COSTA RICA, Ana Vega •
On Thursday, 20 July, Fr. José Luis Correa, adviser to the Schoenstatt Movement in Costa Rica, visited Guanacaste Pampa, bringing us a great message in the different talks and shared experiences.
There was a gathering with two couples’ groups, which included the subject of Being Instruments. All the couples were attracted to the subject and motivated to continue to train themselves, and place themselves in the Blessed Mother’s hands to be instruments in the great Schoenstatt work that is being founded in Guanacaste.
“I am a child who makes good decisions”
A talk was also presented at the Sea Wonders Academy for parents and teachers entitled: I am a child who makes good decisions. Not only that we teach children how to be obedient, but also how to learn to make good decisions. Fr. José Luis Correa referred to how we educate children to love, to be responsible, and to be autonomous. The participants were very motivated and enthusiastic about putting the valuable suggestions into practice.
Missions in the San Martin Community
Thirty-one young missionaries from San José joined Fr. José Luis Correa; they visited, every home in the San Martin Community, which is located on the Playas del Coco, Guanacaste. This community has a small chapel that was conquered by the Blessed Mother several years ago. The members of the community have opened their hearts to her, and they have joined the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign, some have also sealed the Covenant of love. On Friday, 21 July, Fr. José Luis Correa and the Pastor Clímaco Rodríguez celebrated the Mass of the Blessed Mother’s Enthronement in this chapel.
Besides visiting house by house, the thirty-one missionaries took communion to the sick, and they carried out activities with the children, youths and adults from the community. It was a wonderful experience to see the boys taking Mary’s love to all these people despite the heat and weariness.
Youths going out to the periphery
Mrs. Bertilda Loaiciga, from the San Martin Community, shared her joy and enthusiasm: “It was surprising to me to see how young people were concerned about going out to the periphery, as Pope Francis said, to come here. Sometimes one thinks that it is very easy for the youths to speak to children, or for them to speak to other young people, but it was very touching; it was wonderful that the youths met with the adults for a talk and that they did it maturely. Moreover they gave us a glimmer of hope when we sometimes think that everything is lost: the youths, the world…and when we find a group like this, we can only say may God bless them and may our Mother protect the road they travel.”
Touching young hearts
Another woman from the community, a mother, commented that her son, a teen, who had not been motivated for several years and who was not interested in participating in Mass or religious gatherings, was very enthusiastic after he participated in the first activity with the missionaries. He went to all the weekend activities, and he wants to continue to participate in the youth activities in San José.
On the other hand, Fr. José Luis mentioned that Guanacaste is another area of the Movement that will have its own Diocesan Coordination for the Guancaste Family, independent from San José, named Diocese of Tilarán-Liberia. The Diocesan Council was formed with coordinators from the Family Branch, the Ladies’ Branch, and the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign, and with the Diocesan Coordinators Angelo Del Vecchio and Ana Ma. Vega.
Diocesan coordination
Original: Spanish. 5 August 2017. Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX USA. Edited: Melissa Peña-Janknegt, Elgin, TX USA
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