The 6th Retreat in the footsteps of Father Kentenich took place from July 20-26, 2024. The event was preceded by several challenges which, taken in a spirit of practical faith in Divine Providence, were interpreted as divine guidance and a sign of fruitfulness.
The retreat was held for the third time in Stoczek Klasztorny, Poland, at the Marian Fathers’ retreat house. One could say that this is where it all began…. In 2016, Fr. Kustosz Wojciech Sokołowski, after placing the 8th plaque of the Kentenich Route in the basilica of Stoczek, told the participants of the ceremony: come here again, to encounter Fr. Kentenich….
International participation
This year’s retreat gathered about 20 people from different communities of the Schoenstatt Movement and from different regions of Poland. A very special participant was Fr. Eduardo Aguirre, postulator of the Cause of Beatification of Fr. Kentenich, who not only enriched us with his lectures, but also immersed us into Father Kentenich spiritually. Father Arkadiusz Sosna, currently co-responsible for the International Coordination of the Schoenstatt Movement, was the spiritual director from the very beginning of the project and during this retreat.
The retreat program was planned to ensure time for prayer, reflection and community sharing, as well as to get to know and experience the beauty of Warmia. The highlights were the lectures designed to deepen the understanding of Father Kentenich. There were also workshops and other types of formation exercises, such as Synodal dialogues. We concluded the day by praying together in the Shrine before the image of the Queen of Peace. It was an opportunity to recap and offer the journey, a moment to pray for the intentions of the Church, the Movement, peace and the end of the war in Ukraine and the Holy Land. And for those who wished to do so, there was an opportunity for evening adoration of the Heart of Jesus and Mary.
Intense program
The days of the retreat were filled with topics to delve deeper into our pilgrimage of life along the paths of hope, guided by Father Kentenich:
– On July 21st, we attended the 23rd Joseph Engling Conference in Prositen, witnessing in him a disciple of Fr. Kentenich – “Kentenich, a great man of peace.”
– On July the 22nd, we examined Blessed Cardinal Primate Wyszynski through the lens of his three-year imprisonment, among others, in Stoczek. We were deeply impacted by the movie: Wyszynski – Revenge or Forgiveness, which depicted the shaping of the Primate’s heart during World War II, when he served in units of the Homeland Army during the Warsaw Uprising.
– On July the 23rd we immersed ourselves in the life of the contemporary Church and its synodal journey. The topic was presented by Dr. Alicja Kostka. A profound experience of our actual participation in the life of the Church was to take part in the synodal dialogue.
– On July the 24th it was time to get to know the founder, Father Kentenich, who was introduced to us as a man and a priest by Sister M. Marcelina Migacz (online). Sister also encouraged us in the synodal dialogue and guided us through a group work, addressing the topic of Father Kentenich’s presence in our lives and his influence on our formation.
– On July 24th and 25th, Fr. Eduardo Aguirre guided us through the historical and current challenges of the vocational journey of the Schoenstatt Movement and the events of Bellavista, Chile, and then spoke about the efforts for the beatification of Father Kentenich. For the listeners it was a profound “encounter” with the Founder, learning about his experiences of interpreting God’s will and his faithfulness to the mission he received from God.
– The retreat program included a visit to the plaques of the Kentenich Route in Warmia: in Prosity, Reszel and Stoczek. Sr. M. Kamila Skorupka recalled the history of the creation of the Route and the current ways of experiencing these places. One of these ways is through retreats on the Kentenich Way, which are not only the cultivation of history and a return to what the Founder brought to the Church with his formative and pedagogical activity, but also learning new aspects of his spiritual path to which he invites us today.
– On the last day we visited the church of Gudniki, where the first altar modeled after a Schoenstatt altar is located. The celebration of the Eucharist ended with a joyful encounter with the hospitable inhabitants of Gudniki.
Source: siostry.szensztat.pl
Translation: Maribel Acaron
