Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement

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Family Academy in Austria – A robust tree sprouts from a small plant

Family Academy in Austria – A robust tree sprouts from a small plant

The Academy for Family Pedagogy in Austria held a celebration of thanksgiving and succession in its Kahlengerg center in Vienna. 425 couples from Austria have participated in 67 formation courses lasting two years to become family facilitators and they have experienced the strengthening and growth of their marriage and in their faith guided by 300 instructors.

Claudia Brehm
22 August 2021

On July 16, 2021, the Austrian Family Academy held a thanksgiving and succession party at its center in Vienna’s Kahlenberg. Thirty years ago, the couple Eva and Erich Berger “with a great adventurous spirit and even greater Kentenich fire” – as described by the directors of the Movement, Ingeborg and Richard Sickinger – had launched the aforementioned academy. 

 

After more than 30 years of untiring dedication on the part of the Berger couple and an enormous impulse in the work with couples, the direction of the Family Academy was transferred to Patricia and Günther Mayrhofer for the next six years, on a historic day: July 16th, the day of the founding of the Family Movement in the concentration camp of Dachau in 1942, by Father Kentenich and Dr. Fritz Kühr.

 

Two years to become facilitators of families

 

“What began as a small plant,” relates Gabi Kräftner, “has meanwhile become a robust tree with countless fruits. So far, 425 married couples in Austria have participated in 67 two-year training courses to become family facilitators and have experienced the strengthening and growth of their relationship and their faith at the hands of 300 trainers and couples who have accompanied them. During these 30 years, the couples have volunteered 190,000 hours of work to assist other families. The proven Kentenich pedagogy is now also successfully transmitted in academy courses in Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Lithuania, Spain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania and even in Brazil”.

 

Present at the celebration was Bishop Klaus Küng, who has been a strong supporter of the Family Pedagogy Academy from the very beginning. He has participated in numerous sending out ceremonies and has always welcomed with interest the new couples of family facilitators. The prelate paid tribute to Eva and Erich Berger’s “extraordinary work” and wished the committed successors God’s blessing for this task so full of responsibilities, expressing his conviction that the fruits of the work of the academies show that Joseph Kentenich’s pedagogy is valuable and useful, even in a largely secularized society. 

 

At the same time he exhorted: “I would like to take the opportunity today to encourage everyone, also those who are connected with us through the internet in other countries, to continue with great confidence in God’s help and in the Blessed Virgin’s intercession, not to give up, not to give in to the pressures of a consumer society that, by its very nature, often leads people to a dead end.”

 

Skirmantė and Nerijus, from Ukraine, and Karoly and Erika Varga, from Hungary, thanked the Berger couple for their commitment to the creation of the Academy of Families in their countries and for the trust they placed in the couples who lead it in their countries. For them, the Family Academy means belonging to a large international family. Karoly remarks: “For us, it is a great miracle how the Family Academy has been working”. The Mayrhofer family did not miss the opportunity to serve a delicious festive cake at the subsequent party in a cozy atmosphere.

“We trust that the couples will grow.”

Interview with Eva and Erich Berger

Mr. and Mrs. Berger, 30 years ago you did pioneer work with the founding and development of the Family Academy in Austria. What motivated you to embark on this adventure? How did this idea come about?

It was no big deal. We simply agreed to lead a project group for about a year, a request from Father T. Beller and Sister M. Elmengard in 1989. From our point of view, Father Beller had three reasons. He felt that he would soon reach his limits, despite his ability. He needed multipliers. He had a deep prophetic conviction about the mission of couples for the Church of tomorrow; and he wanted to transmit to all interested families – also beyond the borders of Schoenstatt – the richness of 10 years of experience with family work in the discipleship of Father Kentenich. 

According to him, the greatest sin in the desert is not telling others where the source of water is. In the project group we, along with five other couples, set fire to each other, and soon a blaze ensued.

What major challenges have you had on this long journey? What has been the highlight that has made you both happy?

“Participating in the academy was the best decision of my life.” “There is an Adalbert before 2008 and an Adalbert from 2009 onwards.” This kind of feedback, which we receive often, is gratifying. They show that we give people what they need, what they long for. What is difficult for us is that we do not always manage to communicate the experiences we have had with the family pedagogy academy in Austria and in other countries. Sometimes our confidence in Fr. Kentenich’s mission for the future of the Church and society is met with misunderstanding. For us, his pastoral concept, which is based on the intimate organic interaction of psychology, pedagogy, and theology, is a true model of success on which we place our vitality.

