18 October 2024 · 2024-10 newsletter
In last month’s Newsletter we shared some of the history of the crowning of our MTA in the Entrance Hall of the Joseph Kentenich House at Mulgoa on 20th October 1974. The Joseph Kentenich House had only been recently completed and the movement now laid the future of the movement into Our Lady’s hands by presenting her with a crown which symbolically represented all branches of the movement existing at the time. This month we share with you the different gifts which were presented to our Mother and Queen. The original striving of each branch found its expression in these gifts.
The following is taken from a report at that time.
The Schoenstatt Fathers were the first to bring their gift – a beautiful stole. They prayed:
“Dear Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt, our coronation gift is a stole. Today we, the Schoenstatt Fathers offer it to you. The stole is a symbol for the priestly office of your dear Son, our Lord and Saviour. As priests we take part in his task as High Priest , Prophet and Teacher. The stole we give has the letters MTA embroidered on it. They remind us of you and encourage us to proclaim your name and your kingdom from this place. With our father and founder we carry on the particular mission of this Shrine and Centre as he did from the Original Shrine in Schoenstatt. And thus, we give you this stole, symbol of our priestly office, to be used in this House Chapel. Grant that from here, through our service, the kingdom of the Father may come. Mother, Queen and Victress, accept and bless our gift. Amen.”
The Sister’s Community had two (2) gifts – the picture of our Mother and Queen that was crowned and as a special gift, the new Movement Centre. The latter was symbolically expressed by the plans for the house which three (3) Sisters brought to the front. The Sisters prayed:
“Dear Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt. We, your Sisters wish to pay homage to you and thank you for the many gifts and graces you have bestowed on your Schoenstatt family during the 60 years of our history.
We offer to you our crowning gift, the picture which is now adorned with the crown. May the gold of the crown inspire us to strive for genuine loyalty to you, our Queen and may the picture remind us always of our ideal to become more and more like you – an ‘altera Maria’.
We offer this house to you and ask you to reign as our motherly Queen. Take possession of it and lead from here many people to your Son Jesus Christ, our King, and in and with him to the Father, for the blessing of the Church in our country.”
The gift of the Schoenstatt Diocesan Priests was the Holy Spirit symbol which is now attached in the sanctuary. The three (3) priests prayed together:
“Praise and honour to you, Mary, Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt. In union with our father and founder, the Schoenstatt Diocesan Priests and the whole Schoenstatt Family, we, the Schoenstatt Diocesan Priests of Australia offer to you, our Mother and Queen, ourselves, our prayers and our work.
Mindful of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in your life, we wish to renew our resolution to build up our own priestly life by carrying out our duties in obedience and loyalty to our bishop so that we may become more like your Son, Christ, the High Priest.
We offer this symbol of the Holy Spirit as a reminder of the need to be aware of what the presence and action of the Holy Spirit accomplishes in us through the Shrine, Father Kentenich and our Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt.”
After the priests, two (2) representatives of the Mother’s Branch brought as their gift a Monstrance and the custodia to Our Lady. All Mothers present prayed together:
“Dear Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt. We have gathered today to honour and praise you. We thank you for having called us to be your living monstrance. With this gift we give ourselves unreservedly in a renewed Covenant of Love to you, so that Schoenstatt may grow in fruitfulness in order to fulfil your Son’s wish of Christian unity. May your light illuminate our lives and shine throughout the world. Asking your help, may we radiate your humility and dignity, as women, wives and mothers, wherever we are.”
The Ladies of the Adoration Group brought a special gift – their little home-made crown with which they crowned Our Lady seven (7) weeks before. The ladies prayed for the whole group
“Dear Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt, we honour you with our Jubilee Crown, bringing gold and diamonds as symbols for our belief in Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist.”
The Women’s League’s gift was the tabernacle. Since it wasn’t possible to bring the actual tabernacle, they brought a ciborium veil with the symbols of lily and cross. It was made by one of the members and therefore especially precious. All the members present joined in the prayer:
“Dear Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt, we the Women’s League, present this gift in homage to you. May it be a symbol of our striving to become living tabernacles, bringing Christ to the world.”
