30 April 2022 · 2022-04 newsletter
Blessings and Greetings from the Shrine on this Covenant Day – 18th April.
This past week we have been celebrating Holy Week, including the Good Friday ceremonies of the Lord’s Passion (15th April) and the celebration of the resurrection of Christ yesterday on Easter Sunday (17 April).
In this season of Easter I would like to share with you an extract from a sermon that Father Kentenich gave on Easter Sunday 29 March 1964, in St Michael’s Parish church in Milwaukee. He said in part:
“…..He has risen, Alleluia, Alleluia! That means not only that Christ has risen from the dead but that through his resurrection and all that he suffered in connection with the resurrection, he has obtained for us the grace that one day our bodies will also rise again and that our souls will have life everlasting.
And if we would like to know whether we are interiorly disposed and prepared to take part in this rejoicing of the liturgy, then I think we should picture in our minds the reaction of the men and women at the resurrection. They rejoiced at the message of the angel. So we could say – if we have the faith, are as unshakeably faithful as the Mother of God, if we love Christ like St John, and if we make reparation for our sins like St Peter did, then we have the right, every right, today and later to join in the Alleluia, which should never cease in our lives.
If we ponder over Our Lady, is she truly for us an ideal of faith? Did she believe implicitly in all happenings of her life? – Believe in the coming of the Messiah, in the work of the redemption, believe in the divine Person, in his divine mission? No obstacle was too great for the Mother of God to overcome. It did not matter whether the Saviour had to flee, or for his sake the small children were murdered; or whether she came face to face with his helplessness as an infant as he lay in the manger. All these things did not stop or hinder her believing. She believed. She believed in his divine Person, in the coming of the Messiah and the messianic task of the Only Begotten. Even now, after Christ had been so cruelly mishandled by his enemies, when the faith of the apostles was shaken – she believed, even as she stood at the foot of the Cross. We know what the Scriptures mean by the word ‘Stabat’. She did not merely stand beside the Crucified physically, but she stood faithfully to the Crucified.
What is the meaning of this? What did the Resurrection mean to her? It merely confirmed her unshakeable faith. Hence, exultant joy! We take it as a matter of course that after her having participated in his measureless suffering, she also shared in his immeasurable joy.
We live in a time when spiritual values are so often doubted. What then has eternal value? How much do we abandon nowadays that to which we were formerly so faithful? However, if Christ has truly shown and proved his divine character, then we know that what he says is true. Then we bow down to all our Saviour says to us. We acknowledge these values, the character of the Sacraments we receive. Then we know that the Sacraments are not just an outward sign, no, the Sacraments have a symbolic meaning. With every reception of the Sacraments Christ enters our soul. And what is so important for us today? It is that thereby our faith is firmly founded on the fact that we too shall rise again.
My dear listeners, am I then correct when I say: If we also believe as the Mother of God did, then we may rejoice with the Church at Easter. We may take part in her rejoicing. In this spirit we wish each other a blessed and joyful Easter. That means, we wish each other first and foremost a growth of an all-embracing and living faith.
Once more, if we really have tried and continue to try, to the best of our ability, to give our hearts to Our Lord, so too we shall take part in the joy of Easter. Therefore, when we wish each other a happy and joyful Easter it means we wish each other a greater love towards Our Saviour.”
This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad (Psalm 117)
Wishing you and your family, many blessing and joys for this Easter Season.
United in our Covenant of Love,
Shirley Hall
PRAYER FOR WORLD PEACE
We know that in many parts of the world people are not able to rejoice and celebrate this Easter Season because of war and conflicts. We ask you to please continue to join us in praying for peace in our world.
Pope Francis’ consecration of Russia and Ukraine – See No. 6 Information and Links
Schoenstatt Helping Refugees from the Ukraine.
On the official Schoenstatt Website www.schoenstatt.com there are articles sharing how the Schoenstatt Fathers, Schoenstatt Sisters and various initiatives by the Schoenstatt Movement in Poland and Germany are helping refugees from the Ukraine.
Anyone wishing to help our Schoenstatt Family as they reach out to support the many refugees will find donation possibilities in these articles.
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