[covenant-greetings] Covenant Greetings - May 2012

[Covenant Greetings]

Dear collaborators, allies and friends ofschoenstatt.org, our 
international web page:

Happy 18th, 882 days from October 18, 2014, on pilgrimage, working, and 
together on our road toward the jubilee of the Covenant of Love, 
committed to the development of a covenant culture in all the areas of 
life of the men/women of today._The covenant culture is Schoenstatt's 
response to the question of the Church and of society:What does 
Schoenstatt do?_ 
<http://www.schoenstatt.org/en/schoenstatt-in-action.htm>With a covenant 
culture manifested and concretized in apostolic projects at the service 
of others --that are always shown on our web page - Schoenstatt "shows 
with deeds" that it truly loves the Church, families, youth, the poor 
and the marginalized, society, the business, political, and the 
educational world, the world of development and investigation and 
everyone who has something to do with men/women in their search of 
living in covenant with themselves, with God, with others, with nature 
and work.It is Schoenstatt's concrete contribution to the development of 
a new social order, a realization of its call to build a new world - 
from the covenant and through new men/women. In covenant,each person can 
contribute something to this world that we desire within their apostolic 
field and according to his/her personal vocation; such as we read in

Father José María's comments on schoenstatt.org:"It is beautiful to see 
how the Church is assuming our charismstic contribution, our Covenant of 
Love and its creative strength in a covenant culture through our 
"saints' and our apostolic service ... Each according to his/her 
vocation and together as Father's Family, from the confrontation with 
the signs of the times and offering works of love that irradiate this 
same sanctity as Saint John says:"Children, let us not love in word or 
speech but in deed and truth". (1John 3, 18).

During these days I am in Memhoelz in southern Germany (there is an 
article but not yet translated into English) , where Father's statue 
will be blessed and erected on May 20th (in the midst of construction in 
the house where a new cafetería and much more is being built).Father's 
statue will be placed on the way to the Shrine, with a glance toward the 
house -- the birthplace of apostolic projects -- and toward the 
world.Last night a six year old girl explained why:"You know, he waits 
for you when you go to the Shrine, to accompany you toward the 
construction work.To continue to build a covenant culture with 
him...:which is capable of changing the world of today, such as 
Benedic'ts culture of stability changed the middle ages of Europe...

We understand our contributions to a communication culture in the spirit 
of 2014 -- as editors, authors, or readers -- as our grain of sand in 
the development of this covenant culture and the covenant solidarity as 
its own soul.

www.mayfeelings.com <http://www.mayfeelings.com>is a contribution to 
this covenant solidarity or its expression of the new social network 
"that prays to change the world":"Finally, the social network that we 
all desire", a collaborator from Germany commented after reading the 
article (soon to be translated also into english - so far available in 
Spanish, German, Portuguese) .I can only say:that is how it is.

*Today the international covenant greetings arrive from a Homeshrine in 
Florianópolis, Brazil*

What a month! What a day!We celebrate the 18th, covenant day in the 
month of May, the month dedicated to the Holy Virgin and the 31st of May.

Our greeting on this covenant day for the collaborators of 
schoenstatt.org throughout the world comes from this extensive Brazil- 
where it would take beautiful Switzerland two hundred seven times to fill.

We especially greet the Pilgrim MTA -- John Pozzobon's original Pilgrim 
MTA -- that began its pilgrimage throughout of Brazil on April 18th, 
exactly one month ago.(From May 10th to 18th it has returned from its 
first stage of its itinerary to Santa Maria, from where it was sent.We 
desire and pray for many blessings for the Schoenstatters from the 
Diocese of Uruguaiana, in Rio Grande do Sul, who will be visited on May 
19th and 20th.

Something interesting for the Schoenstatters:the Mother Thrice Admirable 
still does not have a daughter shrine in this state of Santa Catarina, 
in southern Brazil. But,it is not always necessary to have a 
Shrine.According to Schoenstatt spirituality, God builds living shrines, 
Father Kentenich builds them, the Holy Virgin also builds them in the 
home and in hearts.It is for this reason that the covenant greeting for 
this month of May comes from a Homeshrine.Here the Blessed Mother is 
"pampered" with prayers, visits, meetings, and with flowers from the 
garden... the Homeshrineis named "Seeds of Hope", the name expresses 
what we attempt from here:to spread "seeds" among the people with whom 
we live, among those we meet in daily life, and among those who come to us.

Already since his childhood Father Kentenich asked the Holy Virgin:"Give 
me souls ; keep all else for yourself".(Heavenwards, 172).Later he said: 
"How many souls you give me God!Each time someone comes to me asking for 
help, God gives me souls.I can sow seed.As much as I dedícate myself to 
them, they will be formed and what I say to them will sprout.

We have erected our Homeshrine based on Father' words, and we make an 
effort so that this Shrine will remain alive.Daily we go on a spiritual 
pilgrimage to Her in the Original Shrine, we express our gratitude for 
the gifts of her love and we give Her everything that our daily life 
brings."In spirit I kneel before your picture". (Heavenwards, p.47).We 
wanted to have a Homeshrine, so that She would have a permanent place 
and little by little She will attract them.The photo shows the erection 
of a Homeshrineon May 1^st , in the home of a neighbor.

These visits to the families are the best moments for us, because we can 
consciously take the Blessed Mother with her gifts of love like little 
seeds.They are small beginnings of an organic growth.We should not think 
whether we want to live as a living shrine, we should now demand it of 
ourselves to live and to carry out the highest ideals.The reality of the 
Shrine should not be completely molded.However, in our opinion -- to be 
a living shrine means to learn or to practice: taking each small step of 
daily life in inner harmony and in this way make it possible that we do 
not lose the covenant attitude with the Blessed Mother.This makes the 
reality of being with God grow, it is the conviction that God lives in me.

We must nourish the little seed and give it time to grow.This is the 
reason we maintain contact with the families in order to accomplish the 
adhesion of religious values in their souls.Presently, just as our 
Father did and taught from the beginning, it is not so much about 
objectively forming in religion and the proclamation of doctrine; 
rather, it is much more about detecting religious strengths and customs 
that already exist in the people. The most important thing for us is to 
live an intimate communion with the Blessed Mother in daily life.That 
state of seeing ourselves and experiencing ourselves as the Blessed 
Mother's allies must emerge, we should notdirect our lives alone; but 
rather, we should listen to her voice in the depth of our souls when She 
tells us:I am with you, what shall we do together?

/In the covenant of love, Mechthild Jahn y Renate Dekker (translators 
for schoenstatt.org)/

In the Covenant of Love,covenant solidarity, and the covenant in its 
creative strength,

I wish everyone, along with the schoenstatt.org team, a blessed 18th, 
and I promise to take you to Father on May 20th -- so that something you 
may be concretely experiencing, suffering, desiring or building, may be 
fulfilled in the motto of this celebration:My hand in your hand, so that 
the impossible may be POSSIBLE.

Possible on our pilgrimage as a family toward 2014, with 
schoenstatt.org, and in everything that we contribute to the covenant 
culture.

I greet you and I appreciate your contributions to schoenstatt.org,

Maria Fischer

Video of this morning's Mass in the Original Shrine

- www.schoenstatt-tv.de <http://www.schoenstatt-tv.de/>

Our collaborators Gerti Lehnen, Juan Barbosa and María Elena Vilches 
consciously represented us today in the Original Shrine.

-- 

www.schoenstatt.org <http://www.schoenstatt.org/>

info at schoenstatt.org 
<http://us.mc1815.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=info@schoenstatt.org>

-- 
www.schoenstatt.org
info at schoenstatt.org


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