GERMANY, Wolfgang Fella. Couples from the dioceses of Freiburg, Limburg, Munster, Speyer and Wurzburg met for a spiritual weekend in the House of the Families in Schoenstatt. This was the sixth time that Sr Vernita Weiss and Fr Bernhard Schneider had invited couples to this special occasion. In our Jubilee Year everything naturally centred on what had happened in 1914.
What is the mood in this Jubilee Year?
In the introductory meeting attention was turned to the personal mood each one had brought along from the various parts of Germany, because they wanted to be led by the God of Life at this special time according to the motto for this year “Your Covenant – our Mission”. In the end a whole host of different items lay in the centre of the circle to express the mental and emotional state of the members – a ball, a large key and even a dented organ pipe.
Open doors and their continuation
On Saturday morning all joined Sr Vernita in looking for the open doors Fr Kentenich encountered a hundred years ago, which finally prompted him to present his special plan to the young men in the shrine on 18 October. After looking at what was happening at that time, Fr Schneider led the participants to link it to the here and now in which they were living. All present had been struck by the final sentence of the rapid survey of Schoenstatt’s hundred years of history, “You are the continuation”.
A contemporary witness meets a credible man
The conference continued in the Training Centre of the Sisters of Mary. The participants encountered a further open door that led them directly to Sr Mattia Amrhein.
After her studies she set of in 1963 to visit Fr Kentenich in Milwaukee. As a contemporary witness she told the attentive listeners about her meetings with Schoenstatt’s founder. She had been particularly impressed by his endless fatherly kindness and his inner authority.
The lively and loving way Sr Mattia spoke touched the listeners. In particular they were moved by the way she had summed up her impressions of Fr Kentenich on her return to Germany in the words, “He was credible.”
After a brief visit to the founder’s working room and bedroom in the Training Centre, where he had lived during the last three years of his life from 1965-1968, the group closed their trip through time for that day.
The question of time and space
If anyone had thought they had done enough journeying through time, they were disappointed on the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord. The journey continued, this time with a bustling tour guide from the Pope’s homeland. He captured the attention of everyone with a question about time and space, and their sacramental character. The Argentinean artist, David Perera, managed to challenge even mature Schoenstatters with his profound questions, and presented well-known facts of Schoenstatt’s history from new perspectives. The artist proved to be a spirited pilgrim with a beamer, who despite his engaging way with words showed commitment and seriousness that awakened the enthusiasm of the group.
To be continued
The special journey through time came to an end. In between there was a service in the Original Shrine and Holy Mass in the Shrine of the Families. Also in this way a bridge was built between the Jubilee Year and the special mission of the families. Again and again the challenge came through to each individual participant that we are all a continuation of Schoenstatt’s hundred years of history.
The continuation of this valuable spiritual offer has already been arranged: Same time, same place in 2015, and all who were there are looking forwarding to their return.
Original: German. Translation: Mary Cole, Manchester, England
