Original Shrine

June 8, 2021 By Rosario Consiglio

The family feast AT HOME, in Germany, awakens creativity

The Schoenstatt Families Festival held at the Original Shrine, face-to-face encounter at HOME, as well as a virtual encounter

Zoom conference, Padlet link, YouTube, dialogue rooms, cameras, control monitors, live streaming, a few families in front of the Original Shrine, and about 200 registered at home, in front of monitors in their living room or on the balcony: an unusual family festival that the Schoenstatt Families Branch in Germany prepared, with a lot of creativity, in the middle of the pandemic.

Claudia and Heinrich Brehm
June 7,2021

Under the motto “Together Strong”, the festival took place on Saturday, May 29, and started with a sunny day, blue skies, and much joy in the place where the Schoenstatt Movement began more than 100 years ago; the best conditions for a great family experience.

An interactive map on the Padlet, managed by the Liebl family, from Wildsteig, in Upper Bavaria, in which families could register, allowed you to see the location of the participating families. The families were mostly from Germany, but there were also families connected from Switzerland and South Tyrol in Italy. This digital networking was fully in line with the festival’s objective: to experience and celebrate the value of ‘Together Strong’, despite the required physical distancing due to the pandemic.

The value of being together

On the live stage, in front of Schoenstatt’s chapel of grace, balloons waved, the festival song was heard, and three candles were lit representing all those who were sharing. For 10 minutes, participating families were randomly divided into virtual groups to meet and share ideas about the question: “If we were to visit you today, what experience would we have?”

Three coordinating couples then invited individual families from the Zoom conference to share their moments of community life. The Bergmann couple shared what sustains them as a couple. The Kieninger family made it clear what sustains them as a family, and the Kröper couple recounted how God supports their family.

Taking those shared experiences to the Church and society

“Canceling the festival because of the pandemic was not an option at all,” Manuela and Peter Miller, leaders of the organization team, explained in a brief statement. “However, we didn’t want an online family festival, but a family festival AT HOME, where families could get together in real life.” Families had experienced community life intensively during the time of pandemic.

“Above all, let us experience today that we are a crisis-proof family, that we are sustainable, that we are US. A WE that goes beyond our own family. We have experienced that together we are stronger.” It is now necessary to bring this experience to the Church and to society, to share it with others. That is why, on this day, this common celebration, the family picnic with one or more families at home is a good start.

Encounter with a picnic

Once the inaugural “click & meet” event was over, the program of the Families Festival AT HOME continued with each participant’s initiative: families invited other families to their homes, as many as possible in the different counties, depending on the incidence of the pandemic. Happily, the meetings were held after this year and a half of distance and isolation. In the garden, on an excursion, playing games – the scavenger hunt was a great success – in the conversations, in prayer. “Everything was wonderful, both the adults and especially the children really enjoyed being together again, being able to spend the day together.”

Motivational videos and prayer

Those who wished to stay at home were able to use the digital discussion suggestions as a starting point for their dialogue. The videos prepared by several couples dealt with the religious education of the children, life from the sacraments, maintaining the marital relationship, the power of transformation and mission, the meaning of suffering, the development of a spiritual agenda, the sustainable lifestyle in the family and the configuration of the marital stage when the children leave home.

In addition, between 14:00 and 18:30, there was an opportunity to pray online with and for others with a wide variety of intentions. The families had the opportunity to send their prayer requests beforehand, which were mentioned in the chapel at the Families House.

Invited to “click and pray” in the Original Shrine

At the end of the Families Festival, a blessing celebration took place at the Original Shrine, in which families were able to participate from home through a live broadcast. Symbolically, the WE, around which the whole day evolved, was expressed through a long yellow ribbon at the altar, on which the names of all the participants in the festival were written.

Reviewing the experiences of the day

Before the blessing, everyone was invited to review the day’s experiences. Images of the festival from the Padlet were shown. Four families who had a picnic with others shared their experiences. In this way, the happy moments and the beautiful experiences that marked the day, were collected and present in the celebration. The blessing ceremony was in charge of the three couples hosting the opening of the festival.

The texts were sensitive, poignant, and appropriate, and described the Original Shrine as a place where life and daily routine can be brought before God. The songs also played a special role. Due to coronavirus regulations, they could not be sung live, but were played as pre-recorded clips with appropriate and everyday images of everyday family life. The reading of Matthew 28:16-20, when Jesus expresses, “I am with you every day until the end of the world,” wanted to encourage everyone to be families ready to go, into the future.

