16 October 2023 · 2023-10 newsletter
The return of young Schoenstatt Sisters
In the past few weeks, we have seen two of our young sisters return from Germany – one for a short visit, the other permanently.
Sr. M. Olivia
Sr. M. Olivia, from South Australia, and now a novice with the Schoenstatt Sisters in Germany was with us over the weekend 9- 11 September. It was a great joy for her, her family and not least the Sisters in Mulgoa to be part of the celebration of the Ordination of Sr. M. Olivia’s brother, Fr. Matthew Lukaszewicz.
At the ordination Mass in St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, on 9th September, Sr. M. Olivia read the first reading and her parents carried the vestment for their newly ordained son. This vestment was especially made in Germany by one of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary. Depictions of the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries of the rosary were beautifully stitched on the vestment and Sr. M. Olivia helped to stitch the mysteries of light on the stole, a beautiful gift from sister to brother.
Four Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary joined Sr. M. Olivia and her family for this celebration and in the evening for a celebratory dinner. It was a joyful occasion with priests, seminarians, a few friends from Adelaide and the Mosman parish. The following day, Fr. Matthew offered his first Holy Mass at Sacred Heart Church Mosman, where he had been on pastoral placement as a Deacon. This was another special celebration where, once again four Schoenstatt Sisters could share the joy with Sr. M. Olivia and her family.
The highlight however was the following day when Sr. M. Olivia and her family could spend the day at Mount Schoenstatt. Fr Matthew afterwards gave his priestly blessing to us all. The Mass text was of Our Lady of the Rosary and, in his homily, Fr. Matthew shared how important the rosary was for him, a definite reason why he had chosen to have the decades of the rosary on his ordination vestment.
After lunch, Sr. M. Olivia was able to spend a couple of hours with the Sisters. She inspired the Sisters’ community with her apostolic enthusiasm and her genuine longing to soon be back in Australia to work with us for Schoenstatt. She shared her experiences in Schoenstatt and at WYD, where she spent quite some time at the Vocations Tent. Since many of the young people had spoken English, she was kept quite busy.
Following our time together Sr. M. Olivia returned with her family to Mosman and flew to Adelaide the next day to spend a few days with family and friends before returning to Schoenstatt where on 3rd November she will be officially incorporated in our Sisters’ community. Please keep her in your prayers.
Sr. M. Rita
The next joy for our Australian Schoenstatt Sisters’ family was to welcome Sr. M. Rita home after 9½ years in Schoenstatt. Sr. M. Rita was home for holidays in 2019 but now her return is to begin work with our sisters at Mount Schoenstatt.
Sr. M. Rita is from Merrylands and was a science teacher before entering our community. After holidays with her family Sr. M. Rita will be welcomed by our Schoenstatt Movement at the Foundation Day celebrations on 22nd October. Sr. M. Rita will use this opportunity to share with us her experiences in Schoenstatt and her ‘dreams’ for Schoenstatt in Australia. You are all most welcome to attend. We wish Sr. M. Rita much joy as she settles back in Australia and many blessings for her work here in Sydney.
Sr. M. Elizabeth
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