What qualities have you both developed in these 30 years at the Family Academy?

Trust. We have learned to trust in Father Kentenich’s school. We trust that couples can grow, without us intervening therapeutically. And the couples feel this trust without us having to express it verbally. We trust in the effects of grace. In Schoenstatt we speak of the three pilgrimage graces, we trust in them. We trust that the Blessed Mother will turn to Jesus and call his attention: “They have no more wine” – as it is written on our jars in Austria. We trust in the miracles of transformation, that the water from our efforts will be enough to fill our jars to the brim.

What skills do Patricia and Günther Mayrhofer bring to their new task and what is your wish for them?

We love adventurous, discovery trips. So that everyone can discover Patricia’s and Günther’s skills for themselves, we don’t want to describe any of their skills. You will recognize them by their fruits. 

In a course they conducted in the second year, which we called “Art of Transmission and Accompaniment”, the families were confronted and attacked with accusations against Fr. Kentenich. One gentleman reacted by saying, “I don’t know Kentenich, I don’t know the witnesses – but I know you – you are my witnesses and I trust in you!” – by which he meant Patricia and Günther and their team. Kentenich’s “contemporary witnesses”.

Eva, Erich, thank you for the interview. Our wish is that, with Mary’s help, you will be able to experience the joy of your own family and the joy of having served other families. Thank you very much for telling us about your decades of deep commitment to the Family Academy. I will gladly light a large candle in the Original Shrine in Schoenstatt for you and for so many families who have been able to discover new treasures in their marriage through the Academy and for those yet to come.

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Global Catholic Compact on the Family is launched by the Vatican

Global Catholic Compact on the Family is launched by the Vatican

The Global Catholic Pact on the Family will involve Catholic universities of the five continents and will be presented at the end of the World Meeting of Families in 2022.

By Vatican News staff reporter
August 20, 2021

The Vatican has launched the process of creating a Catholic Global Compact on the Family,  a shared programme of actions for promoting the family throughout the world in light of the Social Doctrine of the Church.  

The Vatican Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life (DLFV) released the plan on Friday, saying the initiative is to celebrate the current Amoris Laetitia Family Year proclaimed by Pope Francis. 

The process to create the Catholic Global Compact on the Family was launched in the past few weeks by the DLFV and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (PASS), in collaboration with the International Center of Family Studies (CISF), based in Milan, Italy.

A DLFV statement explained that the Compact involves the study and research centers on the family of Catholic Universities in the five continents. The Compact will collect information and research carried out on the cultural and anthropological importance of the family, focusing particularly on family relationships, the social value of the family and good practices of family policies at the international level.

Amoris laetitia (The Joy of Love) is the post-synodal apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis on the beauty and joy of love in the family.

Released on March 19, 2016, the document summarizes the reflections and insights of the synod fathers and participants in the two-part Synod of Bishops on the family held in the Vatican in October of 2014 and 2015.

On 19 March 2021, the Church celebrated the 5th anniversary of the publication of Amoris Laetitia.  On that day, Pope Francis launched the Amoris Laetitia Family Year, which will conclude on 26 June 2022 during the 10th Meeting of Families in Rome with him.

The Catholic Global Compact on the Family “will be presented as part of a closing event, before the World Meeting of Families”.

As part of the ongoing celebration of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year, the DLFV organized an online Forum from June 9-12 on the theme, “Where are we with Amoris Laetitia? Strategies for the pastoral application of Pope Francis’ Exhortation”. The 4-day initiative brought together the experiences and perspectives of the heads of offices of family pastoral ministry of bishops’ conferences, associations and international ecclesial movements, on the implementation of Amoris laetitia at the local levels.  The inputs were intended to help implement the application of the Apostolic Exhortation in a pastoral and missionary perspective.

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Amoris Laetitia and Schoenstatt’s pedagogy: How to put it into practice?

Amoris Laetitia and Schoenstatt's pedagogy: How to put it into practice?

Interview about the relation between the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia and Schoenstatt's pedagogy with practical advice for family life

Schoenstatt International interviewed Father Alexandre Awi Mello, secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, along with the Ghelardis, a couple belonging to Brazil's Family Federation, within the framework of the Marathon for the Original Shrine, to delve into the Year of the Family Amoris Laetitia and the practical ways of applying Schoenstatt's pedagogy in family life.