The renewal of the marriage vows with the words: “Be certain, I am with you every day of your life”, as well as the renewal of the Covenant of Love with Mary and with God, who has Mary as the bearer, and the afternoon blessing gave strength and energy to return to daily life and live as a family the “Together Strong”.

To see the motivating photos of the families participating in the festival from their homes, access the following link: https://de.padlet.com/familienfestival/fotos

June 2, 2021 By Vanessa Franke

Light for the world

Light for the world:
Enthusiasm and joy during the first
International Week for the Original Shrine

Five days with various celebrations at the Original Shrine, ending with a 12-hour marathon on Saturday, May 15, under the motto: Light for the World.

Enrique Soros
June 2, 2021

For the first time ever, Schoenstatt held an international celebration consisting of a week dedicated to the Original Shrine. It began on Monday, May 10th and ended on Saturday, the 15th with an international marathon that included several activities. This week’s objective was to make Schoenstatters’ around the world consciously aware that the Original Shrine needs financial contributions for its support and maintenance and that of the property surrounding it, including repair work and improvements. It was also a very appropriate occasion to cultivate the spirit of unity and mission in the Schoenstatt Family around the world.

Five international days at the Original Shrine

The International Week for the Original Shrine had two phases. The first one took place from Monday, May 10th to Friday, May 14th, and consisted of celebrations in the Shrine itself, in which different parts of the world were represented. Mass was celebrated in German each day at 8:00 a.m. At noon, the Angelus prayer was said in Polish, Portuguese, Kannada, English and Slovenian. The international richness was also reflected during the afternoon masses, which were celebrated in Spanish, English, Portuguese and Kirundi. On Wednesday the afternoon mass followed the Syro-Malabar rite.

The Angelus was prayed at 18:00 in Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil, French and Polish. The rosary was prayed every night and the evening blessing was given throughout the week, again in different languages. This way, through Schoenstatt’s international quality, the richness and depth of its mission and the responsibility of the entire Schoenstatt Family for the Original Shrine were emphasized.

Saturday, May 15: First Week for the Original Shrine

The great marathon took place on Saturday and it lasted 12 hours. This is the fourth international event that links the Schoenstatt Family around the world through its social networks. The first event was “Corona Mater”, on April 15, 2020, in which the Blessed Virgin was crowned as Queen of our Physical and Spiritual Health and the second one was the international concert “Corona Mater”, which included songs from various countries; and the third was the Christmas Concert which took place that same year in December and, just like this marathon, united in spirit thousands of Schoenstatt families and friends around the world.

The marathon was organized by a Schoenstatt International team and the Original Shrine’s rector, Father Pablo Pol, from Argentina, participated. Hundreds of people took part either by sending greetings from various parts of the world, offering testimonials, singing songs or being part of the interviews that covered several topics.

Throughout the day there were three concerts, in which Austria, Nigeria, India, Brazil, Portugal, United Kingdom, Spain, Ecuador, Paraguay and Mexico participated with motivational songs. Testimonies of Jesus and Mary’s passage through the lives of young people and families were offered from different parts of the world.

Statistics

More than 80 countries actively participated in the Week for the Shrine;
there were 23,410 views on social media and
the total amount of 21,708 (US dollars) was collected for the support of the Original Shrine,

which sets an important precedent, indicating that the Schoenstatters of the world can take responsibility for the Schoenstatt Shrine, called to be Light for the World.

First interviews: Schoenstatt’s contribution to the Church

There were also interviews on very important topics. One of them was with Father Christian Löhr, General Rector of the Schoenstatt Institute of Diocesan Priests, on the topic “Schoenstatt, for a prophetic Church”. Then the dialogue continued with the young Brazilian, Lucas Galhardo, on his “Experience at the Synod of the Youth”, where he represented Brazil. Then, the American couple Pita and Dave Sanchez were interviewed and spoke about “The importance of the father figure”, in the year of Amoris Laetitia and St. Joseph. The block culminated with the social exposition, in which the importance of forging new individuals capable of building a new social order was mentioned, and 19 social projects were presented from among some 100 that the Movement implements around the world.

Mass and Schoenstatt tour

This was followed by Mass, celebrated by Fr. Pablo Pol, a tour through the valley and the mountains of Schoenstatt, visiting the different houses of the communities active there, and the presentation of a day in the Original Shrine, with everything that takes place there.

