works of mercy Category

sacramentos
PARAGUAY, Casa Madre de Tupãrenda (CMT), Alicia Gómez and Minerva Leguizamón • On 9 June 2021, two boys who were part of the Casa Madre de Tupãrenda program, Fabián and Braian, received the sacraments of baptism, first communion and confirmation. They chose Lourdes (Skills teacher) and Rosi (Baking teacher) as their godmothers. — There is no perfect time to join and be part of God’s flock. Baptism is a person’s new beginning. Fabián and Braian made the decision to take this step to change their lives by also sealing theirRead More
Quito bolsos de caridad
ECUADOR, Maria Fischer • What gives a Schoenstatt shrine its life? The building? The altar? The picture of the Blessed Mother? That community that gathers there to pray? The Schoenstatters who feel at home in it? The capital of grace? These are all good and valid reasons, but the “insider reasons” do not mean anything to ordinary people, to society. Do we have “outsider reasons” to explain what gives a Schoenstatt shrine its life? In Quito, Ecuador, there is one. — In Quito, Ecuador, there is an outside reason thatRead More
Providencia digital
URUGUAY, Providencia • The pandemic continues to impact children and young people. In many countries, as soon as schools reopened, they had to close their doors again. Children and young people not only lose time for learning, they also miss their classmates, games… and for parents, organizing themselves between childcare, homeschooling and teleworking is very challenging. Not to mention the constant fear of catching the disease and leaving their family members at risk and unable to care for them. In addition, for many children from vulnerable sectors, school meals areRead More
PARAGUAY, Roberto M. González and Maria Fischer • The riot in the Tacumbú prison, the largest in Paraguay, ended with seven deaths from stab wounds, some with their throats slit, only two of them were convicted prisoners. This is not just another piece of news. I am thinking that our boys, those boys I met in the juvenile prison, those boys who offered me the first tereré (local drink) of my life, who told me about their dreams for a family, for a dignified life, when they turn 18 mayRead More
Encuentro
SPAIN, Pilar de Beas• Christmas was coming and already during Advent, we had started preparing backpacks filled with food and clothes for our friends: the poorest of the poor who do not even have a roof over their heads. — The great “distribution” date was drawing closer and we felt like the Magi from the East, bringing those who were waiting for us the only gift that they will receive: backpacks. And this time they are filled with lots of hard work, prayers and contributions to the Capital of Grace,Read More
CHILE, Natalia Jáuregui / Maria Fischer • “There is another social-educational project: the Father Hernan Alessandri Foundation, which has a large school in the commune of Puente Alto, in Santiago de Chile,” commented Father Francisco Pereira, spiritual director of Maria Ayuda, Chile, a few months ago in an exchange with schoenstatt.org about concrete projects of the development of a new social order, from the Covenant of Love. This is the Colegio José Kentenich in Puente Alto, where 834 boys and girls from the neighborhood are taught. It is a differentRead More
PARAGUAY, Casa Madre de Tupãrenda / Maria Fischer • On August 22, four years ago, the doors of the Casa Madre de Tupãrenda , a house for adolescents leaving the Itauguá Educational Cente (read: youth jail), were opened. The dream so longed for was becoming a reality for those who, Saturday after Saturday, stood firm to bring a snack to the adolescents of the Educational Center. On each visit they were soaked in the stories and realities of each of those who were “inside”, and often witnessed the frequent “comingsRead More
COVENANT OF LOVE IN TIMES OF CORONAVIRUS, Maria Fischer with Pilar de Beas • “They copied us,” says Pilar de Beas upon learning of the campaign launched by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life. Following the words of Pope Francis after the Angelus on July 26th, the dicastery launched the campaign “The elderly are your grandparents” to invite young people throughout the world to make a gesture of tenderness towards elderly people who feel lonely, because “every elderly is your grandfather or grandmother and they need you!”Read More
PARAGUAY, CMT, Fr. Pedro Kühlcke and Maria Fischer • How does the blessing of the “Sternsinger”, the children dressed as “The Three Kings” from Germany, arrived to the front of the future bakery on the Casa Madre de Tuparenda, I must admit that it is a whole story full of magic, of a dream, of hope against all odds… — It was during Mass in a neighboring parish in January, at the end of the Christmas season, during the days when in Germany thousands of children dressed as kings, walkRead More
PARAGUAY, CIEES, Maria Fischer • “It was great. Many doors are opening for us,” says Juan Vicente Ramírez, just after the launch of the ¡Reinvéntate! Ciudad del Este, this Friday, July 24, 2020. ¡Reinvéntate! CdE is a social program for regional entrepreneurs, created and articulated from the support center of CIEES of Ciudad del Este, a non-profit organization that seeks economic reactivation after the crisis caused by the mandatory quarantine due to COVID-19. —   “Actually, the project called ¡Reinvéntate! CdE was born in CIEES”, affirms Juan Vicente Ramirez, aRead More