A wave of graces

Covenant of Love at Campo de Cielo, Heaven’s Land, Rauch, Argentina

Voces y música para la Santa Misa. Voices and music for the Holy Mass Stimmen und Musik für die heilige Messe
Mary Dobal, coordinadora de la Campaña del Rosario, presenta a las Misioneras que sellarán su Alianza de Amor. Mary Dobal, coordinator of the Schoenstatt Rosary, presenting the missionaries who were to seal their Covenant of Love Mary Dobal, die Koordinatorin der Kampagne der Pilgernden Gottesmutter, stellt die Missionare vor, die ihr Liebesbündnis schließen woollen
Los matrimonios hacen su oración privada de Alianza. The couples are praying their personal Covenant Prayer Die Ehepaare beten ihr privates Weihegebet
La torta del cierre de la fiesta. The Feastday Cake Die Festtagstorte darf auch nicht fehlen Fotos: Zudaire © 2007
La ermita en Campo del Cielo, Rauch The wayside Shrine at Heavens’ Field, Rauch Der Bildstock auf dem Himmelsfeld in Rauch Foto: HMA © 2007

ARGENTINA, hma. Recently, Father Juan Pablo Catoggio said the Schoenstatt Centennial would be like a "tsunami" of life and of graces. A phenomenon of this proportion requires much preparation: tectonic plates formed on the ocean floor after a process that perhaps lasts centuries...then there is an earthquake and the gigantic wave that destroys everything in its path. The action of grace also takes its time. The "tsunami" of the Schoenstatt Centennial is developing in the depths. Every visitor to Schoenstatt.de undoubtedly senses it: there are movements of grace being felt throughout the Schoenstatt world.

The Schoenstatt Family in the cities of Rauch and Tandil , in the Azul Diocese of the central southern part of the province of Buenos Aires, is not exempt to this. The last weekend of September, Spring made its appearance in these latitudes after many rainy and cold days; there was a flourishing of the Covenant of Love in the hearts of several couples, mothers, and missionaries of the Rosary Campaign. And an extraordinary event took place: the blessing of the Wayside Shrine of the Blessed Mother in the 6^th Aerial Brigade of Tandil, one of the most important Air Bases in Argentina. (More details later)

The priest advisor for Rauch and Tandil, like several communities in the interior of the country, visits only three times per year, and for just one day at each place. At the end of an extraordinarily hard winter and during the last visit of the year by Father Benjamin Pereira, several people sealed their Covenant of Love. Four couples from the city of Rauch, four couples from Tandil, and nine missionaries from the Rosary Campaign sealed their covenant. On Friday, September 28^th, this ceremony took place at Campo de Cielo, or Heaven’s Land, where the Schoenstatt Family from Rauch hopes to build a Shrine for the Blessed Mother and the Schoenstatt Centennial.

Campo de Cielo or Heaven’s Land, an exact name…

Heaven’s Land is exactly what it is: pure heaven. It is beauty without equal. Flat land stretches out in all directions allowing one to see the sky without having to look up. There is an indescribable sensation of smallness before God, and at the same time, a feeling of being sheltered beneath the immense concave that embraces and surrounds it. Upon arriving at this place, the afternoon radiant sun was still shining; it was red and magnificent as it outlined the Wayside Shrine inviting one to silently praise and express gratitude to God for so much beauty. With great affection, several members of the Schoenstatt Family had prepared the Pilgrim House so that it was a pleasure to enter and feel the warmth of home. A couple from La Plata, who had traveled to participate in the Covenant of Love of their friends, said spontaneously, "Upon entering Heaven’s Land one could feel the atmosphere of the Shrine"…A young couple from Tandil, who sealed their Covenant and who had never been there, couldn’t stop expressing their amazement at the affection they had received from people they didn’t know. However, they immediately responded Schoenstatt was a family, which was very obvious.

Father Benjamín celebrated Holy Mass in a full house, and those outside also participated. The ceremony was enhanced by the beautiful music of guitars and choir. The Covenant of Love was sealed after the homily and Holy Mass. The place was transformed into a warm home where new Allies of the Blessed Mother were congratulated, and everyone was treated to pies and different kinds of cakes. There was a gigantic cake with a Shrine decoration on it. The celebration continued until after midnight, customary in a very happy and united family.

Yes, in Heaven’s Land there’s truly a Shrine atmosphere. The Schoenstatt Family is working with perseverance to grow in numbers and holiness, and in beautifying this small paradise that awaits its Queen. The "Nothing without You, Nothing without Us" is lived here. As Father Kentenich quoted St. Ignatius of Loyola, "Work as if everything depended on us, and trust in Divine Providence as if everything depended exclusively on God." It’s the game of tensions within the Covenant that expands and grows...like the "tsunami" of the grace for the Centennial…

More news about the Covenants in Tandil and about the Wayside Shrine at the 6^th Aerial Brigade will appear in the next posting of Schoenstatt.de

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