Second block of interviews: feminism, the family, World Youth Day and the Workplace

In the second block of the marathon, the first interview was with Eduardo Jurado from Ecuador, on the topic “How to live Schoenstatt in the company”. This was followed by an interview with Professor Cecilia Sturla on “Schoenstatt and feminism”. Then it was the youth’s turn talking about World Youth Day, which will take place in August 2023 in Lisbon. The topic of the dialogue was “The Schoenstatt youth in leadership”. The interviewees were Fr. Gonzalo Cravo, Schoenstatt Father, and the young man, João Pedro Duarte.

Father Alexandre Awi Mello and the couple, Flavia and Luciano Ghelardi, were also interviewed about the Amoris Laetitia Year and the family; and finally, Carlos and Maia Pampliega, for CIEES, International Community of Schoenstatt Businessmen and Executives, on the topic “Social Justice in the Workplace”.

Objective

As we said above, the main objective of the Week for the Original Shrine was to make Schoenstatters around the world consciously aware of how important it is to feel responsible for the financial support of the Original Shrine, but as is the practice in Schoenstatt, the emphasis is always on spirituality, social commitment, and growth as a community. For this reason, the week had the most diverse activities in order to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and mission without borders.

Those willing to contribute to the financial support of the Original Shrine may do so here.

Part 1

It is possible to enjoy the complete marathon by clicking on the following links:

On YouTube it is possible to go directly to the chosen topic by clicking on the number that indicates hour and minute in the video description.

Part 2

May 29, 2021 By Sr. M. Cacilda Becker

In the arms of the Blessed Mother

Pope Francis will conclude the "prayer marathon" for the end of the pandemic next Monday, May 31. The Schoenstatt Shrine in Vallendar will be one of the chosen shrines.

Gabriela Arce
May 28. 2021

And you are there…

I remember I loved to run very fast when I was a little girl. I felt the dizziness of the speed and the wind on my happy face. This is what all the children used to do, and I felt stronger every time I won a race against my siblings, neighbors and cousins. But sometimes I would stumble and fall, and my eyes would fill with tears, my heart with sorrow and my whole being would seek my mother’s embrace.

Blessed Mother, untie the knots that confine us and restrict us.

Pope Francis also wanted to seek our Mother’s embrace when he called on the Church worldwide to pray the rosary during the month of May imploring especially for an end to the pandemic and for the difficult situations we are currently experiencing in our lives: loneliness, illness, unemployment, violence, our human progress and the need to promote pastoral care. The Holy Father will pray from the Vatican in front of the Mary Untier of Knots icon, an image towards which he has always had a special devotion.

At the conclusion of this “prayer marathon” on May 31st, several shrines around the world will unite with the Holy Father’s prayer from the Vatican. Our Original Shrine will be one of the places from which we can pray together. The original shrine’s rector, Father Pablo Pol, has written a letter to the Schoenstatt Family inviting them to unite in prayer and to share the special program that will take place from Vallendar which will include singing and dancing.

Mother, renew our hope

We feel overwhelmed, wounded and locked-up in our hopelessness. We might even ask ourselves why we are living through these difficult times or, better yet, what for. With this latter question we could find an answer and be able to discover the meaning of so much suffering. Pain is something none of us wants but there are things that may come out from pain that could be wonderful. The Blessed Mother is our teacher and, standing at the foot of the Unity Cross, she shows us the way to carry our burdens with fidelity so that we may come out of these difficulties transformed by love.

Let’s be “runners” in this prayer marathon, united, together, fraternal, all of us children looking for and finding the peace, comfort and joy of knowing we are all together in our Mother’s embrace.

You may follow the prayer marathon through these sites:

www.urheiligtum.de

www.schoenstatt=tv.de

YouTube Schoenstatt-tv channel

Starting at 18:00 – Transmission of the prayer from the Vatican

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=vatican+media+live

Prayers will take place in these shrines: Our Lady of Schoenstatt in Vallendar (Germany); Notre Dame of Boulogne in Nanterrre (France); Our Lady of Sorrows in Kibeho (Ruanda); Maipu’s national shrine in Santiago (Chile); Our Lady of Joys in Ourense (Spain); Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in Carfin (Scotland), the Virgin of Miracles shrine in Caacupe (Paraguay); and Our Lady of Health Shrine in La Spezia (Italy).

https://www.vaticannews.va/de/papst/news/2021-05/papst-franziskus-corona-rosenkranz-gebetsmarathon.html

YouTube

April 17, 2021 By Sr. M. Cacilda Becker

New International Initiative: A Week for the Original Shrine

A new initiative has emerged destined to unite the hearts of every Schoenstatt member all over the world around this source of grace. This initiative, which will take place for the first time this year, is called “A Week for the Original Shrine”. This year’s motto is: “Light for the World” and it will go on from Monday, May 10 to Saturday, May 15.

