Agathe Hug. It seemed like: the calm before the storm; at least it seemed like there was complete calm on the morning of July 16th, while participating in the Holy Mass “toward 2014” – which was celebrated in covenant with Lithuania. Of course, like “a good Schoenstatter” one has to look at the globe to locate Lithuania. Schoenstatt arrived there via Austria. Father José María García related this during the introduction of the Holy Mass (at the end of the text see link for the video in German and the information about Schoenstatt in Lithuania [pdf].
The calm before the storm
The houses and people in Schoenstatt are eagerly preparing for the arrival of many youth, who want to go through Schoenstatt on their way to World Youth Day in Madrid. The majority of them are coming from Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, etc. The residents of Schoenstatt who speak Spanish are happy because they will be able to converse with them. The program for the groups includes a ride on the Rhine, a trip to Gymnich and Dachau, and the prayer of the rosary in Schoenstatt. Here and there, in Schoenstatt, a brochure is being printed and a manual of instructions is being edited. Much will be done through improvised little papers…
But today it was still calm. The Women’s Federation prepared for the Holy Mass. They were the majority who filled the Shrine, along with some pilgrims who had arrived at Schoenstatt from the allover the world.
The Gospel of Chile
The commemoration of this day was especially for Lithuania, the Family Work, and the Institute of the Sisters of Mary. Father José María Garcia recalled their anniversary of founding at the beginning of the Mass. Chile was also mentioned, since the liturgy of the day corresponded to the Feast of Our Lady of Carmen, Patroness of that country. On September 2010, Chile celebrated the bicentennial of its independence. As a gift for this event, the “Gospel of Chile was born: it was a project that consisted of copying a New Testament manuscript into a large book that was presented at the National Shrine of Maipú on November 2010. A million people participated: each one wrote a verse. It was an initiative of the Church in Chile, inspired and supported by the members of the Schoenstatt Movement. Father José María García brought a manuscript of that Gospel and from it, he read the Gospel of that day. What a magnificent idea!
Who will be worthy to copy the Founding Document for October 18, 2014? And who will announce it anew?
Video http://www.grafikwiese.de/Datenaustausch/20110716_Litauen.mp4
Next…
The Holy Mass Saturday, July 23, 2011 was in covenant with Luxemburg. There in Luxemburg, in a region close to the border with Germany, there have been some Schoenstatters for a long time, and of course the Pilgrim MTA is also present.
At the news category “2014”, on Fridays there will be information about the next country “in covenant” and the International Schoenstatt Family’s most important petitions that will be included in the Holy Mass toward 2014.
