22 November 2021 · 2021-11 newsletter
A. Birthday of Father Kentenich
On November 16th we remembered the anniversary of the birth of Father Kentenich (1885). Father Kentenich believed that he and his spiritual family had been given a mission to proclaim the message of a merciful, loving Father to the Church and world. Father himself was a transparency for us of the image of the merciful, loving Father God.
On his birthday in 1958, Father Kentenich spoke to married couples in Milwaukee saying, “Just as St. Paul had the mission to proclaim the mystery of Christ to the world, so it has become my task to proclaim the mystery of Mary to the world…. I may truly say that all of you, my dear Schoenstatt Family, have been drawn into this mission of mine. It has not only been placed upon my shoulders, but upon the shoulders of all Schoenstatt children….. God has called you also to help me fulfil this great mission. Today each one of you is given by the birthday child the mission, the mission of our Mother and Queen of Schoenstatt. It is comforting that the mission does not rest on my shoulders alone but that all of you want to help me fulfil this tremendous task.”
As members of our Schoenstatt Family, we too are called to keep alive Father’s “founding spirit” and place ourselves anew on the foundation he laid so that we can answer the present challenges we face in our society and our Church. Above all we want to promise Father Kentenich our availability and loyalty: loyalty to him and his charism, loyalty to his work and his Family, loyalty to his mission for the Church
While we are reminded of our responsibility for realizing his charism and mission for the Church and world, and making it fruitful, we realise that it is never separated from him as a person. That is why we now need to work for his canonization so that he and his Schoenstatt work will be recognized by the Church. If we live our personal mission in conjunction with Fr. Kentenich’s mission, then his beatification and canonization by the Church will follow at the appropriate time.
B. Anniversary of the Death of Venerable Sr. M. Emilie Engel
On the 20th November we remember the anniversary of the death of Sr. M. Emile in 1955.
Emilie Engel came as a young woman to Schoenstatt where she met Father Kentenich. She placed herself at the disposal of Schoenstatt and became a founding member of the community of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary.
Like Father Kentenich, Sr. M. Emilie saw her mission as helping present-day people to discover God in everything, to meet him, and in faith to respond to his fatherly guidance with a ready, “Yes Father”. She exemplified that in the midst of insecurity and fear, a person can find shelter in God.
Today many people joyfully experience that Sister M. Emilie brings light into their life again, a light that radiates God’s sheltering and caring nearness and shows the way to him from darkness and fear. In many countries of the world Sr. M. Emilie has become more and more a light that shines forth in people’s lives.
We continue to pray for her canonization:
“Eternal Father, you led Sr. Emilie along the way of simple childlikeness and unselfish motherliness. Trusting in your wise providence, she spoke a loving yes to your plans and wishes even in the most difficult situations. She was deeply sheltered in your fatherly heart and was freed from fear and inner anxiety. In your love and kindness you have shown your power in her. I ask you for the canonization of Sister Emilie to your glory, the honour of the Mother Thrice Admirable and Queen of Schoenstatt, and the blessing of all people. Amen
(From: “Lived Faith in Divine Providence: A Light for Many” – Novena to Sr. M. Emilie)
May the lives of Father Kentenich and Sr. M. Emilie continue to be witnesses for us of how to live the mission we have been given in Schoenstatt.
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