Jorgelina Jordá. Yesterday afternoon in Schoenstatt, you could smell the odor of Argentinean barbeque mixed with Latin and German laughter. Tomorrow a girl from Chile and a boy from the United States will come to learn about Schoenstatt. “What could we do to welcome them?” Jorgelina asked the day before. “Why not a barbeque?” proposed Father Esteban, an Argentinean priest, who belongs to the Diocesan Institute, and that was the beginning of this great adventure.
Early in the morning, the search began to buy the meat that would be more like an Argentinean barbeque. “This is for soup,” said the butcher, while Father Esteban told him in Spanish: “No, those are ribs for barbeque,” the one who suffered was Frank, a seminarian of the Diocesan Institute who was in charge of translating the cultural difference. By noon in the midst of Mount Moriah’s beautiful landscape the meat began to be barbequed. It should be mentioned that none of this could have been done without the official approval of the Press Office and Father Wolf’s kindness, a living Schoenstatt, great human warmth, and a spirit of family.
International Encounter
While Father Esteban minded the barbeque, two Argentinean boys, Brian Siben and Eugenio Alberdi prepared the salad. Then Tobia Hoffman appeared; he is a seminarian of the Institute of Diocesan Priests. He arrived by car from Wuerzburg with Willie from the United States, Domenica and Julia from Germany along with them was Gloria from Chile. Then with plates and glasses (from the Press Office) in hand, Jorgelina from Argentina arrived; she is presently working as a volunteer at the Press Office.
It was all a mixture of Spanish, English, and German. The improvisation of the meeting was made clear when Jorgelina asked Tobias: “Where did you meet Father Esteban?” And he responded: “I don’t know Father Esteban from Argentina.” Everyone died laughing knowing that Father Esteban was sitting right next to him. “I did not know that he was a priest,” said an embarrassed Tobias and he added – “Is he a Schoenstatt Father? Upon which Father Esteban pertly answered: “I am one of yours!”
“Say do you seal the Blank Check in Germany?” asked one of the many. “Only in the Girls’ Youth,” Domenica explained who shared her symbol of commitment with the Girls’ Youth. Braian explained that the barbeque was very informal and that everything was shared “you get the bread, you break a piece off, and then you pass it someone else,” “What do you do to make the meat taste like this?” Tobias asked as he served himself a second helping, “You only put salt and some other things, it is one way of how to barbeque,” Father Esteban commented.
Truly an encounter among brothers
Between talks in the light of the radiant sunshine on the mountain, we learned about the different cultures and how Schoenstatt is developed in each place. Everything ended with guitar music played by Domenica, and Braian contributed a little about the folklore of his city. In reality nothing ended, because the Argentineans were invited to visit Wuerzburg next weekend, and the Germans will come again in August for the Night at the Shrine.
A family spirit was experienced, no one knew each other, but everyone felt like children of the same Mother. We shared food, songs, joys, and above all our love for the Blessed Mother. The best thing of all was the presence of a priest who gave all his joy and service so that the barbeque would truly be a meeting of brothers.
Translation: Celina Garza, Melissa Janknegt, USA
