mda. Fr Francisco Sobral, Maria Elena Vilches, Fr Egon Zillekens, Herbert and Hilde Fellhofer, and now Alicja Kostka: “Grace carriers”. They have carried pages of letters to the Blessed Mother in the Original Shrine and placed them in the jar. They fill the jar in the Original Shrine with the gifts of hundreds, even thousands of people. Gratitude and self-surrender, repentance and longing. Alicja Kostka has taken over this task since the middle of December, and sometimes also carries one or two pdf files “for the jar in the Original Shrine“. She experiences that she is a “grace carrier”. “The vocation simply to carry these prayer intentions and to place my heart at our Mother’s disposal, is quite amazing.”
She writes:
Today I again visited the Original Shrine with my precious parcel.
The bag seemed heavy with this valuable burden … and on the way I thought to myself: You may not lose one of them …
When I offer all these requests to the Blessed Mother, I realize that my heart is way too small to embrace all these petitions. How gret must Mary`s heart be!
When I presented the prayer intentions to the Blessed Mother and thought of the many languages in which these intentions have been written, I asked how our Mother understood all the languages. She said: The Holy Spirit translates them for her, whispering them into her ear. He worked the miracle of languages and continues to do so … the bond of love.
Some of the intentions were written quite openly and I noticed – even though I don’t understand Spanish, the language in which most of them are written – how often the words appear: Family, mama, papa, children … and: Gifts.
In this way I experience that people want to invite Mary to come to their families. There is a regular to and fro: of gifts and petitions, an exchange in the covenant of love with the MTA, with a living heart we can trust. Life flows to and fro.
Wishes and dreams are also presented to our Mother – things that no one talks about and entrusts to no one can be entrust to our Mother: she can do it!
Fr Kentenich is also addressed. Mary’s heart is truly an open gate to heaven, to the Father. She has unlimited access to him.
The Original Shrine itself becomes even more precious
The Original Shrine itself becomes a much more precious place because of the many petitions. An ethicist, Elzenberger, is of the opinion that values have a real meaning, they really do exist. That means, for example, a good person is also beautiful, saturated with value, and the values he lives are reflected in his face, in his conduct. We see this when we look at the saints.
Then, if we apply this to the shrine, I thought: how valuable this bit of earth must be when so many intentions – values from heart to heart – are communicated here. Truly holy ground.
Since it is no longer possible to experience Nazareth, Mary’s house, where our Mother waits for her children; since it is not so freely available, God made it possible to experience it here in the Original Shrine in Schoenstatt, Germany, in the heart of Europe.
We can always come to our Mother here – with our cares, complaints, wishes and dreams. … Now also by internet, without limit, and increasingly without limits because of the new media. She always hears us, she takes everything, each word, seriously. … The Holy Spirit doesn’t need translating software …
The longing to make a new start, the silent invitation to be obedient to grace, to hand over even more to God, or simply to ask for help. Everything flows and – as we hope with childlike trust – brings the answer of love.
Direct line to the Original Shrine
Translation from German, M. Cole, Manchester, England
