The apostle of the people around the world.

Seminar in tribute to Saint Paul at New Schoenstatt, Argentina

En la Iglesia de Dios Padre In the God Father Church In der Gott-Vater-Kirche
Bendición en el Santuario Blessing in the Shrine Segen am Heiligtum
Conferencia Conference Vortrag
Conferencia Conference Vortrag Fotos: Hna Alejandra Aguilar © 2008

ARGENTINA, Sister M. Alejandra Aguilar. As a contribution to the opening of the Pauline Year, a seminar entitled, Disciples and missionaries in the footsteps of Saint Paul, was held at New Schoenstatt within the framework of the continental mission impelled by the conference at Aparecida.

The seminar was held at New Schoenstatt in the shadow of the Shrine of the Father, the Schoenstatt National Shrine in Argentina, inaugurated by Father Kentenich. Among those, who attended from nearby dioceses, were the ones who had heard the invitation on the radio program; Meeting Time, participants of the Rosary Campaign from the parish of Florencio de Varela, and members of the organized Movement, who are interested in Saint Paul.

The seminar began with a motivational synthesis of the video, Saint Paul, published by the Sisters of Paul from Rome. It was like viewing Paul as the fruit of three points of view: cultural, religious, and civic respectively: Hellenistic, Jewish, and Roman. Paul called and prepared for an extraordinary mission by his religious, cultural, and universal dimensions.

Then, Father Héctor E. Lafeuillade presented a talk. Father Laffeuillade is a Doctor of Theology, a Professor of Economics on the faculty at the Catholic University of Argentina. He is also a professor and trainer at the diocesan seminary at Lomas de Zamora. The talk was pastoral and of great biblical depth; it enlightened the knowledge of God the Father, who is all love and mercy. He demonstrated this in the Old Testament, the Gospels, in the epistles, and the profound experience of the Apostle.

At the end of the seminar, the message of the conference was put in correlation to the 5^th CELAM Conference at Aparecida (celebrated in 2007), which concluded with the call to be disciples and missionaries of Christ. Saint Paul is an eminent model to illustrate being a disciple and missionary of Christ.

Symbols during the Eucharistic celebration

The liturgical celebration began on the extensive square in the atrium of God the Father Church. During the penitential liturgy, the participants received a card on which they signed their name as a sign of their personal conversion. The priest invited the participants to go to the altar and to place the cards with their names on a tray. Later these cards were burned in front of the Shrine. This was a symbol of giving up the old man and putting on the new man which was expressed with a card with the face of Christ and the phrase: I was blind but now I see him.

 At the Creed, the Baptismal vows were renewed with firmness and emotion, "we truly want to be faithful disciples!"

After the reading of the Word, Father José Maria Aguirre motivated them to follow Christ through a talk about The grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in which he masterfully illustrated the representation of grace and the covenant depicted by the immense tableau in the Church of God the Father that symbolically shows the covenant of the Old Testament, then the Incarnation of Christ, and life of the New Testament. Therefore as disciples and missionaries, we must be protagonists, who are chosen and prepared.

During the Offertory, there were three symbolic gestures united to the objectives Benedict XVI stressed for this Pauline Year. The first, the ecumenical, was stressed with the presentation of a large banner with the phrase: Cor Pauli, cor mundi or Paul’s heart, the world’s heart.

The second, the Word and the commitment to it, was expressed by raising the Bible, which is read regularly on high.

The third was the missionary commitment and service to the Church and the world, which was symbolized by saying in unison: "Here I Am."

After the presentation of the bread and the wine, the Offertory procession ended, and the participants concentrated on the mystery that was occurring on the altar and in each person’s heart.

A call to conversion

One of the participants, who had has much experience in Church life, said, "Here, in the Church of God the Father, something happened." And his wife commented, "It was like the opening of the Pauline door in Rome, by adhering to the Pope’s gesture, suddenly we will receive all the grace as it happened to Saint Paul. Another lady said, "It was a strong call to conversion; to allow oneself to be transformed from the old man to the new man…it was day in which we were overcome with grace!"

It was a wonderful beginning for the Pauline Year! From here we must draw on all that we received.

After Communion, a red candle was blessed as an expression of the fire of the Apostle, and five, white candles representing the five continents were also blessed. It was expressed like this:

We are disciples and missionaries in the footsteps of Saint Paul:

• The flame of Paul inflames the mission in Asia!
• The flame of Paul inflames the mission in Oceania!
• The flame of Paul inflames the mission in Europe!
• The flame of Paul inflames the mission in Africa!
• The flame of Paul inflames the mission in America!

With the fire of Paul, they marched in procession to the Shrine, where each person received a small candle that was lit from St. Paul’s flame, and it was passed to the others as it is done at Easter as a symbol of continual renewal.

In this atmosphere of an Easter-Pentecost, they received the plenary indulgence before the final blessing.

With the song, Go and evangelize the Americas, and the renewal of the Covenant of Love with the Mother and Queen, and filled with the Spirit of Life, they bid farewell to the Shrine and they went to the hall in the retreat house, Solaz of Mary, to end the seminar with a delicious snack. Then there was a forum of testimonies, and they received certificates of attendance for this module.

We extend an enormous, "Thank you," to everyone who collaborated with the organization, with their prayers, through making this seminar known, and for their participation. Thanks to the group of musicians who accompanied us with so many Pauline songs and words of Saint Paul; they were appropriate to each moment of the day!

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