Schoenstatt International
July 7, 2021

Year of the Family Amoris Laetitia

Father Alexandre Awi Mello, secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life and the Ghelardis from Brazil’s Family Federation, were interviewed on May 15 at the Original Shrine by the Brazilian communicator Otávio Cezarini Ávila. The topic covered was the Year of the Family Amoris Laetitia.

Regarding this topic, Father Alexandre remarked that, five years after the publication of the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis wanted to know if the Church has adopted this reflection which centers on highlighting the beauty of the conjugal vocation and life. “It’s about an opportunity to revive the Church’s careful view of the family, with an invitation for families themselves to be protagonists at this time”, he said.

“The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life is planning this Year of the Family Amoris Laetitia with several initiatives. Among them, the publication of a monthly video reflecting on each chapter of the exhortation, with a message from the Pope”, added Father Alexandre.

Father Alexandre told us about the existence of another initiative: the first World Day for the Grandparents and the Elderly, which will take place on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ grandparents, that is celebrated each year.

For further information about these initiatives and others go to: www.amorislaetitia.va

Schoenstatt’s pedagogy and the Year of Amoris Laetitia

When asked about how we can relate Schoenstatt’s pedagogy with the Year of Amoris Laetitia, Father Awi Mello reminds us that “Schoenstatt is a family and within the Schoenstatt Movement we understand family as a whole, there is room for every state of life and for every age. When we talk about family, we are talking not only of couples, as in other movements. In Schoenstatt every family member should feel embraced.”

Finally, Father Alexandre recalled that “in the October 2016 Congress (which is held nationally in Brazil, with the same theme, in different cities) a relation was drawn between Amoris Laetitia and Schoenstatt pedagogy, and one of the things that can be highlighted is the pedagogy of the ideal that is mentioned in the exhortation, when the Pope states that we cannot diminish the ideal of the family, and that this must be presented emphatically to the youth, showing the beauty of that vocation”. And he concluded: “The Home Shrine is a way of embodying the domestic church, a topic that is present in the Pope’s text”.

Application of the pedagogy of trust and bonds in family life

Flavia and Luciano Ghelardi emphasized that children were entrusted by God to be raised in the family, so that one day they can reach heaven, and the pedagogy of trust helps parents to trust in the good that is within each child and in the fact that they will make good choices.

Flavia remarked that “it is important to cultivate a personal bond with each member of the family and one way to do this with the children is the ‘outing with mom’, in which once a week, the mother goes out to eat with one of the children to their favorite place, and spends time talking, reinforcing the bond, sharing projects, difficulties, joys. It’s a time when the mother can also tell her story, the family’s history.”

Luciano adds that “another practice that helps to strengthen the bond with God and with the family is the night prayer in the Home Shrine, all together, sharing a little about how each one’s day went, giving thanks and making petitions”.

Schoenstatt’s response to the challenges of today’s family

Regarding the challenges of the family in today’s world, Luciano believes that “there are many challenges, among them finding the meaning of this life”, and expresses that “Schoenstatt can respond especially with the Personal Ideal, which makes us know that each one is loved by God from all eternity and has a mission to fulfill in this world. The Movement offers practical ways to discover this ideal”.

Complementing this idea, Flavia explains that “another response that Schoenstatt can give is through practical faith in Divine Providence, which takes a look at every event, big or small, knowing that God the Father has a loving plan that governs everything and expects a loving response from us. The way to discover what is God’s plan behind each event is through the meditation of daily life as taught by our Founding Father, which consists of taking a few minutes during the day, choosing an event from the previous day and, with the Holy Spirit’s light, ask yourself three questions: 1) What does God want to tell me with this? 2) What do I tell myself? 3) What do I answer to God?”

And synthesizing Schoenstatt’s contribution, Flavia expressed that “in the Home Shrine, the true heart of the home, the same graces flow as from the Original Shrine and from the daughter shrines; and the family is nourished there to be able to face all the challenges.”

You may watch the full interview here.

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Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness

Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness

It is Pope Francis himself who is presenting the X World Meeting of Families, to be held from June 22-26, 2022. He does so through a video message, released today and available on Vatican News and on the Youtube Channel of the Diocese of Rome. The logo for the event, promoted by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and organized by the Diocese of Rome is presented along with it as well.

