ARGENTINA, Guillermo Ferreyra •
Every year, the youth of the Archdiocese of San Miguel de Tucumán make a one-day pilgrimage that connects two shrines in nearby cities. —
This year they chose our shrine “Garden of Mary” as their destination.
Under the motto “By your hand we go, without hesitation”, more than 2000 young people from different parish groups, movements, and spiritual currents, accompanied by priests, seminarians and religious sisters, set out in the morning from the parish of Our Lady of Fatima.
They began the first steps at 8 a.m., after receiving the blessing of Archbishop Carlos Alberto Sánchez, who was also waiting for them at the entrance of the shrine to receive them after 6 p.m.
Pilgrimage of the Diocesan Youth to the Schoenstatt Shrine in Tucumán
Pilgrimage means to set out on the road, to set out without delay
The weather was sunny and warm, and the fire and the strength that emanated from these young people who did not stop singing outshone everything.
One could feel that Jesus was walking with them, just like at Emmaus.
The arrival at the Shrine was very moving, where the Schoenstatt Family awaited them with waving white cloths, mixed with shouts and applause. The grace of being at home was in the air.
The Schoenstatt Boys’ and Girls’ Youth collected the pilgrims’ intentions on slips of paper, which were then burned in the fire as a gesture of elevation to God.
Three certainties for life
The celebration ended with Holy Mass, celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Roberto José Ferrari, who in his heartfelt and touching words recalled that “Mary was a restless chinita (a young girl in the language of the gauchos),” and that we too should be restless, because we young people should not keep anything to ourselves.
He also said that we all want to live a great love and that the Lord offers us to do this with Him and with Mary.
In conclusion, he said that there are three certainties that we must not forget:
- That God loves us no matter what.
- That Christ saves us, that there is no greater love than when one lays down his life for his friends, and that we are his friends.
- That Christ lives and wants us to live.
It was a profound experience of the great dream of the Founder: to see the different charisms, currents of spirituality and movements of our Church around the Shrine and to sing to the Mother.
Pilgrimage of the Diocesan Youth to the Shrine of Schoenstatt in Tucumán
Original: Spanish. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org
