21,000 hours in the SHRINE

The Girls’ and Boys’ Youth from Asunción, Paraguay prepare "the mini jubilee" of the Young Shrine

Jovenes en la entrada del Santuario Youth at the entrance of the Shrine Jugendliche am Eingang zum Heiligtum
Regalo de la Juventud Femenina Gift of the Girls’s Youth Geschenk der Mädchenjugend Fotos:  Pardo © 2007

PARAGUAY, Pedro Lopez. On September 21^st the "Young Shrine" in Asunción, Paraguay will be ten years old – it will be a "mini jubilee" that the Schoenstatt Girls’ and Boys’ Youth encourage everyone to celebrate in a big way.

Inspired by a phrase that the Founding Father said to the Sodalists: "The house belongs to US!" The Girls’ and Boys’ Youth branches launched the challenge of Conquering 21,000 HOURS AT THE SHRINE FOR THEIR QUEEN by the 10^th Anniversary of the blessing of their City Shrine. Their inspiration is simple gratitude. They want to show the Blessed Mother how much they love her.

We want to fill the Shrine with people who will give their time and prayer in honor of the Blessed Mother. We want the entire Family, and not just the immediate Family; rather, friends, cousins, companions, as well as people who surround us to dedicate just a few minutes to the Blessed Mother as a contribution to the Capital of Grace. "Prove to me that you really love me, that you take your resolution seriously, and I will establish myself among you," Father Kentenich quoted the Blessed Mother. Let us show the Blessed Mother how much we love Her, by accompanying Her this year. Let us renew the founding of our beloved Shrine. During these ten years, She has given us the best of Herself, GIFTS that were manifested throughout that time in each one of us, in each Branch, and in the entire Family. Vocations, Apostolates, and Foundings emerged but the most important thing: new hearts were attracted for formation and education. Who is better for that task than Our Blessed Mother? We proposed the 21,000 HOURS AT THE SHRINE because it was something that will lead us directly to Her and to God. We could not stop thinking about the many times when we were alone and we would run to Her Shrine because we knew that She was there ready to listen to us and shelter us.

We do not want to leave Her alone

For this reason, we do not want to leave Her alone. We aspire to be guardians of the Shrine and true APOSTLES TO ACCOMPANY Her throughout the rest of the year. We want to repay Her in some way for all the graces She has given us. The best way we could do this is to be present with Her. 21,000 hours are nothing for the entire family. If every person would give just a little time, we think that we will be able to achieve the goal and many more hours beside.

Inside the Shrine, the Capital of Grace sits on the right side. It is easy to participate: for each twenty-minute block that we are in the shrine is a contribution. Every month we will have a different Capital of Grace attached to one of the demands of the Covenant of Love with the Blessed Mother. During the month of April the demand was: "Prove first by your deeds that you really love Me," beginning with this demonstrated our enthusiasm and desire to conquer these hours. During the month of May, the demand was "Fulfill you duties faithfully" which also inspired our national month, the field of action where we have to fulfill our responsibilities. In this way every month we will chip away at the Hours minute by minute, which also a fulfills the Covenant demand, "Diligently bring me contributions to the capital of grace." Every minute we are inside the shrine is important for our goal through Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, vigils, cantatas, praying the rosary, or just spending a few minutes in reflection. You, too, can contribute a grain of sand to help complete our Capital of Grace.

DON’T FORGET TO GIVE THE BLESSED MOTHER SOME TIME AT THE SHRINE! THAT WAY WE’LL BE ABLE TO REALLY CELEBRATE IN SEPTEMBER AT THE SHRINE’S 10^TH ANNIVERSARY. THEN, WE’LL HAVE A FABULOUS CELEBRATION WHERE SHE WILL BE THE GUEST OF HONOR, AND WE’LL BE ABLE TO SAY, "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!"

Translation: Celina Garza, Harlingen, TX, USA /amj