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 published: 2007-03-23

Ecce Mater Tua – Behold, Your Mother

Stations of the Cross with Mary

 

   

USA, Margaret Steinhage Fenelon. It started last year with the young women’s Lent retreat that I was leading. I wanted to pray the Stations of the Cross as a group, and I wanted it to be different, unusual, gripping. I wanted something that would really grab them. I went through every Stations of the Cross booklet I could find, but none of them had the tone or impact I sought. They were all pretty good, some more than others, but none were quite right. I considered combining sections from various booklets, but that was more trouble than it was worth and still didn’t give me the proper effect. So, I decided to write my own.

Sensing my own gaping inadequacy, I got out my Heavenwards and worked slowly through the stations, analyzing what Father had written. As I walked along with Father, praying each station, something stirred inside of me. I began to see myself as a little child observing our Mother as she experienced the Passion of her Beloved Son, suffering with him, wishing she could console him, yet willingly submitting to the heavenly Father’s will.

One by one, the stations unfolded. As they unfolded, so did my understanding and appreciation of our Sorrowful Mother’s unspeakable anguish. I was developing a new dimension to my relationship with the Blessed Mother – conceptualizing her agony in this way put urgency in me to console her, to express my contrition for the part I played in her Son’s Passion, to stand at the foot of the Cross with her. Therefore, the only title I could give the stations was Ecce Mater Tua – Behold, Your Mother.

The stations were extremely well received by the young women and the retreat was a great success. I was glad that I could share with them what I had gained through writing the stations.

If the stations inspired the young women, perhaps they would inspire others, too

Then I had an idea. If the stations inspired the young women, perhaps they would inspire others, too. With our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary coming up this year, wouldn’t publishing the stations make a terrific gift of thanksgiving and celebration to our Blessed Mother?

I worked more on the manuscript, tweaking it here and there. My husband, Mark – a real artist at heart and a printer by trade – illustrated, designed, and produced the booklets. Our archbishop gave the stations a high rating and granted them his imprimatur and nihil obstat. After a year of fine-tuning, Ecce Mater Tua – Behold, Your Mother was ready for Lent 2007.

Our gift to the Blessed Mother became the Blessed Mother’s gift to us. The response has been overwhelming, with more than 2200 booklets sold so far. Generous Schoenstatt Family members volunteered to translate Ecce Mater Tua into Spanish and the German edition should be available soon. Others volunteered to distribute the booklets for us. The constant stream of kind words and encouragement have been both touching and humbling. We’ve encountered many wonderful people, heard some moving stories, and observed the awesome momentum of the Blessed Mother. Working on Ecce Mater Tua had made me realize just how small and helpless I really am without my Mother.

 My favorite station

Let me share with you one of my favorite stations:

The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
Because by your Cross, you have redeemed the world.

The darkness and silence make me uneasy. I can hear Jesus’ slow and shallow breathing. I wish I could breathe for him, but that will only prolong his terrible anguish. The ground beneath the cross is soaked with the blood of the Sacrificial Lamb. That blood should be mine, not his. How can he love me this much?
Please stop crying, Mother. Your grief overwhelms me. Your Son is leaving you but I’m here. I’ll stay beside you, I promise.
Listen…Jesus is asking his Father to forgive his murderers. I’m one of them, aren’t I, Mother? Sorrow and devotion fill his eyes as he looks at you for the last time. Will you agree to his request? Will you take me as your child and give yourself to me as my mother? How can you love me this much?
I want to be yours forever. Mother, accept me as I am right now – a helpless, imperfect child. Through your love, transform me into the child my Father wants me to be.
Ecce Mater Tua. Behold, your Mother. Behold, your Mother.

Ecce Mater Tua – Behold, Your Mother wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our Schoenstatt Family. What an incredible example of Father Kentenich’s children working together and encouraging one another!

It’s a privilege to be able to offer these booklets to others. For cost and shipping information, please contact us at fenelonclan@sbcglobal.net. Payments can be made using PayPal (www.paypal.com).

 

 

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