Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement

Blessed Mother

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Our Treasure: The Blessed Mother’s Wayside Shrine in Caracas

Our Treasure: The Blessed Mother's Wayside Shrine in Caracas

Janeth González and Antonio Noda went eagerly and with great excitement to the place where an old wayside shrine of the Blessed Mother in Caracas should be found.

Elisa Velásquez Yépez
September 21, 2021

Fruits of the Introductory Course to Schoenstatt -ICS- in Central America.

In 2020, the Introductory Course to Schoenstatt (ICS) was held virtually in Central America welcoming couples, who in the midst of physical isolation, sought to connect spiritually with people holding similar values and ideals. Many couples from different Latin American countries, including Venezuela, participated in the course.

Janeth González and Antonio Noda, from Venezuela, wanted to become part of the Schoenstatt Movement, attended all the sessions, showed an immense love for the Blessed Mother, and, above all, demonstrated an apostolic depth that was noticeable in each intervention. 

The Movement has been present in that country since the 80’s with the notable participation of the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign, the prayer of the rosary by a million children and the construction of at least two wayside shrines in Caracas. These currents of life were not organized in the form of established groups or branches and remained scattered in other Venezuelan cities such as Valencia, Barquisimeto and Chichiriviche.

With the encouragement of the ICS, the Noda González couple deepened their self-formation with a Venezuelan couple belonging to the Family Branch, who assisted them from Costa Rica. Formation books and other materials were sent to them so that they could undertake the mission of giving new life to the Movement in Caracas. 

In search of the wayside shrine in Caracas

The yearning was deep, and so they began the search for the treasure of a wayside shrine that represented for them a place where the Blessed Mother was waiting to shower her graces once again giving a new drive to Schoenstatt’s growth in Venezuela. They set out to discover this small place where the Blessed Mother could be found. So, they arrived at a store located in Dos Caminos, in Caracas. There they were told that a neighbor had talked about the existence of a wayside shrine in the Humboldt Park, in La Castellana. At the foot of the iconic mountain, symbol of the city of Caracas, there they would find her…

The next day, Antonio Noda’s heart was touched by a supernatural inclination that made him get up and go in search of the wayside shrine. After much searching, they arrived at a sports park where they found the Blessed Mother standing at the end.

This is how Antonio relates this encounter: “Our hearts felt such a great joy that our reaction was to cry and kneel before her presence. This wayside shrine is very deteriorated by time. It was painful for us to see her in such a state. We began to clean her a little and then we took some photos and sent them to our Schoenstatt Costa Rica group, to Angel Pacheco Bastidas and his wife Aurimar González. Such was our beautiful encounter with the Blessed Mother.”

During the last few weeks Janet and Antonio have continued with their apostolate of making the Blessed Mother known in the parish of St. John Eudes, where many faithful already pray to her with devotion. They want to make many contributions to the Capital of Grace so that this resurgence of the Movement in Venezuela will fill this beautiful nation with many blessings. 

wayside shrine

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Max Brunner: from rebel without a cause to a model of heroism

Max Brunner:
from rebel without a cause to a model of heroism

Karen Bueno
18 May 2021

Max Brunner

There are battles in life that are worth fighting for with determination: against injustice, inequalities…

When Father Joseph Kentenich had his first contact with his young students, they were living a rebellious phase. And no wonder. The rules in the house in Vallendar were very demanding. The new rules imposed obligations that determined everything from the hours when they could talk to the frequency with which they had to polish their shoes.

“Looking out the window is considered bad behavior. You can only eat at mealtime. It is forbidden to climb trees or hang from their branches…” These are some examples of the rules, not to mention the physical punishments and public reprimands that were used in the training of young people, as was normal in German education during that time.

 

A battle worth fighting for 

Max Brunner, like so many others, saw these rigid rules as a cause for struggle. Max “was a good student during his first year and a half, but when the new school year began at the New House in September 1912, he was caught up in the pro-freedom crisis. Although he was then in the third course-which made him younger than most of the ‘rebels’-he quickly became one of its leaders, making mischief, such as elbowing others in the halls, and starting ‘contagious yawning’-yawning so that the whole class would yawn too. His grades dropped considerably and his once smiling disposition became somber and lackluster. He began to feel within himself a growing struggle for his identity” [1].

