19 August 2024 · 2024-08 newsletter
Lord teach us to pray
The PMA Mid-Year Reflection Day was held in Mulgoa on Saturday 13 July. The program started with a talk given by Father Pawel Barszczewski OP. The theme was “Lord teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
Prayer
Father described prayer as a loving communication with God, who speaks to us through the Bible. Prayer keeps us connected to God our only source of help. Father emphasized the importance of perseverance in prayer, using the acronym PUSH – pray until something happens.
He added: “We should pray to him more consistently, pour out our hearts to him earnestly, tell him about our burdens and then cast every single one of them upon Him because he cares for us. The longer we are out of prayer, the more we feel out of fellowship with him”.
Covenant of Love
As some of us were making our Covenant of Love with the Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt we were reminded about the significance and terms of a covenant. Through this Covenant of Love with Mary we can live our baptismal covenant in union with God.
We were reminded of the first Schoenstatt Covenant of Love which took place on 18 October 1914 in the Original Shrine with the founder Fr Joseph Kentenich and the founding generation. Through our covenant of love we are able to surrender our hearts to Mary and receive her heart in return. Mary leads us securely into the heart of God.
After the talk we had a morning tea followed by Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and then Holy Mass.
Next, we proceeded to the Shrine where members of the Pilgrim Mother Apostolate, St Ives parish Broken Bay Diocese made their Covenant of Love with our Mother Thrice Admirable for the first time. They were Petty Bahramali, Joyce Hew and Mirani Kailainathan. Janice Ware joined them while Crystal D’Souza, who is the main Coordinator at St Ives, and Max Shipway renewed their Covenant.
At lunch everyone enjoyed catching up with friends. This was followed by the cutting of the cake by the ones who had made the Covenant of Love. We then prayed the rosary with a beautiful meditation on each mystery.
The day’s celebration ended with a Closing Devotion and Benediction in the shrine. Afterwards we were invited to an Afternoon Tea where we enjoyed a slice of the Covenant of Love cake.
Sentiments expressed by a couple of members
Sentiments expressed by a couple of members who made their Covenant of Love, follow:
It was indeed a very memorable moment in my life. I was extremely happy to have been called by the Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt to make this covenant of love with her. l was moved when l prayed the consecration prayer and offered my whole being to Our Lady and requested her to give me a home in her heart.
The officiating priest Father Pawel Barszczewski OP spiritually nourished us and in his homily, he gave us a clear insight into the meaning and significance of the covenant of love.
He further gave us a wonderful explanation about the important aspects of prayer.
Another person added: I was deeply touched by Father Pawel’s presentation on the day. I learned a lot from him. It really deepened my knowledge about prayer. I will devote more time to prayer and give myself entirely to our Mother Thrice Admirable Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt to intercede for me with God.
We thank Father Pawel for his talk and presence, Sister Luisa Maria for preparing us for the Covenant of Love, Agnes together with her sister for organizing the day and all those who contributed to the success of the day.
Crystal D’ Souza and Sr Luisa Maria
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