ARGENTINA, aat. “But…I was already here!” exclaimed a very emotional Argentinean Schoenstatter upon entering the New Schoenstatt Shrine for the first time to seal her Covenant with Mary.
Those around her did not understand what was happening; without a doubt, it truly was the first time that she had been there. Her husband and the Schoenstatt Father who were close by could testify to as much with complete certainty…After a few minutes of calm, while thousands of pictures ran through her mind, she recalled that as a small girl her mother had to travel to take care of her grandmother who was ill. This happened in Oberá, and the little girl was a student of the Marian School that surrounded a very precious treasure, a daughter Schoenstatt Shrine. The mother enrolled her as a part time student in the school for some weeks so that she would not be alone at home in the afternoon. After lunch and filled with homesickness, she would go to the Shrine and look at the Blessed Mother…She knew nothing about the meaning of the place as she was very young, and after she left the school, she forgot about that period of her life.
The mysterious road of Father’s love
Then many years later after she was already married, this incident happened. She suddenly found herself “in the same place” more than a thousand kilometers from Oberá. How many people and circumstances did the provident love of the Father connect for that little girl, now a grown woman, to have this touching experience! The little abandoned chapel in Schoenstatt (1914), the first world war, the fundamental experience of Father Kentenich in his relationship with the Holy Virgin, his extraordinary capacity to discern the plan of God in the smallest signs…The Second World War, the experience of the Sisters of Mary in South America that led them to take the most daring step one could think of in building an exact replica of the Original Shrine in their small Uruguayan town (1943) without consulting anyone. Father Kentenich’s visit to South America and his extraordinary vision about the use of the daughter Shrines, the proliferation of these from that humble beginning, the diversity of the fruits of the Covenant in the mission of each Shrine, the inculturation of Schoenstatt, and the returning current to the original source. Each step is a great boldness in itself, the “creative loyalty” that characterized the Founder and that must remain constant in each Schoenstatt member.
A single Shrine, with many doors throughout the world
This is how someone described the daughter Shrines: extensions of the grace of the Original Shrine, participants of the current that originates there, receptacles … and regenerations … from the originality and traditions of each people and culture, promptings of a return current to the source, necessary associates of the circulation of Covenant life!
Every symbol of the Shrine including its size is full of meaning for each person in the measure of the experiences that they have had there: their love of Mary, their Covenant, perhaps the discovery of their vocation, their personal ideal…family experiences, a personal attachment to the Father and Founder … consolation in sorrow, of being at home in exile…
The daughter Shrines grew like everything in Schoenstatt … slowly, organically, over the years, until on one occasion Father Kentenich was asked, “Which elements should be immutably kept and which could vary?” Undoubtedly, upon saying that each daughter Shrine should be the most exact replica of the Original Shrine as possible inside and out. What could vary? The Blessed Mother’s crown, the Father Symbol … the Joseph Engling memorial, the black crosses…
It is also certain that he affirmed that wherever the picture of the Mother Thrice Admirable Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt was present conquered by contributions to the Capital of Grace the graces of the Shrine were also there. He was referring to the wayside shrines, chapels, Home shrines, Work Shrines … But they are not daughter Shrines in the strict sense of the word.
Longing
Many Schoenstatters live far from a daughter Shrine. This is the importance of “attracting” the Blessed Mother with contributions to the Capital of Grace: first to one’s own heart, also the home, work, the parish … even the car!
And for the communities that still do not have it, ask yourself: what is God’s plan for them? Each daughter Shrine is an open door to the original source of grace. It is a cradle of holiness for many people, “ark” of salvation for so many families, source of inspiration for the radical giving of self of the youth, and an invaluable contribution to the Church and the nation…
“I was already here!” May many others have this extraordinary experience, may they find their home once again…through each personal contribution to the Capital of Grace.
