ARGENTINA, Claudia Echenique •
This week, while I was reading all the reviews and memories that many people made about Fr. Antonio Cosp, I remembered a personal story about him. In the mid-1990s, many photos, videos, films and audios that were in analog formats began to be digitized. And that was one of the jobs I was doing, in addition to recording and editing videos. Fr. Antonio, who was about to return to Paraguay after many years in Argentina, called me one day. “I have a consultation and a request to make to you”, he told me. “I am listening, Father,” I answered. —
Verbum Patris course with Fr. Kentenich
I need to transform it in order to share it
“I have in my hands something that is very precious to me and that I now realize is a relic for the Schoenstatt Paraguay family. But I cannot share it if I do not transform it and that is why I turn to you”. My intrigue increased as I listened to him.
“When I had my personal interview with Fr. Kentenich in 1966, I took a tape recorder with me to record that dialogue on audio. A little bit to have it as a souvenir and a little bit because my German was not so good then and so I could understand it better when I listened to the recording again.” At that moment, I recalled an account by Fr, Angel Strada, who regretted not having brought a tape recorder to his personal interview with the Founder, as some of his companions in the Verbum Patris course had done.
Geloso Tape Recorder
Could you do that little job?
Then, Fr. Antonio’s request came: “I want to recover that recording, but it was recorded on an old Geloso tape recorder… and obviously, I no longer have that recorder or any other recorder that can play that tape. Could you do that little job? It would be very valuable for me and also for all the Schoenstatt Family of Paraguay…”.
And here came the true value of that treasure that Fr. Antonio kept on a small old tape. “Fr. Joseph Kentenich says the word ‘Paraguay’ and it is the only record that we have of his voice saying Paraguay!”.
The gifts are tasks, the founder of Schoenstatt used to say. That is how a few days later I gave Fr. Antonio that conversation in audio cassette format (the CD did not yet exist), with several copies so that he could share with many people that pearl so valuable for the Nation of God, Heart of America.
Original: Spanish. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org
