CHAPTER OF THE FEDERATION OF FAMILIES, Paz Leiva and Miguel Ángel Rubio •
This is the third Chapter from the translation booth for Paz and the first one for Miguel Ángel, who does it from the secretary’s table. —
The 4th Chapter of the Apostolic Family Federation (FAF) began on the first of September in Hillscheid. The participants are the International Directorate and two couples from each of the autonomous territories. This time, one couple from each of the territories that are close to becoming autonomous was also invited.
Each day begins with a Mass at 7:30 a.m., celebrated each day by a guest priest.
The rhythm of work of the capitulars is strong. Therefore, that of the helpers (kitchen, cleaning, decoration, secretarial, technical, translation, music, etc…) could be said to be frenetic. All the work is done by members of the Federation, and we have the help of three sisters, a young woman from the Women’s Federation and two Schoenstatt Fathers for translation.
There are also moments of fun, of course. Yesterday, for example, “Colorful Night”, prepared by Argentina and Germany. There were projections, songs, jokes, and wine tasting of wines from the Palatinate area, therefore, in the kitchen they did not stop bringing out food, to avoid the risks of an uncontrolled intake of alcohol on its own. We all participated in the party, including all the assistants, but we did not interrupt our duties, there was food, music, and translation until midnight. Until that time the secretaries also worked on the minutes of the day.
“Rise and serve!”
These two days have seen two country reports. The one from Spain will be presented this afternoon by the Santos couple, from Brazil, who are the members of the International Direction, in charge of accompanying our federation.
From the translation booth and from the secretary’s table we have neither the right to speak nor to vote in the chapter, but we can observe a lot and enjoy seeing the situation of our community in the world and to know that together we are building a better future for our families, for Schoenstatt and for society.
We are very happy to be here, listening every day to an inner voice that tells us: “rise and serve” (*)
Paz Leiva and Miguel Ángel Rubio
Federation of Families of Spain
(*) Motto of the Family Federation of Spain for this year
Original: Spanish. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org
