Who does what???
“Who will set up bed linen?” – “I will pack games.” – “Should I ask the kitchen to prepare food for us?” We four sisters were occupied with such questions for a few days. They increased the anticipation of our vacation together. We are allowed to spend it in a small house in the mountains. There we make ourselves at home and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. We see the Rhine deep down in the valley. We imagine that its water will flow past Schoenstatt after a long journey.
We’ll take it as it comes!
In the first few days, St. Peter seems to wash the area thoroughly – it rained almost continuously. We don’t mop up, however, but enjoy reading, puzzles, games, and household chores. It goes without saying that there is a lot to laugh about. The conversations enrich one another. Each brings a lot of valuable experience. Jede bringt viele wertvolle Erfahrungen mit.
“Lucky tablets” in the Corona crisis
Holy Mass is read in Romanic language. However, the priest welcomes us in German. At the end we like to linger in silent prayer. Suddenly we hear a rustling. The sacristan brings everyone a small present: “Lucky tablets” (small candies) for difficult situations, and a candle with encouraging words for the time of the Corona crisis. We are happy about the benevolence and are amazed at how the parish strives for the faithful.
And then the sun laughs
On the first nice day we pack a picnic in our backpacks and set off – up the steep mountain. Our path leads past flowery meadows. We discover butterflies in all colors. Birds delight us with their song. A gentle wind refreshes us and we go over hill and dale with joy. At a vantage point with a cross, a bench invites us to rest. The food tastes good to us in God’s free nature. The mountains lift our hearts to Him, our Creator. We thank you for this beautiful world!
God bless you
There are wonderful encounters on our hikes. We meet an English family of 6. They recently moved to Switzerland. Despite our lack of language skills, we have a great conversation. The woman, a great admirer of Mary, is happy to see a picture of Mary on our brooch. She faintly remembers seeing this picture as a child in her home country and is interested in our Schoenstatt Shrine. Who knows, maybe they’ll visit us in Quarten. We say goodbye with best wishes: “God bless you!”
Goodbye
The time of our vacation goes by far too quickly. On the way home we hike a bit along the Rhine. A group of canoeists approaches us. We wave to each other. Who is more astonished, they about us or we about them?!