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 the meditation for the fifth week.
Where roses adorn the altar
and lilies never cease to bloom
WEEK FIVE — MY HOME SHRINE — LASTING JOY
Prayer —
Do you know the land imbued with joy because the sun never sets there:
Where in possession of the eternal goods all hearts abide in tranquility;
Where heart and will are continually refreshed in the overflowing richness of God’s gifts;
Where love’s magic wand swiftly transforms all gloom into joy?
We reflect on the Flowers in the Shrine
“The rose is a symbol of love. Love means that we give our hearts to one another … The rose is red and red is the color of love. The rose is also the symbol of our sacrifices of love, sacrifices for the perfect exchange of hearts … We may say: a rose for a rose, heart for heart, sacrifice for sacrifice. We offer all this in the covenant of love. The covenant of love is a perfect exchange of hearts and a perfect exchange of love.”
(Father Joseph Kentenich, excerpt from the spoken word, 2/2/1956)
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 – The Madonna Lily, with its fragrance and its upright calyx as if it were ready to receive something, is also called the Annunciation Lily. Mary was certainly open and receptive to the eternal love of God. Am I also open and receptive to the divine?
Day 2 – When have I experienced someone giving me their heart? What was my response to that person?
Day 3 – God has blessed us with seasons of life and nature, like the roses which bud, bloom and die. Do I accept my life pattern – where I am in life? Do I thank God for this beautiful gift he gave me?
Day 4 – Thinking back to the first Christmas, the Christ Child received few, if any, gifts. Do I stand joyfully before the Christ Child and his Mother with gifts of love and praise?
Day 5 – Red is the symbol of sacrifice. What are some moments of suffering in my life that helped me to grow in greater love?
Day 6 – How often do I come to the Shrine and reflect on the beauty of the flowers that adorn the altar? Do I take that joy and share it with others I meet?
Day 7 – The Bible stresses that seeds must be planted in good soil to produce much fruit. Do I help till and fertilize spiritual seeds with my contributions to the capital of grace?
Download of the entire novena here:
