USA, Angie Santos. There have been Schoenstatters in Houston for many years, and there are even some family and mothers’ groups, but there is no organized Movement. For sometime there has been a desire for gathering Schoenstatters from the area, and thanks to the initiative of some Schoenstatters, especially, Alex Quintana, who will soon enter the novitiate of the Schoenstatt Fathers, this get together was held on Saturday, November 26th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, an important American family celebration, and on the eve of the first Sunday of Advent. The meeting was held in Saint Cecilia’s Parish Hall in Houston, where several Schoenstatters actively participate and where the Movement has held Mass and group meetings for several years.
On the day of the Conference it was raining, but this did not prevent people from Houston and surrounding cities, such as, Montgomery, Katy, Sugarland, League City, and the Woodlands, from attending.
After the greeting by Alex Quintana and Claudia Barrera, who along with her husband, has formed several couples and youth groups in Montgomery, Father Jésus presented a very interesting talk; he came from Austin especially for this event, and he spoke about the Schoenstatt Movement. Then James Van Matare, who, like Alex, is from Houston area and who knows the Movement through the University Youth in Austin (University of Texas – UT) gave a beautiful and heartfelt talk about Mary. He is a very enthusiastic person with great charisma; he was also in charge of the games and activities that followed.
Mary’s influence in each of our lives
After the talk, the participants divided into groups and had an enriching dialog about how Mary has influenced the lives of each person; this exchange overcame age and language barriers.
The lunch served was delicious and was wonderfully coordinated by Rosa Elena Ortega, from Katy, who has been a loyal collaborator in organizing groups, Pilgrim MTA visits, and Covenant Masses at Saint Cecilia Parish.
In the afternoon, the Spanish-speaking participants divided into Couples’, Youth and Mothers’ groups, and the English-speaking participants of all ages met. In the latter group, there were some who knew very little about the Movement; beautiful testimonies were given about the Movement and the Shrine. For example, a family, who recently had arrived from Illinois to Houston, related how they were formed in the Movement and more importantly their experience of the transforming atmosphere of the Shrine and Schoenstatt Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin. There were a couple in the group whose son is in the Boys’ Youth at UT, and they told about how worried they were when their son departed to college; they thought he would probably change. To their surprise, after joining Schoenstatt, he changed, but in a positive way, and they are very grateful to Schoenstatt for this.
Schoenstatt in Houston
Holy Mass on the first Sunday of Advent concluded the first Family gathering. Among the participants was Mark Leatherman’s family. Mark is from the Houston area, a student of the Schoenstatt Fathers, and he belongs to the UT Youth group. It was also the first Sunday the new translation of the Roman Missal in English was inaugurated; the priests’ texts and several responses of the faithful were changed. Father Jesus commented that he felt as if it were his first Mass since he had to read everything.
During the conference Father Jesús related that the Schoenstatt Fathers have decided to pay more attention to Houston: it is the fourth largest city of the United States, it has millions of Catholics, young families with strong moral values, and it is the headquarters of the only Cardinal in the southern United States. Father Patricio Rodriguez will come from Chile in March to reside in Austin, and he will take care of the Family Branch in Houston.
For more information about Schoenstatt in Houston, please contact the following people:
Claudia and Mauricio Barrera claudiabarrera@msn.com 936-443-8383
Rosa Elena Ortega rosaelenatx@yahoo.com
Celina M. Garza: Spanish/English translation – Melissa Peña-Janknegt: English edit
