Hijos del 20 de enero... Alianza con el Padre, 20 de enero de 2002, Florencio Varela Children of the 20th of January... Coventant with Father Kentenich, January 20, 2002, Florencio Varela Kinder des 20. Januar… Vaterbündnis am 20. Januar 2002, Florencio Varela
“Padre, tu herencia, nuestra misión...” “Father, your heritage, our mission...” „Vater, dein Erbe ist unsere Sendung…“ Fotos: Crivelli © 2005
El 20 de enero y Dachau – lucha por la libertad interior 20th of January and Dachau – struggle for interior freedom 20. Januar und Dachau – Kampf um die innere Freiheit
Cuando caminamos por nuestro „Dachau“... como hijo del 20 de enero, hijo del Padre... When we are walking through our “Dachau”…as children of 20th of January, children of the Father Wenn wir durch unser “Dachau” gehen…als Kinder des 20. Januar, Kinder dieses Vaters... POS Fischer © 2005

LIVING MILESTONES. As January 20th , such a great and decisive moment in the life of Father and of all us, his children, approached, I remembered one the clearest and most forceful experiences I had in connection with this milestone.

It was in January 1992, in New Schoenstatt, Argentina, when the jubilee of January 20th was celebrated basically within a Latin American framework although there were some invited guests from countries from other continents. The weather, as was expected, was not very mild, more than anything it was the opposite, it seemed like an oven. Since New Schoenstatt did not have enough room to accomodate this great number of people, the foreigners and some persons from the interior of the country were housed in hotels, with commutes to and from New Schoenstatt, in Florencio Varela, an hour away from Buenos Aires. (by the way, more than once I have wondered why so many of our Shrines, are usually located in outlying areas and are not convenient to reach...).

A lesson for life: what January 20th means to me

The weather, among other things, was not very beneficial to those who were in charge of organizing nor did it cooperate with the well-being of the participants. It was in the midst of all this, that the episode, that made a profound impression on me, took place. I must say that it was not the excellent presentations that most impressed me in this jubilee - although they were truly magnificent - rather it was an "accidentally happening" and probably something very embarassing for some, that in this case, was a great lesson of life, a concrete and personal learning experience of what January 20th and its consequences means to us, that impressed me.

The first day of the jubilee was taking place splendidly, with pleasant encounters, and with an extraordinary opening ceremony and presentation. Then the break at noon took place where supposedly we would all have lunch, something that did not happen as was expected. The catering company got lost and it took hours to arrive. In truth, it would have been better if they had never arrived because to make things worse, I don't know if it was because of the delay or troubles of the company, but frankly the food was terrible. At this point, tempers were flaring-we were suffocating because of the oppressive heat-which made this matter take greater proportions than normal. Many complained in loud voices for the delay and the quality of the food. The poor organizers did not know how to resolve the problem at this point, and they were afraid that this situation would repeat itself the rest of the days, not the delay, but the quality of the food. It was impossible to get another company with the event already underway.

It was a very tense time for everyone, for those who complained and for those who received the complaints. It was so bad that the Director of the Movement of Argentina, Father Benjamin Pereira, from Chile, prefaced the afternoon presentation, by taking a few minutes to apologize in the name of the Family from Argentina for the unexpected

inconveniences. This gave the hosts, who were somewhat afflicted by what had occurred, some relief.

"A child of January 20th should not create a problem over too few tomatoes or a piece of hard bread"..

A litrtle later the presentation under the direction of Juan Enrique Coeymanns, of Chile, began. He referred to what had happened and he apologized in his name and that of his spouse for the situation that caused the Director and the local Family to apologize. He said he had felt embarassed about this, to the point, that he could not let it pass. In a clear and energetic manner, he rebuked all of us mentioning time and again that, "a child of January 20th does not create a problem over the inconveniences and the difficulties of life, be it "too few tomatoes or a piece of hard bread:.. Every time Juan Enrique repeated "a child of January 20th", I felt a sword in my heart, since apart from the circumstances of that time, how many times does one act as if we did not know Father, as if I was not his child. I can't deny that the meal was a disaster, that day and all the other days, but I recall that lesson when I find myself in similar circumstances: a child of the Father does not create a problem - and I am conscious of how much I truly have to grow to be able to reach the point of calling myself his daughter. There are so many, many times in which one reacts in the opposite manner of what is expected of a "child of January 20th", in small or large circumstances. To be in Dachau, to walk through it, to have contact with that place of "crazed people, of death and of hell", not only gives an exact dimension of what was lived there, but it makes the person of Father that much bigger if that were possible.The attitude he had is totally exceptional in the midst of this hell, his sense of freedom, his struggle for human dignity, that made him risk his life, as well as the constant help and solidarity he gave to those who "broke down" in this hair raising and atrocious reality. His joy, his serenity, his paternity, his interior disposition, served as encouragement to some prisoners like himself. It is enough to recall only some of the testimonies, as the one given by Monsignor Jez, to understand the dimension of his person.

Can something be said about me that gives testimony to the Father?

Coming back to me, I ask myself and I keep asking myself: how do I live my "January 20th's" -incomparably insignificant in the light of Father's experience- and how does it influence those around me? Do I cultivate a climate of inner freedom, of solidarity, of joy, hope, in critical moments, or do I give in to a bad mood or anger? What testimony am I giving to mine in those difficult and unplanned circumstances? Can something be said about me that gives testimony to the Father?

In conclusion, the main question is if I truly am or can I be called a "child of January 20th", "child of the Father", who is equal to the circumstances or least is struggling to reach the goal.

I made a kind of evaluation, as a way of a response, and immediatley I remembered how some drivers make me so angry with their untimely maneuvers, the bad mood the chaotic city traffic causes me, my impatience caused by the long lines at the bank, how I loose my temper with the bitter employee in the public service offices, how it gets on my nerves when I am interrupted when I am on the telephone or the midst of a task, when the electricity goes out or the water is cut off, or the refrigerator does not work.. Sure, Father said that one could have up to 100 flaws, but still it seems too many to be excused. The best mirror in which to see ourselves is in our own children, who obviously many times react in the same way that we do in many cases. For that reason, I appreciate the situation that occurred on that jubilee and above all, I deeply appreciate the great lesson that Juan Enrique Coymanns taught me. It remained engraved by fire in my heart, and I will never be able to forget it.

In the hands of all his children

Ultimately, it is not only important for one to strive to give a concrete response to this question on an indivdual basis, but it also has consequences on the level of the Family, if we take into account the clear and timely message that the Holy Father gave us when we celebrated Father's Centennial in 1985. "You canonize him" he proclaimed and it is a great challenge for us. Going back, it sometimes bothers us or surprises us that Father's process is not more advanced.."You canonize him" - each and every one of us, in the first place, being worthy "Children of January 20th:; dying of heat or trembling of cold, hungry or exhausted, nervous or anguished, burdened by multiple problems and annoyances of all kinds: always: "Child of January 20th". Meanwhile, it is not worth getting upset about the course of Father's process; that is in the hands of all his children.

Translation: Celina M. Garza, Harlingen, Texas, USA