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| El Santuario de Dietershausen, el „Santuario de amor“, cumple 50 años The Shrine in Dietershausen, the “Shrine of Love”, celebrates its 50th annniversary Das Heiligtum in Dietershausen, das “Liebesheiligtum”, feiert seinen 50. Geburtstag Foto: Archiv © 2007 |
GERMANY, Verena Bohm. The Shrine of Marienhohe, in Dietershausen, is 50 years old. An important anniversary is always a reason to celebrate. However, there is something more…this is a place that attracts people that radiates something: 50 years ago this Shrine was built in a world in which – Germany – was divided by an internal border. That division was especially felt in this region so close to the Iron Curtain. "Exteriorly, the ideal: extermination of Christian families. And here: renewal of Christian families." (Father Kentenich, 1967) Undoubtedly Mary had reserved a very special mission for this Shrine. Father Kentenich himself expressed it: "Shrine of Love".
It has all to do with the wonderful gift that God the Father gave us and the most powerful strength that He has infused into the souls of men that makes us His living image. It is about Mary, under whose influence men develop a strong and firm love, and who make the world and their own surroundings more luminous and hopeful. "Our Shrine should be the fountain of a universal filial love…" (Father Kentenich, 1967) Many hands united to build a Shrine transformed into a living center of faith. The Covenant of Love with Mary forges witnesses of the love of God in daily life.
Witnesses like Saint Boniface, who today is also a model for the inhabitants of Fulda, with all his being served God’s message, which acquired a human face through Christ as He showed His love on the Cross. Pope Benedict XVI has pointed out the main theme of God who is love through his encyclical Deus Caritas Est. He again reasserts the central message of Christianity into the hearts of men, according to the words of our Founder in 1967; it is the special gift of the grace of Mary in the Shrine of Love. Consequently, the Pope should be at the Golden Anniversary of the Shrine, since it is the place of grace for the realization of his first encyclical!
The three pilgrimage graces: within ourselves, in our interior, and towards the exterior
A leader of the Schoenstatt Girls’ Youth explains the special efficacy of the Shrine of Love in this way:
"Within ourselves : Means that when we visit the Blessed Mother, we experience a special sheltering. We can feel at home, we can totally be ourselves. Here there is an atmosphere that gives us the gift of sheltering.
Interiorly: We can simply allow ourselves to contemplate God with the peace that He gives us. He looks deeply into our hearts. He loves us with all our virtues and weaknesses. His gaze reaches out to renew us, and He fills us with joy. He gives us new ideas. He forgives our large and small failures and He inflames us in the fire of faith and of love. He transforms our souls.
Exteriorly: This encounter gives us strength, it makes us enthusiastic for Christ. It makes us think, I have to tell this to my friends immediately! The Blessed Mother sends us out into the world to give testimony to Christ. Just like the disciples of Emmaus recognized the resurrected Jesus and immediately spread this news, we can also do this, like apostles, by being more fruitful and by making the world a little more luminous every day".
Our Shrine of Love is truly good!
It is truly good!...
- is the theme of our celebration.
- that God and the Blessed Mother educate us here as new men.
- that a visit to this place give us the strength and the encouragement to accept
- that we can face the challenges of daily life with joy.
- That the mission of the Shrine works within our families and strengthen the
- That we experience unity and the respect for others.
- that God leaves His footprint on our daily life and may we, with an attentive gaze, feel His presence.
- that our life never become paralyzed, when we reach our limits we always will feel infinitely small, and then may we experience the wondrous feeling of being accepted and sustained completely through the love of God.
- That there are encounters close to the Shrine that will enrich us, may they fill us with astonishment and may we direct our gaze to the most essential.
- That there may there simply be countless good things in life.
This is the reason we celebrate this anniversary
The Schoenstatt Family of the Diocese of Fulda wants to express its immense gratitude to God and the Blessed Mother, because each has been called by name and their names have been inscribed on their hearts. Thanksgiving for the encounters that have renewed and enriched us so much. God and the Blessed Mother hope that many will have profound experiences here like the following one:
"When my interior battery is almost discharged, I know where I have to go. This is the station to recharge". When I come to the Shrine I have different images in my head than the ones I had before. And then it helps very much to have the eye of one seeking gold: in all the difficulties, also to see the positive things in my surroundings and to remain calm". "When I come here, I have the impression that my basic attitude is readjusted once more. Then I verify that I did well to come". Here they want youth and adults to personally experience the good news that "God is love", and that the fountain of graces strengthen their life when the reality is negative.
June 17th was the great celebration. The previous day, Saturday, June 16th, was the day for the Movements. The Youth prepared a solemn vigil for that night. The celebration of the Golden Anniversary concluded with a solemn Holy Mass celebrated by Monsignor Heinz Josef Algermissen at 2:00 p.m.
For more information about the celebration on June 17th go to the web page: www.echtgut-fulda.de
Translation: Celina Garza, Harlingen, TX, USA /amj