USA, Milwaukee Home Shrine Jubilee Commission/Joseph Yank. The Schoenstatt Family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, the place of Father Kentenich`s exile, is praying a novena for the perpetuation and perfection of the home shrine stream in the Schoenstatt Family and in the Church. They have put together, from Father Kentenich`s words, a nine week novena with meditations from the Home Song, Mass of God’s instruments and words Father Kentenich prayed at various home shrine blessings in Milwaukee. They want to pray this novena two times during the year of the missionary current which coincides with the 50th Jubilee year of Father Kentenich’s proclamation of the home shrine as a third order of shrine for the Schoenstatt Family. Today we publish (with delay due to the activities of last week) the meditation for the first week.
My room (home) is your shrine,
where you work to the glory of the Father
WEEK ONE — MY HOME SHRINE — LOVE
Prayer —
Do you know the land so warm and dear which Eternal Love has built itself:
Where noble hearts beat with affection and bear with each other in joy and sacrifice;
Where they glow and shelter one another and flow as one into the heart of God;
Where streams of love well forth with might to quench the thirst of the world for love?
We reflect on the Walls of the Shrine:
“The father of this family wants to represent the walls of the shrine. What does that mean? He not only protects this home through strong walls and holds the negative influences from the outside at a distance, no; here the spirit of his family must also be guarded.”
(Father Joseph Kentenich, excerpt from the spoken word at the blessing of the Home and Living Shrine, 3/25/1964)
This wonderland is known to me – It is the meadow radiantly lit by Tabor’s sun, where our Three times Admirable Lady reigns in the midst of her favorite children, loyally rewarding each gift of love with the manifestation of her glory and immeasurably abundant fruitfulness: It is my home, my Schoenstatt Land!
Questions for reflection:
Day 1 – Walls are built for a purpose. Their maker builds them for a specific task. What special task did God make me for? Am I fulfilling this purpose today?
Day 2 – How can I stand firm in my faith today? Can I, with an attitude of love, defend what is right at work and within my family?
Day 3 – The walls of a home protect us from harmful elements outside and keep what is good inside: What walls do I need to erect to protect me and my family from harmful outside influences so our living shrine can grow safely from within?
Day 4 – Walls are usually more pleasing with a window. Do I allow others to see into me as I really am? Do I close the window to my heart and put up a false image?
Day 5 – Walls sometimes are built to keep people out. What walls have I erected that separate me from the love of others or from the love of God? Which of these walls can I tear down today to let Christ’s love shine into my heart?
Day 6 – Can I protect those who are weak or ridiculed? Can I stand up for those that are disliked?
Day 7 – Walls often bear weight. Without some walls a building would collapse. How am I helping others bear the great burdens in their lives?