Dicastery for laity, family and life
July 2, 2021
Foto do Papa Francisco en Dublin

The event will take place in an unprecedented and multi-centered format

The Meeting, initially planned for 2021, will be held from June 22 to 26, 2022, in a time of hope and rebirth. The event, as also emphasized by the Holy Father, will take place in an unprecedented and multi-centered format, with local initiatives in dioceses around the world, similar to those that will take place simultaneously in Rome. While Rome will remain the designated venue, each diocese will be able to be the center of a local Meeting for its own families and communities. This is to allow everyone to feel like protagonists at a time when it is still difficult to travel because of the pandemic.

Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness

is the theme of the X World Meeting, which will therefore be carried out in two parallel ways:

  1. Rome will remain the main venue, where the Festival of Families and the Theological-Pastoral Congress will be held, both in the Paul VI Hall; and Holy Mass will be held in St. Peter’s Square. In particular, delegates from Episcopal Conferences and international movements involved in family ministry will participate.
  2. At the same time, in individual dioceses, the bishops will be able to launch similar initiatives at the local level, starting with the theme of the Meeting and using the symbols that the Diocese of Rome is preparing (logo, prayer, hymn and picture).

«Over the years –  underlines Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life – this important ecclesial appointment has observed an ever increasing participation of families. The thousands of people who have participated in the most recent editions, bringing enrichment with their languages, cultures and experiences, have been an eloquent sign of the beauty of the family for the Church and for all humanity. We need to continue on this path, seeking to involve more and more families in this beautiful initiative».

«It has to do with seizing a precious and unique opportunity for relaunching family ministry with renewed missionary drive and creativity, starting from the indications given to us by the Holy Father in the Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, that is, getting spouses, families and pastors involved all together», commented the Cardinal Vicar, Angelo De Donatis.

foto de família
Famlily love

Description of the Official Logo

The logo designed for the X World Meeting of Families recalls the oval shape of Bernini’s colonnade in St. Peter’s Square, the place which defines the Catholic Church par excellence, and it refers back to its original meaning that is the welcoming and inclusive embrace of the Mother Church of Rome and of her Bishop, extending it to every man and woman throughout time.

The human images under the dome, barely visible, and the cross hanging above them, represent husband, wife, children, grandparents and grandchildren. They want to recall the image of the Church as a “family of families” proposed by Amoris Laetitia (n. 87) in which “The experience of love in families is a perennial source of strength for the life of the Church” (n. 88). The cross of Christ that looms up towards the sky and the walls of protection seem almost upheld by the families, who are authentic living stones of the ecclesiastical construction. On the left, along the thin line representing the colonnade, we notice the presence of a family that is in the same position as the statues of the saints placed on the columns of the square. These remind us that the vocation to holiness is a possible goal for everyone. They are meant to emphasize how it is possible to live holiness in the essentiality of ordinary life.

The family on the left, which appears behind the line of the colonnade, also indicates all the non-Catholic families, distant from the faith and outside the Church, who are watching the Church event that is taking place from the outside.  The ecclesial community has always looked to these with attention. One can notice how dynamic the figures that are moving toward the right are. They are moving outwards. They are outgoing families, witnesses of a non-self-referential Church. They go in search of other families in an attempt to bring them closer and share with them the experience of God’s mercy.

The predominant yellow and red are a clear reference to the blazoning colors of the city of Rome, in a graphic design intended to express an intense bond with the community.  

 

Read more:

https://schoenstatt.com/amoris-laetitia-forum-a-place-for-meeting-and-pastoral-exchange-on-family-topics/

http://www.laityfamilylife.va/content/laityfamilylife/en.html

 

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Revitalizing the family as a preeminent instrument of evangelization

Revitalizing the family as a preeminent instrument of evangelization

Online Amoris Laetitia forum with 350 participants from all over the world

Different topics of Amoris Laetitia were discussed: marriage catechumenate, formation of pastoral agents, family missionary life and companionship, discerning and integrating the fragility of families (chapter VIII of Amoris Laetitia). Clear foundations were given for the different topics as well as the testimony of different communities or movements on how they implement it in their lives.

Interview with Rafael and Cristina Munhoz by Father Heinrich Walter

Foto de la familia Mouñoz

In the interest of strengthening the family, three couples from the Schoenstatt Movement participated in the Forum. Cristina and Rafael Munhoz talked to us about their experience in an interview for Schoenstatt.com. They are members of the General Council of the Schoenstatt Institute of Families, have five children and live in Barcelona, Spain.

