The first day I got here I met this Sister from Australia (representing also the Philippines) , she is really great, and I have enjoyed meeting her. She is so much fun!! She told me she had sent a report, so I asked her for it... Here it is.. I added some pictures...
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Marienland 4th Feb 2009
1st Feb:
During the evening meal, all delegates were present and the dining room was a buzz with the three different languages of the Conference. The delegates from Germany came to join the ones who are from overseas, with some delegates who had yet to fly in.
In Father Kentenich House we began with the moderator inviting each Delegate to come forward to answer the question: What do you feel most joyful about when you think of the 2014 celebration? The flag of each country was brought forward. It was good to see who represented which country.
It was also explained that the Conference would consist of small group discussions and plenary sessions in which the small groups were invited to bring forward the ideas from their group discussions. We were also being provided with the translations of all the plenary sessions the day after it happens – thanks to the help of a team of translators who will probably work well into the night to have our results each morning!
2nd Feb:
After breakfast two buses departed with all the delegates for the Original Shrine. Each one had to bring along their symbols, so I packed my two into a bag and for the group photo at the Heroes graves behind the Original Shrine, most of us were holding our symbols. It was a very cold morning, nonetheless we gathered first outside the Original Shrine in prayer. Each country was then called forward to present the symbol of their country to Fr Heinrich Walter, who in turn placed it on the altar in the Original Shrine. One delegate from each country was to remain in the Shrine. Australia and the Philippines was the second country to be called and I brought the two symbols which represent the Movement in both countries to our Mother and Queen in the Shrine where Schoenstatt began. As I stayed inside, it was also an experience to see the symbols growing and to see the world come into the Shrine. Quite a number of symbols are father relics and traces.
From the Shrine, each of us was given a candle and in procession we made our way to Schulungsheim, then to the Adoration Church. In the Adoration Church, the Delegates were asked to place their symbols on our father’s tomb. Shortly afterwards we celebrated Holy Mass in which the songs and homily were in 3 different languages – a real feel for Schoenstatt international!
After Holy Mass we placed our symbols again after a procession in the Father Kentenich House.
After lunch we met up with our first group session. There were 14 groups. I found myself in the English speaking group with the delegates from the following countries – England, Nigeria, Scotland, USA, South Africa, India and myself. We needed to discuss 2 questions:
• Which fruits brought us the greatest joy?
• Which fruits did we hope for?
We discussed the joys and hopes for 1 hour. This is where our posters came in, but each person only had about 1 minute or so to explain the poster which they brought along.
We then came back and each group had to agree on only 3 joys and 3 hopes to be written on white or yellow cards. The moderators began to collect feedback from each group, which were only allowed to speak for 3 minutes. Real hard for the South Americans!
Result – white cards are what we were happy about and yellow cards are our disappointments.
After tea, we tried to look at both of these, but things were moving slowly. We still needed the Holy Spirit to move us! Greetings from Sr M Lourdes to Sr M Elizabeth.
3rd Feb:
During Holy Mass, which today was celebrated mostly in Spanish with the Spanish speaking priests, we are given a 10 min or less homily in 3 languages. Fr Felipe Rios Correa (delegate from Mexico) gave the homily. He gave a reflection day for illegal immigrants in Mexico and a young man called David told him that he is ‘Juan Diego’. Fr Felipe asked him why? He said when he came to Mexico as an illegal immigrant, he was treated like the Indian Juan Diego and he felt stripped of his dignity. But through Schoenstatt and the MTA he has found his worth and dignity. This is what Schoenstatt can offer to the world, a new sense of worth and dignity.
In groups we discussed the questions:
• What is the content of our message for 2014 and beyond?
• Which areas should Schoenstatt penetrate?
The plenary session after our group discussions was slow but eventually we came to find that the Covenant of Love is that which has worked for 100 years and will continue to work for the next 100 years, but we need to actualise this for today.
Must go. Please continue to implore the Holy Spirit for us!
For your information, you can also watch the main events live on the internet – through the schoenstatt.de webpage, follow the link. It’s an attempt to see what possibilities there are for 2014. The opening celebration should still be there for you to view.
United with you at Original Schoenstatt.
Yours,
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