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Fue regalado en el jubileo de la Juventud Femenina
en 1981
It was made a gift at the Jubilee of the Schoenstatt
Girls’ Youth in 1981
Es war ein Geschenk zum Jubiläum der Mädchenjugend 1981 |
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Padre, venga a nosotros tu reine
Father, your kingdom come!
Vater, dein Reich komme!
Fotos: Arriaga © 2006 |
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USA. At the end of the year 2000, I went to Schoenstatt and visited
the Original Shrine for the first time in my (then 23 year old) life.
I was born into Schoenstatt; my older sister was a Sister of Mary since
before I can remember. I had seen pictures of the Adoration Church all
of my life, but I had never known the physical presence of the Blessed
Mother's love until I saw that great castle where Fr. Kentenich is entombed.
I made my Covenant of Love in the Original Shrine on December 19, 2000.
It was the most pivotal moment of my life; but it should seem nothing
special to any Schoenstatter. Many of them have had the same experience.
Just on a whim, a fellow pilgrim and I decided to stay a few extra days
in Schoenstatt while the rest of our group left home for Texas. Fr. Kentenich
wanted us to stay. He knew that a certain Sister would pass me as she
stepped out of the elevator in the Sonnenau. He knew she was ready to
set something afire which needed to travel to Austin where it would be
saved until it could return home to Argentina. He knew that sister would
offer it to me on a whim. Father wanted to send a sign to the Schoenstatt
Sisters in Austin.
So I agreed to take this large wooden Father Eye from this somewhat brusque
sister who was "going to put it in the fire." It fit perfectly in my suitcase.
I decided to take it to the Sisters of Mary in Austin. I returned on the
23rd of December, and my first chance to deliver it was on the way out
of town on the 24th - Christmas Eve. My brother was driving us to our
parents' house four hours away, and he did not want to stop there. I insisted,
and being the younger brother I got my way. Or I should say Fr. Kentenich
got his way.
A Father eye that arrived on Christmas Eve… 1968, and 2000
You see, Fr. Kentenich was going to visit the Sisters of Mary in Lamar,
TX and was expected to arrive on Christmas Eve in 1968. But he had gone
to heaven instead. When the sisters received news of his death, they were
quite disappointed that he would not be able to visit them. But he had
sent a symbol to each of them as he often did when he was expected to
visit. That symbol arrived on December 24, 1968... a small father eye.
They had a sign that he was with them. There could be no doubt, the father
symbol had arrived when he was expected and could not possibly come in
person.
One of those very sisters was in Austin on December 24, 2000 and she
was there to receive the Father Eye. There was no doubt it was a sign
(quite a large and unexpected one) from Fr. Kentenich that he was with
the Sisters of Mary in Austin. We thought that it was meant to go above
our Shrine door when it gets built.
A sign from heaven
So imagine our surprise when that same Sister found a request for this
Father Symbol on schoenstatt.de. Just two days before she is transferred
back to Lamar, TX, that Sister read the request for this particular Father
Eye. Imagine the way we laughed when the request was so specific as to
ask for it this year, 2006, forty years into the Covenant with God the
Father that Father Kentenich proclaimed on October 30, 1966. It is clear
that Father wishes to send a sign to Mendoza, Argentina this year. But
first it will travel back to the Original Shrine with the other Sister
from Austin who has been transferred to Schoenstatt. They will be greatly
missed, but treasured as a sign from heaven.
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