RSS-Feed MTA reloaded: What defines Schoenstatt.org
A universal Schoenstatt, a Schoenstatt that reaches beyond its walls, a Schoenstatt that is present in the world, Schoenstatt as an international family that communicates with itself out of a desire to know them, share ideas, actions, graces and experiences with others so that, day by day, all this generates more life. In other words, this is the rebirth of Fr. Kentenich’s MTA magazine. This has been the mission of the schoenstatt.org website for ten years (the new domain emphasising its international mission and focus).
In the MTA magazine, Fr. Kentenich assumed that each author is also a reader and above all, each reader can also become an author. To serve life selflessly, is the key difference between Schoenstatt journalism and ordinary journalism.
Schoenstatt.org and all true Schoenstatt communication serves to further the current of life originating in the shrine through the covenant of love to circulate powerfully and reach beyond itself.
This service is characterised by the need to value, find, care for and foster life because each story allows readers to become fascinated by the full power and dynamism of real life.
This makes it possible to stand at the door of the shrine every day of the year, watching the faces of the pilgrims and finding God in them without tiring.
Underpinned by Fr. Kentenich’s philosophy of communication
The mission statement for schoenstatt.org has remained the same from the start. It seeks to share the life of Schoenstatt in a speedy and authentic way on an international level – “voice and desire for life – voice and desire for the international – voice and desire for authenticity.”
Underpinned by Fr. Kentenich’s philosophy of communication, schoenstatt.org wants to serve the life of Schoenstatt selflessly, by helping others to discover and propel the life currents that are present, wherever they may emerge. The main model is the MTA magazine, a publication founded by Fr. Kentenich in March 1916 for the mutual inspiration of the sodalists as an encouragement for them to follow their ideals and mission despite the situation in which they found themselves: far from the shrine and their loved ones.
Schoenstatt communicators are “fans” of life and life processes, observing these with great attention, respect and fascination. In order to do this, they must learn to listen before they speak about their own experiences, to listen with personal interest, open to the possibility of surprise, have the ability to observe instead of analysing, judging or classifying. They prioritize life and life processes because understanding life holds covenant characteristics.
Schoenstatt communicators consecrate their eyes, ears, mouths and hearts to the Blessed Mother before attending an event. They search for stories – stories of people’s experiences of God, the Blessed Mother, the shrine, Fr. Kentenich, stories of battles, victories, falls and returns to sanctity, stories of a life hand in hand with Mary filled with adventures, joy and miracles – in a word, stories of the covenant!
In 1917, Fr. Kentenich related that he had stock of 15,000 letters from young people who had written to him and he used these stories in the MTA magazine and in his talks. Fr. Kentenich made notes in the margins of each of these letters, saying that many of these had to be “used for the MTA.” Throughout his life, he quoted from these letters in his talks. He emphasised the importance of publishing biographies of the lives of Schoenstatt members – pure history.
In World War I alone, he published nine biographies of the fallen sodalists as well as autobiographic news about Joseph Engling. He was inspired to create stories, the history of the foundation of Schoenstatt and the Garden of Mary. Sr. M. Petra relates that each Christmas Eve in Milwaukee, Fr. Kentenich used to tell the families the story of the birth of the Garden of Mary. On many of these occasions, people and communities spontaneously began to share the story of their lives, their courses, etc.
It is a style of communication borne of the life and dialogue of some and seeks to spark life and dialogue in many and its goal is to grow in faith and Schoenstatt identity, to share and spread Schoenstatt, inspire and motivate through examples and experiences, unite the international family through mutual communication and inspiration and “translate” experiences in the sense that a return current or a circular current is created, breaking through the barriers of language, mentality, culture, social and educational class, branch, etc without resulting in a unified and amorphous mass but rather by creating a covenant culture.
Life enkindles life
In 1966, Fr. Kentenich said that since the covenant of love sealed on 18 October was a life process, everything that was developed from Schoenstatt should also generate a life current and be inspired by it.
Schoenstatt.org takes up this mission and is guided by the motto: life enkindles life.
Within each person is a marvellous story written by God. The mission of schoenstatt.org is to find these stories, knowing and believing that God wants to speak today through people and a living Schoenstatt.
International
In this context, “international” not only means sharing news from different countries.
It also means to live and share an international and universal attitude.It is impossible to really understand Schoenstatt without taking into account its international character which goes hand in hand with its spirituality and its ideas. The www.schoenstatt.org website, using its talents and mission, is especially dedicated to the internationality of Schoenstatt in keeping with Fr. Kentenich’s international, intercultural and universal spirit.
A page that lives from the love of its visitors
A few months ago, a German newspaper published an article about the Schoenstatt shrine and what makes it different from other Marian shrines. According to the article, “the shrine lives from the love of its visitors.”
We can apply this analogy to the MTA magazine: it lived from the love of its readers. Its readers gave it life and allowed it to grow through their interest, allowing themselves to be inspired and becoming attached to the shrine, the Blessed Mother, Fr. Kentenich and other sodalists by means of the articles they read, discussed and commented on. It lived from the love of its readers who sent their best experiences of the covenant of love and these became publishable articles.
The same thing happens with our page. It lives from the love of those who:
- pay 60.000 visits per month from 160 countries
- contribute with 500 articles each month
- pray for the page and for those who provide continuous contributions by
- their translations (among our 30 or 40 translators, some have already completed more than 1000 translations)
- editing articles and texts
- their voluntary service in the International Communication Center 2014
- planning and designing the page
- putting together the weekly bulletin in five languages
- contributing articles, translations, photos and videos
- making donations to maintain the page (we need about 3000€ per annum)
- freely supplying the server
Thank you for being part of schoenstatt.org. Thank you for your attachment to schoenstatt.org which makes this page an “excellent example of the covenant culture” (Fr. Alexandre Awi, Brazil).
Open windows
On the 10th anniversary of the webpage, Fr. Antonio Cosp, the Schoenstatt Movement Director in Paraguay and designer of the workshop on Fr. Kentenich’s philosophy of communication, wrote: “The contribution of schoenstatt.org has been – as during the time of Pope John XXIII – the opening of windows to the breath of the times, the temporis vox (voice of the times) so that Schoenstatt can accomplish what Fr. Kentenich’s efforts to interpret the vox Dei, the voice of God. The fight for the international website is the fight for a fuller Schoenstatt life.”
Sandra Lezcano, M. Kornelia Fischer
Decálogo de la Filosofía Kentenijiana de Comunicación (pdf) (Spanish)