The report shared the following anecdote: Now it should have been the Young Men’s and the Senior Boy’s Groups turn to bring their gifts. Instead, the children who couldn’t be kept quiet any longer, made their way to the ‘throne of the Queen.’ It was a beautiful picture as they marched to the front, holding tightly on to their little gifts till they could hand them to Fr. Boes or one of the other priests who had come to the rescue. Many of the children had prepared for the crowning with their families or mothers, so their gifts weighed as much as those of the adults. After the children had said a little prayer together, they left by the side door.
The Families were alert – ‘children and parents belong together!’ So the couple chosen to represent the Family Branch joined the procession of the children, carrying the altar stone. All members of the Family Branch present joined in the prayer of homage and surrender:
“Dear Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt, we your families, whom our founder called the ‘foundation and crown’ of the entire Movement, have come to pay our homage to you. We pledge ourselves to you in loyalty, our sovereign Queen. Accept our crowning gift – the altar and the altar stone as a token of our true love built on sacrifices. May the two (2) interlocked hearts on the crown be a constant reminder to us that we belong entirely to you and to each other. May this unity grow stronger by the graces we receive gathered around the altar and our Home Shrines. In this way let our families become a ‘light for the world’, truly the ‘foundation and crown of the new society.’ ”
The representatives of the Young Men’s and the Senior Boy’s Groups now came forward. They had waited patiently. Each carried a piece of basalt, which is blue metal. To the Young Men’s Group it represented the Joseph Engling memorial – their crowning gift – and to the Senior Boy’s Group the plaque which will be attached to the memorial. The Young Men’s Group prayed:
“As a Young Men’s Group we pledge our loyalty in an attitude of self surrender to you, Mary, our Queen. Our offering gift, the rock, the symbol of security and strength, we give as our part in the coronation.”
All Senior Boys prayed:
“Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt, we greet you here in your home. We realise and accept your position as our Queen and wish to show our loyalty to you, this day on the 60th anniversary of the Family you have founded and formed through the hands of Fr. Joseph Kentenich. We realise and accept your superiority over all natural life and respect you accordingly. You have given us the Shrine as a place to honour you as you deserve and this house as an extension of your Shrine for the formation of your Family. For this we are grateful to you and give ourselves entirely to you without reserve. As part of the present generation of your Family we will continue to work by devoting our time and dedication to the expansion of your Family. Accept the plaque on the Joseph Engling Memorial Stone as our crowning gift to you. May it remind us that we give ourselves to you as Joseph Engling did. Amen.”
Last of all came the Girl’s Branch. Two girls brought the crowning gifts to the Queen – the sanctuary lamp in the form of a lily and the oil -, while all girls joined in the prayer:
“Dear Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt, with childlike confidence and great joy we come before you today to present to you this sanctuary light and oil, as a symbol of our loyalty and love.
With this crowning gift, we wish to express the sincere desire to grow more and more in your likeness, so that you may use us as your instruments for the fulfilment of Schoenstatt’s mission.
In the symbols of the lily and light we see you, our Mother and Queen, who through your beauty, purity and dignity radiate the love and light of Christ into the world, drawing many people to the Father.
We, your Schoenstatt Girls, pledge ourselves to diligently strive to become noble, firm and dignified young women – Little Marys – through whom your love and light shines, as a light now shines through the lily of our sanctuary light, proclaiming your presence and the presence of your Son to all people.
With our founder and the founding generation we say: Not simply the great and greater, but the greatest heights shall be the object of our increased striving.”
Once Fr. Boes had crowned our Mother, Queen and Victress we asked our MTA to take possession of our new Movement Centre and to draw many people from here to herself in order to educate them to become true apostles for her realm, which is the realm of Christ the King and the Eternal Father.
“In this time of great change we ask you to reign from here as Queen of Australia. Be our merciful Mother, the powerful Queen and the ever-conquering Victress of our people…
Use us as your instruments. Glorify yourself in our weakness so that Australia may become more and more a Marian Kingdom of the Father …”
In gratitude and joy we then sang our praise to the Blessed Trinity: ‘O Triune God, Eternally Be Praised’.
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