ARGENTINA, Father Javier Arteaga. There are only thirty days until the large celebration of the Schoenstatt centenary! 100 years of Covenant with Mary. 100 blessed, proven and fruitful years of service to the Church and society.
The year was 1914, and between July and August the great European war was beginning. In the midst of the drama and the uncertainty of that time, Father Kentenich interiorly heard God’s invitation to begin something new, a new road at the hand of Mary. He was convinced that the Most Holy Virgin wanted to collaborate in the configuration of the new era that was being born in the sorrows of war. On Sunday, the 18th of October, at 5:00 p.m., he and a group of young boys from the Pallottine Seminary consecrated themselves to the Most Holy Virgin in an old chapel in the Schoenstatt valley. In this consecration, they asked Mary to take possession of this place and that from there to give the graces of inner transformation and of apostolic fruitfulness; they for their part committed to grow in holiness fulfilling their daily duties and offering them as gifts of love to the Mother of God. “All those who come here to pray shall experience the glory of Mary confess: “It is good for us to be here. Here we want to build our tents, here shall be our favorite place.” A bold thought, nearly too bold for the public, but not too bold for you. How often in world history have not small and insignificant beginnings been the source of great and greatest accomplishments?” (Schoenstatt: The Founding Documents, pp. 30-31).
The Covenant of Love, source and center of the Schoenstatt spirituality
That was the founding hour of the Schoenstatt Movement: a simple consecration to the Most Holy Virgin in time of war, the Covenant of Love with Mary, on the 18th of October 1914. Since then the little chapel in Schoenstatt has become a Shrine, a place of grace for thousands of pilgrims and the spiritual home of the Schoenstatt Movement.
The Covenant of Love is the source and the center of Schoenstatt spirituality. Everyone is invited to seal the Covenant with Mary. She, as Mother and Educator, wants to take us to a profound encounter of faith with Christ, to grow in our baptismal covenant, in fraternal love and in ecclesial commitment.
These 100 years of the Covenant of Love have been very fruitful: a broad movement has grown with youths, families, men and women spread over five continents. It is also fruitful in lay, priestly and religious vocations and many educational and social institutions have been founded and multiple mission projects have been generated. This is why we want celebrate and to observe.
The 18th of October 2014 is very close! The atmosphere of work, celebration and joy is felt in all the Schoenstatt diocesan communities of Argentina. On Saturday, the 18th of October there will be two important moments:
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The renewal of the Covenant united throughout the world. We want to do it at the same time,at noon Argentina time,if possible in front of the picture of the Blessed Mother and with our candles lighted. The ceremony will be transmitted from Schoenstatt through EWTN beginning at 11:30 (for Argentina: on Cablevision Digital of HD: channel 426, on DIRECTV: channel 350; on the internet: http://www.ewtn.com/multimedia/live.asp).
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The celebration of the Holy Mass in the Shrines, or cathedrals of the dioceses, in wayside shrines of the Mother of Schoenstatt, and others in the parishes, that in the majority of the cases will be on the afternoon after the celebrations.
Gratitude, repentance, commitment
From every celebration this day, we will lift up the following to the Lord:
1º. Our gratitude and joy for everything we have received during these 100 years, especially for the gift of the Covenant with the Most Holy Virgin who has taken us to the love of Christ, for the blessing of having Father Kentenich as Father and Founder, for being a large Family, for the mission we received and shared, for the great gift of the Original Shrine.
2º. Our repentance and forgiveness for the egoisms, falsehoods and wrongdoing towards our brothers/sisters; for the times we impeded unity and family harmony; for being slow to go out and to share the gifts we have received.
3º. Our commitment as an expression of gratitude; especially a commitment to consolidate the fraternal unity, to renew ourselves in the missionary spirit and to announce the Covenant of Love as being key for personal, family, church and social life.
Called to serve
Beloved brothers/sisters, just as Mary departed in haste to serve Elizabeth taking with her the blessing of God (conf. Lk. 1:39-56), just as 100 years ago Father Kentenich and the young sodalists consecrated themselves to Mary’s service and her work, today we are also called to serve the men and women of our time, in their sorrows and uncertainties, in their desires and hopes, going out to encounter a brother/sister, establishing attachments and narrowing the gap, building “bridges” of reconciliation and respect, being influences for unity and social dialogue in our nation, thus building a culture of encounter, a Covenant culture.
Today as yesterday and always: Blessed Mother, nothing without You, nothing without us!
Happy Covenant Day!
I send you a cordial greeting and the Lord’s blessing from the Shrine.
Father José Javier Arteaga
Original: Spanish – Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX USA
