COSTA RICA, Flora Rojas • During an intensive weekend, the Blessed Mother glorified herself in the diocese of Ciudad Quesada. — With the participation of five couples, the first leadership conference was held in the area. Elementary topics such as the Good Shepherd, the pedagogical goal of Schoenstatt, the laws of organic growth, the laws of organic leadership, the pedagogical style, the practical faith in Divine Providence, the role of the leaders and the guides, and the guidelines for the encounter were discussed. The day began with the celebration of
Read More COSTA RICA, Lorena Montoya • We have started 2023 with 25 new groups of couples (12 adult couples, 9 young couples and three groups of the “Pastoral of Hope” – Remarried couples), for a total of 170 couples. — The young couples are couples from different areas of the country who have been married for less than five years, with an average age of 32. Some of them have received formation in parish family ministries or other movements. This generation is characterized by the fact that a good part of
Read More ARGENTINA, Lilita and Carlos Ricciardi, Marisa Bulfón • A few years ago, Cecilia Cornacchia and Marisa Bulfón, of the Family Federation, had lost their spouses and, despite being contained by their families and spiritual and social community groups, thought that accompanying widows was something that the Church and religious movements had not developed in an organic and vital way. — Therefore, they thought of and scheduled a meeting to deal with this problem and to see the needs that each one of them might have. They got down to work
Read More SPAIN, Carlos Sáinz de los Terreros • Last Sunday, October 23, we met with couples who had participated in the different sessions of the Workshop for the Strengthening of Marriage (FORTA). Since the first event in September 2015, there have already been nine of them in Spain, in which more than two hundred couples have participated. — FORTA has been an unforgettable experience for all who have participated. But there is a catch: once it has been participated, it cannot be repeated. In response to the concern expressed by many
Read More ARGENTINA, Pamela and Álvaro Pagalday, Lilita and Carlos Ricciardi • On Saturday, October 15th, couples who are members of the League, Institute and Federation of the Region of Father’s Liberation met at the Schoenstatt Family House in the city of La Plata, to recall the history of the beginnings of the Family Work in La Plata and, as the coordinators of the meeting, Pamela and Álvaro Pagalday, said, to remember and to project ourselves forward as a family. — Representatives of each branch told us about the rich and valuable
Read More SPAIN, Paz Leiva • We began with enthusiasm the work to participate in the diocesan phase of the synod. It was important to participate, to think very well about the questions that were addressed to us, in order to give our opinion on everything that could be necessary for the Church. We are the Church, so we had a unique opportunity to intervene. — No working groups were formed in the parish, still for fear of Covid, but the parishioners were invited to send their proposals and responses. The parish
Read More UNIVERSAL CHURCH, Maria Fischer – with material from the website of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life • The document has been published, “Catechumenal itineraries for married life. Pastoral guidelines for particular Churches“. The document is an initiative of the “Amoris Laetitia Family Year” and responds to the Holy Father’s desire to offer new paths for preparation for the sacrament of marriage. — “The joy of love that is lived in families is also the jubilation of the Church”: these are the first words of Amoris laetitia,
Read More SPAIN, Miguel Lasso de la Vega • In their faces we saw happiness and gratitude for what they had received, and our hearts were inflamed with satisfaction for having been instruments of Mary’s educational work. — Thus, we closed on Friday, February 4, in the Parish Church of Santa Maravillas de Jesús in Madrid the fourth edition of the project “¿Quedamos?”, Shall we meet, which had been interrupted because of the Covid-19 pandemic exactly two years ago and has now returned with renewed enthusiasm and joy. “Shall we meet?” is
Read More SPAIN, Mercedes Alvaredo de Beas • A few months ago a friend asked me what the Federation was for me. I answered him, without thinking, what came out of my soul. For me the Federation is an apostolic community of brothers and sisters who struggle together to reach sanctity by contributing the best of Schoenstatt in the Church. — And so it was in the shadow of the Shrine on an “ordinary” February 18th that a new milestone for the future course VI of the Family Federation of Spain emerged.
Read More By Charlie Paternina, Spain / USA• Yes, Francis irritates me. I do have, however, a minor problem. We have been friends for 20 years. I walked into his office on the second floor of 415 Avenida Rivadavia in Buenos Aires for the first time on June 7th, 2001. I expected it to be a short meeting. “Monsignor – I said very politely – thank you for seeing me. I don’t want to take too much of your time. This is the situation: a generous client of mine has offered to
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