ROME, Amelia Peirone. For humankind, for almost the whole of Chile, and for a large number of Schoenstatters, the 14 May 2012 and the final and official act of presenting the sixty copies of documentation, the Positio, meant nothing at all. There is no doubt that this act by which these 554 page volumes with red covers and gold embossed titles were entrusted to the Congregation for Beatifications and Canonisation meant a great deal to some people, because it was an expression of Chile’s most precious fruit, which Schoenstatt wants to give to the world.
The event deserves a number of comments, but we shall present only two. The first is based on the words of philosophy, “You don’t love what you don’t know.” Today the whole of Chile and Mario Hiriart’s whole spiritual family should have been celebrating, and it didn’t happen. Many will hear about it later, if at all. If the wise saying is correct, our first and most important task is to make Mario Hiriart known – he belonged and still belongs to a definite spiritual family – so that he may be loved by and in that family, not simply because he was so human, but because of God’s wonderful work in and through him. This gives rise to the hope that the same God will also make him known in and through us if, like Mario, we are open to him in the most Marian way I have ever met in our times. Another comment is that the People of God has originated from the holy remnant of Israel (Jer 31,7), the insignificant and poor people of Israel, the anawim, and Mario is without doubt one of them. If this is correct, it means that “his cause” will grow like the smallest seed in the Gospel until it has become one of the largest trees, so that many can find rest in its shade (Lk 13, 19). They will be as countless as the stars in the heavens or the sand on the seashore (Gen 22, 17).
Characterised by battles and conquests
On the other hand, it is said that the process of beatification and canonisation sets a seal on the life of the candidate in question. If this is true, it fits perfectly. It would contribute nothing to recount the many complications during the process – coming from without or following from the process itself – because reporting on all the efforts to overcome these obstacles step by step would bore readers to tears. Yet one thing is sure: The Causa Hiriart bears the seal of life; it resembles his life that was marked by battles and conquests, efforts and commitment, that took him to the limits of his capabilities. Nothing came to him simply, nothing landed in his lap. His loyalty made it possible for him to become the chalice described in his ideal, and the Christ for whom he longed filled it to overflowing with himself.
Until new fruit grows
When he was awarded the Orrego Puelma prize as the best in his doctoral year, the engineer, Mario Hiriart, gave a speech in which from beginning to end he thanked God in every possible way. His audience was amazed by the words of this young man, who was just 26. Today his speech appears to some as an anticipation of what became visible at the end of his life, when only one phrase had meaning: Thank God! It is right and just to thank: the Schoenstatt Fathers who promoted his cause despite all opposition; the Brothers of Mary and all those who led, worked and publicised his cause. However the distance between the one and the other is so huge that the greater burden of gratitude is like “deep calling to deep at the thunder of cataracts” (cf. Ps 42,7) and we have to ask God to duly reward each worker (cf. Mt 10,10). I am convinced that God himself, with his covenant partners – the Blessed Mother and Mario Hiriart – intervened each time at the right moment to open a tiny door, transforming the obstacles into opportunities and each stubborn rejection into fruitful ground, until new fruit could grow on it.
The steps of those who come from afar
Although the contents of the Positio can only be published once the theologians have passed judgement on Mario’s heroic virtue, the joy occasioned by this step nevertheless makes it possible for us to dream of the vast fields of influence, of those who discover Mario Hiriart as a treasure in the Church and world that is filled with surprises – the cultural facets of the covenant and joyful holiness in the midst of the world. One can already hear the steps of those who come from afar to conquer the “banner”, in the best sense of the word, of this genuine son of Fr Kentenich, our Father and prophet. They will come to hear Mario’s voice and allow him to touch them.
For my part I have done all that was possible, and have enjoyed Mario’s hour to the full. Now heaven has to crown this work of God and the Blessed Mother and give the Church the sign it is waiting for through a miracle.
Translation: Mary Cole, Manchester, England
