Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement

Amoris Laetitia: accompanying by leading the way together

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Amoris Laetitia: accompanying by leading the way together

Amoris Laetitia: accompanying by leading the way together

Summary of the second day of the Amoris Laetitia Forum

Vatican City
June 11, 2021
Photo: laityfamilylife.va

The second day of the Forum “Where are we with Amoris Laetitia? Strategies for the pastoral application of Pope Francis’ Exhortation” was entirely devoted to the formation of carers and the education of children.

After an initial moment of prayer and an introduction by the moderator, Dr Linda Ghisoni, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, the work began with the report “The formation of carers” by Davide and Nicoletta Oreglia Musso (Italy).

“Accompanying the formators who look after couples and families today is a challenge that has lights and shadows. We experience in part the ineffectiveness of some of the tools used in the past, but we appreciate the value of the wisdom of the relationships that our Mother Church has woven over the years”, pointed out Mr and Mrs Oreglia Musso, presidents of the “Spouses in Christ” Association. The open question that the speakers left for the participants’ reflection was: “How can this wealth [of the Church] be made available in a way that is fruitful for today’s companions, and what indications can be given in light of Amoris Laetitia?”, that is, how can we enter into a permanent mode of caring for relationships in the exercise of accompaniment?

The session devoted to the formation of accompanying persons continued with two good practices. The first testimony was that of Ryan and Marie Rose Verret (USA), who presented the experience of Witness to Love, a family movement working with 80 dioceses around the world. Witness to Love “seeks to provide adequate tools for couples to grow in the most genuine friendship” with mentor couples.  A renewal of society and communities is possible, according to the Verrets, through the friendship witnessed by mentor couples to younger couples. Married couples are a gift for marriage formation, and a catechumenate that is well-articulated and rooted in the life of the couple preparing for marriage is an opportunity to welcome new families into the life of the Church.

The second testimony was presented by Christian and Beate Gloeggler, of the Schoenstatt Movement, from the Akademie für Ehe und Familie (Germany). The Akademie offers a two-year course of formation and accompaniment for couples preparing for marriage in 10 European countries and in Brazil. The specificity of the course is, as in other similar experiences, that the couples are accompanied by other married couples who can “give the faith a happy face – or rather, two faces!”.

After a debate stimulated by the sharing of two good practices, the second session devoted to the theme “Education of children” welcomed the report of Mr Luis and Mrs Pilar Jensen (Chile), consultants of the Dicastery.

Strengthening the education of children is the theme of chapter seven of Amoris Laetitia and, according to the Jensen’s, “can be addressed by answering three questions together: 1. Do our children feel loved? 2. Do our children know how to love? 3. Do our children feel loved by God?”.  Starting from these three important questions, it is possible to generate paths of accompaniment for parents, so that they have the tools to educate their children in the best possible way, starting from their personal and family experiences.

Fam. Göggler -- Photo: akademie-ehe-familie.de
Fam. Jensen -- Photo: H.Brehm
Photo: laityfamilylife.va

The first experience presented during this second session was that of the Escuela de Familias of the Archdiocese of Toledo, through the testimony of Miguel Angel Lara Villanueva and María José Aroco Allán (Spain).

The Escuelas arise – in parishes, schools and in collaboration with Caritas – from the “need to help and guide parents in the education of their children”. “The project is conceived as a way of approaching families who are ‘distant’ from the Church or in difficulty, to help them to rediscover that the Church is Mother and helps a lot in one of the greatest challenges of their lives: the education of their children”.

The second and last testimony of the session was that of Antonio Crespo and Verónica Fernández (Mexico), from the Goodlove Foundation. Created in 2017 in response to the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, the Foundation aims to network and make available to parents and formators the best projects on accompanying parents in the affective-sexual formation of their children. The urgency of giving children a positive, gradual and prudent affective-sexual education is a need that is strongly felt by the Church. The Goodlove Foundation proposes itself as a place of exchange of good practices at an international level for all those who are engaged, at different levels, in the promotion of an education to love according to Christian anthropology.

At the end of both sessions of the day, two debates with questions and interventions animated the discussion. What emerged, as was also the case yesterday, was the very profound need to share good practices and an overwhelming need to give substance to the theme of accompaniment as a testimony of life and friendship between couples. Finally, a desire emerged for greater collaboration between priests and lay people in the area of the family: a collaboration that is as effective, involving and fruitful as possible, also for the clergy themselves.

