mev. “How different this place is from a year ago,” said F. Andrew Pastore, in-charge of the Office of Communications for 2014, as he remembered the Covenant House in Schoenstatt, where his birthday was celebrated January 26th, last year.
Many of those who arrived at the party last Saturday, January 26, 2013, were also present the year before. Those who arrived for the first time after many years were surprised with the changes done in the place that had been remodeled into the offices of the 2014 Team. “There was no heater here then, we were cold but we had a good time as well!… but now it is more pleasant to be here!” added the first ones. In the Covenant House, other than work, we celebrate life, the covenant and all birthdays! And this was the case last Saturday, January26th.
They came from everywhere…
The guests came from everywhere. Many of the communities were represented with one or two people who came with gifts for the birthday celebrant. “I would describe the event as an excellent opportunity to share, with a big variety of persons,” commented one of the guests.
The most important was that everyone felt at home and welcomed. The warmth felt in the Covenant House in this new stage, is above and beyond the mere mechanical presence of a heater. There is something attractive, a new life and an authentic community, which is being formed around this place, where one encounters the past and the future. It is precisely in this kind of celebration that one realizes what a treasure the Schoenstatt family is.
Schoenstatt.org joins Fr. Andrew Pastore´s celebration for one more year, and we thank him for the daily offering he does to the mission that the MTA has entrusted to him from the Shrine.
Original: Spanish. English translation: Kohnie Valderama, Madrid, Spain
