SPAIN, Fr. Carlos Padilla. This February was marked by two very important pieces of news that shook us all as Schoenstatt Family. The first event was when we were informed on Febrary 2nd that negotiations with the Pallotines with the purpose of passing the Original Shrine into our hands, had run cold and this deeply disturbed us. The second news was what happened on February 11th, when the Holy Father informed the Church that he was resigning from his ministry: “Dear Brothers, as you well know, I have decided to resign from the ministry that the Lord had given me on April 19th, 2005. I have done this in full liberty, and for the good of the Church after having prayed over it lengthily and after having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, knowing that this is a decision of grave importance.” A decision like this moves us and makes us pray for him and his successor.
We are on our way to 2014
In just a years’ time, we will be celebrating our great Jubilee. We are living in a time of grace. Today we feel small as a Family. We are few and with few projects, when we compare ourselves to other realities of the Church, which are a lot more present and active all over the world. However, we know we have a great mission before us. We can feel the responsibility, because God has put a huge yoke over weak shoulders. We see that Mary has called us to be witnesses of unity in the midst of a divided world, a world without peace and she has given us a path to sanctity: a covenant of love with Her, lived in the Shrine.
Many years have gone by since that 18tth of October in 1914 when a group of young men along with Fr. Kentenich took a huge leap of faith. Now we are happy with the fruits of that act. God has been good to us, and we have been blessed. Today there are thousands of men and women all over the world who have taken that leap. The dream of F. Kentenich has come into reality. The fertility of the Covenant of Love is visible for all to see in the countless miracles of transformation that have occurred in the Shrine! Countless lives have been changed in the Workshop of Mary, our school of sanctity! The prophetic words of Fr. Kentenich now make sense: “I would like to convert this place into a place of pilgrimage, into a place of grace, for our Home and that of all the German Province and perhaps, farther than that. Everyone who visits here to pray should feel the glory of Mary and profess: “How good it feels to be here! A defying thought, perhaps too bold for the public, but not too bold for us. How many times in history has it happened that the small and insignificant becomes the origin of something big, something huge! Why cannot something similar happen to us?”
God chose weak instruments to spread with their lives, bold thoughts. He awakened in the soul of Fr. Kentenich a prophetic dream. We feel we are the children of that prophet. We feel awkward and weak, but confident in the power of the grace in our lives: “A child of Mary never perishes,” Mary continues to gather us around the Shrine to send us out to the world. She continues to ask us to offer our hearts with joy and to allow her to use us as docile instruments in her hands.
We have found our home in her Shrine
This is the reason why everything that affects the Original Shrine, also affects us. We have to unite ourselves to the nearest filial Shrine. Besides, we also pray in our Home Shrine every day. But at times we forget to direct ourselves to the Original shrine. The far distance makes us feel that this has nothing to do with us. But it is there that everything started. There is our Holy Land of Schoenstatt. How little we know about it at times! How many times have we prayed at the Original Shrine where Fr. Kentenich had knelt so very often? Those who have been there, know how important this holy place is for everyone. We have planted our roots there, and it is there where we feel at home. For this reason we feel it keenly that it cannot be freely available for us.
We dream of the day when it will be ours, so we can live in it freely. We desire for peace and unity in this holy place, between Schoenstatt and all the communities that live there. We would like to go there on pilgrimage every time we are able, to drink from the fountain, to rest in Mary in her Shrine. It was there where she established herself for the first time. There she reigns and does not forget us. We would like to give Mary a present in the Shrine, a holy and united Family of Schoenstatt– to live that unity in a small way. There should be strongly present in all of us, unity in our diversity. At times our differences get stronger so that it is difficult to find points of unity. We dream of this new Pentecost which unites us to the Holy Spirit. When we see that the dream to own the Original Shrine is ebbing away, let us not be discouraged, to the contrary, let us encourage each other and be united in prayer. Let us continue to dream of owning this holy place. Pray for this miracle and offer our capital of graces. Unity and forgiveness is demanded of us plus living the joy of being a Family. Let us implore Mary for the coming of the Holy Spirit, so we are all united in love.
The resignation of Benedict XVI is the other event which has profoundly touched us
It is like suddenly being left orphans. Without expecting it, we were confronted with a decision that brings us to meditate. What is God telling us with this step of the Holy Father? In the first place, not to judge a decision taken in conscience before God. We believe in the desire for sanctity of Benedict XVI, and we know that it was a long -meditated and prayerful decision. It must be the most difficult and courageous decision of his life. Secondly, we can see much courage and liberty in this action. What freedom there is to decide something so different from that of John Paul II! We all admired him for his martyrdom, his life offering up to the end. We are happy that he, like Christ, did not leave the Cross. For this reason, we admire more the decision we are meditating. Benedict XVI has continued on a different path. In freedom, he saw that God was asking him to resign. This shows his humility and his desire to fulfill the will of God in his life. He wishes the Church to be well guided. He wishes that a Pope up front be fully capacitated, physically and spiritually. He sees that at present, he is not able to carry out this task; he has no strength. Thirdly, we are touched by this decision when today we see so many who are not capable of resigning from their post so as not to give up anything. No one resigns in politics– neither in government nor in business. His testimony encourages us to live with humility. One should know when to resign and decide when one is not capable to going forward. We are never essential. His decision is a witnessing to truth in a world where no one assumes responsibilities.
It is true that we are left somewhat like orphans
And personally, I am glad to have a Pope so free and courageous. Decisions taken before God are authentic ones. Although many times, they are unknown and misunderstood by others, although one receives criticism and rejection that could mean a loss in popularity. For all of us who plan to go on a pilgrimage to Rome next year, we know that we cannot offer to him anymore, everything that God has awakened in Schoenstatt during this century. Benedict XVI was at the Shrine in Rome; he knows our spirituality. In 2014 we will have another Pope. During these days, let us pray for the Conclave of Cardinals, so they hear the will of God. We hope for a man of God, a holy man who with his life, with his words, and witness can conduct the barque of the Church through the deep seas with humility and with much faith.
Letter to the Schoenstatt family of Spain
Father Carlos Padilla is the National Director of the Schoenstatt Movement in Spain and participated in the 2014 Conference. He cooperates with schoenstatt.org with his weekly Sunday homilies and retreat documents.
Translation: Kohnie Valderrama, Madrid, Spain