Source: Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life

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The beauty of marriage

The beauty of marriage

The Holy Father dedicates his prayer intention for the month of June to the beauty of marriage, a demanding life-long journey on which “the husband and wife aren’t alone; Jesus accompanies them.”

June 2021

The beauty of the marriage

Let us pray for young people who are preparing for marriage with the support of a Christian community: may they grow in love, with generosity, faithfulness and patience. 
Is it true, what some people say—that young people don’t want to get married, especially during these difficult times? Getting married and sharing one’s life is something beautiful. It’s a demanding journey, at times difficult, and at times complicated, but it’s worth making the effort.
And on this life-long journey, the husband and wife aren’t alone; Jesus accompanies them. Marriage isn’t just a “social” act; it’s a vocation that’s born from the heart; it’s a conscious decision for the rest of one’s life that requires specific preparation.
Please, never forget this. God has a dream for us —love— and He asks us to make it his own. Let us make our own the love which is God’s dream for us.
And let us pray for young people who are preparing for marriage with the support of a Christian community: may they grow in love, with generosity, faithfulness and patience.
Because a great deal of patience is necessary in order to love. But it’s worth it, eh?
Pope Francis – June 2021

The Pope Video has just been published with the intention that Francis is entrusting to the entire Catholic Church through the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. In the context of the “Special year of the family,” which began on March 19, 2021, the video focuses on the beauty of marriage and is published in collaboration with the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.  The Holy Father encourages young people to undertake this demanding journey, because “getting married and sharing one’s life is something beautiful.” This is why it is a vocation worth following, since “God has a dream for us—love—and He asks us to make it his own.” The prayer intention reaffirms the nature of this vocation, which “isn’t just a ‘social’ act,” but which is “born from the heart.”

Global marriage trends

Francis begins the The Pope Video by asking, “Is it true, what some people say—that young people don’t want to get married, especially during these difficult times?” The difficulties and complications that many families and marriages had to suffer due to the pandemic still echo in this question.

The marriage rate, according to some studies, has been dropping notably since 1972 to the point where, in countries such as the United States, it has reached the lowest numbers since such records started being kept. What’s more, in many countries the drop in the marriage rate has been accompanied by an increase in the age at which people marry (the current average in Sweden, for example, is close to 34). Regarding families, not only has the proportion of children born out of wedlock increased considerably in almost all the countries of the OECD, but also the number of divorces has multiplied; in some countries, more than half of marriages end in divorce.

The recent period of confinement, in many cases, resulted in tension and family conflict and made living together a more difficult task than usual. But the Pope’s message encourages us to continue with renewed enthusiasm: “It’s worth making the effort. And on this life-long journey, the husband and wife aren’t alone; Jesus accompanies them.”

A special year dedicated to the family

The Pope Video for June about marriage arrives at a very opportune moment. On the feast of the Holy Family in 2020, Pope Francis convoked a special year dedicated to the family, which just began this past March 19, 2021, with the following motto: “Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness.” This convocation coincides with the fifth anniversary of the encyclical Amoris Laetitia and with the third of the apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate. This places this month’s intention in the context of the vocation of love to which each person is called in their place in the home. In addition, it accompanies another important event: the year of St. Joseph, which will last until next December 8.

Specific preparation for marriage

An important aspect of The Pope Video is how it shows the beauty of marriage and the family as something more than a “social” act: “it’s a vocation that’s born from the heart; it’s a conscious decision for the rest of one’s life that requires specific preparation.”

“Preparing young people and engaged couples for a real vocation, not just for the celebration of a wedding, is a priority” said the Undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, Dr. Gabriella Gambino. “To understand the presence of Christ in the daily lives of engaged couples, and then of spouses, by builiding on the meaning of Baptism is indispensable in giving young people the certainty that their family project is a response to a definitive call and that this project is possible. In a secularised society that no longer believes in marriage, it is fundamental to proclaim the strength and power of the sacrament as a vocation and to show that family relationships can have a salvific value for people and be a path to holiness. It is a matter of concretely bringing Christ into the lives of families.”

