BRAZIL, Sister M. Patrícia Ferreira Mendes. With great joy and anticipation, the Schoenstatt Family from Jacarezinho/PR welcomed the Father Symbol on September 15th. It was also a significant day in the Schoenstatt history, as it was the day that our Founding Father returned to the eternal home.
He is welcomed at Christ the King, just as in 1947
We arrived with the Father Symbol from the Childlike Tabor Shrine to the Cornélio Procópio/PR, at 11:00 a.m.; we went directly to the former Christ the School, which belongs to the Pallottine Fathers. In the past, the school was also a boarding school for boys, and at present, it houses several educational institutions and services. In 1935, it was the first home of our Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary in Brazil. In 1947 and 1949, Father Joseph Kentenich, our father and founder visited there.
We expressed our gratitude in this beloved place for us, and a commemorative plaque of our Father and Founder’s visits to Jacrezinho was inaugurated. Representatives of the Schoenstatt Family and municipal authorities attended. We took an historic photo at the same place where the Pioneer Sisters took a photo in 1935.
In the Shrine for the first time
We continued to the Schoenstatt Tabor Foundation Shrine of Brazil, where the most illustrious pilgrim was welcomed with fireworks and bells announcing the arrival of the Father Symbol.
The Schoenstatt Family held a Solemn Holy Mass 7:30 p.m. to welcome the Father Symbol. We were all aware that the day was very important, besides having the Symbol in our midst; it was also the anniversary of the Founder’s return to the House of the Father. Representatives of the Schoenstatt Family came from almost all the cities where there are Branch Groups; one hundred people attended.
Father Rosinei Toniette presided at the celebration and Father Toninho (Antonio Carlos Ribeiro) and Father Celso Miqueli con-celebrated. In the homily, Father Rosinei emphasized the importance of the Father Symbol, and of the mission that he gives us an Schoenstatt Family, of being united and committed with Schoenstatt.
Father sees me, he loves me, and he needs me
After we shared some refreshments, we began the experience with Father’s presence. The theme for this experience was: “Father sees me, he loves me, and he needs me”. With this phrase, the participants learned something about the person of our Father as a priest and especially his charism of Father and Founder. They watched videos of Father celebrating Holy Mass, and they heard his voice. In forty minutes, we experienced Father in the four historic milestones. At the end, everyone received a personal message from Father’s hand.
Then we continued bearing the Branch flags and following Father’s footsteps to the Shrine, where a monument in his honor was inaugurated recalling his presence in Jacarezinho. There are three stones, recalling the three contact points and the graces of the Shrine, with a photo of Father and phrases relative to his presence in Jacarezinho. We concluded with the prayer for Father’s beatification.
The Symbol was welcomed in different cities
Because of the inter-diocesan reality of our Shrine, the Father Symbol went on pilgrimage to different cities of the Dioceses of Jacrezinho and Ourinhos: Ribeirão Claro, Bandeirantes, Itambaracá, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, Ourinhos, Ibaiti. The Father Symbol was welcomed as a sign of the loving presence of the Heavenly Father in all these cities, who invites us to live as beloved children, because He sees us, and he loves us. And he needs to meet us in His Son, Jesus.
It is for this reason that the festive Holy Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament were part of this meeting, where we meditated on the love of the Father revealed in Jesus and our response of love. Sister M Anadir Santini, who is in charge of the Secretariat of Father Joseph Kentenich’s Beatification in Atibaia/SP, accompanied the Father Symbol in Jacarezinho and Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo/SP to explain the current process.
Father’s footsteps generate life…
On the morning of the 19th, five priests sealed their Covenant of Love; they met with Father Ottomar Schneider for a morning of meeting with Father.
Since it is impossible to relate all the life that was awakened by the visit of the Father Symbol to the Schoenstatt Tabor Foundation Shrine, we summarize: it united the family, and we could verify that “Father’s footsteps generate life wherever he goes.”
Source: www.maeperegrina.com.br
PHOTOS
Celina M. Garza: Spanish/English translation Melissa Peña-Janknegt: English edit
