POLAND, Dr. Alicja Kostka. When Joseph Engling bid farewell to his birthplace to go to Schoenstatt, his compatriots asked themselves: Why was he going all the way to Vallendar instead of studying in one of the local schools for aspiring priests?
This question was answered during the conference presented by Dr. Alicja Kostka, in which she presented the special guidance in Joseph Engling’s life and that of Joseph Kentenich. She pointed out that Providence led the two, because both were indispensible for the Founding Document.
During the following session, the participants were invited to ask themselves -And who am I to the founder, Father Kentenich? What does he want me to do? When did he ask the Mother of God for me, and why does he need me precisely at this moment in this “game,” for Schoenstatt on the eve of the anniversary of 2014?
The topic gained power when during the celebration of the Holy Mass in the parish church of Prositten, Mr. Lambert M. Schroedter, from Bonn, presented the original kind of Schoenstatt Marian spirituality and asked the participants: Who am I to Mary?
Father Kentenich established a new accent with the Covenant of Love, and it complements and expands the kind of Marian spirituality that had been conventional and traditional up to that time; it is an accent that makes Joseph’s life so extraordinarily beautiful and admirable.
September 24th: 100th Anniversary of Joseph Engling’s departure for Schoenstatt
During lunch in the garden, Joseph’s guests spontaneously exchanged religious experiences about their life: when and how they were especially close to the Most Holy Virgin, how She led them to Schoenstatt. Among other things, a trip is now being planned to Schoenstatt on the 100th Anniversary of Joseph’s arrival in Schoenstatt on September 24th. His compatriots and people who also sympathize with him today cannot miss this.
On this occasion, on the centenary of his trip to Schoenstatt, a tree, a red beech, was planted in the garden at the home of Engling’s parents – with a meditation about “every good tree bears good fruit” – and with gratitude for the fruits were grown on this land: Prositten and Mary and August Engling’s Family, with Joseph and his six siblings.
The living room in the home of Engling’s parents is a place for reflection and to enjoy.
“This was a short retreat for us,” said Monika and Janusz Kosmowski’s family, who came to this meeting from Varsovia. And Joseph is happy that his house is full of people once again. He smiles on them from the picture in his room. After all, he is the host.
Original: German. English translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX, USA