 

What impressed you the most during the Forum?

 

What impressed us most was the freshness of the meeting, the vitality, the desire to work for the mission, each one from his charisma and his own possibilities. We were also impressed by the number of participants from all over the world, about 220, among representatives of the different Episcopal Conferences and different movements. The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life’s efforts to face all the challenges and difficulties was commendable.

 

Different topics of Amoris Laetitia were discussed: marriage catechumenate, formation of pastoral agents, education of children, marriage spirituality, family missionary work and companionship, discerning and integrating the fragility of families (chapter VIII of Amoris Laetitia). Clear foundations were given for the different topics as well as the testimony of different communities or movements on how they implement it in their lives.

 

For us it was very interesting to see the mixture of different charismas that give a great richness and vitality to the family ministry. The interest in being able to work side by side between families and pastoral agents was an important topic. It has become clear to us from this Forum that we have to sow much to reap little and we have to ask for grace and joy in a time of scarce fruitfulness. After listening to all the contributions, we realized that we have to continue working hand in hand, conscious that we have been asked, above all, for creative fidelity.

Family is a matter for everyone

What difference in situations and challenges could you perceive between continents and cultures?

 

Since it was an online encounter, there was no opportunity for great exchanges but, through the chat, concerns and challenges were expressed and, although they were not dealt with, they remained as concerns presented to the Dicastery. The most universal and relevant questions were presented during the exchange at the end of each topic and were answered by the speakers on that topic.

We know and feel that we are an evangelical and apostolically weakened Church in a powerful society. But neither the Christianity of the past was as solid as it is believed, nor the present one as weak as it seems. What we were able to verify is that we must all together promote Christian initiation from the family basis. A true initiation is something much more than indoctrination. Initiation is awakening to the experience of faith and from that faith enriching its contents, orienting the moral life, familiarizing with the Word of God and with the great symbols of the liturgy, cultivating the sense of community, opening the sensibility to serve society and this is a fact that, through the conversations, was manifested as a necessity in all continents.

Was there a common goal towards which you were aiming together?

 

Revitalizing the family as a preeminent instrument of evangelization. The Dicastery, in a way, is laying with this meeting the foundations to prepare the future from the present situation which entails the need to renew our pastoral style, called to be more spiritual, more evangelizing, more co-responsible, more personalized, and more focused on the formation of the pastoral nucleus of our communities.

Foto de la familia Muñoz
Familia Santuario original
Schoenstatt itself is a strong movement of families and has a proven experience with family work.

What is Schoenstatt’s most needed contribution at this time?

As Schoenstatt families we are bearers of a charisma and a pedagogy that offers answers to the needs of the Church regarding family issues nowadays. We must become more aware that we are bearers of a mission for the service of the Church. We have a great ally for this, Mary, our Mother, who from our Home Shrines urges us to do so.

What do you wish Schoenstatt would take back from this Congress?

Being faithful to our Father and Founder in the sense of “hand on the pulse of time and ear on the heart of God” we must recognize the Spirit, discover the signs of His presence, and collaborate with Him with docility and humility. Perhaps we could say that we would like to see the return of audacity, to go out of our comfort zone. Schoenstatt is a movement, not a brotherhood with fixed forms. That is why, now that the world is bleeding, we couples must become Marys who see all needs with her eyes, and we must reawaken our faith and trust in God. Along this line, one of the great calls to us families is to learn how to listen: to listen to God, to listen to His Word, to be faithful to the Practical Faith in Divine Providence as our Founding Father wanted. To listen to our communities, to listen to our spouses, to listen to the young and the old, to those belonging to other generations, to those who think differently. Listening presupposes receptivity and humility, patience and acceptance, openness of heart to allow ourselves to be inhabited by others. In this sense, Paul VI’s encyclical Ecclesiam Suam (1964), which offers us a whole theology of listening and dialogue as a requirement for renewal, retains all its validity.

The family is a fundamental Schoenstatt principle.

Did you see any notions that should go from the Congress to the Schoenstatt Family Movement worldwide?

The Congress invites us to be the Church, to place ourselves at her service so that we can bring her the “Schoenstatt Good News”. We must be well formed to put ourselves at the service of the pastoral ministry of marriage in our parishes and dioceses.

Thank you so much, Cristina and Rafael!

For more information visit:

 

Photos: Fam. Muñoz, Pixabay

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