PARAGUAY, Maribel Aldama. The Rosary Campaign is growing throughout the country: one sign of this is the multitudinous pilgrimage that arrives at Tupãrenda every October 18th, another sign is the news about the life of the Campaign in cities with names, which the readers of this website are hearing for the first time. Today you are invited to participate in the Covenant of Love of many missionaries and of the life of the Rosary Campaign in Tobatí, Emboscada, and Arroyos y Esteros.
Tobatí is a city in the Cordillera Department, located sixty-three kilometers (39mi.) from the capital, Asunción. Its residents call Tobatí the town of love; it is seventeen kilometers (10.5mi.) from the departmental capital of Cordillera: Caácupé, traveling through route 2. Emboscada, a city also in the same Cordillera Department, is known as the city of stone, because the majority of its residents make a living by extracting stone from the quarries. Arroyos y Esteros, in the same department, is located sixty-seven kilometers (43 mi.) from Asunción; it is a small city that is growing economically as well as demographically. Approximately 20,000 people live in the district, but the majority are in the thirteen surrounding communities, and there are only 8,000 residents in the center of the city. Arroyos y Esteros is known for the projects carried out by Dequeni in this community, for example, the construction of a tank that will provide drinking water to the entire Compania El Carmen located in the city of Arroyos y Esteros. It will also benefit more than 600 people in this area.
Thank you for your yes, Tobatí
On August 12th, the Immaculate Conception of Mary Parish of Tobatí was celebrating. Eighteen missionaries sealed their Covenant of Love with the MTA and forty children became new missionaries.
Father Martín Gómez attended; he generously accepted the invitation to visit Tobatí and he attracted everyone’s attention with a talk about the Covenant of Love. The talk was experiential, practical, and very fruitful. The Holy Mass, where the eighteen missionaries from the city sealed their Covenant of Love with the Blessed Mother, was held after the talk.
After the Mass, the forty Pilgrim MTA.s were commissioned to the new little missionaries of Tobatí; their parents and siblings accompanied them. What a great testimony of the family! It was beautiful to see so many children of different ages receive the MTA and to commit to take it to their schools and neighborhoods.
All of them signed their commitment with the Queen, they received a special blessing and they presented their capital of grace.
During this time, filled with many blessings, the forty little children set an example through their commitment to assume the mission.
Thank you Blessed Mother for so much generosity in Emboscada!
The Covenant of Love ceremony was held on August 7th at the Saint Agustine Parish during the Mass celebrated by Father Horacio Ortega, the priest from the community.
After the homily, the Pilgrim MTA’s were commissioned to six new missionaries, who then sealed their Covenant along with the twenty missionaries from the city.
The ceremony was very touching, seeing all the missionaries, the candles, the medals, and their capital of grace during the ceremony demonstrated that they had truly prepared themselves.
But the most meaningful thing was after the Covenant prayer: the missionaries knelt to pray their consecration prayer during the Mass. It was a moment that brought tears to everyone’s eyes and gave them goose bumps.
After the Eucharist, the missionaries signed the Covenant Book, they received their certificates, and the capital of grace was burned. This touched the missionaries deeply, along with their relatives, who accompanied them.
Thank you MTA for giving us this little piece of heaven in Arroyos y Esteros!
On August 28th, the Parish of Saint Francis Assisi, in the city of Arroyos y Esteros hosted the ceremony of the Covenant of Love, which was very special.
It began like this: Adlamir and Fernando gave the welcome to the missionaries, and they explained the Covenant of Love with Mary. Then the Mass began, which was celebrated by Father Adriano Avalos, the priest of that community.
The ceremony included the blessing of the candles, the medals, the capital of grace, and the certificates and each one of the missionaries was blessed with holy water, and then they made their consecration to the MTA. The most touching thing was to hear Father Avalos pray the Covenant prayer along with the missionaries: he was consecrating himself to the MTA.
Before concluding the Eucharist, the priest blessed everyone who attended especially the missionaries, and through them the entire team of the Rosary Campaign. He made them feel at home!
Afterwards, everyone went to the Wayside Shrine, the fifteen missionaries signed the Covenant Book, they received their certificates, and they burned their capital of grace.
Source: Tuparenda Magazine, Paraguay
Celina M. Garza: Spanish/English translation – Melissa Peña-Janknegt: English edit
