Schoenstatt Is not an Idea, It Is a Person

Reflections in view of another anniversary of January 20, 1942 - By Fr. Nicolas Schwizer, Paraguay

What did Father feel when facing his Family? What we do know is that he never took a step alone. He never made great decisions without asking his Family to be a part of his fate. Nothing without You, Mother, but also and at the same time: Nothing without You, Family. He always had the conviction that in the plans of God, he did not exist without his Family. Already in 1912, in the pre-founding document, he said to the youths: "I will do absolutely nothing without your consent." This has been a constant factor throughout the long history of Schoenstatt.

January 20, 1942, represents the culmination of that inseparable unity between the Father and his Family. In the strength of that solidarity of destinies, he made the decision to surrender his freedom for the life and the fruitfulness of the Family.

Therefore, after the exile, he calls this inseparable and permanent unity between him and his Family, "the law of indissoluble (undissolvable) solidarity." His way, his destiny is the way and the destiny of the entire Work. The mystery of his life is the mystery of the Family. He calls Schoenstatt his "second self," the "extention of himself." He wants to say that Schoenstatt is not an idea, but a person, the extention of the Father and Founder. Once, one of my course brothers, Fr. Benjamín, daringly asked Father what his Personal Ideal was? He responded, "My Personal Ideal is Schoenstatt."

The Father and Founder did nothing by himself. Likewise today, he is not going to do anything alone. Also today, he seeks each one. He prays for each one. He asks once again, as he usually always did, that Blessed Mother give him the collaborators he needs.

He lacks hands. He lacks arms to reach the whole task. He still has many places and peoples to conquer. We are still very few to fulfill his mission. I think Father feels weak and overwhelmed in facing such a large task. Therefore, the Founder seeks us, wants us, needs us.

What then does the father-child Covenant with the Father and Founder mean?

1. It is an act of DEPENDENCE AND LOYALTY: I acknowledge him as my Father and I accept being his child. I incorporate myself and unite myself to him forever. It is to live in Father and with Father. It also means to make him present and to be his reflection…..a transparency of his person, of his spirit, of his fatherliness. It is to live like Father.

2. It is an act of COMMITMENT with his mission: I follow him; I place myself into his service. I make a commitment with his Work, assuming his mission as my own and take it to the Church and world. It is to live for Father and his Work.

3. It is an act which transcends to God: The ultimate goal of each Covenant and also of the Covenant with the Father and Founder is GOD. I seal the Covenant with Father because he is a representative and a transparency of the Heavenly Father.

What should my January 20^th be like?

Father Kentenich comments on it: "What does my January 20^th mean? We want to convert each hour, each act into a January 20^th. It is the serious and vigorous hope to put an end to fantasy since actions are what count." To insert myself into Father’s January 20^th means, concretely, to ever-after live in, with and for Father his holy life. It leads me to a greater intimacy and closeness with him which is the fruit of my being sheltered in his father-heart. At the same time, it demands of me a life of austerity and childlike detachment such as he lived in an exemplary way. Intimacy and austerity are two complementary aspects of the same vital process.

Translation: Carlos Cantú Family Federation La Feria, Texas USA 010908

• Fr. Nicolas Schwizer is author of the "Virtual Schoenstatt Retreat" spread via newsletter and various christian web portals like www.catholic.net . Subscription: pn.reflexiones@gmail.com