On the evening of August 30, 2024, more than 300 youth and teenagers from all over Germany launched the “Night of the Shrine” faith festival for the German Schoenstatt Youth in Schoenstatt, Vallendar, with a lively opening ceremony. The place: The festival stage, which this year was located in the Pilgrims’ Arena.
Saturday morning was dedicated to the theme “In search of the Meaning”. Based on the firm belief that “life is kindled by life”, ten individuals shared their views, live or on screen, on how they undertook the search for meaning and what the motto of the night of the Shrine has to do with their actual lives. The morning was divided into three thematic sessions. Between each of these sessions, the participants were invited to exchange ideas and reflect together on what they could draw from what they had heard for their own lives.
First, Marina Sienz, Johannes Frick, Valentin Frisch and Elisabeth Baumgartner spoke about how they decided to listen to and follow God’s voice in their lives. They presented personal examples of career changes, missionary experiences and other important decisions that have shaped their lives.
Stones to grind in your own holiness
In the next round, Silke Müller, Bodo Jansen and Father Frank Riedel also shared their views. All three have experienced how circumstances which they did not “like” at first have turned into difficulties and challenges that have enabled them to grow and become “stones to grind” on the road to heaven.
Discover the inventor
For the last round, Johanna Denkinger, Alex Miller and Marlene Scharf took the stage and the screen. Johanna spoke about how Father Kentenich’s concept of the Personal Ideal (PI) inspired her and how she set out to discover the original plan God had for her. She described it as a “password” that gives meaning, guidance and security to one’s choices. To find her PI, she gave the audience the following advice: “The process is multi-layered, joyful and must evolve. It is mostly about finding what is already inside me and getting to know myself better.” Several questions can help with this, for example: what do others like about you, or what lasting mark do you want to leave.”
At the end, the moderators summed up, “Who, if not the ‘secretary of our inventor,’ who created us, could better accompany us in our search for meaning? It is as if Mary were saying to us once again today: I am going with you and I need you. Nothing without you, nothing without me!”.
Evening program with a “Wetten, dass …” atmosphere
In the afternoon, numerous creative, musical, spiritual and practical workshops awaited the participants.
This was followed by an evening program similar to “Wetten, dass…?” (a well-known German TV program). Once again, it began with the theme song for the weekend: “In search of meaning in the depths of our time. My way through the labyrinth, until there is clarity calling within me. Thinking big, my ideal I want to focus on, even on a small scale, in the everyday, I find my own style,” echoed throughout the arena before several groups of people demonstrated their skills in the ‘sensory areas’ of taste, hearing and smell. The lighting and sound effects, appropriate and very professional, created the perfect sensation of showmanship. The festival thus moved towards its climax: the “Night of the Covenant of Love”.
The participants, after having joyfully and actively participated in the recreational program, proceeded to the Pilgrims’ Church, decorated with a red atmospheric glow and the light of countless candles. Calm and collected, they became absorbed by the impulses and were carried away by the profound atmosphere created by the songs of adoration.
The texts made it clear that the search for meaning can be associated with joy, curiosity and the courage to discover, but also with fears, many questions, and challenging situations, in other words, everything that contributes to personal growth.
All this was brought to Jesus in prayer, present in the host of the monstrance on the altar. There was also time for silence, praise, prayer and to write a very personal letter out of the Covenant of Love. At the end of the celebration, these letters found their place in the plexiglass shrine, which is placed in the Original Shrine on every Night of the Shrine.
The renewal of the Covenant of Love here was an especially touching moment.
In search of meaning: letting God find you and change you
The next morning, the young people started the day a bit sleepy and quiet, but, to the sound of the festival band “7 for heaven”, they were soon alert and motivated, full of anticipation for the closing Mass. The logistics team had carefully arranged pavilions and numerous umbrellas, which saved most of the participants from having to sit in the scorching sun. “From up here, I have the feeling of being on the beach,” said Father Horst Rönn-Hass, who presided at the Mass, smiling as he welcomed the participants.
In his sermon, Father Hans-Martin Samietz referred to what he called the most famous seeker of meaning of the 20th century: Victor Frankl. As a Jew imprisoned in a concentration camp, he defined the meaning of his life in this way: “Meaning is the encounter with one’s own destiny”. This demonstrates the awareness that people can also discover meaning in suffering and endurance. Samietz compared the search for meaning to the image of a bean plant: its stem grows upwards, while at the same time it takes root deep in the earth. In the search for meaning, both directions – the light and beautiful, and the dark and burdensome – are important, and both contribute to one’s growth.
The night of the Shrine 2024 came to an end amidst applause for the core team, the various sub-teams and their helpers. The Night of the Shrine 2025 will take place from September 5 to 7, 2025. More information: info@ndh.de / www.nachtdesheiligtums.de
Source: schoenstatt.de
Translation: Maribel Acaron
