Changes in the world’s society are changing faster than seasonal changes, affecting all  facets of our lives.

With the development of artificial intelligence, and many other technologies, we are surprised by the speed of information. And we can ask ourselves: how are we interpreting the situations and messages of our time? Are we using “Glasses of the Covenant” to look at the world and reality? Today’s society seems to lack the basic skills of compassion and communication with reality, looking for answers without a human touch, a mechanistic approach. Many experience no human initiative, organic thinking, living, or loving. How does one respond to this behavior?

The Covenant of Love is our answer!

Through your faith and loyalty in renewing your Covenant of Love and through practical faith in Divine Providence, you live your mission in your encounter with Mary by bringing her contributions to the Capital of Grace. She has chosen you because you are important to her; she chose you as her own on covenant day.

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Drawn to the Shrine, one fosters a strong attachment and everything it implies. In doing so, you grasp the profound message of Schoenstatt, and the graces of the covenant will allow the inner transformation of heart and soul to go deeper in your faithful call to Mary. In that dynamic of the covenant, your heart embraces to hear the voice of God.

Fr. Kentenich sought God’s signs in everyday life, even reading a newspaper

Let us reminisce how the voice of God inspired Father Kentenich. World War I was on the verge of outbreak, and during this time, an article on the Shrine of Pompeii found its way into the hands of our founder.

Father Kentenich asked himself: Is God telling me we can do this too? He wrestled with what God was saying through these outward indications. In the end, it was a leap of faith. Today “This little chapel belongs to our small sodality family, guided by our heavenly Mother. It belongs completely to us and only to us” Founding Document.

Start seeing God in your life today, whether it’s in conversation with friends, or during the dinner…

Through the challenges of today’s reality as a Schoenstatt family, you, too, have an awareness of community spirit just as the young sodalist and our Founder embraced the pulse of time through the voice of God. You experience God in many ways during your days. May these thoughts inspire you to build community and invite others to your shrine so they may experience all the graces; get excited and share this wonderful gift of joy. You can become a beacon of hope in your parish and Church.

As an International Schoenstatt Family, let us come together, and assist each other as a family, not just as a community, fostering new friendships and forming bonds. With your ear on the heart of God and your hand on the pulse of time, you can become the new person in the new community. Can we once again become afire for this mission? To save our Shrines, our communities, and our families?

In the covenant, Mary showers us with unconditional love. Using the elements of brotherly love, sisterly love, compassion, forgiveness, openness to listen, without fear of languages, and sharing new initiatives, all give hope for new traditions. Perhaps you have more thoughts.

Can you start a conversation at your dinner table to listen to one another, and find ways to grow and build a covenant culture, creating a stronger, united movement in the Covenant of Love with Mary?

Kathleen Colunga
International Leader
International Apostolic Schoenstatt Mothers’ Federation