I cannot stop thinking about Tuparenda…it is a memory that re-enkindles in me the heroism of the founders…

October 18^th in Tuparenda: a heavenly experience that remains

Ella es la gran misionera... de todo el pueblo She is the great missionary… of the people Sie ist der große Missionar... des ganzen Volkes
Nada les puede quitar su confianza Nothing can take away their confidence Nichts kann ihnen ihr Vertrauen nehmen
Tuparenda,  Dios entre nosotros Tuparenda, God in our midst Tuparenda, Gott ist da
Clara Benitez de Pardo (izq.) durante la fiesta Clara Benitez de Pardo (left) during the feast Clara Benitez de Pardo (li.) beim Fest
La belleza de ser aliado de esa madre The beauty of being her ally Die Schönheit, mit ihr im Bündnis zu sein Fotos: Pardo/Agüero © 2006 Album de fotos – photo album – Fotoalbum

PARAGUAY, Clara Benitez de Pardo. "Tuparenda=Dwelling of God". It is a place where Our Mother Mary calls us in order to shelter us, transform us and send us forth with strength that only She can give. Thank you Good Father for this Tabor in Paraguay!

The truth is that in the days after the 18^th I cannot stop thinking about Tuparenda…it is a memory that re-enkindles in me the heroism of the founders…I am very happy to be a Schoenstatter, and that Joaquin and I have sealed the Covenant of Love with the Blessed Mother as a couple.

The movement is a blessing for my family. The other day Joaquin and I were saying, "We cannot imagine ourselves without Schoenstatt in our lives." Father Kentenich knows very well about our difficult routine (work, health, commitments, etc.), but I am sure that he sees us and blesses us each day.

Nothing can take away this immense joy

The emotion of having been in Tuparenda cannot be expressed with words, only the sweet tears (like the rain drops that fell that day) are the visible reminder of the sweetness that filled our most profound feelings. Nothing can take away this immense joy. Our Mother and Queen Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt is crowned in her Shrine of Tuparenda and also in our hearts. This jubilee is not over; on the contrary, it is inviting us and launching us with much more strength. The jubilee launches us forward to feel happy and privileged re-founders of the movement! We are joined together just like the founders and the re-founders of the "Nation of God", like our first martyred saint, Saint Roque González from Santacruz! What a beautiful task! What a beautiful inheritance! This is our great mission! We understand that this is why She has called us here to her Shrine along with her Son, Jesus. Here in Tuparenda on October 18^th, Covenant Day, it is a day of joy, a day full of happiness that is so immense that our soul overflows. Tuparenda was converted into a Cenacle where each one of us received the Holy Spirit like fire that has to inflame others. Our life can no longer be the same as before, it should not continue passively, the time has come to give this precious Tabor that we have in our souls to others. The Blessed Mother loves us very much! She has established herself here and she waits for us in Tuparenda!

We cannot outdo the Blessed Mother in generosity

We have experienced the Covenant of Love like never before. Each member of the movement, with their thousands of sheets filled in with their contributions to "Capital of Graces" offered throughout all the jubilee year has fallen short in the area of concrete action compared to what the Blessed Mother has worked in the hearts of her children for 25 years.

"She is the great missionary, She will work miracles"

The missionaries of the vigorous "Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign" came from all corners of the country to greet their Mother, to be blessed in their mission of taking Mary to the different homes. They did not care about the bad weather in the early morning, they left their homes just the same, and when they arrived to Tuparenda they remained firm, loyal, and at the feet of the Blessed Mother and of her Son.

The missionaries are the clear example of the heroine Paraguayan woman, full of emotion and devotion they came with their Pilgrim MTA’s beautifully decorated, and they themselves were dressed for the celebration of the different masses offered on this Covenant day. Some only had enough for the bus fare, but they still brought banks full of coins; they also brought flowers, prayers, Capital of Grace, rosaries, testimonies, and above all the courage of continuing to go forward, educating their families, struggling for their children to give them a better future. As they delightedly sang the Magnificat with the beautiful choir the missionaries know that they are not alone. The missionaries know that they are serving God!

Translation: Celina Garza, Harlingen, TX, USA / Christi Jentz, Milwaukee, USA