Luciana Loyola
April 17, 2021

The Original Shrine is the place where Schoenstatt was born and from which the Blessed Virgin sends us to conquer our hearts and the world for Jesus.

A new initiative has emerged destined to unite the hearts of every Schoenstatt member all over the world around this source of grace. This initiative, which will take place for the first time this year, is called “A Week for the Original Shrine”. This year’s motto is: “Light for the World” and it will go on from Monday, May 10 to Saturday, May 15. On this last day we will join together in a 12-hour marathon covering many parts of the world, as in various circles that converge at a central point: the Original Shrine.

This shrine needs our financial support, and we want it to fulfill its mission to be a light for the world, therefore this proposal is going to unite us further in our common mission and will also raise funds to cover the numerous expenses for the Shrine’s upkeep doing so through means of evangelization.

The Blessed Mother and Jesus are waiting for us

In this hectic life, full of fears and uncertainties, it is very evident that we have a need for moments of reflection, of fervor for the mission, of blessing…

Do we approach Mary to have a conversation with her during the day? Do we think of her during the week?

What better place to have an encounter with her and Jesus, as Schoenstatt Family, than the Original Shrine! We want to share this spirit, visiting Schoenstatt in Germany and in many other countries around the world.

Father Juan Pablo Catoggio, president of the General Presidium of the Schoenstatt Movement, invites us to save the date in our calendars for a very special encounter as an international family.

We will be present as the Schoenstatt Family in different corners of the world and will identify ourselves as the children of a Queen.

Let us pay attention because the Blessed Virgin has made a date with us! Let us visit our social media @schoenstattinternational frequently to keep up to date on the posts.

Save the date: Saturday, May 15th. Our MTA will be waiting for us at the great International Marathon for the Original Shrine.

Summary:

A Week for the Original Shrine 2021

Motto 2021: Light for the World

Date: Monday, May 10 through Saturday, May 15

Marathon: Saturday, May 15

Marathon duration: German time: from Saturday at 14:00 to Sunday at 2:00.

Ecuador time: from 7:00 to 19:00.

Objective: Raise funds to cover the expenses of the Original Shrine while experiencing solidarity as Schoenstatt family around our place of grace.

For more information: www.schoenstatt.com and the Schoenstatt International social networks.

Save the date

October 18, 2020 By Luciana Loyola

Covenant of Fraternity

This year, the small and invisible virus Covid 19, has created a world-wide bond that neither politicians nor industrialists, neither great thinkers nor church leaders could have created.
We are one big family. The virus takes the form of a mirror in front of people: Who are you? What is the dignity of the human being? Who is your neighbor?

By: Fr. Heinrich Walter

We celebrate the founding of Schoenstatt in this context. We will renew the Covenant of Love. We will do so in 2020 as a response to the challenges of this time. In this process, we hear the voice of the Pope who addresses humanity as “fratelli tutti”. In February 2019 he signed a document on human brotherhood with the great Imam of Cairo, Ahmad Mohammed Al-Tayeb. It describes the goal of peaceful coexistence in the world. Dignity and brotherhood among peoples is based on faith in one God as the father of humanity.

In the new encyclical “fratelli tutti” the Pope develops this approach. It is about how we live brotherhood in a free society. This is reflected in how we treat the weakest members of society. The Pope reminds us of the biblical story about the Good Samaritan: Who is my neighbor and how do I treat him?

We are all part of humanity, our identity arising from social and cultural relations. But this needs to be lived out daily through our actions, which Pope Francis describes with four verbs: welcome, protect, promote, and integrate. No doubt his gaze is directed at all types of migrants, but not only at them. The four verbs can motivate us through the alliance, in the daily life of the new community that we want to form.

This effort and motivation can be the melody that accompanies us during the day of the alliance. The meaning of all historical dynamics is found for us in the covenant with God. Since we do not know what tomorrow will bring and what our life will be like the day after tomorrow, this covenant gives us strength and security, a home and protection.

This year, the renewal of the covenant has a great social dimension because of the pandemic. In the Shrine we experience again and again the transforming power of love that connects us to many people. We also think about the people we hear or read about, because that destiny touches us. Our solidarity is expressed in small gestures of charity, prayer, mutual support and renunciation.

We collect these contributions so that the climate around us changes, so that fraternity grows in our society. Mary strengthened the spirit of brotherhood among the disciples in the Cenacle. In many paintings, throughout the centuries, she is represented as the woman and mother of the brotherhood. This may be our current plea on the day of the foundation in the year of the pandemic: Educate us in the spirit of brotherly care for others!