mkf. The president of the German Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Dr. Robert Zollitsch, member of the Diocesan Institute of Schoenstatt Fathers, has manifested his solidarity with the victims of the earthquake and the tsunami in Japan. “I received the news about the terrible earthquake and the tsunami that occurred in your country with great consternation. I bow with profound sadness before the victims of these tragic catastrophes and I assure you, the wounded and the relatives of the dead of my intercessory prayer”, the archbishop wrote in a letter to the president of the Japanese Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Okada Peter Takeo. The small Schoenstatt Family can be assured of the prayers and the contributions to the Capital of Grace of an international community in the Covenant of Love.
Approximately at 2:00 p.m. (local time) on Friday, March 11th, Japan was struck by an earthquake of 8.9. The tsumani wave which followed affected a large part of the country. As of now it is estimated that there are more than one thousand dead and hundreds are missing. A strong replica, at night, caused panic once again among the people. Some twenty countries on the Pacific coast are preparing to evacuate the low lying areas. As soon as the first pictures of the earthquake arrived, the first Schoenstatters made contact: is Schoenstatt in Japan? Do they need help? We are praying for them!
Praying during the Holy Mass celebrated in the Original Shrine
Yes, there are Schoenstatters in Japan: a group of approximately 25 families who live close to Tokyo receive the weekly visit of the Pilgrim MTA. Many of them have already been on pilgrimage to Schoenstatt. The next pilgrimage is planned for 2012. “Everything shook, the third earthquake was the worst, everything was moving”, one of the women told Sister M. Elisabeth Kobysashi, a Japanese Sister of Mary, who is currently working in Freiburg. None of the Schoenstatters have suffered damages, according to what Sister Elisabeth knows. However, upon seeing the catastrophe with so many dead, missing, with so much destruction and fear, each prayer and each sign of solidarity in the Covenant of Love is important.
We will also pray for Japan during the Holy Mass “toward 2014”, which is celebrated on Saturday mornings in the Original Shrine (this time in covenant with Hungary). The Holy Mass in Covenant with Japan will be celebrated on May 28th.
