PORTUGAL, Sr. M. Elisa Görck/Fr. José Melo. During the month of April, the “Father Eye Symbol” for the Original Shrine was on pilgrimage throughout Portugal. It visited the families of the four Shrines and was present at the 50th Golden Jubilee celebrations of Schoenstatt in Portugal.
Precisely, on the occasion of Easter, the Father Eye Symbol arrives at the “Cenacle of the Father for Father’s Family” Shrine in the Diocese of Braga. During that week, the Schoenstatt Fathers were on their annual retreat, reflecting on the priesthood. The presence of the Symbol was a constant feature. The families and the youth groups organized times for prayer and meditation.
At the “Tabor of the Queen of the Family” Shrine in Oporto, various times for prayer and meditation on the treasure of this symbol took place. There was also time to deepen the attachment to our Father and Founder. The Mothers’ League gathered on one of the evenings for prayer and renewal of the Covenant of Love. They made the commitment to the Treasury of Grace, making contributions for a fruitful journey toward 2014.
The Apostolic League of Women celebrated with Father their first anniversary of implantation into the Marian Garden and renewed their commitment to make serious contributions to the Treasury of Grace for the Original Shrine and for the fruitfulness of the 2014 Jubilee.
The Youths made the commitment to strive seriously in the mission.
The culminating point of the visit of the Father Eye Symbol
The culminating point of the Father Eye Symbol’s visit was in reference to the Golden Jubilee of Schoenstatt in Portugal.
This festive celebration began on April 17th with the walking pilgrimage to Fatima…..with the presence of the Father Eye Symbol and the Auxiliary Shrine for Europe….. these symbols were visible signs of special love confirming that the Father and Founder and the Blessed Mother accompany their Family at all times.
With this awareness, we walked side by side. We reaffirmed our fraternal commitment and in jubilee joy we sang our hymn: Father, your mission is our mission!
This was the moment for placing ourselves on the way to 2014, with our heart in Father’s heart, a true expression of COR UNUM IN PATRE, with our thoughts in your thoughts…..a deep expression of unity….. and with our hand in his hand we look with hope toward the future, asking for the grace of loyalty for the next 50 years.
An entire day’s walk in the presence of the Blessed Mother and Father was the best expression of mutual love, of undivided belonging to the Family and its activity in its 50 years of history. We were a small family, close to 1,500 children of Schoenstatt who were saying: Father, your mission is our mission!
On April 18th in the morning, 1,000 more gathered in Fatima to express that the Family is not so small. In the afternoon, the Family had really grown in numbers that it was impossible to calculate…..
On this jubilee day, there was the unique and singular experience of being with the Father of the International Schoenstatt Family since there were representatives from different countries.
We were able to say thank you for the past history in which was manifested the Divine guidance in the smallness of the instruments, the greatness of the difficulties, and the rich fruitfulness of the deeds of the Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt from her Shrines.
It is a fact, Father’s footsteps generate life! His passage through Portugal in 1947 was not in vain!
Today, imbued with profound gratitude, we want to always take him more and more into the Church which is his place and where he continues his mission.
At the conclusion of the special jubilee days, the Father Eye Symbol visited the Schoenstatt Family of Aveiro, whose news was published in an earlier issue, and then it was received with much love by the Family of Lisbon.
In Lisbon
In the “Cenacle of Father’s Family” in Lisbon, the branches of the Movement were organized so that everyone could have the Father Eye Symbol in their groups, or in the Shrine where it remained for a greater portion of the time.
As Father’s Family, we are ready to accept the challenge for working untiringly for the unity of the International Schoenstatt Family, so that in this way we may be the letter of recommendation for the soon canonization of our Founder…..in Covenant with him and on the way to 2014, in order to celebrate the centennial of his Covenant of Love to which we all belong.
On May 2nd, the day in which we celebrate Mothers’ Day, the Souto Cardoso family who had gone to Schoenstatt for the Symbol, gave the Symbol to Friederike who took it to Madrid, thus continuing its pilgrimage until 2014.
Translation: Carlos Cantú, Schoenstatt Family Federation, La Feria, Texas USA 051210
How beautiful the Father Eye is. The graces that come with the visit. We too had a visit in our home shrine of "Queen of Hope and Conversion", back on November 28, 2009. All around the world we are connected in our Covenant of Love with the Mater. More graces between us throughout the world. Thank you Father God, thank you MTA, thank you father and founder, Father J. Kentenich.