A group of 15 young people from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, and the United States are participating in the Schoenstatt Leadership School in Germany. They visited our Motherhouse on Mount Schoenstatt on July 12th, accompanied by Father José Luis Zabala, the leader of this time of training.
Prayer together in the Motherhouse Chapel
The young men want to learn more about our institute, especially about our way of leading. Our meeting begins in the chapel of the Motherhouse, where we Sisters of the Motherhouse begin each day with common prayer and Eucharistic celebration, renewing and fulfilling our vocation to lead people to God through Mary.
Living guidance through our being
After a little refreshment, we show our way of living leadership through our being and in our working areas through a PowerPoint presentation. We emphasize self-education in the field of digital media: Only those who educate themselves and witness through their lives what they want to share with others can be leaders. And at a time when digital media and social networks are central – especially in the lives of “Generation Z” or the “Centennials” – we must see in the media an enormous opportunity to exercise leadership and to guide those entrusted to us by our Mater Ter Admirabilis in the Covenant of Love. She was, as Pope Francis said in Panama, the “Influencer of God”. We, too, can be influencers from Schoenstatt through the Covenant of Love that she lived – also through the social networks.
Interested Questions
At the end of our talk a series of questions follows: How long does it take for a young woman who enters the community of sisters to be incorporated forever? How did we discover our vocation? What advice can we give to grow in a living relationship with the MTA and with our father and founder, Father Kentenich?
The young people share with us their experiences of Schoenstatt leadership through social networks and the challenges for their generation of ‘Centennials’ in this field.
These are meaningful conversations in an atmosphere of joy, a family atmosphere, as created by the presence of the MTA and Father Kentenich. The young people thank us for the warm welcome and for the contents we have offered them. And we thank them for their visit and for the experiences they gave us. We promise to continue to pray for the fruitfulness of their leadership school!