Shrine, Love…..

"Truly wonderful:" Jubilee of the Shrine of Love in Dietershausen

Vigilia de la Juventud: coreografía Youth Vigil: choreography Vigil der Jugend: Choreografie
Fuegos artificiales a medianoche Fireworks at midnight Feuerwerk um Mitternacht
Juventud en el Santuario Youth at the Shrine Jugend rund ums Heiligtum
Imagenes de la Virgen Peregrina, adornadas con flores … Pilgrim MTA’s with flowers Wunderschön geschmückte Bilder der Pilgernden Gottesmutter
Canción de los niños Song of the children Lied der Kinder
Prédica Sermon Predigt Fotos: POS Fischer © 2007 Albúm de fotos – photo album – Fotoalbum

GERMANY, mkf "Men, women, youths…..everyone here states with conviction: Shrine, love….. Everywhere it is heard: Shrine, love….." A hearing error: in reality, they said Shrine of Love, the name of the Shrine in Dietershausen whose golden jubilee was a four-day celebration from June 15^th – to June 18^th. It is a Shrine which lights up at midnight with fantastic fireworks. It is a Shrine which is adorned with hundreds of roses. It is a Shrine where everyone arrives at midnight with torches. It is a Shrine where the end of the festivities is celebrated with a beautiful rainbow. A hearing error? : Shrine, love….

Anyone arriving on Saturday or Sunday on the property facing the Shrine of Love where the celebration took place and after encountering ten people will know how the opening of the celebration was on the afternoon of Friday, June 15^th. All relate the same thing…..a concrete experience, pure life. Marina Wehner from the Girls’ Youth relates about a handicapped young man who after the death of another handicapped young man, for days would put his head under his pajama top: - "What are you doing there?" –" I am speaking to Karlheinz. He now lives in my heart." Michael Brandt, a government official, responds to this: "I am leaving here with an image, this image. It is an image which adds a new dimension to our debates." Living testimonies of such density and a true appreciation for the Shrine and Center in Marienhohe, expressed that evening by local politicians and institutional representatives, give these festive days a beginning which fully responds to the jubilee’s motto….."truly wonderful."

Fireworks for the Shrine

The Schoenstatt Youth prepared a vigil for the evening of Saturday, June 16^th. Representatives from different youth groups from the surrounding area were invited. Many came. Some adults also joined in. Schoenstatt began with the youth. Also here, the youth are the ones who place the seal on this festival. The charming moderators, Tobias and Julia, immediately created an appropriate atmosphere. Adding to the festivities were many booths: drinks, cocktails, games and the magnificent music from the Wurzburg band which brought echoes of the youth festival in Munich. "Give life to the future….." Everyone is here for that!

Testimonies given by the youth express in words the graces of the Shrine: finding roots, guidance, the leading thread of life, knowing why we exist. Although this turns out somewhat difficult for those present, there is an aura of silence: what really captivates is the choreography of the girls’ youth created by Marina Wehner and presented with professional style. The plot centers around the graces of the Shrine…..currents of grace which surge from this place and which lovingly give roots to the people…..sense and mission which make everything new and the best comes forth. Some eyes fill with tears when the girls, dressed in white, go to the Blessed Virgin putting a rose in the hands of all the youths and adults. "Show us this place!" they all say. "Come with us!" say the youths as they raise the image of the Blessed Virgin and carry Her outside toward the Shrine along the path lit by torches. All go together in silence….. The Shrine is lit with colored lights. The door is wide open. The youths maintain a prayerful atmosphere as they pray for one another. They are invited to enter and to look for their gift…..

It is midnight. Splendid fireworks over the Shrine! Happy birthday to you….. Happy birthday, Shrine, love!

Give today a face to the love of God

Sunday, June 17^th. Formerly it was the day of German Unity, anniversary of the uprising of the old German Democracy. The Shrine in Dietershausen, immediately along the inner-German border – the strip of death – was always seen as a place from where by love the borders which had been raised by hate and fear could now be open. There is no longer any more of that. Thank you, Shrine, love…..

A radiant sun receives the visitors on the property adorned with small flags and banners. Children greet the visitors. They offer them program booklets and Shrine cookies. At the door of the Shrine there is a wooden pedestal awaiting the image of the Pilgrim Virgin – "Do we not need a pair of garlands over there?" asks Sister Isabel. - "No," they respond, "the people decorate their own images." That is how it is. Some of them are adorned with flowers and bows and are taken by those who will take them to Tuparenda, Paraguay on October 18^th. They are true works of art! Love for the Blessed Virgin is expressed in the most beautiful flowers.

