Brief News - Schoenstatt: February 2001

Baustelle beim Heiligtum der Familien in Schönstatt: Bohrung für das Glasfaserkabel von Düsseldorf nach Frankfurt.

High Speed Data Transmission - via the Original Shrine

Construction sites in Schoenstatt a short distance from the Original Shrine and by the Shrine of the Families caught the attention of many people in mid- February. "The Original Shrine goes online," joked someone, and another added: "The Blessed Mother wants to keep an eye on the data!" The new high- speed fiber optic cable from Düsseldorf to Frankfurt "runs" through Schoenstatt, along the Hillscheider and Hoehrer Street. By the Shrine of the Families, the steep incline has to be spanned with an 820-foot tunnel

Information from the Mario Hiriart Office

Mario Hiriart (1931-1964) is making more friends. People experience that his lay spirituality can help them find an orientation in their life. In November 2000, a workshop on leadership in Schoenstatt was based on texts from and testimonies about Mario Hiriart and other Schoenstatt people. The participants - of whom only two belonged to Schoenstatt branches - were impressed by Mario Hiriart's formation and the ideas about Christian responsibility in the work place.

A video about Mario Hiriart is available; a biography was published in German and English. Several booklets were published in Portuguese. The websites about Mario Hiriart are completely redesigned with much information in German, Portuguese, and Spanish: http://www.schoenstatt.net/mario-hiriart/index.html

Arbeitsrunde bei der Tagung für Frauen in Pflegeberufen in der Bildungsstätte Marienland in Schönstatt

Workshop for Nurses

Nurses working in hospitals, nursing homes and home nursing met for a workshop in House Marienland February 9 - 11, 2001. The subject was how to act out of the Christian faith in extreme situations. The personal work experiences of the 25 women participating and their joy in their profession were evident in the workshop from the very beginning. "I understood better the meaning of a Christina atmosphere at my work place," shared one. Openness towards the patients and co workers was a subject of sharing as well as the healing power of a religious atmosphere in the hospital. The joy in helping, healing, nursing, listening was reinforced. The participants were grateful for new insights for their work, for the sharing and the friendly atmosphere in Schoenstatt. Most of them said they want to participate in a similar workshop again.

German Catholic Theological Faculty Meeting

The Pallottine's Theological College was to host the German Catholic Theological Faculty Meeting this year; but because of the devastating fire in the Pallottine's College, appropriate rooms were not available there. Instead, the meeting was held at House Marienland. Approximately 80 people from Catholic Theological Faculties in Germany met there January 28 -30.

Men's Group from Neuhof Visiting Schoenstatt

Together with their wives, the men from a new group of the Men's League from Neuhof, Paderborn, visited Schoenstatt on January 19-21, 2001. They especially wanted learn more about Schoenstatt's history during the National Socialistic persecution and the significance of January 20, 1942. For this reason, they visited the Father Kentenich House, where they were impressed by the information given about Father Kentenich's free decision on January 20, 1942, not to try and escape from being transferred to Dachau, although there was a faint chance that due to his poor health an exemption would free him. Instead, he wanted to be freed by Schoenstatt's striving for inner freedom. A visit to the Original Shrine on Sunday brought the men in contact with the source of grace behind this decision.

Father Rudolf Mosbach accepted the Renewal of the Blank Check Surrender in the Original Shrine
Mit sichtlicher Freude nahm P. Rudolf Mosbach die Erneuerung der Blankovollmacht im Urheiligtum entgegen

After the Covenant Renewal: congratulations under an umbrella - why not?
Auch ganz nett: Gegenseitiges Gratulieren unter dem Regenschirm nach der Bündniserneuerung

Intensive sharing - how to walk through the 'Dachau' auf our times with Fr. Kentenich
Intensiver Austausch: Wir gehen wir heute mit Pater Kentenich über die Lagerstraße von Dachau?

"Walking the Streets of Dachau with Father Kentenich"

A group of ten Professional Women met on the last weekend of January in House Sonnenau to work on the application of Father Kentenich's decision on January 20, 1942, to their own lives. The subject of the meeting was: Living the Covenant of Love on the Level of the Third Founding Document. "Everybody who wants to live the Covenant of Love on this level has to freely join Father Kentenich as he walks the streets of Dachau and imitate his example: live Schoenstatt, share Schoenstatt, love Schoenstatt to the ultimate end." These explanations given by Father Rudolf Mosbach attracted the young women. The context of the depths and wideness of the Covenant was seen in new perspectives and applied to everyday life, from the viewpoint of the work places. "We want to be in the center of the Dachau situations of our times," said one of them. "We don't want to live a sheltered life; we want to see the cruelty and pain and the loss of appreciation of human life. We want to be aware of this 'Dachau' at times being similar to Father Kentenich's Dachau. It is here where we feel called to walk the streets of Dachau with Father Kentenich and make a difference as he did. There, we want to open the doors of the Shrine for all on the streets of Dachau. This is a matter of our hearts being open Shrines, not restricted by 'walls'." Monika Gensow: "We began this meeting with a special highlight. One of the women made her blank check surrender in the Original Shrine, and all the others renewed their blank check. The symbol was a rose. Then, all of us were prepared for what our MTA was willing to give us during these special days." The private

hours in the Founder Chapel were a very decisive experience. All those with and for whom the professional women work were presented to Father Kentenich and to Mary with a rose placed on the sarcophagus.

New Postcards from the Original Shrine

Two new postcards were published by the Pallottine Fathers with pictures of the Original Shrine after the redesign of the surrounding area and the big old trees cut down. One picture shows the front, the other one a side view of the Original Shrine.

English edition: Joan Biemert, New Franken, Wisconsin, USA