that you are not ready to answer certain survey questions, please respond to those about which you have already formed an opinion.

The deadline for mailing in this survey is August 25, 2010. Please give your filled out paper to the house superior, even though you might have answered only a few questions. By using the same procedure as for electing the Provincial Superior, we will ensure the anonymousness of responses and will be able to collect the opinions of all the Congregation’s members.

I assure you of my prayer and gratitude for this work and I send you my warm greetings,

Jan M. Rokosz, MIC
Superior General