Capital of Grace and serious aspiration for holiness

The value of each sacrifice we offer to the Blessed Mother so that her graces may bear fruit from the Shrine

Our place of grace -the Shrine- supposes a collaboration between God and us, between the Virgin and us. That is why, those of us in the Movement who want to further our participation in it, must never desist. This is the permanent imperative: Cooperation!

Have you ever wondered how much a small offering to the Capital of Grace is worth? How about two offerings? How about three? Little by little we can fill a basket and help the MTA in her mission from the Shrine.

What follows is Father Kentenich’s reflections on this topic.

Nothing without me

Father Kentenich’s reflection:

Nothing happens in Schoenstatt without me; in other words, the current of grace cannot grow and flow without me. When we talk about the contributions to the Capital of Grace this is exactly what we are talking about. All of us have this task.

The more religious we are, the clearer it becomes that things depend on God; and regarding my offerings, not on the actions I take, but on the degree of love I put into them. If I am sick and I have a great love for God, how much will I be able to offer to the Capital of Grace and how much will I get in return? In this way, the individual activity is oriented towards the heavens.

This is mentioned in the Founding Document: Schoenstatt ceases to be a place of pilgrimage, and ceases to carry its mission in this world, when there are no new contributions to the Capital of Grace, when the contributions made are spent and there are no new contributions being offered.

I still remember well when we said: We don’t want the Blessed Mother to act without us, we want to attract her, make her descend in virtue of intense apostolic activity. We believe that our Founding Document was signed in heaven.

When we get to Eternity, we will know who has served the Movement the most, and perhaps we will have a very different picture of reality from what we currently see. This world appreciates more those who are in the forefront. There are always leaders, some who talk constantly but they are not always the most needed. I am convinced that deep down, there is a multitude of simple individuals without whom Schoenstatt could not exist. The most needed and most important are those who constantly and in the greatest measure give offerings to the Capital of Grace, who unite the current of their heart and blood with the current of heart and blood of the Capital of Grace.

God expects personal saintliness from us. The Blessed Mother asks of us personally, not in general, a high degree of holiness, a strong aspiration to holiness. In virtue of this aspiration of ours, we will make her descend. A precious stone is worth more than a whole mountain of ordinary stones. If the Family does not generate such persons, what do we expect from Schoenstatt? Schoenstatt depends for its existence on a serious aspiration for holiness. Other places of pilgrimage can do without it. Schoenstatt, on the other hand, depends on people who truly aspire to holiness and connect that aspiration to our Shrine.

This is how the mystery of Schoenstatt is presented to us: the Blessed Mother’s universal fruitfulness stems from the forces of divine grace, which act freely. We admire the generosity of divine grace.

Do you think that I attribute everything that was done here to personal endeavors? No! I will explain it with an example: a child wants to help his mother carry the laundry basket. The child wants to help her and puts his little hands and his whole body in the basket. He wants to have the honor of helping his mother. And the poor mother must carry not only the basket, but also the child.

A powerful current of graces flows from this place, we can collaborate with it, but without thinking that everything has been achieved by virtue of our actions alone.

Father Joseph Kentenich, Christmas Day Conference, Schoenstatt December 28, 1933

Book: His mission, our mission, Peter Wolf editor

Source:  www.schoenstatt.org.br