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Candlelit Procession to the Original Shrine on July
18.
Lichterprozession zum Urheiligtum am Bündnistag.
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Fr. Michael Savage
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(mkf) The motto for the Schoenstatt Movement and the Scottish Home
Shrine Project 2000 – "At the new dawn May Christ be born in every home"
– set the tone for the 50 pilgrims to Schoenstatt. The highlight of their
pilgrimage, from the 14th July until the 22nd July,
was the Covenant Celebration in the Original Shrine on the 18th
July, when several families and individuals received their home shrine.
After settling in to the Pilgerheim on 14th , the group celebrated
Holy Mass in the Original Shrine the following day. The Scottish pilgrims
then separated into two groups: those visiting for the first-time, had
an introductory tour of the valley while the others met in the Old House
for a talk on the pilgrimage theme: "What is the New Person" – the person
who not only survives the challenges of this time, but is able and ready
to shape the new millennium, so that at the new dawn Christ may be born
in every home.
Time for quiet reflection, prayer services, individual prayer, confession,
and Holy Mass alternated in the days that followed along with a tour of
Schoenstatt, visits to the Father Kentenich House and Mission House with
their exhibitions. In addition, there was shopping in Koblenz, a boat
trip on the river Rhine with a sing-along on the riverbank, an outing
to Rüdesheim and relaxed get-togethers in the evening.
Four young women who took a taxi from the Oberwerth swimming pool to
the Adoration Church one afternoon said "We went swimming this morning,
it was so much fun! But of course we could not miss out on the Holy Mass
this afternoon." One of them was looking forward to playing the organ
in the Adoration Church on this particular occasion.
Taking Home A Home Shrine
On the 18th July, the day of the month when Schoenstatt members
all over the world remember the Founding day of Schoenstatt – October
18, 1914 – the Scottish pilgrims set out for a candlelit procession to
the Original shrine. They were led by a young man from the group proudly
carrying the Scottish flag. Arriving for 7:30pm, they filed into the Original
Shrine to renew their Covenant of Love. Father Michael Savage, Parish
Priest of St Pius X in Glasgow, gave out home shrines to several individuals
and to families. This same Schoenstatt picture of grace, had been distributed
to over 4,000 children from schools in Glasgow and East Dunbartonshire
during the months of May and June, as part of the Home Shrine Project
2000. A tremendous sense of joy and pride became visible when pictures
were taken of the people with their 'Home Shrine', along with their national
flag, inside and in front of the Original Shrine!
On Friday, 21st July, the pilgrims returned home to Scotland,
to the most northern Schoenstatt Shrine in the world at Campsie Glen near
Glasgow.
more pictures:
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