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Ten minutes by the crib in Germany
Nachrichten - News - Noticias
 published: 2008-01-08

Little Miracles by the Manger

"10 Minutes by the Manger", Christmas carolling and more – in Schoenstattland by Canisiushof, in Mannheim, in Dietershausen

 

Krippenspiel im Schönstattland beim Canisiushof, Kösching

Pesebre viviente en Canisiushof, Koesching, Alemania

Living Manger at the Cansiushof, Koesching, Germany

Krippenspiel im Schönstattland beim Canisiushof, Kösching

 

Kleine Sterne

Estrellitas

Little stars

Kleine Sterne

Fotos: Sr. M. Elinor Grimm © 2008

 
Kindersegnung in Dietershausen  

Bendición de niños em Dietershausen

Blessing of children in Dietershausen

Kindersegnung in Dietershausen

 
Ein Chor wirkt mit bei den Zehn Minuten an der Krippe  

Un coro participando en los „10 minutos junto al pesebre“

A choir participating in the “Ten minutes by the crib”

Ein Chor wirkt mit bei den “Zehn Minuten an der Krippe”

Fotos: Mierswa © 2008

 
Gut vierzig Personen kamen ins Heiligtum in Mannheim&  

Unas 40 personas llenaron el Santuario de Mannheim...

Some 40 people filled the Shrine in Mannheim...

Gut vierzig Personen kamen ins Heiligtum in Mannheim…

 
... zum Weihnachtsliedersingen.

... para cantar villancicos.

...for Christmas carlos.

... zum Weihnachtsliedersingen.

Fotos: Heberling © 2008

 
   

GERMANY, mkf. During the days of Christmas, not only in Schoenstatt, but also throughout many German Schoenstatt centers the doors of the Shrines, churches, and main chapels were opened wide to invite many people to meet the Child Jesus and his Mother at the manger – and the people, all of whom were so captivated by the scene of the child in the manger, which allowed them to engage in their faith and love with one another.

Almost 300 people came to the three scheduled manger scene events in the Barn Church in Schoenstattland by Canisiushof. Some have been coming every year; others are experiencing the event for the first time. "It is so precious after a person has experienced the event and goes back to the retreat house where he has the opportunity to invite others to upcoming activities," reports Sister M. Elinor Grimm. "It made me so happy when I noticed that a family, who had been invited to the manger event at First Communion retreat, had come." Another pilgrim, a woman from Moscow, picked up an invitation off the information stand. Sr. M. Elinor remarked how much the event interested the woman and how she found the children’s singing to be so beautiful.

A father was so thankful that he was able to come back with his seriously handicapped child. He came once again and also brought the au pair girl from Hungary with him. She always enjoys visiting the family since she has started working as a nurse in Munich, so she remarked. She was happy to have the chance to speak with two college students from Hungary, who were also at the event. These students helped Sr. M. Anne assemble the lottery raffle. The proceeds are to be used for the Youth ministries in Romania and Hungary.

Everyone wants the prizes

One just has to experience the joy of the raffle, the excitement of winning a prize! During the Advent retreats, many people made the request to purchase raffle tickets at the table in order to collectively enjoy determining who held a winning ticket. And so came about the idea for the raffle stand located in the gathering room packed full with stuffed animals where anyone could try to win a special treasure from the manger. A child had luck as well! On the afternoon of December 24th, a family from about 30 km away came to the center to check the "10 Minutes by the Manger" program times. When they came again the next Sunday, the 7-year old girl in the family won a large Teddy bear snowman. "It is for my little sister," she said, beaming with joy. The bear was almost too big for her sister sitting in the stroller. It was quite obvious that everyone was very happy about the stars from the manger that the children were allowed to take with them. The family told me that they place the little stars on their manger scene at home. Then they see how often they had visited the manger scene in the church. The mother of one of the Schoenstatt sisters made hundreds of these stars for the "10 Minutes by the Manger".

The older boy in a family gave his 11-year old sister, who had no money with her, a raffle ticket. The ticket turned out to be a winning ticket, which made his sister very happy. The winning prize was a stuffed animal, her new pet.

From Mother-/Parent-Blessing to Baptism

"Today, a young mother proudly showed me her little daughter, with whom she received a mother’s blessing in the shrine 9 months ago," remarks Sister Elinor. "Another mother told me that she would like the same priest who gave her the blessing last June to baptise her child, and she would like the youth choir she had heard at the Sunday evening Mass in the Province House to sing at the baptism." As a matter of fact, the baptism will take place in February. Last November, another family celebrated the baptism of its new bundle of joy, Jonas. The baby was baptised by the parish priest in the shrine of the family’s hometown.

Since the "10 Minutes" have taken place here, a father often comes with his concert accordion. When the program first started, his daughter also played the recorder or the clarinet. She is currently studying to become a teacher and is unable to play for the event. But the father makes up for his missing daughter by bringing along a group of children who play recorder. This year, his wife accompanied him to the services. His son, who is an active soldier, and his girlfriend also came to one of the services to listen to his father perform.

At the end of each prayer service, we invite the guests to visit the manger scenes in the small chapel and in the Province House.

Before Christmas: Sleeping in a holy city

During the Christmas season, many streamed in to view the manger scene, on the last weekend before Christmas, a large group of young girls gathered in the house chapel where the assembly hall had been transformed into a large sleeping hall; actually, it was more like a mattress warehouse. They spent the night in this hall because the Max Brunner House was not large enough to accommodate the group. The children slept so well that they did not even wake up when the organ began playing for the Sunday Mass. This weekend was particularly special for the 10-12 years old students. It marked the beginning of Christmas vacation. For many, it was an honour to be allowed to spend the night in the Province House in such a holy city. Some had experienced this event in previous years. The piano caught the eyes of the girls, which led to an impressive concert consisting of piano, recorders, and singing.

Modest, but in a warm atmosphere: Christmas carolling in the small chapel in Mannheim

On December 27, 2007 at 3 p.m., young and old alike were invited to participate in merry Christmas carolling at the small chapel in Mannheim. Approximately 40 people came, which created a colourful mix of voices. "There was a small band at the large Schoenstatt center across from the event. But in the Shrine by Maria, by the manger and the Christmas tree, it was truly homey," commented Willibald Heberling. And, "actually, more and more people don’t even go into the small chapel anymore." They sang with merry hearts to the melodic strokes of the keyboard. In between songs, history titbits and poems were recited. Then, the Wish-Concert took place, which is a concert where each person can wish for a song he or she would like to hear. The concert lasts until all requests are performed. Afterwards, all the guests were invited to come into the Josef Kentenich-Hall. The tables were decorated, and trays of delicious cookies and hot tea had been placed on each table. "Next year, we are definitely coming again," many people remarked at the closing of the event.

Children’s Blessing at the Closing of the "10 Minutes by the Manger" in Dietershausen

Many choirs and music groups throughout the region surrounding Dietershausen participated in this year’s "10 Minutes by the Manger", which once again, was a huge success. The service took place daily at 4 p.m. through Epiphany. The event presented the opportunity for participants to request specific Christmas carols to be sung, as well as the opportunity for children and families to receive special blessings.

Excerpts provided by Sr. Elinor Grimm, Sr. Renate Mierswa and Willibald Heberling.

Translation: Melissa Ann Schmid, USA

 

 

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