“What is my path of holiness?”
Fifteen young people from various cities in the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina met in Santa Maria from November 9-11. They were inspired by the motto of the novices for their reception and asked about the call to consecrated life.
After following in the footsteps of Father Joseph Kentenich at the Tabor shrine, we also wanted to discover traces of holiness in the life of the “Schoenstatt heroes”. We asked if their lives are also a testimony to the words of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, which he makes in his apostolic letter Gaudete et Exsultate:
“To be holy, one does not necessarily have to be a bishop, priest, religious or nun. (…) We are all called to be holy, living in love and giving our personal testimony in daily activity, each in the place where he is.” (Gaudete et Exsultate, nr.14)
We wanted to read this from the life witness of our Schoenstatt heroes, from our father and founder, Father Joseph Kentenich, from Joseph Engling, João Luiz Pozzobon, Sr. M. Emilie, Sr. M. Emanuele, Father Franz Reinisch, Bárbara Kast and many others, who have discovered the Schoenstatt Shrine as the “cradle of holiness” and put their lives at the service of this great ideal.
The highlight of the meeting was the solemn reception of a young woman, Renata Zanchin, who wants to consecrate her life completely to God in the Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary.
During these days, the young people heard testimonies from the novices, how each of them found her way into our community. God guided each one in a very different, original way, yet everyone received clarity about their personal vocation in the Schoenstatt Shrine. Therefore, the novices can confidently confirm the motto: “I choose the MTA and Schoenstatt as my path of holiness!”
In search of their own vocation, each young person at the meeting has taken home a question waiting for an answer: