PARAGUAY, Ana Cristina Lassalle de Cabral. October 1, 2000, was a splendid day marked in the hearts of those who participated in the blessing of the Shrine of the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt in Ciudad del Este. Unforgettable images such as: the image of the Blessed Mother arriving in procession carried by the Girls’ Youth, Bishop Claudio Jiménez presiding at the Eucharist and consecrating the altar, and the Shrine itself was adorned with multi-colored flowers, flanked by the area’s native palms that had just been planted.
Then there was the happy Family experiencing the long awaited dream become a reality- the Blessed Mother now residing in a special way in the Alto Paraná, the region where the Guaranis migrated seeking the Tierra sin Mal (the Land without Evil).
What do God and our Founding Father want of this Shrine?
The recurring questions at the time were…what do God and our Founding Father want from this Shrine? What is their idea of what it should become?
Months of obtaining data, study, and reflection resulted in the phrase that summarizes the mission, the ideal of our Shrine: Portal of the Trinity, Garden of the Father. To complete the unfinished work of the Guaranis and to make this region a Garden of the Father, a portion of the Nation of God in this our beloved Paraguay – this is our goal.
In the measure in which the palms and other trees grew tall and took deep roots in the ground, the Family also grew in quantity and depth.
Just as the plants and flowers are renewed in the garden of the Homeland, the Family constantly renewed itself, assuming greater apostolic commitments and offering new services.
All giving of self is a grain of sand in building the Kingdom of God
The response to the demands of the Blessed Mother… “diligently bring me contributions to the capital of grace” was a generous and selfless yes of the Family, in this way they grew in depth of the Covenant of Love. The tasks, some of the which were simple and others not so simple, greater or lesser responsibility was assumed with the certainty that all giving of self is a grain of sand in building the Kingdom of God.
The Fifth Anniversary of the blessing of the Shrine marked our holy history with the placement of the Symbol of the Holy Spirit after a year of spiritual preparation.
Over the ten years of life at the Shrine, perhaps the number of Covenants of Love that have been sealed could be count counted, the number of Home shrines that have been blessed, the number of the many group commitments and consecrations that have been made could all be counted. But the Family will never know how many hearts have found peace and rest, how many souls have re-encountered God and Christ or have received the fruits of the Holy Spirit, how many pilgrims received the graces of shelter, inner transformation and apostolic zeal, or how many blessings the Mother has given her favorite children.
The crown
For all of these reasons, the gift that the Family will give the Blessed Mother on this Tenth Anniversary of the Blessing of the Shrine is a crown. It is their way of expressing gratitude for everything She has done for the Ciudad del Este Family and for everyone who has approached Her house. It is a way of recognizing her power, of telling Her that She is the Queen of this Garden, of this bit of heaven.
It is also a way of renewing the commitment to extend the Kingdom by attracting more and more pilgrims to the Shrine, so that another dream of the Ciudad del Este Family will be fulfilled: transforming their Homeland into a regional Marian pilgrimage center.
Translation: Celina Garza, San Antonio, USA/Melissa Janknegt, Elgin, USA
