“Rabbi, where do you live?”
He said to them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he lived and stayed with him that day; it was like the tenth hour.” (John 1:38-39) This is the experience of the youth group of this year’s “School of Leaders”. They wanted to get to know the community of the Sisters of Mary and so a meeting took place in the motherhouse, the nucleus of the family of sisters. They came and saw.
Meeting at the motherhouse
On the afternoon of Sunday, January 12, a meeting took place in the motherhouse between the boys, who participate in the School of Chiefs, accompanied by two Fathers, and four Sisters of Mary, representing the family.
The school of leaders is a program, lasting about a month, and aimed at the Boys’ Youth. It is offered by the Fathers for the deepening of the spirituality of Schoenstatt and for the formation of upright and committed leaders. After a previous selection, children from different countries meet in Schoenstatt to be part of this “School of Leaders.” Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, and Paraguay are the nationalities that have participated this year. Part of the program consists of getting to know the different communities of the Schoenstatt movement, which is why this meeting took place.
What did we do in this meeting?
The idea was to get to know a little more about the Sisters of Mary and the motherhouse, where the Superior General and the sisters live, among others. So we started in the “Hall” where we received the children and explained what the motherhouse is, what function it has, when it was built, as well as some architectural details, such as that it is made by the same architect as the Church of Adoration and that it has the same style. Its meaning as Castle of God was also mentioned; God invites us to be his living stones.
In addition, Father Kentenich was seven times in the motherhouse. It is also beautiful and special to be able to find oneself among the same places and things that Father saw and touched.
The meeting continued with a prayer around the manger in the chapel of the motherhouse and then we explained a little about what it means to be a Sister of Mary and what characterizes us as a community. Through small testimonies we illustrate three features of our community: the apostolate, prayer, and family life. The diversity of tasks, internationality, and love for God and vocation were presented at that time. The dinner that followed was a rich exchange of many experiences, such that time passed very quickly!
The meeting ended with a prayer at the Garden of Mary Shrine to thank the Blessed Mother for all that she gave in that afternoon of sharing.
“The warmth” and “getting closer to what it is like to be Mary in the world”
were echoes that described the meeting we had just had. It was a very enriching family afternoon full of joy, where there was no lack of prayer and sharing around the table.