WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES, Fr. José Luis Correa/Maria Fischer •
“The World Meeting of Families has given great hope and encouragement that families are growing more and more conscious of their own irreplaceable role in passing the faith. Passing on the faith essentially takes place in the family; the faith is passed on in everyday speech, the language of the family,” Pope Francis said on Sunday, 26 August, in his meeting with the bishops from Ireland, after a two day gathering with families from allover the world and with the most hot topics at this historic time of the Church. —
The World Meeting of Families was also a time for encounters and hope for Schoenstatters who attended. “It is good to get together,” Fr. José Luis Correa said on Saturday, the 25th, at the meeting with the Schoenstatt Family. He stressed the importance of the stand or in truth the two stands, the one for the International Movement and the one of the small Pilgrim Mother Campaign of Ireland. This stand was a place of meeting among Schoenstatters and many other participants from different countries present at the World Meeting.
Fr. Awi presented a fifteen-minute speech during the gathering that the delegation from Costa Rica prepared with such great commitment; then the Mosers gave their testimony. In his homily, Fr. José Luis Correa stressed three points that are always current, when Schoenstatt goes out to the encounter in the attitude of the Dilexit Ecclesiam.
To express gratitude for what was received and developed in Schoenstatt and in the Family Work
The Home Shrine, Family Academy, Family Missions, Marriage Strengthening, Ehe-Weg (Marriage Camino): not only at the stand, but also in Schoenstatters’ conscious, these projects and realities that are tried and true, shine with new intensity. At the moment of presentation and sharing, there was great gratitude for what was received and developed in Schoenstatt. And there is so much more that has emerged in the Family Work and all of Schoenstatt.
Contributing our own charism
The families who live from the Covenant of Love have something to give other families: Marriage and family pedagogy is not exclusive to Schoenstatters. Moreover with the family the value of experiences, the experiential conditions of faith, are a discovery not just to treasure within the Movement, but with humility, to offer to others.
Learning from others, and allowing oneself to be complemented and enriched by others
“Dilexit ecclesiam” does not mean to teach others, but to enter into a dialogue that allows mutual enrichment. Thus we participate in these meetings: to learn from others, to allow ourselves to be complemented and enriched by others in an attitude of openness, humility, and dialogue without prejudice.
Original: Spanish, 28 August 2018. Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX. Edited: Melissa Peña-Janknegt, Elgin, TX USA