There are not enough seats in the hall of the Province House. More chairs and benches must be brought in immediately. Eva-María and Hubert Eckart conduct the opening program. There is a brief but intense retrospective look at the 50 years of the Shrine of Love, at the lives of the communities, at the preparation for the festivity. "Give today a face to the love of God": thus Klaus Glas began the singing for the jubilee of the Shrine. "Give today a face to the love of God": for that, representatives of the Schoenstatt Movement give brief testimonies and later another choreographic number is presented on the grace of pilgrimage. It was a bit shorter that the one from the previous evening, but also very moving. Also moving was when they unfolded the long blue, yellow, and red strips of cloth which covered the image of the Blessed Virgin. "I always see that young girl before me," says another young woman. "There you really see the flowing of the currents of grace. I also want to enter into that current." – "You invite me to enter the Shrine" sing the youths, then all are invited to enter the Shrine and participate in the many programs offered there.

The Church will continue living

A tight program – at times especially tight because of the lack of time – awaits the invitees in the two hours until the beginning of the Solemn Mass. Prayer and singing in the Shrine; impressions from India, Argentina and México; the Teeny Weenys, a dance group of children from Dietershausen; illuminated Rosary; talks on marriage and family; pedagogy and temperaments; programs for children and youths; songs for everyone and much more. And, in between, lunch, cakes and pies, conversation and bingo….. Bishop Algermissen meets to dialog with the youth: "What does Mary and the Shrine mean for you in Dietershausen?" he asks the youth. He relates that as a child he had been impressed by his parents praying the Rosary together and since then Mary is a part of his life and he is grateful for the Shrine as a place where the fervor of faith is experienced. The desire for a "cultured liturgy" takes a lot of time as does the question on the future of the Church. "Dull, empty and boring Christians never change history," says the Bishop. He continues: "The question about God is the most dramatic question for todays’s society and for the future." He says we have lost "the God we can see," the personal God, the God who is near, the God who says to each person: I am with you. People who have experienced God in this way and who consequently can give witness are needed. For such experiences, places like the Shrine here in Dietershausen are very important. "Neither the Pope, nor the Bishops, nor all of us together can maintain the Church alive," says Bishop Algermissen. "Only Christ who wants it this way." He said the Church will have to be smaller and more convincing, but it will continue to exist; not with structures and forms which we know today, but that is the least thing. "We are going to live from the living Christians," says the Bishop. "The Church will surely continue to exist because Christ promised us this. But it will not continue to exist in the way we are accustomed!" He says that in times where there is no longer a Catholic environment, the Church needs many new missionaries. He exhorts the youth to be a foundation for others and an alternative for living in the Spirit of Christ, rooted in "fervent places of faith" as is this Shrine.

To be with the people like Mary

The Solemn Mass begins at 2:30 P.M. in the Shrine. The favorite places are those in the shade since the prayer for sunshine has been powerfully heard. The band from the volunteer firemen from Dirlos accompanies the Mass with music. What a pleasure! The children who sing before the altar almost bewilder Bishop Algermissen. He said he had prepared his homily thinking of the adults and in reality, today, the homily should be directed to the children. Nevertheless, perhaps the adults need it more. Taking as an example the Blessed Virgin, he demonstrates three attitudes for making the Church one living Church and blessing it with the spirit of love: to hear the Word of God like Mary, to follow the Word of God like Mary and to be with the people like Mary and to be with Her; especially with those in whom Christ suffers today, with those whom society ignores. He said that if like Church we stand before those who suffer, then the Church will be a living Church. Mary suffers and stands under the cross. She suffers and stands with everyone. To conclude, he asks that everywhere, in Fulda, in the entire Bishopric and beyond, that after the festivity, there can be felt something of what comes forth from this place, from the Shrine of Love. Yes! That this festivity has concrete consequences.

During the offertory, representatives from the branches and communities carry symbols which express their love for the Shrine…..a moving procession by means of original expressions of attachment with the mission of this holy place.

The Solemn Mass culminates with words of gratitude from the diocesan leader, Ulrich Schafer and with the Bishop’s blessing, but the festivity continues joyfully with the martial music by the band of volunteer firemen from Dirlos. Without ceasing, the people feel attracted to go to the Shrine. Shrine, love…..

On the evening of Monday, June 18^th, the final "act" of the jubilee takes place: Covenant Holy Mass and an evening with beer labeled, Monastery!

"I have returned home after our final act of the jubilee…..," writes Eva-María Baumgarten on Tuesday, June 19^th, early in the morning. "It was a very beautiful evening, a true feast with music, beer, grilled pig’s feet and a good atmosphere….. And no rain. There was a good rainfall in the afternoon, but the evening was dry although it rained in the surrounding areas of Dietershausen. Yes, and then it "happened." While we were sitting in the sun, God produced a rainbow in the sky. God in His goodness is "TRULY WONDERFUL!" And shortly after I, being one of the last ones to leave, started on my way home, it started to rain….."

It was simply beautiful, Shrine, love…..

Translation: Carlos Cantú Family Federation La Feria, Texas USA 070407

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