PARAGUAY, Alma and José Ovelar. On a rainy morning, many members of the Family gathered in Holy Mary of the Trinity Church to seal their Childlike Covenant of Love with Father Joseph Kentenich and others who renewed theirs. The rite was properly carried out after the Mass and Father Antonio’s homily; he reminded them repeatedly “everything in life is a covenant.”
When his or her name was called, each covenant partner stood.
One of the most important moments was when Father Antonio asked them:
“How important is it for you to seal this Covenant with our Father?”
They answered:
“More than sixty years ago our Father gazed on Paraguayan land. He was surprised by the abundance of our natural resources, and he prophetically foresaw a great spiritual fruitfulness for it. Today that gaze reaches each of our hearts. We believe that Father gives us spiritual and apostolic fruitfulness at this time that is so lacking in life and God.
We want to express our attitude of being his children and heirs. We ask him to place his gaze on our hearts, that he purify them of their egotistical and disordered tendencies, that he confirm us in our vocation of being like Mary; new men/women builders of the much desired Nation of God, Heart of America, through the struggle for truth, justice and love.”
Father, my hand in your hand…
But the most touching moment of the ceremony undoubtedly was when the new allies, with their lighted candles, passed in front of a life size picture of Father Kentenich, and they joined their hand with Father’s hand, as a gesture of Covenant and as a sign of loyalty to his mission. Many stayed in this position for a long time; there were tears and broken voices when the monitor said:
– “Do you agree to this?” They responded:
– “We agree to this! We remain loyal!”!
And while they burned the capital of grace that they had gathered during the preparation and which was presented as an offering, those who renewed their Childlike Covenant also passed to place their hand in Father’s hand; they were visibly touched, just like those who had just sealed their covenant.
Torrential rains…
The petitions that were presented to the Founder and Father in the prayer of the Childlike Covenant were the most profound desires of each one, and above all, they showed their confidence in him. Some said: that they prayed for family unity and harmony, others asked for the conversion of their children, others for building a home…one even asked for a wife!
Everyone was very happy. Echoes of what was heard: the ceremony was very touching! After all, the rain contributed to it being this way, because they were obliged to carry out the entire ceremony inside the Church. In a way, they kept their distance; of course, the situation reminded them of the blessing of the Bellavista Shrine on May 20, 1949 and the international founding of Schoenstatt in the concentration camp in Dachau on September 24, 1944. On both of those occasions, there were also torrential rains, and on the great event of May 20, 1949, Father Kentenich said that the rain could mean a very big, extraordinary and over abundant blessing.
We agree to this, we remain loyal!
Celina M. Garza: Spanish/English translation – Melissa Peña-Janknegt: English edit
