GERMANY, by Fr Hans-Martin Samietz, Munich, Spiritual Leader of the Schoenstatt Young Men •
If you ask the Schoenstatt Young Men in Germany, “What is mercy?” their answer will be, “Decisions guided by your heart”. This could easily give rise to a misunderstanding. The heart isn’t something sweet, charming, red, flashing, for example, but something full, strong, sensitive, courageous. In this sense the heart complements both what is purely intellectual, and what is instinctive in human beings, because it contains both. The heart is the expression of the inner core of a person, their self, in its truest form.
Taking a stand in the raw winds of our times
Taking a stand in the raw winds of our times, and doing something immediately, will be a success because this action is guided by the heart. The heart is the pilot and motor in one. It doesn’t wait for the other person to move. It allows the one borne by his/her heart to courageously distinguish between yesterday and tomorrow, between now and shortly, between moving and being moved. We live today and set our stamp on tomorrow.
The young men need a Kentenich among them
We were inspired by the sentence, “The young men need a Kentenich among them”. The bronze man reminds us lovingly of yesterday. Now we are him. Today it is my turn. To be the focal point and anchorage for many hearts who are looking for and developing what is joyful, great and strong. Then there will be a tomorrow for Schoenstatt.
Almost seventy delegates attended the annual conference of the German Schoenstatt Young Men. They met from 26-31 December in the Youth Centre Marienberg, Schoenstatt. They presented projects on which they worked in the dioceses, a community project was undertaken, a day of training resulted in profound incentives, and many conversations man to man took place.
At the end this motto:
Guided by Your Heart – Today Set Your Stamp on Tomorrow
Original: German. Translation: Mary Cole, Manchester, UK
