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Interview with Monsignor Dr. Peter Wolf on the opening of the Pauline Year
Nachrichten - News - Noticias
 published: 2008-06-20

Since the beginning Schoenstatt was connected with the Apostle of the People

Interview with Monsignor Dr. Peter Wolf on the opening of the Pauline Year

 

Eröffnung des Paulusjahres in Schönstatt

Apertura del Año de San Pablo en Schoenstatt

Opening of the Year of St. Paul in Schoenstatt

Eröffnung des Paulusjahres in Schönstatt

 

Msgr. Dr. Peter Wolf

Mons. Peter Wolf

Msgr. Dr. Peter Wolf

Msgr. Dr. Peter Wolf

Fotos: Archiv © 2008

 
   

SCHOENSTATT, mkf. On June 28th, the eve of the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the Pauline Year will be opened in Rome and in the local churches. Schoenstatt will also have a celebration in which Mr. Michael Brand, a deputy of the lower chamber of the German Parliament, will give a testimony. The title of his presentation will be: With Saint Paul in Areopagus. Faith and Public Life. Father Dr. Lothar Penners and Monsignor Dr. Peter Wolf have prepared the opening vigil as well as a solemn Holy Mass on June 29th.

A few days before the opening of the Pauline Year, we talked with Monsignor Dr. Peter Wolf about this event and its importance for Schoenstatt as an apostolic Movement.

The Pauline Year will be opened on the eve of the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul. What does this year dedicated to Saint Paul mean for the Church?

A year ago Holy Father Benedict XVI invited us to celebrate a Pauline Year. The purpose is to commemorate the bi-millennium of the birth of the apostle of the people that according to investigations occurred seven to ten years after Christ. With Saint Paul, the Church recalls and celebrates a witness and decisive herald of its beginnings. On the eve of the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the Holy Father will solemnly open the jubilee year in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Wall. During this festive vigil he will light a flame on the tomb of the apostle, which will burn throughout this year. Furthermore it was decided not to open the "Holy Door" of the millennium; but the "Ecumenical Door," which is in front, will be opened.

There will also be an opening ceremony for the Pauline Year in Schoenstatt. What connection does Schoenstatt have with the apostle of the people and why is it important for Schoenstatt to adequately celebrate this Pauline Year?

As an apostolic Movement, Schoenstatt has been connected since its beginning with the apostle of the people. The first statutes of the Marian Congregation and also those of the Apostolic Federation mention Saint Paul as the patron. Since 1935 the visible expression of this are the statues of the apostles which have adorned the altar of the Shrine since that time, and that are presently found in all the daughter Shrines around the world.

What is the structure of the opening ceremony for the Pauline Year in Schoenstatt, and what other areas will Schoenstatt stress within the context of the year dedicated to Saint Paul?

At 7:30 p.m. an hour and a half after the celebration in Rome, Schoenstatt will begin the Pauline year with a solemn vigil in the Pilgrims’ Church. The director of the Movement has invited Mr. Michael Brand, a deputy of the lower chamber of the German parliament, who is a committed Christian in the area of public life, to give a testimony. On the Schoenstatt side, I will explain what Saint Paul meant to our Founder. As a symbol of this opening of the Pauline year, a large candle in front of a picture of the apostle of the people will be lighted during the ceremony. I am convinced that the International Schoenstatt Movement -in many places – will accept the Holy Father’s invitation to celebrate this Pauline Year. The Movement carries the idealism of Saint Paul so greatly in its blood that it will not fail from noting it this year. The first spiritual exercises about the Pauline Year have already been carried out, and others are planned for the coming months. The invitation to travel to Rome (from Germany) is oriented toward the idea of following the footsteps of Saint Paul over there.

You have published a booklet for the Pauline year, with selected texts of Father Kentenich about Saint Paul and his mission. What was the most interesting discovery for you personally upon studying these texts?

The reason behind the publication of a book for the Pauline Year with selected texts of our Founder was the observation that our Father and Founder joyfully and frequently cited Saint Paul. I would have never imagined that in the section of the Joseph Kentenich Institute we would find about 1,200 texts where he mentions Saint Paul. I had never noticed before how frequently Father Kentenich precisely invited us to follow in the school of Saint Paul. This is the title of the recompilation of texts, and our Father that I want to continue during this year has thought it of as an invitation. I found it very interesting to see the consistency with which our Founder, step by step, worked and developed the most important subjects of his spirituality. He truly followed the school of the apostle Paul. Furthermore, there was a profound likeness in the destiny of both of them. For that reason, it was not without basis that Father Kentenich chose the alias, "Paulus," when he was in the concentration camp.

Which areas of Saint Paul’s message especially inspired Father Kentenich?

Our Founder has worked out all kinds of subjects taken from Saint Paul. For example, his encompassing understanding of freedom enriched with the Pauline idea of the freedom of the children of God. His great project of practical faith in Divine Providence could be mentioned here, which he discovered and took from the expression "the open door" of Saint Paul. There is also the broad wealth of ideas about the "incorporation in Christ" and the "new man in Christ" that he developed and transmitted taking from the thoughts of Saint Paul. If you want to find even more areas of Father Kentenich’s spirituality taken from Saint Paul, I would recommend that you examine the structure of the recompilation of texts for the Pauline Year that I mentioned above. The translations into English, Portuguese and Spanish are in progress.

Which Pauline elements of Schoenstatt spirituality would be good to especially stress – or rediscover – at this time?

Right off the top of my head, I think about the "open door" for the current life and aspirations of the Schoenstatt Family in Germany that especially took on the search for the footsteps. Looking forward to the Forum of the future and of the centennial year, 2014, I want to place the element of the "mission" into play taken from Saint Paul, which has been so important for our Founder. He was convinced that without a "profound mission consciousness," many problems could not be solved, nor could the Church find its way towards the future.

What do you personally hope for the Church and for Schoenstatt during this Pauline Year?

During this Pauline Year I hope for an original inspiration for us, as Christians and as Schoenstatters. What fascinates me about Saint Paul is that he could translate his relationship with Christ with such originality in words. To do this he found new words full of energy. He lived in the certainty that Christ had given himself for him, and that he loved him. He lived with the conviction: Christ lives in me and I live in Christ. He was transformed into a witness and committed messenger, a truly apostolic man, who hastily traveled throughout the world that was known at that time, and he began to evangelize it. Since the beginning our Founder was moved by the idea of giving the Church a new apostolic force, and we owe it to Saint Paul. Schoenstatt and the Church need this apostolic and evangelizing impetus to find the road to the future. In this sense the Pauline Year is an opportunity and a grace.

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

 



 

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