Fr. Fréderic Fornos, S.J., International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, observed that “the Pope highlights in this prayer intention the beauty of marriage and expresses his desire that young people preparing for marriage have ‘the support of a Christian community.’ Marriage is a vocation, an answer to a call from the Lord; that is, the decision to get married and create a family is the fruit of discernment. Allowing yourself to be carried along by God’s dream for us—love—requires the support and accompaniment of the community. As Francis says to young people preparing for marriage: ‘loving requires a great deal of patience,’ but on this life-long voyage, Jesus, the face of the Father’s love, accompanies them. Let us make our own this dream God has for us of growing in love and daring to embark upon this demanding voyage of marriage and the family during this special year of St. Joseph.”

Source: thepopevideo.org  –  Photos: vatican.va, Lorgia&Daniel Hernández

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Solidarity from the Shrine in a very poor neighborhood of Guayaquil

Solidarity from the Shrine in a very poor neighborhood of Guayaquil

110 handbags delivered for Mother's Day, a welcome to the Shrine, togetherness, validation and celebration

Hna. María Auxiliadora Bohórquez
June 09, 2021

In May, a group of Schoenstatters from Guayaquil organized a solidarity campaign amid the coronavirus pandemic. This was part of an evangelizing project which has been going on for 10 years, in a poor neighborhood near the Shrine. It is about offering an embrace, appreciation, support, validation, prayer, joy, and the delivery of useful items, as a sign that the dignity of the human being transcends his reality, both physical, as well as emotional and spiritual.

 

It was a time of grace, family, and hope. Isa Gavilanes, from the Girls’ Youth, encouraged other girls, including Micky Dumani, to give underprivileged mothers a handbag with toiletries and things they need most as a Mother’s Day present. They would also be given a card with a message of faith and hope. These mothers from the Nueva Prosperina sector are friends of the Shrine because they have been formed by Schoenstatt couples for the last 10 years. Some come by themselves, others with their spouse. This project is a legacy of Sister M. Cecilia.  They have also sealed their covenant of love with the Blessed Mother.

 

Handbags, soaps, deodorants… and much love

 

Alcohol, soap, shampoo, trinkets, shawls, deodorant, accessories, and very nice handbags were collected. There was great joy among the members during those weeks of collecting donations. Beige, black, blue, red, and green handbags arrived at the Shrine. The ladies from the Mothers Branch donated very elegant handbags, new and used, in perfect condition. Between Isa, Micky, and María Isabel de Gavilanes’ group, from the Mothers Branch, they assembled about 110 packages.

 

It was important to arouse the generosity in so many hearts who collaborated. There were girls from the Girls’ Youth who made the cards, one of them even wrote a very emotional letter, couples gave soap and other practical items. It was a display of fraternal love, of the joy of giving something practical and needed. It was an opportunity to put into practice the yearning to give and serve, something we sometimes do not know how or where to do. Clearly, we cannot eliminate poverty, but we can embrace those in need and offer them friendship in the shadow of the Shrine and make them feel the immense dignity they have before God.

Mothers from poor neighborhood celebrate in the Shrine

 

The distribution of the first 40 handbags to the mothers of Nueva Prosperina was on May 24, the day which commemorates Mary Help of Christians; the same day that Guillermo Lasso assumed the presidency of Ecuador. We could say that it was a way of expressing with facts that we want to help our homeland. It was a morning of grace, family, hope, and much joy. There were testimonials from the mothers of Nueva Prosperina, with prayer, dialogue, and the distribution of the handbags, which made them very happy. 

 

The mothers looked very beautiful and happy. They were handed roses from the Shrine. Many had lost their husbands, siblings, uncles and even a child to the pandemic. There was pain, but not without faith. One of the women asked for a red handbag, instead of a black one, to help her overcome the grief she felt in her soul. Some told how they helped other mothers who are even needier than themselves. 

 

Beverages and cake were served, considering Covid protocols. It is worth noting the imprint that couples and the sisters have been leaving on these underprivileged ladies. In addition to the leaders, the Castillo, Mármol and Mendoza couples, there was Keshia, from the Girls’ Youth, who talked about her covenant. Prosperina’s mothers also brought a gift for me, the sister they now “have,” and I gave them a brief motivational statement regarding the recently celebrated Pentecost feast.  Thus, they received the Holy Spirit and we experienced togetherness, after a long time in which nothing could be done in person. It was all outdoors. The purifying air of fraternal love was breathed.

This apostolate is reproduced and contagious

 

Since there were some handbags left, we decided to gather clothes and food as well, to make another distribution. Sister M. Leticia got food and Sister M. Virginia donated notebooks and pens, and so, with another group of girls from the Girls’ Youth, together with boyfriends and parents, we went three days ago to the city, giving a little hope to the poorest that we found along the way.

