Today, Sister M. Elizabet Parodi, Rome, from Argentina answers. She works in the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican •
Six months into the pilgrimage through the second century of the Covenant of Love…what is your dream for this Schoenstatt in who we are and where we find ourselves in the Church, in the world, and in our mission?
I dream of it as anchored in trust.
A Schoenstatt that is confident that Mary renewed the covenant and that we renewed ourselves in the first love for her, in a love that is capable of conquering barriers and to go out to give what it has received. In this sense, a Schoenstatt that is unstoppable. Not because of its own strength or arrogance but as a fruit of the trust of the nothing without you, nothing without me.
In order to fulfill this dream, what do we need to avoid or leave behind?
The unstoppable Schoenstatt is one that walks in the night with the torch in the hand: a very beautiful image that the Jubilee gave us. A nighttime danger is that it makes us sleepy. For this reason, we have to avoid looking at the darkness and place our eyes on the light we carry.
Moreover we must avoid putting on slippers, because they are the first step to falling asleep. Set aside what is easy and risk more with trust. Mary goes in front; she has already demonstrated this.
In order to fulfill this dream, what practical steps do we have to take?
At the dawn of this stage, the Pope launches the Jubilee of Mercy. It seems like a sign to me. God is questioning us in our charism, in the challenge of being secondary causes, transparencies of God for others. Every group, every community, every one of us, every apostolic activity…is a reflection of God the Father’s mercy.
He is questioning us because it touches the deepest identity of our founder’s charism and he questions the gift that we received in his person. A torch that is not only for us, but that is in our hands. The challenge of the unstoppable Schoenstatt, to give the light that we received.
Original: Spanish. Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX USA
