17 May 2024 · 2024-05 newsletter
A splendid success!
As one of the organizers of two ‘Women’s Breakfasts” we have held so far at the Shrine with huge success, it was tempting to wonder whether it could be pulled off in a parish setting. So, when our newly ordained Deacon Sone gave a wonderful talk in Advent last year in our parish of Holy Family Menai, on ‘Mary and her ‘Yes’ to God’, it was a no-brainer to ask him to talk to the women of the parish. Though few in number by comparison to former times, they are the committed workers of the parish in some ways. He was delighted to be able to accommodate us and thrilled to speak on “Mary’s Fiat”.
Our lovely parish secretary was soon on board having attended the second of the Shrine Breakfasts at Mount Schoenstatt. She immediately set about putting together a flyer and advertised the Breakfast throughout the month of March and early April in the parish bulletin, other parishes, and the schools. Funnily enough many of the people came as a ‘friend of a friend’, being bumped into (providentially) in the car park of the shopping centre or seeing the flyer on the door of the Church.
As the numbers trickled in there were heart stopping moments when we asked, “Would $5 a person cover the costs of the day?” “Would there be too much food or not enough?”; as the women were all asked to contribute, ‘a plate of food’. Well, 48 women responded and came, and brought enough food to “feed the 5000” and waxed lyrical about the set-up of tables and décor as well as the wonderful speakers – Deacon Sone and Sr. Elizabeth.
What did we learn? Deacon Sone had been asked to speak about “Living Our Lady’s Fiat in everyday life”. He unfolded the theme and answered the question of how to do this, by reflecting on three aspects of Our Lady’s life: Love, self-surrender and being an Instrument. In a nutshell:
“We live Our Lady’s FIAT by practising the following in our lives: first to love, second to selflessly give our time and thirdly, through this we are to be instruments of this FIAT to others.”
Deacon Sone spoke of the Schoenstatt Covenant of Love as being a means to renew our love daily with others, our families, friends and even those with whom we do not see eye to eye. Such love, he said, will move us to act selflessly, placing others and their needs before our own and this selflessness will bear fruit as we become instruments in God’s hands to bear his love to others.”
It was then easy for Sr. Elizabeth to give a response, to build on Deacon Sone’s talk, and take us deeper into a Schoenstatt perspective. She reinforced our Schoenstatt understanding of the Covenant of Love as being a renewal and deepening of our Baptismal Covenant. She stressed the importance of our cooperation in our journey towards holiness by imitating Our Lady’s yes, as an instrument in helping to fulfill God’s plan of love.
The two hours flew by and many left at 12 Noon although an enthusiastic few stayed on. Sr. Elizabeth spent time with one group of ladies who all wanted to know more about Schoenstatt and another group, who all bar one, were familiar with Schoenstatt, were entertained by Sr. Renee (who came with Sr. Elizabeth), and Deacon Sone. Many women spent much of their time being “Marthas” in the kitchen and all the food despite so much having been left over, went home with someone.
The smile hasn’t come off my face a week after the event and I’m still getting ‘Thank You’s’ from people I bump into. Our ‘What’s App- Holy Family Ministry’ site ran hot for a couple of days with so many positive comments. It’s been such a spiritually up-lifting event in the parish to the point where I told Deacon Sone if he could motivate the men of the parish, I would approach the women to ‘cook for them’ and run something similar using the same format. – I ‘know’ they will say ‘Yes’.
My feeling is overwhelmingly that “Mother has taken Perfect Care”. With the Chapel door near the entrance to the main Church left open and the statue which Fr. Denis had made in the image of Mary looking out over us all the time, the event couldn’t help but be a success. The MTA Picture is also in this Chapel and I am happy to say that our Mother Thrice Admirable was visited by some during the morning.
So now we come to what for many would be a disappointment. That is, there was only one photo taken in the early part of the day by a friend. This is a sign for me of a deeper meaning, “a spiritual moment”! By not picking up the phone to take photos on the day, the women and their happiness and joy were the all-encompassing spiritual moments for me, moments that you just cannot capture in a photo.
So, to all those who contributed, whom I haven’t mentioned already, especially Zenny and all those I have, I say let’s keep the ‘Movement’ going by doing more of this in our other parishes!
In the Covenant, Angela
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