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Schoenstatt no es hacer malabarares... Schoenstatt is not a juggling of more and more and more different obligations... Schönstatt ist nicht ein Jonglieren mit immer mehr Verpflichtungen… Foto: StckXCnge © 2008 |
Two years ago, I learned to juggle. Well, at least I attempted it. It was easy with one ball, but when the second and third balls came, I felt it was an impossible challenge. When the second ball landed in my cup of coffee and the third ball went behind the bookcase, I told myself that was enough. Sometimes I think that the same happens to us in Schoenstatt: when I think about my self-education, daily prayer, the apostolate it requires…..I feel just like when I am juggling three balls and suddenly everything is out of control. Thanks be to God, Schoenstatt is nothing like juggling, and you do not have to fulfill a series of accumulated "exercises" at the same time.
I can simplify my spiritual life with God and with the Blessed Virgin Mary in Schoenstatt with the following petition: "I only ask you one thing: that I may love you, Lord!" The essence of our Covenant of Love consists in that I may abandon myself to God, I can experience a total abandonment in God, without conditions, and I can also give myself to God completely without doubts or scruples.
Favorite child of God.
God loves me in a personal way. All the traits of my personality have been given to me by God as a gift and as a mission. The Covenant of Love motivates us to believe this very seriously: that God loves me and accepts me as I am simply because He loves me. He does not measure His love in service or time. His love is measured in love.
My response in the Covenant of Love should also be measured in love. In Dachau, Father Kentenich wrote: "For my greatest joy, You have given everything to me, I give everything back to you without reserve."
I can give everything back to God, everything which He has given me: my love (I can only love because He loves me), my capabilities and abilities, my errors, my weaknesses.
To plant
Only because God loves me can I dare to think of transmitting and planting. The apostolate cannot be "made." Apostolate is always using our own strength and at the same time it is giving strength and effort. I do not give God publicity, I do not reflect God, instead, He is reflected in me. He becomes present through me and in my environment. "Grant me the graces which motivate me with vigor toward that which, without you, I do not attempt to begin; let me participate in the fruitfulness which your love gives to your Bride."
Our apostolate always and "only" consists in the participation of the infinite fruitfulness of God.
For that reason, the apostolate is to always radiate what God has given me. It is not about actions and personal plans. My apostolate should come from the depth of my heart.
In daily life
That idea gives me great inner peace in daily life. What God sends me in this moment is what He wants me to give back to Him here and now, nothing more and nothing less. For me it means that God sends me more professional work and more responsibilities which I can have in one day. To serve the entire day is a rule and not an exception.
Whatever God wants? All my work and my fatigue which are connected to my concerns and my efforts, I give back to Him and if possible, with joy. Also, when I have to cancel an appointment for which I was happy or when I cannot attend a meeting in Schoenstatt simply because I cannot leave my work, I give it all back to him joyfully, if possible.
That does not mean that I will not be tired at the end of the day. Of course it is hard to work the night shift….. when I speak to my boss and I have to maintain a certain reserve about the difficulty of the task…..when I am demanding of my collaborators and work colleagues…..and when I am disappointed when I have a private appointment and it cannot take place…..in all situations I should surrender everything to God.
In that surrender, I am apostolically active the entire day. Not only do I contribute to the Treasury of Grace, but in my environment, I give security and radiate genuineness. I can feel that faith exists in daily life also when I do not speak of it.
At the beginning of October, I traveled with my youth group from Bretagne. Naturally, I dedicated myself to the youths untiringly and after a free day, I returned to the daily work routine. The youths had my camera and had taken pictures.
When I took time to see them, I suddenly had a great surprise: there was a cross among the pictures of the group and the pictures taken at the beach. Where did they get this picture? "We have no idea, but we thought it would make you happy to see it." How about that, it has really made me happy!
I do not stop being surprised or stop giving thanks when I confirm the apostolate of surrendering to God the gifts and presents received. Each person receives from God a different task; some receive their tasks directly at the front door as a gift and as a mission.
Receive Lord
I am always avid in proving where the articles send me. In this case, I meditate on the texts which inspired me from the prayer "Accept, O Lord."
Surely it is not a coincidence. For Father Kentenich, that prayer expresses the Inscriptio which is the total surrender to God and Blessed Mother in the Covenant of Love.
With this, I am juggling again: but it is something totally different since in this case, I have to throw the ball into the air to then cut it short; but in the Covenant of Love it is not necessary to always add something more.
From my surrender to God and from my deep love for Him, the rest comes: my self-education, prayer, and apostolate.
In the Covenant of Love, God offers Himself through love as a companion in the Covenant and desires that the main attachment in the Covenant is love. Everything else should come from that love and it is in relationship with that love that it can be fruitful.
Self-education for me is not a goal in itself, instead it is my desire, the image God has of me so that I can more and more be like unto Him.
Give everything that increases my love for you
That petition accompanies me throughout the day because I can only be fruitful in my world, in my daily life. When there is harmony between my actions and my love for God, then I can make God present in my environment.
For me, it is not only about simply asking God, but it is also a demand on myself. I must do everything I possibly can to take care of and to maintain that love. I should secure my prayer-time in order to experience myself as a favorite child; I should secure time for silence so that I may be able to be open for the love of God.
The same counts for the contrary: When I ignore my Covenant of Love and my total surrender to God, then my self-education and my apostolate will be empty, without roots, (according to Father Kentenich it has to do with mechanistic thinking, loving and living).
Then I am rich, abundantly rich
The promise is not only in the HEAVENWARDS prayers, but also in the entire Schoenstatt spirituality.
At a simple glance, it may not be evident how I secure avoiding uncertain and difficult situations in life. Happiness and blessing come from my total surrender to God because God loves me…..loves us…..and because everything which He sends us comes from His love.
Translation: Carlos Cantú Family Federation La Feria, Texas USA 022108