18 February 2026 · 2026-02 newsletter
Dear Schoenstatt Family and Friends, I wish you many blessings and joys for this Covenant Day – 18th February. Once again as a Schoenstatt Family we unite around our Blessed Mother and our father and founder, to renew our commitment to our covenant of love. In doing so we once again commit ourselves to the mission that Our Blessed Mother gives to each one of us from her shrine.
Before the first four Sisters departed for Australia, they received their Mission Crosses from the hands of Father Kentenich. He spoke these words:
“Receive this external sign as a constant and effective reminder of your God-given mission to conquer the world for the Father in and with the Mother of God in the shadow of the Cross, in and with Christ.”
Just as all the Sisters have been gripped by their mission to share Schoenstatt’s spirituality with us here in Australia and the Philippines, so we too want to share their enthusiasm in sharing this apostolate with others.
Whoever studies Fr. Kentenich will notice that from time to time he acknowledged that he had been gripped by a divine mission in a very personal way. He stated that his mission was to proclaim the mission of Mary that he had been given by God, with her specific mission from her Schoenstatt Shrines for today.
But you will also notice that he did not claim this mission for himself alone. He saw it as a mission for the whole Schoenstatt Family. He devoted all his energies to serving this mission which he himself said he would never have taken upon himself for something that was man-made.
As a community we base ourselves on simple faith in Divine Providence
“From time to time we may ask ourselves, “How is it possible for such a small Family (we might think of us here in Australia) to be given such a mission? And am I, with all my miseries and weaknesses, to be drawn into this great mission? I could say, “I can’t: I am so awkward, so useless”. We may feel weak and useless, and we may tell the Blessed Mother about it time and again, yet we are nevertheless convinced that we have been chosen. And in public life we need to stand there with unshakable faith in our mission. When we are together, we need to be aware of having a holy mission and that it is not just my mission, but our mission.
If we beg one grace through the intercession of our Mother Thrice Admirable, it is for the grace to be gripped by our mission, but also for the grace to believe unshakably in Divine Providence and our mission. That must be the keystone of our entire thinking; our entire lives have to be directed towards it.
(From: His Mission our Mission”, J. Kentenich, Conference for Leaders of Women’s League, December 1945)
I pray that we may all be gripped by our Schoenstatt mission through the graces of Our Blessed Mother that we receive through her Shrines (Daughter Shrines, Home shrines, Pilgrim Mother Shrines and Heart Shrines). May we continue to share the blessings of Schoenstatt with others.
United in our Covenant, Shirley Hall
PLEASE NOTE: AS ASH WEDNESDAY IS 18TH FEBRUARY – OUR COVENANT DAY – WE WILL NOT BE HAVING A COVENANT ZOOM MEETING THIS MONTH. However, the text and link for this video will be available for those who normally attend the Covenant zoom gatherings. It is also available to anyone else if you email me at: movtoffice.schoenstatt.org.
A copy of the text is also included in this newsletter.
Shirley
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