A fire of creativity

"High, higher, highest, is what makes life great" was the motto for a colorful celebration of faith in which about 380 youth participated

Creatividad – uno de los muchos talleres Creativity – one of the many workshops offered Kreativität – bei einem der vielen Workshops Foto: Manuel Immler © 2008
Inscripción (con bloque de anuncios, obvio...) Enrolment (and a bit of advertising, too…) Check-in (mit kleinem Werbeblock) Foto: Achim Schadt © 2008
Luz en la oscuridad: presentación de la JF de Fulda Light in the night: presentation of the Girls Youth, Fulda Leuchtende Wolke, Licht und Dunkel … Foto: Achim Schadt © 2008
Santa Misa, domingo Holy Mass on Sunday Konzelebranten beim Sendungsgottesdienst Foto: K. Fischer © 2008
Se reparte el diario... The freesheets are given to the participants Die Freesheets gehen weg wie nichts… Foto: K. Fischer © 2008

SCHOENSTATT, Clemens Mann. On the nights of August 23^rd and 24^th the fireworks that were set off close to Koblenz during the celebration of "Lights on the Rhine" could clearly be heard in Schoenstatt. For a few minutes the noise of the explosion could be heard at a distance. If only the spectators who were close to Rhine could have known what was happening at Schoenstatt just a few kilometers away…

The Night at the Shrine was held at the Original Shrine on the weekend of August 22^nd to the 24^th. It was ignored by most of the media. About 380 youth, the majority from Germany, gathered in Schoenstatt and with the motto "High, higher, highest is what make life great", they experiences some totally different fireworks: it was the fire of enthusiasm, of creativity, and of diversity, the fire of young faith. And it was not only for a few minutes; rather it lasted for an entire weekend.

The fire of enthusiasm

On the opening night everyone was already perfectly animated. After their arrival and settling in their rooms, they gathered in the auditorium of the Marian School to begin the great event together. The participants were conquered since the beginning by the band of the Youth from Wurzburg with its religious rock music, as well as by the moderators, with their smiles and joyful expressions. The most outstanding thing of the night, however, was the presentation of the Girls’ Youth from Fulda: this group presented an impressive dance of lights and shadows on a stage illuminated with black light.

But during the final hours of Saturday the atmosphere reached a boiling point with the "night of gala" with a banquet and variety show, organized around the idea of a culinary trip around the world. During the presentation, "Sisters & friends" seven Sisters of Mary, supported by "friends", traveled through the eras of the history of music accompanied by the "classical" melody of "Hanschen klein" ("Little John" the type of song like Manuelita, the turtle from Pehauajo). No one remained seated and they could not believe their eyes or their ears! They had never seen the Sisters like this. But this was only one of the many funny moments of that night.

The fire of creativity and diversity

On Saturday there was an enormous variety of presentations. After the round table discussion of the morning, with the participation of Martin Ott, the pilot for Lufthansa who had the honor of flying the Pope on his return trip from Cologne to Rome after World Youth 2005, and three Schoenstatt youth who gave personal testimonies about their faith (see related article), the participants were invited to exchange opinions at different forums. For example, this is how Bettina Betzner experienced it: How to succeed in the management or development of human resources with Christian principles departing from the Covenant of Love. The speaker was the director of the Catholic Assistance to families in Nurtingen, who also directs a small business. For her it is clear that productivity and Christian ideals are not opposites, but it takes a greater effort to direct the collaborators. In any case these investments are worth while…

The following afternoon showed how creative Schoenstatt can be. At the Schoenstatt youth "mile of information" at the patio of the Marian School, a great number of projects and a variety of initiatives of and for the youth were presented. All the displays demonstrated that a great amount of work and enthusiasm was involved. For example, the plan of the youth from Swabia is enormous; in 2009 they want to carry out a race of torches of 1.500 Km. in length, from Schoenstatt to Rome in ten days. The boys want to take the Schoenstatt light to the heart of the Church.

At another booth there was information about the "Two Day" project, from Munich. Through several encounters, engaged couples can converse about their convictions and experiences. For this reason the encounters are intentionally open so it would also reach the people although they do not know Schoenstatt. The first encounters have already demonstrated that the idea was will received, among Schoenstatters as well as those who do not belong to Schoenstatt.

The first edition of the newspaper "Night of the Shrine" was also especially well received. The first copies were grabbed out of the authors’ hands. Throughout all the weekend there were about fifteen collaborators on the editorial team; they worked with much drive and determination under the direction of Claudia Wohrle. They wrote articles, they conducted interviews, and reports; they took photos and they instantly prepared them and placed them on the Internet. By working overtime throughout the night they were able to joyfully present the recently printed newspaper.

The fire of a young faith

In spite of not having their feet on the ground because of unexpected and elevated state of enthusiasm and because of the hustle and bustle of communitarian activity, they did not forget to come back to earth. After the Holy Mass of sending forth on Sunday, Father Lothar Herter, the national advisor of the Boys’ youth in Germany, asked an appropriate question: "Who led this weekend encounter? Who made us do it? What motivated us?" For the leader of Schoenstatt Summers", there was no doubt: "I believe that there was direction among us. God was among us".

Truly, this encounter offered enough opportunities of having a least a brief conversation with the Triune God, but also of cultivating the Covenant of Love with the Blessed Mother, to entrust oneself to Her once again and to ask for her intercession. The Original Shrine and the other Shrines invited everyone to the place of grace. During the vigil from Saturday to Sunday (see related article), the youth presented God their worries and needs during the procession from the Marian School to the Original Shrine. On the way they contemplated on the life of the Blessed Mother, they sang and prayed during two hours in a wet and cold climate. Then, during most of the night, there were small groups in adoration in the Original Shrine. It was not difficult to guess that the life of these youth has grown in conformity with the motto of this third "Night at the Shrine".

• Audio and video of the Night of the Shrine
• Original Shrine moments