DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Sister M. Marissel. The Schoenstatt Family from the Dominican Republic also celebrated the centenary of the priestly ordination of the Father and Founder. This great event had been prepared since July 8, 2009 until July 8, 2010.
The celebration began with a tridium, on the days of July 5th, 6th, and 7th, before Father’s memorial.
A subject relating to the priestly life of the Father and Founder motivated each day: “his paternity, his priestly loyalty, and his love of the Eucharist.”
On July 7th, the last day of the tridium, there was a large vigil that began at 6:00 p.m. with Eucharistic Adoration in the Shrine.
At midnight a candlelight procession began from the Shrine to the Father memorial; it was a very touching moment. There they offered a serenade to Father with songs and poems, they asked for his blessing, and his presence was truly felt among his children…
Then adoration in the Shrine continued, and the vigil ended with a Holy Mass for Father’s canonization, which was celebrated at 5:00 a.m. the dawn of July 8th.
A day of encounter with Father
But the celebration did not end there! It ended on Covenant Day, Sunday, July 18th when the Schoenstatt Family gathered around the Shrine to celebrate the centenary of the priestly ordination of the Father and Founder.
It was a day of encounter with Father beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Joseph Engling memorial with songs and an opening prayer…a procession departed from there with symbols and spiritual gifts that the Family had prepared for Father.
Next they went to the Father memorial, where each Branch and the different districts of the Mothers, Ladies, the Schoenstatt Girls’ Youth, and the couples presented Father with the spiritual gifts that they had prepared.
It was a very impressive experience where the love of the Family for Father was felt. It was touching to see how each Branch and each group prepared their gifts for Father with so much joy and enthusiasm, one hundred Holy Masses, one hundred Rosaries, one hundred hours of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament were some of the many gifts that were offered…
The zeal for the Schoenstatt mission
Then the procession continued to the Shrine where they prayed the Prayer of Confidence for Father’s canonization. The procession concluded at the arbor of the Movement, where a talk about Father and his love of the Eucharist was offered. Sister M. Georgina Ramirez, a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary, prepared it. It was very profound; it showed how Father Joseph Kentenich with his mission was profoundly anchored in the supernatural, and he stressed that love of the Eucharist was united to his mission as Father and as a priest: The moral and Christian renewal of the world in Christ.
There was a lunch after the talk, there were artistic presentations by some of the groups that congratulated Father, and there were some testimonies that gave this great celebration the necessary touch. The festivities concluded with the Holy Mass at 6:00 p.m.
Since the beginning of this project, there was very good participation by the entire Schoenstatt Family; it was truly a family experience around their Father. Everyone expressed their gratitude for experiencing the great love that unites the Family and especially for the Schoenstatt mission in this small country.
