mkf. December in Schoenstatt… December around the Original Shrine: it is a tranquil time without too many visitors, but there are various Advent activities marked by the expectation of Christmas…the Miracle of the Holy Night each year anew becoming a reality in the Bethlehem of each one of our hearts and in each Shrine.
Although many pilgrims are not visible, the international Rosary continues to be prayed in the Original Shrine every Saturday at 5:30 P.M. While on November 25th it was prayed as always in Spanish and Portuguese, on December 5th you could only hear it in Spanish… On December 4th, after 15 months in Schoenstatt and many experiences – among them a milestone, Conference 2014 – Cassio Leal returned to his native Brazil.
During the last three months, he worked several hours a day in the press office, preparing himself to assume the task of general coordinator of the web page in Portuguese. The night before he left, there was a joyful farewell party in the only restaurant in Germany which has a “Shrine restaurant!”
Thank you, Cassio, for your work! We now await the arrival of two new volunteers for the press office. Both are from the Boys’ Youth in Argentina: Diego Asili and Francisco Grondona from Mar del Plata and Miramar, respectively.
Greetings await them from Martin Matheu, a friend from Mendoza, Argentina. Martin Matheu visited Schoenstatt with his girlfriend from Austria. She is working at the present time as an English teacher at the Dios Padre (God the Father) School in Mendoza. At the press office, not only did they meet up with Francisca Urrutia (belonging to the same group as Martin’s girlfriend), they also left greetings for Diego and Francisco.
“A Different Advent”
Last week and until December 10th, an open Advent retreat took place at the Pilgrims’ Church. Next weekend, the Esperamor group extends an invitation once again for “A Different Advent.” This year it took place place in House Marienau due to the fact that the road to Mount Schoenstatt remains closed; therefore, the Father Kentenich House where this concert always took place, is now too far away.
There is good news for all those who cannot be present: on Sunday, December 13th at 3:00 PM, the Esperamor concert was transmitted live via Schoenstatt-tv and the recording is avaiable!
On December 12th, John Pozzobon’s birthday, the Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Original Shrine in gratitude for all he did in fulfillment of his mission to take the Pilgrim Mother wherever She wanted to go. The Rosary is also prayed in gratitude for the countless blessings which the Campaign has brought to so many people…
{cms_selflink page=”star” text=”Star Shower”}…
“They told me a story: that we find the cave of Bethlehem in the Shrine. There we have the MTA with the Child Jesus in her arms, St. Joseph praying and adoring, the shepherds, St. Peter, St. Paul, the angels who are represented by St. Michael…our Bethlehem is there…may it be this way in my life and in the lives of everyone”…this can be read in an email-star sent from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The first star arrived from Germany three minutes after publishing the respective article and preparing the web page for mailing. As it is each year, “stars” for the manger of the Child Jesus in the Original Shrine. Up to December 9th, 237 “stars” have arrived. Some of them contain more than 100 names of family members, friends, colleagues, neighbors… All should have the opportunity to be in the Original Shrine this Christmas: people from Australia, the USA, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Italy, Spain, Germany, Russia, Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico…among them Angela Merkel and Barack Obama, the Holy Father, the Benedictine monks from a monastery in Brazil, and Salvadoran Sisters from a convent in the USA.
The stars will be presented in the Original Shrine on December 24th between 4:30 P.M. and 5:30 P.M. (local time). It is the same hour when in 1965, Father Kentenich prayed anew in the Original Shrine for the first time after returning from his fourteen-year exile…the “Miracle of the Holy Night”…awaited for so many years, it finally happened, precisely on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, Dec. 25th, Christmas Holy Mass is celebrated at 8:00 A.M. in the Original Shrine, once again in company of the stars. Between these two events, the stars will be taken in the evening to the tomb of Father Kentenich where they will remain during Midnight Mass in the Adoration Church.
Hopefully, what can be read on a star sent from Argentina may become a reality: “May the star of Bethlehem illumine the way and the heart of each human being so that there may be no hunger and that there may be peace in the world…”
The presentation of the {cms_selflink page=”star” text=”stars “}in the Original Shrine, as also the 8:00 A.M. Mass, are transmitted live via schoenstatt-tv.de. All are invited to participate!
{cms_selflink page=”star” text=”My name at a star”}
Translation: Carlos Cantú, Schoenstatt Family Federation, La Feria, Texas USA 121309