 

On Sunday, May 30, we closed the month by going to Nueva Prosperina to meet the other 50 mothers of the groups, who are led by six other Schoenstatt families. Adriana Aguirre, from the Mothers Branch and the Gavilanes family, who led the handbag project, participated. The joy of being together again – the Schoenstatt leaders and the ladies who come to formation – was felt in the atmosphere. We renewed our covenant. And as we parted ways, we said, “What a great joy is felt in mornings like this one!” Then, with the Villavicencios, we went to meet a disabled lady and were able to give her a nice handbag.

 

Our gratitude goes to each lady of the Schoenstatt Mothers Branch, to each girl, to each couple and sister, who with special love delighted these mothers. And we especially admire those couples from the Families League who have been getting together for 10 years with the people of Nueva Prosperina to evangelize and be evangelized. They donate their Saturdays or Sundays to reach out. With the pandemic, new paths are being sought. Long live the current of solidarity that emanates from our Covenant of Love!

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The family feast AT HOME, in Germany, awakens creativity

The family feast AT HOME, in Germany, awakens creativity

The Schoenstatt Families Festival held at the Original Shrine, face-to-face encounter at HOME, as well as a virtual encounter

Zoom conference, Padlet link, YouTube, dialogue rooms, cameras, control monitors, live streaming, a few families in front of the Original Shrine, and about 200 registered at home, in front of monitors in their living room or on the balcony: an unusual family festival that the Schoenstatt Families Branch in Germany prepared, with a lot of creativity, in the middle of the pandemic.

Claudia and Heinrich Brehm
June 7,2021

Under the motto “Together Strong”, the festival took place on Saturday, May 29, and started with a sunny day, blue skies, and much joy in the place where the Schoenstatt Movement began more than 100 years ago; the best conditions for a great family experience.

An interactive map on the Padlet, managed by the Liebl family, from Wildsteig, in Upper Bavaria, in which families could register, allowed you to see the location of the participating families. The families were mostly from Germany, but there were also families connected from Switzerland and South Tyrol in Italy. This digital networking was fully in line with the festival’s objective: to experience and celebrate the value of ‘Together Strong’, despite the required physical distancing due to the pandemic. 

The value of being together

On the live stage, in front of Schoenstatt’s chapel of grace, balloons waved, the festival song was heard, and three candles were lit representing all those who were sharing. For 10 minutes, participating families were randomly divided into virtual groups to meet and share ideas about the question: “If we were to visit you today, what experience would we have?” 

Three coordinating couples then invited individual families from the Zoom conference to share their moments of community life. The Bergmann couple shared what sustains them as a couple. The Kieninger family made it clear what sustains them as a family, and the Kröper couple recounted how God supports their family.

Taking those shared experiences to the Church and society

“Canceling the festival because of the pandemic was not an option at all,” Manuela and Peter Miller, leaders of the organization team, explained in a brief statement. “However, we didn’t want an online family festival, but a family festival AT HOME, where families could get together in real life.” Families had experienced community life intensively during the time of pandemic. 

“Above all, let us experience today that we are a crisis-proof family, that we are sustainable, that we are US. A WE that goes beyond our own family. We have experienced that together we are stronger.” It is now necessary to bring this experience to the Church and to society, to share it with others. That is why, on this day, this common celebration, the family picnic with one or more families at home is a good start.

Encounter with a picnic

Once the inaugural “click & meet” event was over, the program of the Families Festival AT HOME continued with each participant’s initiative: families invited other families to their homes, as many as possible in the different counties, depending on the incidence of the pandemic. Happily, the meetings were held after this year and a half of distance and isolation. In the garden, on an excursion, playing games – the scavenger hunt was a great success – in the conversations, in prayer. “Everything was wonderful, both the adults and especially the children really enjoyed being together again, being able to spend the day together.”

Motivational videos and prayer

Those who wished to stay at home were able to use the digital discussion suggestions as a starting point for their dialogue. The videos prepared by several couples dealt with the religious education of the children, life from the sacraments, maintaining the marital relationship, the power of transformation and mission, the meaning of suffering, the development of a spiritual agenda, the sustainable lifestyle in the family and the configuration of the marital stage when the children leave home.

In addition, between 14:00 and 18:30, there was an opportunity to pray online with and for others with a wide variety of intentions. The families had the opportunity to send their prayer requests beforehand, which were mentioned in the chapel at the Families House.  

Invited to “click and pray” in the Original Shrine

At the end of the Families Festival, a blessing celebration took place at the Original Shrine, in which families were able to participate from home through a live broadcast. Symbolically, the WE, around which the whole day evolved, was expressed through a long yellow ribbon at the altar, on which the names of all the participants in the festival were written.

Reviewing the experiences of the day

Before the blessing, everyone was invited to review the day’s experiences. Images of the festival from the Padlet were shown. Four families who had a picnic with others shared their experiences. In this way, the happy moments and the beautiful experiences that marked the day, were collected and present in the celebration. The blessing ceremony was in charge of the three couples hosting the opening of the festival.

The texts were sensitive, poignant, and appropriate, and described the Original Shrine as a place where life and daily routine can be brought before God. The songs also played a special role. Due to coronavirus regulations, they could not be sung live, but were played as pre-recorded clips with appropriate and everyday images of everyday family life. The reading of Matthew 28:16-20, when Jesus expresses, “I am with you every day until the end of the world,” wanted to encourage everyone to be families ready to go, into the future. 

The renewal of the marriage vows with the words: “Be certain, I am with you every day of your life”, as well as the renewal of the Covenant of Love with Mary and with God, who has Mary as the bearer, and the afternoon blessing gave strength and energy to return to daily life and live as a family the “Together Strong”.

To see the motivating photos of the families participating in the festival from their homes, access the following link:   https://de.padlet.com/familienfestival/fotos

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She is the great missionary. She will work miracles

The Pilgrim Mother in Germany visits families held by the hands of thousands of missionaries

Under the motto "She is the great missionary, she will work miracles", the Pilgrim Mother Apostolate expands in Germany, reaching people from various cultures. Its web page is being published in two additional languages.

Hna. Marié
June 5, 2021
Pilgrim Mother Germany

Why is a German website being translated into English and Polish?

Since the month of April, the Pilgrim Mother Apostolate’s webpage in Germany is available in two other languages besides German: Polish and English. There are about 5,650 Pilgrim Mother groups in Germany. About 700 of these include people who speak other languages like English, Croatian, Tagalog, Polish, Portuguese, Slovenian, Spanish, Czech, Vietnamese and others. The largest group comes from the parishes in the Polish Catholic Missions in Germany, where more than 500 Pilgrim Mother images travel through homes and institutions. Most of the people from the other countries who receive her speak English.

 

Everyone provides liveliness and fruitfulness

These two languages were initially added to enable as many people as possible to participate in the life around the Pilgrim Mother in Germany. The fact that they have been added to the German webpage holds a symbolic meaning: here in Germany, everyone belongs to the same and only Pilgrim Mother Apostolate and each person contributes to the liveliness and fruitfulness of this missionary initiative which transmits our faith.

Bonds, friendship and mission  

The Blessed Mother is weaving a web of love and connections in every nation. There are approximately 180,000 pilgrim images travelling around the world in every continent. This worldwide initiative was the brainchild of Brazilian family man and deacon, João Luiz Pozzobon, in Santa Maria, Brazil.

In Germany as well, the Blessed Mother, through her visits as Pilgrim Mother, brings together people who live here but have different languages, cultures and frames of mind.

All of them, regardless of the language they speak or the country they are from, are her children. All of them have a place in her heart.  She is close to all of them. She knows their worries and needs and helps to overcome them. She, our Mother, gathers her children to form part of God’s single grand family. She also wants to conquer everyone to bear witness as co-workers of Christ and of the gift of his salvation.

The pilgrim images that are sent in Germany are blessed on the 18th of every month in Schoenstatt’s Original Shrine in Vallendar.  They are then sent on their mission, forming groups of 10 or 15 families or individuals.

The motto used for each send-off is translated into several languages. This phrase is originally from St. Vincent Palloti and was quoted as often by Father Kentenich, Schoenstatt’s founder, as it was by deacon Pozzobon, the founder of the Pilgrim Mother Apostolate:

“She is the great missionary. She will work miracles!”

“Ona jest wielką Misjonarką. Ona będzie działała cuda!”

“Ella es la gran misionera. Ella obrará milagros”. 

 

The webpage mentioned in this article is available at: www.pilgerheiligtum.de.