BRAZIL, Sr. Adriane Maria Barbosa and Lucia Muniz. The Schoenstatt Family from Brasilia/DF sent the Father Eye Symbol to the Schoenstatt Family in Bahía on November 28th. Three representatives from the Mother of the Savior Shrine especially came to pick it up! During the farewell Mass for the Father Eye Symbol – as a sign of unity with the Original Shrine and so that Father remained with them – a bit of soil, brought from the Original Shrine in 2008 by Maura R. Santana de Jesús from the Mothers’ Federation, was brought forth in an urn shaped like a hand, symbolizing the hands of our Father and Founder. This urn is found in the corner of the chapel as a sign of the parallel with the holy places. They say, “Father remains in the Tabor of Hope!”
Lucía Muñiz related how the Schoenstatt Family from Bahía experienced this hour of grace: History is a dynamic process of permanent re-creation of the facts, episodes, circumstances, moments, and lives which mark the existence of the Creator of History – God the Father.
The Father sees me, the Father loves me, the Father needs me!
In this certainty – the first week of Advent – the members of the League, Lucía Muñiz, Teresa del Carmelo, and the Diocesan Coordinator of CMPS de Feira de Santana, Edla Oliveira, left from Salvador/Bahía searching in the national capital city for the Father of our Savior represented by the symbol – The Eye of God the Father. In it, they also saw in his reflection, the Father and Founder of the Schoenstatt Movement – Father Joseph Kentenich.
The magnitude of this happening, with all the symbolism it holds, is so complex that it is almost impossible to explain especially because the mystery of Schoenstatt can only be understood with the permanent practice of faith. Nevertheless, I remembered the experienced emotions for emphasizing some of the passages that will mark such a magnanimous historical event in our Schoenstatt lives.
The arrival in Brasilia…
We arrived late in the afternoon at the Tabor Shrine of Hope and were greeted by a soft rain, a sign of benediction. We heard voices, which sang to us, “Sing, Tabor Family, the Father is present. This is a sign of his love! …” It was the Sisters of Mary with the Father Eye Symbol, Srs. Adriane María Barbosa and M. Jacinta Donati. Our hearts leapt, we were finally with him, the Eye of God the Father…in front of us and his reflection, our Father and Founder.
Holy hour in the Shrine…
In the Shrine with Sr. Jacinta, Jane, and Augusta, members of the League, we adored the Blessed Sacrament. With serene hearts, we plunged into the arms of Blessed Mother who led us into silence and peace that the moment and the place suggested. Yes, Father, here we are and like the Apostle John, we said: “Lord, show us the Father and that will suffice.”
In contemplation of the symbol, we recalled that Father Kentenich was tireless in proclaiming God’s paternity, a reflection of God the Father for many persons who had the grace to know him. And, from heart to heart, we would repeat, “The Father sees me, the Father loves me, the Father needs me!”
The moment of sending forth…
After Mass celebrated at 8:00 P.M. in the Pilgrims’ Tent, representatives of the different Branches of the Schoenstatt Family in Brasilia – in procession with the Father Eye –went to the Shrine under an almost invisible veil of rain.
In the presence of the Blessed Mother and the entire Heavenly court, another strong and significant moment… Mrs. Maura R. Santana from the Mothers’ Federation, during a visit to Schoenstatt in 2008, took a bit of soil from Brazil to the Original Shrine, from the Brasilia Shrine, and from Schoenstatt, she also brought back a bit of holy soil. That evening, in the presence of the Father Eye, the holy soil from Schoenstatt was enthroned in it.
Brasilia Shrine. In the symbolism of the act, we believed that Father wanted to leave a part of himself in the national capital city represented by the Schoenstatt soil that connects the places together and the same Father who shows everyone the power of the Covenant of Love with the MTA, which in turn is what leads us to the Covenant with the Triune God.
At the conclusion of the celebration, Sr. M. Jacinta invited the representatives of the Schoenstatt Family from San Salvador/BA and gave us the Father Eye Symbol.
Father begins to visit northeastern Brazil
At that precise moment, Father began the pilgrimage toward another side of Brazil. He left the national capital city (thought out, and planned by man) and went toward San Salvador: the first land tread upon, the land where Brazilian civilization began, native land, cradle of the Indians, the sea where the Portuguese first anchored their ships… land of Santa Cruz, where the ships with slaves first anchored, bringing a race of people who produced our people, loosening our riches and making our culture the most unique and pluralistic in the world.
Thus the Father Eye began its visit through the Northeast in the newest region for the Movement, the North and Northeast Regions. We will show our face to the Father: a people who suffer, but do not give up… a people who cry, but also who smile… a people who sing and pray with devotion to the Father through ardent devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, our Mother and Queen.
Translation: Carlos Cantú, Schoenstatt Family Federation, La Feria, Texas USA 12292011
