PORTUGAL, Vera Saldanha. It is with great pride and excitement that I bring this testimony about the fulfillment of our Family’s dream. In 2000, we held the first Schoenstatt Family Pilgrimage. There were only fifty of us, mostly adults. During that pilgrimage, we asked the Blessed Mother to send young people into our Family. We dreamt about preparing the youth to become a powerful force within the Church in Portugal. Today, twelve years later, I can say that this dream has come true – especially after what I saw, heard, felt and experienced during the twelfth pilgrimage. A group of young people (married and dating couples) fully led 420 people, and they astounded us with their organizational skills, their empathy, and availability, particularly their depth and selflessness. How WONDERFUL! Our Lady took our petition very seriously, and she is certainly very happy with the result.
The grace of a home
Each day we explored one of the graces present in the Schoenstatt Shrines: on the first day – a home, on the second – transformation, and on the third – apostolic mission.
We left our Schoenstatt Shrine and headed towards the Shrine at Fatima. From shrine to shrine, we want to be Living Shrines. ‘Shrine(s) Alive’ was our theme, and we achieved our aim: We became a Church community. During those three days, we were able to live like the first Christians, in an atmosphere of harmony, generosity, selflessness, and joy where the presence of the Holy Spirit and Mary was very strong. It was the grace of a home.
The grace of transformation
Without any doubt, our route made us more contemplative, more spiritual: beginning with the celebration of the Eucharist on Salgados Beach among those awe-inspiring and deserted dunes with an infinite ocean as a backdrop. This lifts up the spirit (even those of the most hard-hearted of mortals). Walking through the open fields, contemplating nature, sometimes in silence, sometimes praying together, at other times singing, or chatting, filled our souls with peace, gave us a better sense of God’s presence, and awoke in us the desire to be better. It was the grace of transformation.
The grace of apostolic mission
This year, many people participated in the pilgrimage for the first time, but I am certain that regardless of whether it is the first or the twelfth time, each one of said: “Surrender.” Yes, we surrendered to the powerful presence of Mary and God along the road. And this strength gave us an immense desire to go into the heart of the world to give witness to all these wonderful things…It was the grace of an apostolic mission.
“I will go, I want to, and I will take someone with me”
“When they challenged us, we always find dozens, hundreds of excuses: Perhaps I won’t be able to do it, I don’t have the physical training, I can’t miss work, I can’t leave my family. These and so many other excuses.” (a testimony by one of the pilgrims)
Sarah-Leah Pimentel: English translation