A new profesor arrives

Father Kentenich understood the young people well and was “different from the other teachers,” as they pointed out. He even interceded for an end to corporal punishment. However, although he agreed with the cause, Father Kentenich did not support the acts of rebellion, because he valued respect for the authorities. What did he do then? It is worthwhile, for those who can, to delve deeper into the pedagogical methods that Father Kentenich used already at that time. In short, in the advanced classes, he stimulated the formation of the Missionary Association; in Max Brunner’s class, he dealt with the youth revolution by creating small debates on the internal and external conflicts of a young student’s life and tried to awaken the interest and joy of group work.

As a result, the boys in Max’s class became the pioneers and founders of the Minor Marian Congregation, which gave birth to Schoenstatt.

 

Max became a rebel without a cause

Unlike his classmates, Max Brunner was a great opponent of the Marian Congregation. He did not agree with the foundation and wanted to continue fighting against everything and everyone. 

“Max was hesitant to go ahead. He had already invested too much in the rebellion to be sidelined by some ‘magic trick’ performed by the spiritual director. He put even more effort into keeping the rebellion alive, but he was losing his supporters one by one, and ended up alone…. Determined not to be won over by anything, Max carefully studied the best way to boycott this plan, namely, the formation of the Marian Congregation.” [2].

He himself recounts, “When we were still in the third course, an organization was formed which was joined by a large number of students. It was a subject I did not like at all, so I opposed it with all the hostility I could muster. My mission became to ensure that this “rowing club” did not gain any more members. I started sending jokes and making fun of everyone who belonged to it.” 

Brunner would do anything to annoy the members of the Marian Congregation: “They would attack me verbally, but they couldn’t do it physically, because that would be against the rules. I would have liked to have been beaten, for such a defeat would have been a victory,” he said [3].

How did the game turn around?

As Max expressed his opinion, he also became increasingly uncomfortable with a question he asked of himself: 

“What did Mary do to you to deserve your opposition?”

At the fall retreat, he did not belong to the Congregation, but he paid close attention to Fr. Kentenich’s words, “I believe that a saint will emerge among those who make their retreat today.” Later Max wrote: “Could I not also be this saint? If others have achieved it, why not me? Yes, I want to. Yes, I want to. Yes, I want to. I want to fight with all my might to become a great saint.” [4].

Finally, he gave himself to the path of the revolution that Father Kentenich had outlined with the students: the consecration to Mary.

In the end, it was his love for Mary that turned the game around.

“Little by little, Max lost the will to fight [against the Congregation] and when his course got temporary authorization to enter the Congregation, he started going to meetings so he wouldn’t have to be alone in the study hall. He didn’t feel integrated, but he disguised his neutrality by doing some work for the group from time to time. He worried that he was ‘following the others’, that he had become just one more member of the group. In the end, however, he made the firm decision to apply for admission to the Congregation, and it was thanks to his love for Mary that he was able to dare to do so.” [5]

On the day of his admission to the Marian Congregation, December 8, 1914, he uttered his most famous phrase: “I see Our Lady’s banner raised high! My eyes will never stray from it and at the hour of my death my lips will murmur: Ave Imperatrix! Morituri te salutant! (Hail, Queen! Those who are ready to die for you, salute you).”

His life changed completely from then on, including his grades, always striving and giving everything to the capital of grace. On April 23, 1917, his Queen took his offering seriously.

What can we learn from Max?

There are so many things that his life can inspire. Let’s look at some of them:

– Choosing the right battles and causes.

– Having the humility to change our minds about a decision

– Respecting the opinion of others

– To be linked to one’s co-workers

– Let love for Jesus and Mary be a compass.

“Mary, now I am truly your son! Grant me the grace to never forget my duties as your son. Mary, let me be small, but doing great things” (Max Brunner).

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Max Brunner was summoned in 1916 by the German Army to fight in the First World War. He was a person who gave his soul to Mary, burning for Schoenstatt’s mission. In the battle of Arras, on April 23, 1917, the English crossed the line of fire, attacked and a fragment of a grenade hit Max’s chest, killing him. In 1934, a group of seminarians dug his grave and brought his remains to Schoenstatt. A vigil was held in the Covenant House for him and for Hans Wormer, and then both were buried behind the Original Shrine, as a sign of their dedication to the Schoenstatt mission, for which they burned and gave themselves. We can affirm that Max made real the words “Hail, Queen! Those who are willing to die for you, greet you”. Some 4,500 people attended this ceremony in Schoenstatt together with Fr. Kentenich. Later Fr. Kentenich wrote a biography about Max, and published it in the MTA magazine, emphasizing the fervor with which the young man lived his personal ideal on the path of his personal vocation. 

 

[1] NIEHAUS, Padre Jonathan. Héroes de Fuego – La fundación de Schoenstatt

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid

 

Source: www.schoenstatt.org.br

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Fifty years after the Blessed Mother’s coronation in Cambrai’s Shrine, France

Fifty years after the Blessed Mother’s coronation in Cambrai’s Shrine, France

On May 19, the archbishop of Cambrai will crown the Blessed Mother in the Schoenstatt Shrine as Queen of Hearts, Trials and Limitations

Heinrich Brehm
May 17th. 2021

On May 19, 2021 Monsignor Vincent Dollman, archbishop of Cambrai, France, will offer the crown to the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt at the Unity Shrine of Cambrai pleading for the end of the pandemic and for the unity of the Schoenstatt Family.  Fifty years ago, on May 18, 1971, then bishop of Cambrai, Monsignor Henri-Martin Feliz Jenny, crowned the Blessed Mother in this shrine for the first time.

Coronation – an ancient custom in the Church

Crowning the Blessed Virgin is an ancient custom in the Church, maintains Father Adelin Gacuzuki, rector of the only Schoenstatt Shrine in France, in the “Lettre du 4” – letter for the fourth day of the month-. * It is said that Pope Gregory III placed a gold tiara during the 7th century on an icon of the Virgin located in an oratory in Rome honoring Mary, mother of the Holy Redeemer. Subsequently, the coronations of the Virgin Mary multiplied from the Middle Ages until today.

This coronation custom exists in the Schoenstatt Movement as well. On December 10, 1939, the Mater Ter Admirabilis (MTA – Mother Thrice Admirable) was crowned as Queen of Schoenstatt pleading for her protection of the Shrine and of Schoenstatt’s work during the war.

Renewing the coronation in Cambrai must also be seen along these lines, according to Father Gacukuzi: “We are crowning our Mother and asking her to guide our lives and that of our families.  We want her to become the queen of our heart, the queen of our trials, the queen of our limitations,” and he then extends an invitation to participate in the celebration: “Come to celebrate this coronation with us in our Shrine.  The Blessed Virgin waits for us there.”

The following is the schedule of the festivities:

 

Celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Blessed Virgin’s Coronation in Cambrai: May 18, 1971 – May 18, 2021

 

  • May 18, 2021 at 17:00 

Covenant Mass and celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Blessed Virgin’s coronation in her Shrine, celebrated by the Shrine’s rector in honor of the Mother Thrice Admirable and Victress of Schoenstatt.

 

  • May 19, 2021

Coronation feast with children, youth, and adults.

Starting at 09:30: Welcome, information about Schoenstatt and the history of coronations in Schoenstatt and at the Unity Shrine.

11:00: Mass with the participation of children and youth celebrated by Archbishop Vincent Dollman.

For additional information

  • Location: Unity Shrine: 1, route Nationale; Thun-Saint-Martin; Tel: 03 27 37 90 59.
  • Please, do not forget to wear your mask and keep the distance.

*Joseph Engling died on October 4, 1918 in Cambrai.  The Schoenstatt Shrine was built near the place where he died.

 

Fotos: www.sanctuairedelunite.fr and archive

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4th Anniversary of Schoenstatt Shrine in Costa Rica

4th Anniversary of Schoenstatt Shrine in Costa Rica

Four years ago, on March 20, 2017, the Schoenstatt family in Costa Rica celebrated the gift of having the first Schoenstatt shrine in Central America. The Shrine is in the municipality of Santa Ana in San Jose. On that day, there was a great celebration with a mass presided by San Jose’s archbishop, Monsignor Jose Rafael Quiros while the Schoenstatt family rejoiced thanking God, the Blessed Mother and each person who made that possible
Lisandra Chaves Leiva, Communications Schoenstatt Costa Rica
26 March 2021

“The day the Shrine was blessed, there were Schoenstatt members from over twenty countries in America and Europe.  The faith we have in Schoenstatt, in its mission at the service of the Church and the world, is supported by our faith in the extraordinary current of grace flowing from the Shrine.  All of us, united as a family, experienced a sliver of heaven on earth”, said Catalina Cabezas, who, along with her husband, headed the project and are currently the coordinators for the Apostolic Federation of Families.

The Shrine’s blessing was a “blue flag” event, that is, it complied with all the requisites to be eco-friendly and in accordance with Laudato si. Everyone was wearing white and beige attires, just as they did when they sealed their covenants. Additionally, 250 MTA medals sculpted in agate, were received from Germany.

Dirk Sander, responsible for the shrine’s construction, remembers: “It was an honor, as if the Virgin was telling me “do this”, and I agreed immediately.  It was a challenge because it was done in a short time (three months).  With the Blessed Mother by our side, everything was perfect. We had the blueprints, the land.  I had never built a shrine before, and the challenge was to interpret what is behind the design of a shrine which is a replica of the original shrine in Germany.  This had to be better than any other project.  The Blessed Mother was the designer and the one who guided us to do everything right”.

This year, due to the pandemic, the 4th anniversary celebration could not be as crowded or well attended, but the Schoenstatt family united in prayer and celebrated a mass in the Shrine following all the guidelines provided by the Health Department.  Mass was presided by Monsignor Daniel Francisco Blanco, auxiliary bishop of the San Jose archdiocese, together with Father Jose Luis Correa Lira, national advisor for Schoenstatt in Costa Rica and Central America and continental coordinator for Schoenstatt in America.  They were joined by a deacon and two seminarians.

“Mary is the path to reconciliation. She intercedes for us before her Son so we can be reconciled with the Lord.  In the Blessed Mother, we can contemplate the loving and giving mother who has always been mindful of our difficulties.  We see her promptly going to Isabel’s house.  We see her concern for the newlyweds who ran out of wine.  She is totally aware of what we need, of our lives, and guides us to her Son, to renew our hearts and continue on our way to the Father.  She is a refuge for sinners, and we come to her as a mother and mediator who takes our hand and leads us to her Son. To celebrate the Blessed Mother’s maternity implies a commitment. We ask for strength to imitate her, especially by taking care of each other’s needs”, said Monsignor Daniel Blanco during his homily at the 4th-anniversary celebration.

As the mass ended, Monsignor Blanco said: “Thanks for the invitation to this 4th-anniversary celebration.  We are grateful for everything that is being done from this Shrine. May this Shrine be a place of encounter, prayer, and blessing.  It is a gift for the San Jose archdiocese and for all the Church”.

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A Covenant Life in times of uncertainty

A Covenant Life in times of uncertainty

Like the first congregants in 1914, we want to give our YES in uncertain times.

By: Luciana Loyola P.

This 2020 will be the 106th anniversary of the first Covenant of Love, which was sealed by our Father and Founder Joseph Kentenich in a small chapel in Vallendar, Germany. How heroic were the first congregants, who even in times of war, fears, bombings, and anguish, decided to work on their self-sanctification and become entirely property of Mary. From that moment our Mother of Heaven has established herself in that place, which became her Shrine, to distribute abundant graces to thousands of people who visit her. Who would have believed that moment would be so remembered even after a century!

Our reality calls us to trust and to grow in our faith! In this current context of pandemic, disappointment, unemployment, injustice and human loss, we want to say our YES again to the will of our Father God. This is the war of this millennium and just like the first congregants, we must face this time of uncertainty and trust in the divine plan. What better way than by renewing our Covenant of Love! Let this 2020 be evidence that the storms bring us closer to God, and that even if we do not see the path clearly, we continue to walk with him.

#OurCovenant2020 is an invitation of Schoenstatt International to participate in this initiative with diverse ideas to grow in the spirit of the covenant.  During 18 days we will prepare ourselves as an international Schoenstatt family by offering many contributions to the capital of grace from every corner of the world.

God knows our reality and values each contribution that we bring to the Original Shrine if it is born from the heart. Is time to present our voluntary contributions as offerings to our Mother Thrice Admirable and Queen of Schoenstatt and in this way to fervently take part in the renewal of our Covenant this 18.10.20. Every day you can register your Capital of Grace through our page, enter your intentions and we will give it to our Queen in the Original Shrine. 

Are you up for it?

Click on this link and register all you Capital of Grace to our MTA:

https://capitalofgrace.netlify.app