Sandra Lezcano. Since I was free for the afternoon, I took a short trip through Schoenstatt to the places that I frequently pass by time and again, but do not have time to appreciate because sometimes I am in a hurry.
A new mailbox
I had just started my walk, when I found something new in Schoenstatt! A new German Post Office mailbox; it is in front of the Pilgrims’ Center, so now one does not have to walk to Vallendar to post mail.
After looking at the new mailbox, I continued walking towards the Original Shrine, and it was a magical walk with everything clothed in autumn.
The Original Shrine is beautifully adorned with colors that are characteristic of this season of the year. Many of the trees are preparing to drop their leaves, but still, they offer an incredible picture full of life.
Our lives also have autumns
Then I began to reflect that everyone should also go through several autumns in his/her life but above all in their hearts. Everyone should allow everything that is superficial, the worries of the day to leave them; we should drop all the things that do not allow us to listen to ourselves. Perhaps autumn is more painful for some than others, just like the leaves of some trees dry quickly and are left bare in a soft wind, while others are more resistant. It takes those leaves longer to fall and some remain attached to the trunk. The important thing is that they continue to adorn the place during this process, in a different but beautiful way.
How could one doubt that God exists?
We should also try to continue to be resplendent in the garden where we are, awakening the best in us, even if the processes of change can be painful at different times of life.
God permits changes for something better, and that is how autumn prepares for the cold winter; it also brings with it the hope of a new spring.
As I continued walking and thinking about this, I arrived at the patio of House Marienau, where I could see the apple trees, the paths with dry leaves, and the squirrels that appeared and disappeared from one tree to the next. I was filled with wonder with everything God had made and the perfection of nature, how could anyone doubt that God exists?
How can one not be grateful for so much life even the midst of a process that is melancholic for some? Appreciating nature allows us to be in contact with God the Father. Many times we are surrounded by the exuberance of nature, but we do take time to appreciate it, not realizing that God is speaking to us through it.
Let this autumn also be a process of change that we need within, and may we allow things to fall that do not permit us to fulfilled trusting that God only removes that which obstructs a flourishing spring.
May we make Schoenstatt flourish in more hearts every day in every wayside shrine and Shrine of the world
Schoenstatt also wants to flourish as a Family next spring, in this process of reaching the great Jubilee. Let us give the best of ourselves in every group, in every Branch. Let us make Schoenstatt flourish in more hearts every day in every wayside shrine and Shrine as a gift for our Founding Father, who always motivated us to cultivate a beautiful Marian garden. Let us take advantage of the International Opening of the Triennium on October 17th and 18th at the national level to begin this process of change towards 2014. May each Schoenstatter experience these three years of preparation as a great process and in this way, once again, conquer the Kingdom of our beloved MTA.
The International Opening of the Triennium will be celebrated on October 17, 2010 in Schoenstatt beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Adoration Church and it will end close to 10:00 p.m. in the Original Shrine. Everyone is welcome to join.
How beautiful and inspiring. Thank you!